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It's all in the mind ... 10/30/2011

My two eldest sons are at life-stages where they face daily uphill challenges. Yoni as a combat soldier, Dani as a footballer. This is for them (The origin is not certain but it's attributed to Jesse Owens) ....

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t!
If you like to win, but think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost;
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will;
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the man who THINKS HE CAN.

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A Plate of Chips 10/19/2011

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I like the axiom that it's the little things in life that are infinitely the most important. Today it was a plate of chips.

It's only been a week this time since Yoni was last home on leave. I watched him step off the train this morning, walking tall, straight-backed despite the weight of a weeks laundry and an M16. I smiled the smile that signifies a father's love, respect and admiration for his son, and acknowledges the slight watering of the eyes. Our boy was back home again. Safe.

I watched my beautiful soldier boy demolish great chunks of shwarma as he described to me a week of activities and adventure with the enthusiasm unique to a young man discovering himself.

Dozens of crazily conflicting emotions racing through my head as they have been for the past 7 months. Does anyone else really understand what's going on here? The price extracted on each and every family?

The owner appeared with a gratis plate of chips and felafel balls. "Combat soldiers" he said "deserve a little bit extra".

People here do understand.

Chag Sameach.

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Beyond the Euphoria 10/18/2011

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If you are trying to understand the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange, consider this (partially) hypothetical scenario:

You are Anders Breivik, a Norwegian Christian. You can trace your family lineage back to the time of the Vikings. You object to your government’s immigration policy, which has seen Muslims flood into your country. You are ideologically opposed to the idea of multi-culturalism and fervently believe that Norway should remain a majority Christian state. Your views have been sidelined in the democratic process and by the media. How do you make yourself heard? You look to your enemy for inspiration. In all corners of the globe, Muslims employ terror tactics in a bid to make democracies bend to their will. Indeed, your own government, the Norwegian government, by implication with its support of Hamas, openly condones the use of terror against Israeli civilians and justifies that methodology.

So you do the same. You make your point by slaughtering the children of the democratic Norwegian establishment. You are arrested and imprisoned.

You have supporters. They have the same ideology as you. How should they now react? Like you, they decide to look to the Muslims for inspiration. They look to Hamas, the organization held in such high regard by their own government. They kidnap a Norwegian soldier. Eventually, they will offer his return in exchange for your freedom.

This is what happened today. There is no difference between Anders Breivik and any one of the 1,000 terrorists released by Israel today. Except of course there is one small difference. A white Christian Norwegian man who uses terror to further his ideological goals is considered an evil butcher and a criminal who unquestionably deserves to be imprisoned for life, at the least. A Palestinian who kills Israeli children is a freedom fighter, a militant, and when incarcerated, a political prisoner. On Sky News this morning, Clemency Burton-Hill was moved to tears by the release of these “political prisoners” from Israeli jails.

Something very good happened today. A young man was set free to be reunited with his family after more than five years in captivity. Something very bad also happened today. Terrorism was rewarded, again. Child killers were set free as a direct result of actions taken by those who had employed them to do their dirty work in the first place. Whilst Israel rejoices in the release of Gilad Shalit, the perpetrators of terror in all corners of the planet rejoice in the confirmation that their bestial methods work, that democracies can be beaten, that terror wins, at least for the time being, in this part of the world.

It is of course right that Gilad was returned. But he should have been returned on Israel's terms only. Anything less strengthens Hamas, encourages terror, and weakens Israel.

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