Over 8,000 Invisible Hezbollah Rockets Fired Toward Israel?

Not exactly, it’s just that the press too often neglects to mention that Hezbollah has almost daily fired rockets at Israel ever since 10/8/2024. 8,000 missiles can’t be an oversight. What is it? You be the judge. Can you imagine 8,000 missiles fired at the United States and the world telling us we don’t have the right to respond? If there had been just one, say goodbye perpetrator, but thousands for a year? It would never happen to the U.S. nor any other nation, except this one which happens to have been created in the historically Jewish homeland.

The Nazi Final Solution to the Jewish Question, was the Nazi plan for the genocide of Jews during World War II. Six million Jews were killed in the barbaric human killing factories of the Holocaust.

American soldiers walk past rows of dead bodies awaiting burial in the Nordhausen concentration camp. (US Holocaust Memorial Museum)

When writing this blog, I mentioned the Holocaust deniers because it’s another form of antisemitism. As if taking their lives in the concentration camps wasn’t horrific enough, denying that it happened dishonors the victims again. As I researched the topic, as is often the case, I learned so much that I felt had to be shared.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) published the 2023 Online Holocaust Denial Report Card. They explain, “Holocaust deniers have used social media and game platforms to spread their virulent ideas and garner support. Antisemites have tried to cast doubt on the facts of the Holocaust concerning Jewish victims. They claim that Jews fabricated evidence of their genocide to gain sympathy, extract reparations from Germany, and facilitate the alleged illegal acquisition of Palestinian land to create Israel.” Even in their torturous deaths, antisemites don’t let these poor Jewish souls rest in Peace. May their memories be a blessing.

Another disturbing report is presented as the FIRST-EVER 50-STATE SURVEY ON HOLOCAUST KNOWLEDGE OF AMERICAN MILLENNIALS AND GEN Z REVEALS SHOCKING RESULTS put together by the Conference on Jewish Claims Against Germany.

Millennials or Gen Y are currently between 25 and 40 years old. Gen Z, or the younger generation, are those currently between 9 and 24 years old. So essentially these are the generations of our future leaders.

What was so shocking? One point that caught my eye, was that nearly 20 percent of Millennials and Gen Z in New York feel the Jews caused the Holocaust. New York is purported to be the largest Jewish community in the United States! The report doesn’t clarify if the respondents were Jewish or not. Either way it doesn’t bode well. 59 percent of respondents indicated that they believe something like the Holocaust could happen again. Unfortunately, I do agree with them, considering the rampant antisemitism and the use of social media to virally spread these beliefs and conspiracy theories. Antisemitism is a serious problem and we know this has to be stopped. Leaving antisemitism to its own path is akin to ignoring a cobra ready to strike.

Approximately half (49 percent) of U.S. Millennials and Gen Z have seen Holocaust denial or distortion posts on social media or elsewhere online. The Holocaust deniers are savvy enough to go where the young hang out.

Claims Conference Executive Vice President Greg Schneider said of the survey, “Not only was their overall lack of Holocaust knowledge troubling, but combined with the number of Millennials and Gen Z who have seen Holocaust denial on social media, it is clear that we must fight this distortion of history and do all we can to ensure that the social media giants stop allowing this harmful content on their platforms. Survivors lost their families, friends, homes and communities; we cannot deny their history.”

I couldn’t help but think of the number of times I’ve heard that when people spoke to the college students participating in the encampments, and they were asked as they chanted, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which river and sea are you referring to? They didn’t know. Never mind that the phrase, at minimum, means that Israel will not exist, and many want the Jews therein to be killed. Often, people who tell me this say then they aren’t worried about these students because they don’t even know what they are saying. In my opinion, their ignorance makes it worse. They were willing to participate in a volatile, sometimes violent movement, yet they truly didn’t know what the encampments represented.

The creation of Israel was supposed to be the happy ending to the horrific WWII tale of Jewish persecution. However, to the Palestinians, instead of celebration, they called the birth of Israel, the Nakba (the Catastrophe). Immediately after the declaration of the Israeli nation, five Arab countries—Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria—attacked Israel.

In my more cynical moments I can’t believe other nations didn’t know the Arab nation’s plans. Marshall and other top State department advisers, some of whom were known antisemites, were against Truman recognizing Israel as a new nation. The United States refused to help either side. What did they think would happen? It was a miracle that Israel survived. We were promised Never Again, unfortunately Hamas had other plans.

On October 7^th the egregious massacre by Hamas of Israelis attending a music festival or in their homes took place. This event is often not brought up while discussing the Gaza story, however, sometimes it’s mentioned as an afterthought. Israel is too often described as homicidal maniacs, and most people don’t look further into the whys of nation’s actions. The Middle East is never straight forward, it’s always complex, often ugly, and the only actionable options to choose from are variants of horrible or worse.

Both recent attacks made Israel say enough is enough and they defended their people. Yet how often do we only hear that Israel is attacking Gaza or now, Lebanon, without qualification as to why? Israel is accused of being genocidal, another term put forth by antisemites on steroids.

They ignore the intentional use of Gazan human shields by Hamas, and the efforts Israel goes through to announce their plans prior to activation to give the Gazans time to evacuate. And as always, it’s complicated. When you’re moving so many people repeatedly, how much time is appropriate? To rid Gaza of Hamas amidst the compact living conditions and destroy the tunnels built beneath schools, mosques and homes, it doesn’t seem possible to not harm unintended victims. Why isn’t Hamas held accountable for the deaths of their people? Hamas openly states that their people are expected to be victims.

Now we are seeing the same use of human shields by Hezbollah. All stricken people, including children are the intentional fodder used by  Hamas and Hezbollah for propaganda. Sinwar, the “mastermind” of October 7th, calls the civilian deaths “necessary sacrifices.” Hezbollah follows the same abhorrent, callous practices. Below is a current picture taken by the IDF of a missile in the attic of a Lebanese home.

This undated image released by the IDF on September 23, 2024, purportedly show a Hezbollah missile system in the attic of a home in the southern Lebanon village of Houmine al-Tahta. (Israel Defense Forces)

If the IDF tries to eliminate the missiles, they are accused of genocide. No sane person can see the pictures of deceased children, grieving parents, and any dead or injured people without a distraught reaction. What more do you need to affirm that war is not the most effective answer?

Hezbollah is a terrorist organization like Hamas and is backed financially by Iran. Hezbollah opposes the United States as well as Israel. Hezbollah has attacked US forces in Beirut. Their attacks included kidnapping U.S. hostages in Beirut and the 1983 truck bombing of a Marine Corps barracks in Beirut that killed 241 American service members.

Hezbollah is different than Hamas however, since it’s the largest paramilitary organization in the Middle East. In addition to being an armed group, Hezbollah is also a political party with lawmakers in the Lebanese parliament and has had representatives in most Lebanese governments for decades. It also provides extensive social services, including running schools and health clinics, in southern Lebanon and other parts of the country where it has a strong presence.   Hezbollah offers these needed social services I’m sure as a quid pro quo to be collected at a future time.

In both the north and the south of Israel a total of 153,000 have been displaced for almost a year. Many spent months in hotel rooms, which loses its attraction when families are crowded together in single rooms. Others have been camped out in tents.

Residents of evacuated communities in northern Israel and supporters set up a tent city to demand the government return them to their homes, at Amiad Junction, in northern Israel, May 23, 2024. (Ayal Margolin Flash90)

How is food provided? Can people work? How does Israel support people who have been forced to leave their homes and jobs? Where do people get money to live? How do you replace the workforce that is now off fighting? How do you educate the kids? So many questions of basic survival that Israel must answer while simultaneously fighting a war.

As Israel tries to stop the incessant Hezbollah missiles from hurting Israelis by bombing Hezbollah’s arsenal as well as eliminate Hezbollah leaders, there will be other victims as well.  Given the fact Hezbollah, the terrorist organization like Hamas, is part of the government, is it even possible to draw a line between combatants and civilians?

Israel has decided to finally stop this lethal dance of retaliation and pay back Hezbollah for the anguish it has caused all year. The 80K Israelis displaced by the daily attacks want to go back home to the north. Israel is once again destroying the missiles and terminating Hezbollah leaders. The United States disagrees with the strategy, out of concerns for expanding the fight.

The United States and allies proposed a 21-day ceasefire. Netanyahu rejected the proposal. Since the United States doesn’t negotiate with Hezbollah as it is a terrorist organization, Lebanon is the intermediary.  The negotiations seem to be stalled, but the situation is fluid.

Israel, it seems, is on its own.  Will David continue the fight and be able to keep Goliath at bay? We’ll see.

May You Live in Peace, שלום and سلام.