JANUAR Y FUR SALE 0,00.001/ OF THE ISRAEL DEFENS INVENTORY REDUCTION SALE Lt. Col. T. shows showing maps of distances and crossing points at a Michigan Friends of the IDF briefing in West Bloomfield. A Secure Effort Don Cohen Special to the Jewish News I t was clear that Lt. Col. Eliezer T. wishes he was with his Israel Defense Forces unit in Gaza. Currently studying at the U.S. War College near Harrisburg, Pa., he now is part of Israel's hasbara (informa- tion) network, but it's not the role he wants. "I've seen the reality of the last eight years from a very, very close perspective says Lt. Col. T., whose last name is withheld for security reasons. He lives in a community near Gaza with his wife and four children. Within rocket range, they have had to scurry into a shelter or hallway when a "Code Red" alarm sounds, leaving them about 15 seconds before an incoming shell hits. As a soldier, he has seen more than 100 of the tunnels dug from Gaza into Israel and Egypt. "The absurd reality is my absurd fam- ily life for the last eight years:' he said. In the past four years alone, before the current fighting, more 6,000 rock- ets have been launched at Israeli civil- ian targets. Presenting an IDF briefing for the Michigan Friends of the IDF at Congregation B'nai Moshe in West Bloomfield on Jan. 11, he dutifully made the points that Israel's goal is peace and quiet; that Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005; that Palestinians elected Hamas, which later seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority; that the Hamas Charter calls for the destruction of Israel; and that Hamas uses the areas that Israel removed its settlements from to shoot at Israel. The Backdrop But after showing maps of distances and crossing points, Lt. Col. T. made it clear he needed to go beyond the PowerPoint presentation to effectively convey what is happening and why. He explained that both Hamas and Israel used the six-month cease-fire to pre- pare and equip its forces. Vastly out- armed Hamas developed the tunnel system under Gaza City and the tun- nels coming from Egypt to smuggle in arms and goods. It also extended the range of the rockets and missiles it manufactured. "Israel also needed time,' Lt. Col. T. said. He thought Israel had spent it well. It had gathered intelligence, trained hard and restructured itself. "We had pity or mercy for those [Palestinian] civilians used as human shields," he said, "but we didn't have enough pity or mercy for our soldiers and our civilians." Israel has now acted to protect itself and renew its deterrence. "The assumption Hamas held until now is the Israeli military is a paper tiger; now, they are talking about the tiger in other terms:' Lt. Col. T said. "I don't want to be a tiger at all; but if the dog is corn- ing, I don't want to be a pussycat" Lofty Goals T. was not surprised that Hamas got a real shock when Israel attacked as it did. He said it had gotten to the point where "the enemy will assume you will engage them in a gentle way, and will not exercise a real military operation!' The air attacks on Gaza, the desig- nation of the action as a war situation and the immediate start of mobiliza- tion of reserves sent a clear message that Israel would not go back to a situ- ation that allowed Hamas to launch rockets with near impunity. "Last time, we started by declaring very high objectives," he said, referring to the 2006 Lebanon War. This time, he says, the objective of "improving security conditions in the South" is A Secure Effort on page A20 4 DAYS ONLY JANUARY 15-18 THURSDAY THRU SUNDAY 0 0 Sale $495 All Weather Coats. Rex Rabbit Trimmed and Lined Reg. $950 Shearling Jackets Reg. $3.000 .... ..Sale $995 Sheared Beaver Jackets Reg. $4,600 Sale $1,195 Mink Jackets Reg. $5,000 Sale $1,495 Sheared Mink Jackets Reg. $5,000 Sale $1.995 HUNDREDS MORE FURS, MEN'S FURS & SHEARLINGS (248) 642-1690 CeresnieAndOffenFurs.com 181 S. Old Woodward • Birmingham. M148009 • M-F 10-6, TH 10-8, Sat 10-5, Sun 1-5, Open 7 Days Quick Clean 31519 W. 13 Mile Rd.,Farmington Hills 13 Mile + Orchard Lake in Westbrooke Shopping Center ■ 13 Mile Rd. Orc ha rd 1.zi kc Rd. Israel used cease- fire to reinforce safeguards, mili- tary officer says. • Dry Cleaning...Regularly $2.50 (sweaters, pants, plain only) Now for a short time.... $2 25 with ad only . @S5.75 • Men's Suit • Shirts on Hangers . .99c (NO LIMIT) • Laundry Services Available Same Da Service 248-489-0953 1466290 1111 Enter the platm . um giveaway A new winner every month! Li& , a4N41.14114v.404149114-4 visit JNonline.us for details JN January 15 • 2009 A19