Thoughts on the Flotilla and Gaza

One of the rules I made when I became a rabbi was to not involve myself with political discussions while discussing religion. I know many have strong political ideas that are a reflection of their strong religious beliefs but in my case I try to separate my religious views from any political leanings I might have. It is with this that I break one of my solemn rules and wish to discuss the aftermath of Israel’s raid of a flotilla of ships that was sent to break a blockade of Gaza.
While the world jumps to condemn Israel, we must first understand some very deep- seated issues. At the end of May, Israel boarded a flotilla of six ships trying to break the blockade to Gaza. Five of those ships were successfully boarded and on the sixth, Israel was met with a violent reaction.
Whether or not deadly force was needed, it was used and nine people died and several were wounded including IDF soldiers. According to Judaism, it is always a tragedy when anyone dies even if they had evil intent, which is why we never see Israelis dancing in the streets when enemies are killed. Even though Israel seems to be getting blamed for all the ills in the world the concept of the blockade of Gaza is an issue that needs to be understood.
First, it has become clear that the purpose of this flotilla in the minds of the leaders of Hamas were not necessarily to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. Israel offered to have the ships to dock in Ashdod and transfer the aid to Gaza. This offer was made repeatedly and was met with refusal.
Eventually, all six ships were taken into the Israeli port of Ashdod and their cargo was loaded on trucks and sent to Gaza, after being inspected to ensure no weapons being smuggled. Hamas refused to accept the supplies. Israel transfers about 15,000 tons of supplies and humanitarian aid every week to the people of Gaza.
So if the real purpose of the flotilla was not to provide aid, then what was the purpose?
To answer, let us look at recent history. In January 2003, before there was a blockade on Gaza, Israel intercepted a ship Karine A. Aboard, there were 50 tons of weaponry. These included short-range Katyusha rockets, antitank missiles, and high explosives. Since that time, Israel has intercepted numerous attempts to smuggle weapons into Gaza, including one in which weapons were hidden among sacks of flour.
In September 2005, Israel withdrew from every square inch of Gaza. Every Jew living in Gaza was evacuated as part of Israel’s disengagement.
In June 2006, elections were held and Hamas, a violent Islamic radical group, won. The name ‘Hamas’ literally means “violence.” One year later, Hamas violently seized Gaza and threw out or murdered all its political opponents. This internal Palestinian coup is rarely cited in the media.
From 2006 until December 2008, more than 8,000 rockets were fired from Gaza into Southern Israel, and fell on cities and town such as Sderot and Ashkelon. These rockets made life unbearable for more than 1 million Israelis living in rocket range. This is especially true in Sderot, close to the border.
There are children in Sderot who still wake up with nightmares and who have bedwetting problems at an age when they should not have them. For the most part, the terror of the rockets ended in December 2008 with Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s war in Gaza.
When Palestini
ans were given control over their own land, did they use it to build homes, school, and hospitals? No, they used it to move as close to the Israeli border as they could so they could fire more rockets on innocent civilians.
Meanwhile to the north of Israel in Lebanon, a place wherein there is no blockade on weaponry, Hezbullah, a radical Shiite Islamic terror group, has amassed over 40,000 rockets which can be fired into Israel as far as Tel Aviv.
The arsenal of weapons amassed by the Hezbollah, despite of the presence of UN monitor forces in Lebanon, is in direct defiance of UN Resolution 1701, which called for the “full implementation … of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, … there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state.”
Given the failure of the international community to implement that, it is understandable that Israel would be wary of any kind of imposed settlement. The real crime in Gaza is not the blockade by Israel but the radical government of Hamas which subjugates people to such hardships to keep them radical and hating Israel.
If the surrounding Arab nations are truly concerned about the suffering of their Palestinian brothers and sisters, why haven’t they stepped up to accept them into their own countries as Israel absorbed and integrated the Jews evicted from Iraq and Iran during the 1948 war?
The truth is that the very large Arab countries want to keep the Palestinians in refugee status so that they can continue to blame Israel for all their problems and provoke the world into discrediting Israel.
I am left saddened by the situation but adamant that Israel is justified in their blockade of Gaza, and even with the suffering in that community all the world needs to accept the responsibility in turning their faces to the tragedy of letting a terrorist state fester. I feel Israel has received unfair condemnation and I hope that as we become better educated on the reasons for the flotilla raid the one true friend Israel has will find understanding and compassion in her plight.
This Saturday we Jews conclude the book of Numbers in our synagogue Torah reading, in which we learn of the 40-year exile the Jewish people had in the desert waiting to enter the land of Israel. More than 3,200 years ago, the Jewish people faced very serious challenges on the way to the Promised Land yet they prevailed because of their faith in God and belief in the Torah and its values.
After more than 40 years, the Jewish people reached the Promised Land despite desert difficulties. Today, the Jewish people face difficulties of achieving peace and sometimes she falls short of the ideal of her prayers of acceptance and justice for all, but I believe Israel’s heart is in the right place in spite of mistakes.
I believe with strength and strong values shared by America, Israel can defend herself and find a way to make peace. America and Israel are the only two countries created specifically with the purpose of being free, democratic societies. I hope the world will help her and stand by her like America and withhold condemnation and a rush to judgment.