I hope you and your country can put these latest attacks in the history books as fast as possible, That you and the Chef and your family are clear of this violence. Just know our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Our prayers and best Wishes to our friend @yshahar
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j.w
I Love my Goldies
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YShahar
Enthusiastic duct-tape engineer
Thank you so much everyone! It really means a lot!
So here is an update:
On Saturday, at around 6:00 in the morning, under the cover of some 3,000 rockets fired at major population centers, Hamas breached the border with Israel. An estimated 2,000 terrorists, armed with automatic weapons, shoulder-fired missiles, and grenades attacked 22 towns, along with a huge outdoor music festival where young people were camping (think "Burning Man" or Woodstock). They killed 260 people at the music festival alone. Over a thousand more were killed in nearby towns and kibbutzim (agricultural collectives). Many of the dead are young children, some of whom were found decapitated. Homes were set alight in order to drive out the residents, who were then gunned down. Whole families were shot in their beds and their bodies burned.
At least 130 people - including infants as young as 6 months old, along with elderly residents of nursing homes, were taken captive and removed to Gaza. Video evidence makes it clear that some of the young women captured were raped. The fate of the captives is unknown.
Our family is safe, though one of our in-laws is in hospital in serious condition, and another barely escaped with her life after terrorists broke into her house. She ran into the secure room and managed to wedge the door closed. Fortunately, the terrorists did not burn down the house with her inside.
We're shaken up and in mourning. In a country as small as Israel (about the size of New Jersey, but with a smaller population) there's a sense of family, and very few people are unaffected.
On the brighter side... the pond is fine! I even found a local guy who had a centipede and some aquablocks to sell me, so I'm now trying to finish up the wetland. The usual problems we have of no soil to speak of requires some innovative solutions, including using concrete pavers to build up the sides of the centipede trench. In other words, a lot more work than it would be had we been able to haul in a few tons of soil to fill the hole! But hopefully the thing will be up and running in the next month or so, and we'll have many years to enjoy it! Er... Yeah, hold that thought! ;-)
So here is an update:
On Saturday, at around 6:00 in the morning, under the cover of some 3,000 rockets fired at major population centers, Hamas breached the border with Israel. An estimated 2,000 terrorists, armed with automatic weapons, shoulder-fired missiles, and grenades attacked 22 towns, along with a huge outdoor music festival where young people were camping (think "Burning Man" or Woodstock). They killed 260 people at the music festival alone. Over a thousand more were killed in nearby towns and kibbutzim (agricultural collectives). Many of the dead are young children, some of whom were found decapitated. Homes were set alight in order to drive out the residents, who were then gunned down. Whole families were shot in their beds and their bodies burned.
At least 130 people - including infants as young as 6 months old, along with elderly residents of nursing homes, were taken captive and removed to Gaza. Video evidence makes it clear that some of the young women captured were raped. The fate of the captives is unknown.
Our family is safe, though one of our in-laws is in hospital in serious condition, and another barely escaped with her life after terrorists broke into her house. She ran into the secure room and managed to wedge the door closed. Fortunately, the terrorists did not burn down the house with her inside.
We're shaken up and in mourning. In a country as small as Israel (about the size of New Jersey, but with a smaller population) there's a sense of family, and very few people are unaffected.
On the brighter side... the pond is fine! I even found a local guy who had a centipede and some aquablocks to sell me, so I'm now trying to finish up the wetland. The usual problems we have of no soil to speak of requires some innovative solutions, including using concrete pavers to build up the sides of the centipede trench. In other words, a lot more work than it would be had we been able to haul in a few tons of soil to fill the hole! But hopefully the thing will be up and running in the next month or so, and we'll have many years to enjoy it! Er... Yeah, hold that thought! ;-)
I am so sorry this is happening - to you, to your country, to humanity as a whole. I'm VERY glad you and yours are safe but I'm going to pray like crazy for your continued protection and well-being.
I try to look at things from a "big picture" perspective when I can - and attempt to understand the "why" behind different large-scale political situations. But I will NEVER be able to understand these atrocities and this kind of violence. It's horrifying to think that there could be 200 people willing to do such horrible things -- never mind 2,000. It boggles the mind and weighs down the heart.
I am so sorry...
I'm glad you are still enjoying your pond and planning ahead. Having something to look forward to is a great mood-lifter!
I sure have been thinking of you!
I try to look at things from a "big picture" perspective when I can - and attempt to understand the "why" behind different large-scale political situations. But I will NEVER be able to understand these atrocities and this kind of violence. It's horrifying to think that there could be 200 people willing to do such horrible things -- never mind 2,000. It boggles the mind and weighs down the heart.
I am so sorry...
I'm glad you are still enjoying your pond and planning ahead. Having something to look forward to is a great mood-lifter!
I sure have been thinking of you!
My thoughts exactly - whatever I do and do not understand about history and politics and world events, it's crystal clear when evil has invaded. This is blood thirsty barbarism. In this age of cameras everywhere it's on display for the whole world to see.
My prayers are with you @YShahar and with the people of Israel.
YShahar
Enthusiastic duct-tape engineer
It really is so unimaginable -- or, well, we did know what would happen if Hamas ever broke through our defenses. They've made no secret of it. And we had the example of the Islamic State atrocities in Syria and Iraq. It's just that we thought we'd have more warning. Once the fighting is over, there will undoubtedly be a slew of inquiries into how these attacks got past the intelligence networks. And there will be some serious rethinking about relying too much on technology for defense.
But for now, the worry is that Hizballah will get involved. They are essentially an extension of the Iranian armed forces, and are stationed on our northern border. There is some indication that Iran was heavily involved in the Hamas incursion as well, so Hizballah's involvement is probably only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, reserves have been called up, and the IDF is systematically targeting Hamas headquarters and logistic centers in Gaza. The Gaza strip is only about the size of the city of Philadelphia, and the UN has been essentially paying people there to have children for the past 50 years or so. So you can imagine that the death toll among civilians there is going to be high. In the past, the Air Force would send warnings to evacuate buildings before they were targeted. But given the severity of the Hamas attacks, that policy has been abandoned. There's no doubt it's going to be horrible on all sides.
Where I live, we're also signing up for guard duty and perimeter patrols to replace the younger folks who've been called up. And of course donating blood, rounding up supplies to take to soldiers, volunteering at supermarkets to replace missing workers, and generally trying to be useful. And going to funerals. In terms of percentage of population, the number killed if this were the U.S. would be about 35,000 dead (or more than 10 times 911), so you can imagine the sheer scale of mourning and shock here. From where I sit typing this, I can see a huge line of cars turning into the cemetery parking lot, with many more unable to even get through the community gates.
So yeah, the pond is certainly a very good form of trauma therapy and will no doubt be needed.
YShahar
Enthusiastic duct-tape engineer
Thank you so much! The support of people on this forum means so much. Here's to bonding through ponding!
j.w
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So good to hear from you @YShahar and I have been taking in everything I read and hear from different sources. There is much I do not understand. What exactly is Gaza and is that a place for only Hamas and no Israelite's live there at all? I can't imagine living in this situation of war and death happening all around you. I have seen the horrid video's on YouTube of all the mass destruction and killing, raping and torture of innocent people. How can people have that kind of a mindset? I do not understand.
I will continue to pray everyday for you and all of Israel to be able to defend yourselves and stay safe. Are people able to leave Israel now or do they stay because they want to fight for their rights and fight for their freedom? I will go onto Facebook and perhaps see more from you there as @GBBUDD says you are on there. I will be Janice R Wrenn asking to be your friend. I have another friend who's pastor from the U.S is over there now also. He is in a hotel right now and safe so far also. He has been taking video's from his hotel window and putting them on Facebook and has other people from the U.S who have now joined him there.
Stay safe all of you over there and hope and pray you get all the help you need from the world to get peace back to your country.
I will continue to pray everyday for you and all of Israel to be able to defend yourselves and stay safe. Are people able to leave Israel now or do they stay because they want to fight for their rights and fight for their freedom? I will go onto Facebook and perhaps see more from you there as @GBBUDD says you are on there. I will be Janice R Wrenn asking to be your friend. I have another friend who's pastor from the U.S is over there now also. He is in a hotel right now and safe so far also. He has been taking video's from his hotel window and putting them on Facebook and has other people from the U.S who have now joined him there.
Stay safe all of you over there and hope and pray you get all the help you need from the world to get peace back to your country.
So sorry to hear what you are going through over there. Your posts bring more clarity to what is going on than what we can get on the news or read online. Getting your perspective is very important. We cannot imagine living in an area being surrounded by people who want to extinguish you. We tend to think of this as a political problem. What the terrorists did at the musical festival and everywhere else in that area makes it crystal clear they are not interested in a political solution, they want to destroy Israel. There is only one way to deal with that and it is to fight back as hard as possible. Unfortunately that just means more trying times to come so we continue to pray for you and keep all of you in our thoughts.
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I’m so sorry YShahar.
unfortunately @j.w there is such strong beliefs in religion in that area that if you do not believe the same then you are no thing. And to make it worse the wailing wall, the crucifix in Jerusalem, Nazareth the birth place, The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem are the holist places to several religions and to be a non believer at such a holy place to have the holly place within a non holly country infuriates.
Religion has been a major cause of destruction all throughout history. Religion over there is as important as is food and water. There is just way too many centers of radically different ideologies. It's like trying to convince a straight man or woman to lust for the same sex it will just never be. One site i forget which i believe it was the wailing wall and al-aqsa actually share from week to week or month to month.
My two sense i wish it would all just disappear. sorry @YShahar
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As GBBUDD said, religion has been THE major cause of destruction throughout history and we are seeing it now in our own country. Such a small country, Israel, and yet the bravest and most resilient of people...We are all praying for you...maybe not all to the same God but I believe the power is in the prayer itself....Please keep us posted YShahar....So, so sorry....