Thank you, President Joe, for the pier in the sea
Hello President Biden.
As a Jew who supports my homeland and people, I squirmed quite a bit when you threw Israel under the bus with the blame-throwing at your State of the Union address last week. Where were your “come to Jesus” thoughts on Hamas, Egypt, Qatar, Lebanon, Iran? And do you know that nobody in this conflict is really into Jesus?
At the end of the day, I’m a silver-linings kind of person; I think it’s in my cultural DNA. Dayenu, right? So I want to thank you for your offer of humanitarian aid logistics, as Israel moves through month six of an upside-down hell.
Thank you for stating to the world, finally, that maybe Israel doesn’t have to do every single stinking thing related to the Gaza Strip by themselves. Israel has to rescue hostages, negotiate for hostages, eliminate a massive terror structure with global impact that, as you said, uses human shields, then prevent future terror, and monitor aid coming into the strip for homicidal contraband.
All while actively grieving and processing the biggest Jewish-targeted massacre since the Holocaust.
That’s a lot on Israel’s plate and psyche, don’t you think?
And don’t you think, knowing Israel is a micro-minority long surrounded by murderous Arab hatred, and did not start this current war, that’s a little unfair?
Thank you for being the first one, potentially, to not be completely useless in actively lending a helping hand, and only taking five agonizing months since October 7 to do so. All the rioting, protesting, yelling, and blaming going on against Israel worldwide, and nobody offers productive solutions; interesting.
Thank you for giving IDF soldiers a break in the Gaza Strip. Thank you for not making them directly hand out aid in a chaotic swarm of humans that are very possibly armed, and/or a member of Hamas.
The IDF has experienced more military casualties since October 7 than any other time in the last 50 years of Israel’s history. Maybe some IDF soldiers can go home now for a minute to see their families, who have never had to be more worried for them than now. Thank you.
I love your pier in the sea idea, by the way. It’s not novel to transport goods by sea; that’s how the terror infrastructure got into the Gaza Strip in the first place. And a few months of pier-building is a dark promise of extended imprisonment for Israeli hostages. That is way too long.
But a beach party for displaced Gazans? Hosted by the US, UN, and UNRWA, and not Israel? I’ve had that idea for aid in the Gaza Strip for a long time.
Hear me out.
In my imagination, the party is hosted both beachside and on an offshore aircraft carrier (or some other large floating contraption), with jet-skis and pontoon boats transporting civilians back and forth for food and fun. There are glamping tents, carnival rides for the kids, spa treatments for the women, medical care for all, and lemonade and shawarma stands for days. I know the money is there. And that would free Israel to take care of business where it needs to.
But even at the bare-bones level, President Joe, I am excited for the US to see how difficult it is to tell a civilian from a terrorist in Palestinian territories. How hard it is to vet an innocent from a would-be murderer in one of the most indoctrinated societies on earth. How challenging it is to stop the constant attempts by Hamas to hijack or deter civilian aid by force.
What a relief it will be for Israel to know someone else will create the security barriers, assure the safety of humanitarian personnel, and communicate calmly with people whose rage has been set to high for over 80 years, while Israel takes care of standing up to terror and freeing our hostages. I wish you Godspeed.