!:

Remember Ehud And Eldad

R

emember Ehu And
EldadFhud Goldwasser
and Eldad Regev. Those
are the names of the Israeli sol-
diers who have been kidnapped.
You need to know their names. I
hope that they are still alive and
Well. Governments across the
world have called for Hezbollah
to return these soldiers who
were captured and taken from
Israel's internationally recognized
borders. But you didn't hear their
names once from the 10,000 anti-
Israel protesters in Dearborn or
the hundreds of Arab protesters in
rallies across Metro Detroit.
There are some facts. On July
12, Hezbollah entered undisputed
Israeli territory, murdered seven
soldiers and kidnapped two Israeli
soldiers. Hezbollah is an interna-
tionally recognized terrorist group,
whose goals are the destruction
of Israel and establishment of an

Islamic state in Lebanon and over
Jerusalem. To pursue that objec-
tive, it has attacked Israeli and
Jewish targets worldwide, creating
the horror of the suicide bomb-
ings in the Middle East. Its targets
were never limited to military
installation, but often included
civilians. Hezbollah's agenda is not
limited to destruction of Israel. It
also includes attacks on the United
States. Before 9-11, Hezbollah was
responsible for the deaths of more
Americans around the world than
any other terrorist organization.
Six yearS ago, Israel left
Lebanon. As part of the U.N.
Agreement, Lebanon pledged to
clear out Hezbollah. For the last six
years, Hezbollah has been launch-
ing rockets into Israel. In response,
the nation of Lebanon has done
– nothing. Instead, Hezbollah
became a part of the Lebanese
parliament, and is universally

recognized as a state
within a state.
So now Israel is at
war with Hezbollah.
Former Soviet
dissident, Natan
Sharansky, a man
who has suffered
severe anti-Semitism,
has talked about
when anti-Israel
rhetoric crosses
the line into anti-
Semitism. He talks -
about viewing Israel though
"3-D" glasses. Is Israel being
demonized? Is Israel being held
to a different standard? Is Israel
being de-legitimized? Once you
have those three d's, a line has been
crossed from legitimate criticism
into something far more sinister.
Israel was clearly demonized by
the crowd in Dearborn – the pro-
testers carried placards comparing

Israel to Nazi Germany,
and Israel's actions to the
Final Solution, because
in their eyes Israel's
self defense is akin to
unspeakable horrors of
the Holocaust. Israel was
also held to a different
standard than any other
country in its position
– the protesters' mes-
sage clearly suggested
that Israel had no right
to protect itself, and its
self-defense actions were labeled
appalling, unfathomable and
unfcirgivable:'
But, by far the worst were the
protesters' shameless calls to
de-legitimize Israel's existence.
From statements that Israel only
survived because of the power-
ful !`Zionist Lobby" in the United
States to carrying portraits of
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the

"

Secretary General of Hezbollah,
who for years advocated complete
destruction of Israel, demonstra-
tors showed their belief that that
destruction of Israel was justified.
Israel, just like any other sover-
eign nation, has a right to live in
peace and to defend itself from
terrorist attacks. Any suggestion
to the contrary amounts to hatred
and intolerance. If Hezbollah
abided by the international order,
Lebanon would have been safe
and its democracy would have had
time to grow and prosper. Instead,
Hezbollah crossed the border,
committed murder and cap-
tured two Israeli soldiers, Ehud
Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.
Remember their names.

Betsy Kellman is regional director of

the Bloomfield Township-based Anti-

Defamation League Michigan Region.

The Meaning Of Blue

Rarnat Gan, Israel

M

any things in life seem
to come from out of the
blue, like missiles pum-
meling Israel. I ask Israelis what
they make of the current situa-
tion and they shake their heads
mournfully. "We're used to it. We're
accustomed to worse,' they tell me.
Nevertheless, it's hard to square
bombs with the scene of children
splashing, laughing, and running
around the water park where I am
sitting right now
The park, eight miles north of
Tel Aviv and 60 miles south of
Haifa, reverberates with music, the
gushing of fountains and happy
shrieks of day campers, dripping
wet and excited. One barely stops
to wonder if, above the cacophony
of summer fun, the wail of an
emergency siren could be heard.
There's no bomb shelter here.
Even if there were, it wouldn't be
large enough to accommodate
1,000 youth. So tell me: How
responsible is a mother like me,
who brings her young kids to a
place like this, at a time like this, on
a day when something evil could
literally fall from the clear and
benevolent, perfect blue sky?

Then again, how
Tel Aviv, they're aware
much safer would
but seem unafraid.
we be in my father-
From time to time, I get
in-law's 11th-story
a matter-of-fact inquiry.
apartment, in a car
"Mommy, what
or in a grocery store,
happens if a missile
for that matter?
hits our building?" my
This isn't a nation
younger one has asked.
Ruth Littmann
of shelter-dwellers,
"Not likely to hap-
Ashkenazi
notwithstanding the
pen':
I say with a grin.
Special
fact that one-sixth of
"Don't
worry about it."
Commentary
its population has fled
But in private, I tell
the North or sought refuge in rein- my unflappable Israeli husband
forced rooms, some underground.
that investigating all options is
This is a nation of people who've
the only responsible track to take.
learned to live normal lives in spite I call the airlines, all of them.
of life-threatening risks.
Flights are tightly booked or cost
I was dumbstruck yet awe-
$3,780 a seat. I'm not that ner-
inspired by a little boy, who
vous. Not yet, at least.
appeared on the Israeli network
Yesterday, 7/20/06: We arrive to
news when the bombing began.
my brother-in-law's wedding. It is
"I'm not proud of it, but I'll admit
being held just outside of the city
I'm afraid': he said from his home
of Rehovot in an oasis of palm
near the Israel/Lebanon border.
trees, green grass and brightly
The boy didn't appear frightened.
colored bougainvillea. Illumined
He spoke slowly and calmly to the
by candles flickering behind white
camera. Only when the camera
mesh, the venue offers the ultimate
focused on his hands did I under-
in tropical romance.and tranquil-
stand the depth of his anxiety.
ity, but the supersonic fighter jets
Clenched and white at the knuck-
in the evening skies remind us
les, his fingers were kneading an
that all is far from tranquil. An
invisible ball of nerves.
armed guard with a handheld
As for my own 7-year-old and 5- metal detector checks purses, bags,
year-old boys here in metropolitan
and people for weapons.

Israeli law requires guards at
coffee shops, restaurants, pubs,
wedding halls — yet another sad
reminder that terror often strikes
at the happiest of times.
At the wedding, it's clear from
people's demeanors who has made
the precarious journey from Haifa
and further north: Those who
have sat in shelters for more than
a week appear pale and wide-eyed
among the laughing and danc-
ing Tel Avivians. I greet Rachel, a
family member from a northern
kibbutz. Just two weeks ago,
she entertained my family with
a veritable feast in her garden.
Usually bubbly and upbeat, Rachel
arrives to the wedding in despair.
Hezbollah rockets are pounding
her area non-stop. Her family can't
eat. They can't sleep. Every missile
attack feels closer.
"You can't really understand
unless you're there': she tells me.
I spot more family members,
hailing from a different kibbutz in
the North. Two weeks ago, we cele-
brated their 13-year-old daughter's
bat mitzvah with sumptuous food
and a party. That seems like a
million years ago. At the wedding,
the 13-year-old and her sisters are
subdued. Her younger sister, Ziv,

gazes at the dance floor, where still
younger children run after colorful
lights beamed down to the floor
from the ceiling.
"Looks like fun': I comment.
She nods her head in agree-
ment, clearly longing to let loose
for a while. Her father speaks of
venturing outside of the shelter at
noon each day to water his lawn,
and each day he plans his escape.
If a missile should be coming
toward him, where would he go? If
a missile were coming toward him,
it would be too late.
It's already too late for a lot
of things and for many people
who've lost their lives or loved ones.
Rachel, from the North, has asked
me to tell people back home what
she and those around her are going
through. It's no exaggeration to say
that at any moment it might be too
late for them to tell the story them-
selves. I promise Rachel to e-mail
friends, family and newspapers,
too. When I turn back to the dance
floor, I see little Ziv running after
the brilliant blue lights beaming
down from above. Many things in
life seem to come from out of the
blue. How I wish that peace were
one of them. Li

August 3 2006

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