Written by Eli Etsion (My dear and always loved nephew)

A word and some thoughts to my English-speaking friends/family – please feel free to share this:

Anywhere in the world, when you step out on your way to the grocery, mall, school… you don’t have any actual fear for your life – right? Sure, there could be an accident; you might miss a step and fall.. but will you encounter a masked person with a knife, screaming and aiming to kill you with it? Will you be sitting in a restaurant and being blown up? Do balloons explode or ignite fires where you live? Do you hear air-raid sirens, followed by explosions of actual rockets hitting the ground or houses around you?

Take a moment and try to imagine a nation of people who go to college, work in offices, ride busses, go to parties, dance, eat out, enjoy good wine, read books, watch Netflix.. all of those and much more JUST LIKE YOU, but with all that terror and danger always lurking.

What does this do to our souls?

Every now and then, the local conflict rises to a level of war. It’s never gone, but most of the time we live with it. We don’t like it, but it’s always been like that for our nation.

This recent rise has been unique. It brought us back to the darkest of times the Jewish people have ever experienced. The sheer mass of civilian lives lost in those hours of October 7th… still incomprehensible – maybe we will never really be able to grasp.

The voice of Hamas and its supporters is strong and effective – it is making waves that seem to be giving the world a very narrow view of what is happening in Gaza. So you all march, chanting “Free Gaza”. Free it from whom?

Nearly 2 decades ago, Israel withdrew all military and civilian presence from the Gaza Strip. It was Hamas who took over, with force, while overthrowing the rule of the Palestinian Authority – killing their people, tossing them from rooftops… This was not in any way the doings of Israel.

Hamas has taken every cent, nickel, and dime for its own purposes: It is investing everything in protecting itself, arming itself, and lining the pockets of its leaders. These so-called “leaders” keep saying that freedom comes with sacrifice – while sitting comfortably in posh luxurious hotel suites in Qatar, Turkey…

Israel is fighting a righteous battle in the aim of ridding its own citizens from long years of terror attacks from Gaza. Those villages and towns attacked on October 7th are filled with teenagers who can’t even grasp the notion that there is such a thing as living without sirens, explosions, and constant fear. They think ALL teens wet their beds, that everyone has a safe room made of thick concrete in their homes – how else can you survive, right?

If you find yourself disturbed by what Israel is doing in Gaza – be advised that we are not only killing… we are also making sure civilians can evacuate safely, even protecting them from Hamas, who fires at them while they flee. We are taking care of those who need medical care; we do not wish to take any unnecessary life – any.

Do you feel Gaza should be set free? So does Israel. While those who have no true knowledge of what’s at stake and march in the safe streets of London, New York, or Washington DC keep yelling and displaying Antisemitic posters – Israel is freeing Gaza from the tyranny of Hamas – the same people and doctrinarian of ISIS, the same extreme and fundamental terror in the name of Islam.

Do you want to do good? Do you seek true and just peace? Do you want the Palestinian civilians of Gaza to have a chance for a better life? How about the Israelis on the other side of the border?

If you want all of that – support Israel, let us do it right.