By Dr INNA ROGATCHI (C)
From November 22nd, 2016, Israel is on fire, for several days straight on. Given the climate, the weather, the wind, the impact of what some world media call ‘a wildfire’ is disastrous. Our Land is burning, and much of it is in inhabited areas. The fires broke near hospitals, schools, fire- and police stations. Yeshivas and synagogues are burned. At the moment of the writing this article, 85 thousand people had been evacuated in the matter of three-four days.
The nice peace-loving Arab world, the one which controls UNESCO nowadays, is celebrating openly, and the best photos picturing the most devastating scenes could be found in the Arab media, namely. I wonder, would a new resolution be adopted by the UNESCO soon certifying online incitement as the expression of peace. It is just logical in the world in which we are living now, the one where normality has become a luxury and definitely seems to be exotic.
Burned synagogue
While a terrible disaster has been inflicted upon Israel, the world media were totally silent for three days, which is simply unprecedented in the modern world of communications. Only on the fourth day, some news started to appear still sticking dead-stubborn to a ‘wildfire’ as the main term, with adding that Israelis are thinking that this might be premeditated activity. Oh, really?
Anyone who is not blind and who has a glance on a devastatingly clear map of the locations of fires consuming the Israeli land now sees immediately that the action is co-ordinated and organised. Anyone, except some people who has a nerve to call themselves ‘experts’ and more, ‘experts on terrorism and counter-terrorism’ and who are daring to come public, in several publications in The Jerusalem Post and the other media, and to start to lecture the all of us on what is advisable and not advisable to call. I would not be surprised too much on that, there are always people like that who would like to seize a bit of an attention at the daring hour.
But those ‘experts’ are Israelis, and this is stunning. I do not know about their political orientation, and I do not care, actually – because a fire is characterised as ‘FIRE!’ precisely when you run to help your neighbour with a buck of water despite he might vote for the opposite party. Fire means destruction.
What has strike me is that at this very moment, such dare moment of nasty, wide-spread disaster, there are people – and there are publications – who are warning us from using ‘Fire Intifada’ term, and lecturing us on that these swiping fires all over the country are not intentional ones.
People who have an arrogance to come out with this certified irrelevance at the moment when their country and their people are in a dare danger, has made a huge counter-service for themselves. Their ‘expertise’ looks undeniably pathetic. And – if they were counting on being invited for a nice lecture-tour to the US, as many of their colleagues of the same type did in recent years, they might miscalculate heavily, with the forthcoming US Administration. The people responsible for the security there are known for calling an arson arson. What a novelty, what a daring thing to do. Only Europe left now for these absurd exercises, but the tours there are not that lucrative.
We are seeing the photo of the burned down synagogue in Haifa with destroyed books, being opened, at the table – and we lose our sleep. And then we are hearing the absolutely appropriate and so very timing voice of the Chief Rabbi of Tzfat Shmuel Eliahu saying “According to the Jewish Law, it is certainly allowed and a mitzvah to break the Shabbat in order to stop a fire and perpetrators of fires. And if needed – shoot at them”. And the great Rabbi Eliahu continued with his hopes for the IDF and Police leadership giving clear orders to the officers and soldiers to act accordingly to the danger imposed by the arson terror now.
But again, immediately after the Rabbi Eliahu’s statement, some of the Israeli politicians, those from Esh Atid party, has publicly called for bringing him on trial on the charges of incitement. Of course, political populism never dies, and there are some politicians who are feeling themselves in their high hour only at the circumstances of general threat which they are misinterpreting for their own public boost. That’s why they always fails, being victims of their own stupidity and total falsehood.
At this daring for Israel time, the country and its people needs acutely their leadership’s resolve, swift action and determination to deal with yet another war against us swiftly and resolutely.
This is also quite important psychological way of dealing with terrorists: once hearing clearly from the authorities that each of them will be dealt with at the spot, the number of would be perpetrators will be halved in no time. This is the counter-terrorism real expertise, as it happens in real life.
Yoram Raanan studio
It is in real life when people in Israel are watching as their homes are disappearing in fire, with nothing is left and nothing could be done. It is in real life when very good and bright and soulful artist Yoram Raanan’s studio and house and garden which he planted and built, with all his art work is gone, a tragedy of its own, and symbolic picture of the pain in which Israel and the Jewish world are now.
And that’s why the enemies of Israel are ablazed with joy now, and this is what the enemies of Jewish people are celebrating of at the moment.
But there should be no mistake: the enemies of Jewish people and Israel are always losing and they will always lose again for one simple reason which they unable to comprehend, genetically so: we are created to live, and our will for life is indestructible. We will re-plant our forests and our homes, as we always did and always will. That’s why we are chosen people, for our will and ability of survival. The destruction makes us stronger. The entire world’s history is a clear proof of that.
And we are strong enough to call an arson an arson, and to deal with it as one deals with fire: to distinguished it, even on Shabbat when our lives and the life of our country is in danger.
November 25, 2016
Dr Inna Rogatchi is writer, scholar and political analyst. She is the President of The Rogatchi Foundation and the Senior International Affairs adviser to the Members of the European Parliament.
