• 0 M o en ary O e ci - War In Real Time O D C-0 Social media's role in the war in Israel. ■A M W atching this war unfold in Israel and Gaza over the last few months has been extreme- ly difficult. With a sister and countless other relatives and friends living in Israel, I pray for the people living there every time I hear that another rocket has been directed at yet another civilian target from Gaza. Unlike the previous wars and Intifadas where informa- tion came in the form of news reports, letters or emails, today we live in the age of social media. Like many people, I follow both the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Twitter feed and their Facebook page. Over the past few years I have seen beau- tiful pictures of chayalim (Israeli soldiers) graduating boot camp, using new interesting equipment and technology, hiking and wishing me a Shabbat Shalom. It may sound silly, but seeing these images regularly makes me feel more con- nected to the State of Israel and the sol- diers who protect it. It's one of the major reasons IDF uses social media; it helps connect people all over the world to its cause. They, along with other pro-Israel accounts, post photos and text that are easily shareable online. During the summer Olympics, the IDF posted a photo, shared almost 50,000 times, that stated, "While you watched the Olympics this weekend, seven rockets hit Israel." They recently shared a photo that shows the distance the rockets from Gaza can reach, and what that distance is relative to their being launched from Manhattan. The simplicity makes things very real. In general, the mainstream media doesn't cover what is going on in Israel in a fair and balanced manner. Israelis are con- sistently under attack without a word said. However, when Israelis eventually retaliate, they are condemned for "their aggression" Social media has changed the playing field. IDF and other organizations now have the ability to share content in real time. It's amazing how many people share 18 November 29 • 2012 and vocalize their opinions about what's going on in Israel using Facebook and Twitter channels. I must admit, most of my friends are pro-Israel and I see a very biased view on the situation; I am sure if I were a Muslim-Arab, my newsfeeds would look very different. This brings me to some guidelines of using social media in this war: • Just as the IDF can pro- duce images and posts, terrorist organizations do the same — but their numbers of support- ers are far greater than ours. They brag about bombs and missiles, and lie to make their point. For example, Al Qassam Brigade's Twitter account post- ed a heart-wrenching photo of a man holding an injured child, a photo that actually came from Syria a little over a month ago — not from Gaza. • People are asked to refrain from posting on social media the locations that rockets hit. Remember that this is a war, and terrorists have the same monitor- ing software available to them as we do. By posting "OMG rockets just missed X" you are putting Israel at risk; as the terrorists can instantly adjust their targets in real time. In the first few days of Operation Pillar of Defense, posts stating that this request came from the IDF were all over the place, and then came the "are these real?" posts. I did some digging; the post is real, but came from the office called Pikod Haoref (the IDF Home Front Command). It's actually requesting that soldiers not post information, but it's not a bad idea to withhold specific details on the land- ing sites of rockets that reach the ground. Check out www.facebook.com/ pikudhaoref for more information. • While terrorists are our enemies, we, as Jews, do not celebrate in their deaths. On Nov. 14, when Ahmed Jabari was killed by the IDF, a video of the assassination by surgical car bomb was circulated by the IDF. Shortly thereafter, a second video was circulated by a Palestinian on the ground. It was extremely graphic and showed images of the torched car and dead body SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED PROPORTIONS TO UNDERSTAND - Ashdod N• 0364! P.v.1.1• L. 1 Wnle Bed Sherries Paterson Sornt, Ashkelon Perl.ppo,y Knyat.Gat Glenna rMown Gaza Nuse.rat ' East er of ■ .< SlarnfOrd Y onke rs Hun . Bronx MetPta Orange n:Oljne New York Queens lempNlead Netvnt Ranat D 3rinya Etuabeth ciV Khan Yunes Brooklyn F .e0 •0 zAah ' Huta Be: Edtson 5 ,•■ eva This area is being attacked by rockets from Gaza This is the same size area around New York SHARE if you understand that Israel has the right to defend itself in the street. However, it was the crass and hateful comments posted by fellow Jews that I found most upsetting. It may sound hypocritical as we want to support our country, but we must keep in mind that just like we are the children of God, so are those evil and misguided souls of terror- ists. Their lives are just as precious and important to God as ours. This is why the IDF is so careful not to kill civilians when it's avoidable. Remember, every Passover we pour out some wine during the Seder to show God we are not a people that cel- ebrate the death of our enemies. Another way to think about it; when we refer to Israel and the nation of Israel as Kadosh, normally translated as Holy, this is a mistranslation. It means "different" We are not better than non-Jews; we are not better than our enemies. We are differ- ent. The difference isn't in our blood; it's in our actions. We don't celebrate bloodshed; we celebrate in victory/safety. Terrorists dance and brag at our deaths, even using their own civilians as human shields! We protect civilians, and we mourn the death of every man. Please remember as you are check- ing in on friends and family in Israel, as WHILE YOU WERE WATCHING THE OLYMPICS THIS WEEKEND, 7 ROCKETS FIRRI FROM nva HIT ISRAFI SHARE THIS IF YOU DIDN'T HEAR ABOUT IT ON THE NEWS. FACEBOOK.COMMFONLINE well as commenting, posting or tweeting, that celebrating our victories, defending ourselves and winning this war is a must. But talking about the enemy as if they are less than human takes away from our own spiritual fitness. We have some dark days coming ahead. I fear there will be many lives lost. I hope and pray that lives that can be saved are; and that those living in Israel suffer as little as possible, and that God watches over the chayalim he trusted to protect Israel. ❑ Benji Rosenzweig writes at Benji Unspun, http://allmyprojects.wordpress.com .