Sometimes Shows of Our Resilience Just Make Me Mad

This article makes me angry. It is supposed to warm our hearts and expand our chests in pride at Israeli resilience in the face of danger. But it made me angry.

Of course I love how we Israelis come together when we are faced with danger from outside our borders. In this case, wedding halls offered to host weddings for free for couples who could not hold their ceremonies in the south because of the missile fire from Gaza. One couple even invited their southern compatriots to join their nuptials, bringing their own rabbis and guests.

What makes me mad is that we have to do this in the first place. We are so proud of our community spirit that it almost seems that we revel in opportunities to show how wonderful we are. Do not get me wrong; I do think this is wonderful. I love our community spirit. But I hate that we present these cases without the well deserved anger at our leadership that makes such demonstrations of love and caring necessary.

Our leaders have been dragging their feet for a decade already and especially over the past year and a half when we have been dealing with ceaseless incendiary kites, balloons and more and countless attempts to cross the border fence into Israel.

I know that we are told that there is more going on behind the scenes and that there are good reasons why we cannot just smash Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza. But when numerous Facebook posts show what is happening in Israel now and ask citizens in other countries if they would allow their governments to show the restraint they demand of Israel, it makes my blood boil.

It is time to act the part of the sovereign state that we are. It is time to put the lives of our citizens first. And having our southern population in a state of potential and actual PTSD is not putting their needs first. I am glad we are able to prevent the deaths that the terrorists seek, but the mental health of our people is no less important.

Therefore, when articles are published about our admirable coming together as a people, they should be directed at our government, telling our leaders: LOOK AT WHAT YOU ARE MAKING US DO!

p.s. I lost count of the number of missile alarms that went off during the writing of this short piece.