Umbrellas Break in the Wind

Some of you might have noticed that the heat is on. It’s supposed to remain on into about the first week of November, and some of our temperature records for this time of year could soon be broken. With heat should come a chance of showers/thundershowers, especially next week.

The heat, notes Yaakov Cantor in our Israeli Winter Weather WhatsApp group,  covers “the entire region from NW Africa (Morocco) to southern Europe and central Asia, {and all areas are] expected to be unseasonably warm [the] next 10 days.”  This is in contrast to a strong outbreak of cold air over North America, in response to a disruption in the polar vortex.  Or, if you will, our heat is the flip side of the cold air outbreak and breakdown of the polar vortex.

Yet, a number of forecasts suggest that the polar vortex will restrengthen by the  second or third week in November, this should help build a ridge of relatively warmer air over northwestern Europe and a cooler trough over our region. Hence, our first taste of winter could indeed arrive in the second or third week of November.

In the featured image, one can see yesterday’s “Tzohar” missile alert map on the left, and US Storm Prediction Center Severe Storm Reports on the right. It’s from just before the HAMAS led attack and massacre of our Israeli citizens, workers, and visitors. They both have a similar orientation and look to them (southwest to northeast). Hence, I would venture that over the years we’ve simply treated our missile launches as something you take cover from, or simply a bout of bad weather.  After all, we built the iron dome, which has and still saves numerous lives (the folks in the United States also have safe rooms or underground shelters). Moreover, we’ve come to rely on it, as if indeed nothing could be done — even though every missile was not an act of nature, but a purposeful act to maim and kill as many persons as possible.

Yet, as most people who carry an umbrella know, when the wind blows, there goes the umbrella. And HAMAS was never satisfied raining missiles on us, but used the times between mini-wars to build the world’s most compact and strongest military base. The result, an ill and strong wind blew, and when the wind blows, an umbrella’s metal spokes break and its cloth tears, like the broken bones and mutilated bodies of the aftermath of the attack.

Well, the winds of war have come and it’s a storm that may soon approach from all sides.

My wife, who grew up in a family that lived in nearby Arab countries (before being expelled with 850,000 other in the Jewish Nakba), made a couple of observations:  the first that what happened now is really no different than what happened to the Jews in Hebron, where her grandfather lived in 1929. In fact, since the founding of the state, Israel has been the recipient of numerous terrorist attacks, leaving many victims whose number more than rival those recently killed. The second, she says is that Arab culture respects strength.

I believe that when push comes to shove, people in general respect strength, and that a convincing victory over HAMAS and Hezbollah will do much to quiet and discredit the crowds that chant: “Free, Free, Palestine. Free, Free Palestine, From the River to the Sea.” Or, if you will: “Free, Free, Palestine, Kill the Jews, Kill the Jews,” which is of course what they mean.

We should only have better news.