This week’s letter from Israel – October 27, 2023

October 27, 2023

My dearest friends,

The last week has been a challenge I could have done without.

Last Friday night we had Shabbat dinner with our two daughters and their families. As usual, the company was outstanding and the food was good. Our three children have provided us with a total of six representatives on the different fronts. Our thoughts were, and remain, focused on their safety. Our kids were doing their best to project an atmosphere of calm and composure for the sake of our younger grandchildren.

I sat there admiring my flock recognizing how blessed Phyllis and I are to experience special moments like these. I pondered my responsibilities as the “old man” in the family. At times like this, it’s my duty to demonstrate leadership and to provide inspiration, calm and guidance. I felt powerless. My kids had the situation under control.

And then the phone rang.

We were advised that Ariel, our granddaughter’s husband, was injured by an anti-tank missile fired at their look-out position on the Lebanese border. We were told he had been flown by helicopter to Rambam Hospital. His condition was described as stable. I was in shock. Within minutes, my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter organized themselves and drove to Haifa to be at his side.

To cut this long and traumatic story short, Ariel has since been released to his parents’ home near Beersheva. He makes daily visits to Soroka Hospital where he is being treated for shrapnel wounds, broken ribs and a perforated ear drum. Thank God, he is recovering well and we are hoping and praying for his complete and speedy recovery.

On the diplomatic front, it took 18 days for António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, to return to his comfort zone. His claim that the Hamas attack on October 7 in which 1,400 people were ruthlessly murdered “did not happen in a vacuum,” is nothing less than an outrage and an affront to the liberal values of the free world.

His remark that “the Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation,” is a deliberate distortion of the truth. Israel withdrew its military and civilian presence from Gaza in 2005. Given what’s happened over the past 18 years, this appears to have been a disastrous error with terrible consequences.

The statements made by the Secretary-General are nothing less than a concerted effort to whitewash and mitigate the genocide and war crimes perpetrated by Hamas. The UN is providing Hamas with the diplomatic, moral and legal umbrella it needs to fulfil its goal of eliminating Israel. The UN is a key player and accomplice to this genocide. The free world must demand the immediate removal of the UN’s chief honcho.

On Tuesday afternoon, we were forced to take cover following the sounding of a missile siren. As the crow flies, Gaza is 86 kilometers from where we live. On Wednesday afternoon, rockets from Gaza were fired on Haifa — 152 kilometers away — and into the Eilot Regional Council, just north of Eilat — 159 kilometers away. How many countries can boast this capability?

Friends, despite what the UN and the misguided so-called “human rights organizations” want you to believe, there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

An entity that has managed to accumulate such a sizeable and sophisticated arsenal of lethal missiles for use against civilian targets clearly has considerable resources and strong ties with generous allies. An entity that prioritizes these weapons of destruction ahead of providing their “innocent civilian” population with food, water, energy, clothing and social services, doesn’t need assistance from the international community.

Such an entity is most certainly not in the throes of a humanitarian crisis.

Absolving Hamas from the responsibility of having to provide basic services to its “innocent civilian” population will only perpetuate the conflict and ultimately lead to even more bloodshed on both sides.

Friends, I’ve said this before. We will prevail. We have no choice. We’re in this war together.

I wish to convey my condolences to those mourning their nearest and dearest and send my wishes for a complete and speedy recovery to those who have suffered injuries. May God protect our brave soldiers.

Wishing you all Shabbat Shalom and better times ahead.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Harris Zvi Green