By Esther Korson
As of today, the 31st of August, it really seems as though ‘Operation Protective Edge’ is over. The cease fire, brokered by Egypt last week, has held. Today, the Home Front Command declared that all areas of the country could return to normal life, including those areas in the south that have been the most battered by rocket fire over the 51 days that this conflict lasted. Schools will start everywhere in Israel on schedule tomorrow. However, before this chapter is closed, there are a few things that I would still like to share with you relating to this war.
Before I continue, I have to give you a little personal history. In recent months, I’ve had two experiences that in an odd way truly helped me to understand in a deeper way what our young soldiers were facing on their way to the front. First of all, I had a rescue (an amazing testimony!) from what could have been a fatal accident, and secondly, I had a lumpectomy in June for breast cancer. The surgery was successful and I’m now travelling each day from my home in Jerusalem to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital for radiation therapy to help prevent the cancer from returning. With that in mind, here is what I’d like to share with you.
On one of my first mornings heading for Hadassah Hospital, I stopped off at the Central Bus Station for a bagel breakfast (Typical Ashkenazi fare of American style bagel, cream cheese and smoked salmon, yum!) A few minutes after I sat down to eat, a soldier sat down at the table next to me. Perhaps because I have literally faced death in a real way recently—with the near fatal incident and then with cancer—I immediately began to cry. I had been feeling vulnerable facing weeks of radiotherapy, but I knew it was nothing compared to the vulnerability this young soldier would be facing heading back to the war. It made the burden to pray for our soldiers more real than ever! And seeing him helped me to put my own situation in its proper perspective as well.
A few days later on my trip to the hospital, soldiers were everywhere. An additional 10,000 reservists had been called up, and soldiers were gathering together at pick up points to head for the front. There were a number of soldiers from different units on the light rail that day talking together. Guess what they all had in common? They were speaking in Russian—sons and daughters of the great Russian aliyah! Plus there were Ethiopian soldiers as well, part of the Ethiopian rescue. Now they are all part of one family, the family of Israel, and heading south to protect us. Seeing the soldiers now always makes me feel weepy, and I’m so grateful to be able to pray for them. They are so young and so vulnerable, heading off to defend this nation with the unspoken question in their hearts, “Will I return home again?” The busses in Jerusalem have banners across the front which read, “To our soldiers, may your way be blessed and may you return in shalom”.
Sadly, on Friday the 22nd of August little four year old Daniel Tragerman was killed on a kibbutz near the Gaza border. There were only 3 seconds between the warning siren and the fatal mortar shell that snuffed out his young life. After that tragedy, 70% of the residents of the south left the region for safer places in the north of the country, many being hosted by the government in youth hostel facilities, until calm returned to the border communities. And then one day last week, just before this conflict ended, a rocket hit a home in Ashkelon. The family was home at the time. The parents were awakened by the siren, raced to get their children to the safe room, and the rocket hit the parents’ bedroom seconds after they had left the room. Other homes were damaged that day.
The sirens have also sounded in Jerusalem, but very infrequently. Here we have 1½ minutes to run for shelter, but closer to Gaza the time is greatly reduced. After the sirens we’re instructed to wait for 10 minutes. A few seconds after the sirens stop, we can hear the telltale “boom” of the incoming rocket or the sound of the Iron Dome Missile Defense System intercepting the rocket.
Today there was an article in the Jerusalem Post that I’d like to quote before I close. It is such a testimony to God’s protection based on His promises to us as a nation: “No weapon formed against you will prosper” “He who keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps” etc. The Scriptures that are listed with this blog are real and the Father Himself has literally fulfilled them with the miracle of His care. I hope it will encourage you in the reality of His protection and His love! The article is entitled, “Streets of Miracles in Southern Israel under fire.”
“Barzalai Medical Centre in Ashkelon yesterday treated 79 people from the blast of a rocket, 39 of whom were lightly wounded from flying glass and shrapnel, including 7 children. Another 40 suffered from shock. But on these streets of miracles, there were neither deaths nor serious injuries, just dozens of stories of close calls. (God’s protection in action!)
“In a second floor apartment, Odelia Hazan and her 2 year old Tehila were sleeping when the siren wailed, followed by explosions. Tehila woke up and immediately held out her arms, waiting for her mother to race in, as happens when there are sirens. ‘As young as she is, she knows what to do,’ said Odelia, as she described how she scooped up her daughter and raced toward the stairwell, since they do not have a protected room in their apartment. She had not yet closed the apartment door behind her when the rocket hit, taking out glass windows in her living room, bedroom and dining room. Pellets bored holes in the wall. Glass shards covered her daughter’s bed and lodged in the wall among the bright butterflies Odelia had once pasted onto the green plaster. ‘My daughter was saved by seconds,’ Odelia’s husband Ya’acov said, still awed by the close call. He had already left for work, but said he keeps thinking of what would have happened if his daughter had been in her bed when the rocket struck. When the danger had passed, the young mother surveyed her living room, where rubble covered the sofa and coffee table. ‘My apartment is the most damaged in the building, but I realize I shouldn’t care. What is most important is that, thanks to God, we all survived it,’ she said.
“Another home in Ashkelon was hit by a rocket. The room filled with smoke and dust. The windows shattered. Rubble fell all around them, and yet, somehow, all four members of the family emerged almost unscathed—the parents, Yuval and Ofra, and their two sons. Still struggling to comprehend the nightmarish experience, Yuval repeated the story for neighbours, reporters, police and city workers as he stood in his house with the blue sky over his head where the roof had once been. ‘I do not know how we survived this. It was a miracle from God,’ he told everyone.” These stories were repeated dozens of times on the streets of Ashkelon that day, as people shared how their lives had been miraculously spared.
And now that the war has ended, when I pass the soldiers on my way to the hospital, I can simply thank the Lord for His protective care and for their lives. The God of Israel is still in the business of protecting His people. Halleluyah! (I only have 4 days of radiation treatment left, and I’m so thankful to the Lord that He saved my life as well), “L’chaim! To life!”
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Juanita Bonde says
Well said..nice article.
Tom Brennan says
In the USA we hear much from the media, tv and talk radio about Gaza. It’s very important to hear what happens in Israel from the real people wh live there and endure and continue to show even greater strength every day. I wonder if Americans can show such character and strength. Thanks so much, I’m sharing this.
Rinoa says
Thanks for sharing, especially those which were ignored by the media in the world not only in USA or Europe etc.
Kate Mudiaga-Erhueh says
Our God is awesome in power and continues to show His faithfulness, and abiding commitment to His Word. He is a covenant -keeping God indeed! I appreciate Him even more now, and blessedly reassured that all He has spoken concerning me and my generation shall surely be fulfilled! We only need to trust in Him! We thank Him for His all-pervading protection of people including the soldiers! My family and I stand resolutely with Israel till the end of time! A privilege indeed! Shalom!
Donald Rose says
don’t forget the 72 names of Hashem, you should go threw each one in deep prayed for your total healing. I will be 73 years old tomorrow and being very sick all my life never understood why I have lived this long maybe it is just luck but no it has to be the Holy one Blessed be his name who saved me.
May Hashem bless you and my prayer be heard by G-d for your healing Don
Mary says
I enjoy your articles, I love Israel and the Jewish people.. their strength is amazing, and from the Lord himself who made a covenant that will not be broken. and yet the media puts out a persona that Israel is always to blame.. it makes you angry, yet helps you to understand the enemy that is against her..
Y’va-reh’ha Adonai v’uish-m’reha. Ya-eyr Adonai panav eyle-ha vihu-neka. Yoda Adonai panav eyle-ha v’ya-seym 1′ shalom.
May G-D Bless thee and keep thee in perfect peace 🙂