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in the 1948 War of Independence.
It was a vivid reminder of the
price Israel has paid for decades to
defend itself from those who would
destroy it.
Israel hoped to avoid such loss
of life when it withdrew all of its
settlers and soldiers from Gaza
more than two years ago. Then
Hamas took over Gaza and more
and more rockets fell on Sderot.
The residents there know that
sending the Israel Defense Forces
back into Gaza to stop the attacks
will mean more Israeli soldiers
will be killed or injured. It is a
dilemma that weighs heavily on
their conscience.
God protected us and Sderot
on the day of our visit as no rock-
ets fell. But the very next day, in
addition to the murderous sniper
attack, more than 20 rockets fell on
the town. Even just reading about
the attack in the Israeli press, we
were filled with sadness and feel-
ings for the children we visited and
the new friends we had made in
Sderot.

❑

Todd Mendel is president of Jewish

Community Relations Council of

Metropolitan Detroit.

Answering
Israel's Critics

The Charge
Last week, it was reported that
a group of German intellectu-
als has urged their country
to change its "blind support
of Israel in the Middle East
conflict:' Germany needs to
make the change because the
aftermath of the Nazi genocide
during World War II affected
Palestinians too, they said.

The Answer
Neither Germany nor any coun-
try offers blind support to Israel.
Germany has friendly relations
with the Jewish State, but it has
and continues to criticize spe-
cific Israeli policies and actions.

— Allan Gale,

Jewish Community Relations Council
of Metropolitan Detroit
(c) Jewish Renaissance Media, Feb. 28, 2008

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February 28 • 2008

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