#1 ~ Ramblings of a Reservist: Commentary from a Veteran of the Israel Defense Force
May 21st, 2021
(3 – 4 Minute Read)
Once upon a time (in January of 2009, to be exact), I was serving as a Paratrooper in the Israel Defense Force. We had assaulted Gaza in what came to be known as Operation: Cast Lead.
For nearly a month my fellow soldiers and I pushed forward into the Gaza Strip from the north, going building by building to remove and destroy Hamas and affiliated terrorist infrastructure, including rockets and other weaponry. Meanwhile, I (and the other IDF soldiers) were being shot at, mortared, and bombed by Hamas, etc. A particular danger was the plethora of booby trap-style explosives (IED’s) that had been planted all throughout the Gaza Strip.
I saw one of my fellow soldiers get shot three times in the chest with 7.62mm rounds. My close friend’s commander triggered an IED. He barely survived, losing his nose and other parts of his face and body in the explosion. Other incidents were worse.
After almost a month I was dirty, exhausted, and jagged, but highly motivated as we pushed forward. We had already dealt a massive blow to Hamas, and were in a position to smash them hard… maybe even remove them from the Gaza Strip permanently.
Obama-Biden had just gotten elected. Obama called up the Israeli Prime Minister (Ehud Olmert) and demanded that Israeli forces (including me) instantly cease the hugely successful counter-terror military operation and retreat immediately. Accordingly, I was told by my officers and commanders that my mission to push deeper into Gaza had been cancelled, and that we would be going home immediately because of American political pressure by Obama-Biden.
I sat on the steps of a Hamas mansion amidst a broken chandelier, marble pillars, gold-plated bathroom sinks, a smashed plasma ultra wide-screen TV (a luxury in 2009) — all courtesy of corruptly misappropriated funding from the US, EU, UN, et al. (The common Palestinian Arab lived in squalor down the street while Hamas officials wallowed in obscene affluence.)
I thought of everything that I had done, had witnessed, had been a part of. I thought of my own close call in which I had been mortared on the beach and apparently missed being blown up by a Hamas mortar by a few seconds (to the point that my lieutenant called in that I was presumably killed in action, and the medic should see if anything was left of me, or so I have been told. Spoiler alert: I survived.) I thought of my friends and loved ones who had endured endless barrages of rocket fire while hiding in bomb shelters. I thought of my fellow soldiers who had sacrificed parts of their bodies and even their lives for the safety of the Jewish people.
And now we were leaving. Just like that. Because Obama-Biden told us to.
It felt like failure on the part of the Israeli government. It felt like betrayal by the American government.
It may sound ridiculous, but I had endured the entire assault and all of the graphic violence and tragedy thereof with no real display of emotion. But now? I actually cried — sitting on the steps of a Hamas mansion — that the war was over.
We left immediately. Hundreds of IDF soldiers walked back along the Gazan beach in the silent darkness; the only sound was the infinite refrain of waves crashing on the sand… and occasionally washing over the dead body of a Hamas terrorist.
As could be expected, Hamas used the cease-fire and the withdrawal of American support for Israel to its advantage. Two more times Hamas attacked Israel and its civilians to the point of requiring an IDF military response during Obama’s tenure in the White House, and now they have done it again during Biden’s time. (In contrast, Hamas became violent in 2018 during the Trump administration, who supported Israel vehemently and countered international pressure. In 2018 the rocket attacks were relatively limited (well under 20% of this round) and Hamas begged for a cease-fire within 2 days, to the point that the IDF response didn’t even warrant being named as an operation.)
Similarly, at other points during the Obama-Biden administration, key weapons shipments to Israel were delayed or cancelled, in particular the Hellfire missile used by IDF helicopters and drones to support ground troops in Gaza (like me). That meant that IDF soldiers were at risk of not having proper air support from helicopters, and had to fight more on the ground with small weapons. Obama-Biden cut our ability to have effective air support; Jewish soldiers died; IMI (Israeli Military Industries) scrambled to adapt a ground-based Israeli missile (SPIKE) for aircraft usage.
The point is that in 2009 the Israel Defense Force (including me) was in a position to smash Hamas once and for all. Obama-Biden demanded that we stop immediately. Hundreds of Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, were killed or wounded in 2009, 2012, and 2014 in part because Obama-Biden coerced Israel into ceasing our counter-terror operations.
And now Biden on May 20th, 2021 demanded that Israel de-escalate and diminish/cease its military operations against Hamas. Meanwhile, Biden’s Democrat allies in Congress have refused to pass the bi-partisan “Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act,” which would lock in transparency and consequences for those who fund Hamas terrorism. And Sanders, AOC, Tlaib, Pocan, McCollum, et al, have called for a $735m halting of key arms sales to Israel of precision munitions fired from aircraft, etc., just like Obama-Biden did in 2014, etc. (As a side note, refusing to sell Israel precision munitions means that Israel would have no choice but to use non-precise bombs, undoubtedly killing more Palestinian Arab civilians, not less.) There are apparently also questions among Biden’s allies about the ongoing funding of the Iron Dome. This is particularly disturbing, since the Iron Dome is a purely defensive mechanism with no offensive capabilities. Cancelling weapons sales is like taking away Israel’s gun while in a gunfight; refusing to replenish the Iron Dome is like stripping away Israel’s bullet proof vest in a gunfight. There is absolutely NO reason to even discuss that idea unless key political leaders (like Rashida Tlaib) simply want Jews to die from Hamas rockets.
My purpose in telling this story is simply that I don’t think many American Jews truly understand the “on-the-ground” realities of what happens when American politicians take policies that diminish support for Israel (or, even worse, take an antagonistic approach to the Jewish State). I and 8+ million other Jews have lived through the harsh realities of the consequences of these political maneuvers. And now we are living through it again.
I would merely encourage American Jews to understand the end result of their voting and political support, rather than quietly take the approach of praising Israel in words but not in deeds of political advocacy and voting. Or, even worse, to express the rhetoric of “I don’t care,” “It’s not my problem / shrug,” or “Israel deserves to suffer from Hamas terror because X, Y, Z, etc.”
Make no mistake. REAL people, namely Jewish civilians, IDF soldiers, and even myself, can and do die from American political malfeasance both by the leadership as well as the voter base. And as we have seen in the past few days, if we think that Hamas and anti-Israel violent groups won’t hurt or kill Jews even in the United States, such as in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, etc., we are VERY sorely mistaken.
This is just something to think about as Hamas praises Iran for its crucial support and is already gearing up for another round. And just something to think about as Biden and Co. develop policies as we speak that financially benefit both Iran and violent Palestinian Arab leadership.
