I live in Binyamina and work in Tel Aviv. The two towns aren’t too far apart, in American terms forty miles each way is not considered to be a huge commute, but in Israel, forty miles (60 kilometers) is way above the average commute. Driving to Tel Aviv from Binyamina in the morning makes you wonder. A man already walked on the moon, transplanted hearts, built particle accelerators, and cloned sheep, yet he or she are sitting behind the wheel for hours going from one place to another, with a strange feeling of going absolutely nowhere. Right. And there’s the train of course.
So here’s the choice I have to make: The first one is to subject myself to ninety minutes or so, sitting in an air-conditioned car, listening to music, surrounded by other miserable human beings who must provide for their families. The other is to subject myself to forty minutes of sharing a train car with hundreds of people, with or without air-conditioning, with or without sweat smelling or garlic eating people. With a schedule approaching 10% on-time record…
Anyway, when making a choice between bad and worse, one tries to pick the bad. I went with the train. Twice a day, you can spot me elbowing my way to the occasional seat, mumbling curses on occasion, getting the precise level of anger and anxiety needed for me to do my job.
But, the ones thing the train does perfectly, is to give you lots of opportunities to observe. People that is. I love watching people, behaviors, listening inadvertently to cellular phone calls, watching videos, and even loud heavy metal coming out of headphones of this tattooed, skinhead, tank topped nice juvenile delinquent sitting next to me.
As I was riding the train the other day, I saw this guy. He was wearing green uniform, green belt on top of the tunic, red army boots, and held a short M-16 semi automatic machine gun close to his chest. He was wearing a green baseball cap with wings on it, and the word “Adder” inscribed on the front. With the paranoid look in his eyes, I could tell right away, as I was one myself many years ago: Paratrooper in basic training. How could I tell? Simple: he was missing the Red Berret, and the parachute wings with the blue background. He was also missing the confident posture, the determined look that belongs to the young soldiers who finished their training and are considered combat soldiers of the first degree.
Amazingly enough, that same day, I saw a bunch of other soldiers. The complete opposite. They were wearing khaki uniform, deep blue belts, walking shoes, black berrets, and handguns tucked neatly in their belts. They had two sets of wings on their chests. The parachute wings on the right side of the shirt to attest that they were trained in parachuting, usually meaning that they are very well trained paratroopers, and the famous bat wings on the left side, around the area of the heart. The commando guys, the cream of the crop, the Israeli Navy SEALs. Second to absolutely none.
And then it hit me. Obama is wrong.
Indeed, he was smart enough to conclude that the Holocaust was a significant event in the life of this people, to have it drive many decisions it has made in recent history. The fear of total annihilation, the impotence in relying on other peoples, other armies, even Gods. The need for a homeland, for a military, for the capability to self preservation at all cost. The will to sacrifice our best and brightest for this sense of security. Obama actually figured it out. Only he didn’t figure out how much.
What drives kids at eighteen to take off their clothes, their hair, their lifestyle, families, girlfriends, drinks, music and throw it away for the right to be physically challenged and humiliated on a daily basis? What makes these kids willing to get up before dawn every single day, run for hours, train and train and train. Only so some moron corporal, months older than they are, will have complete control over their lives, for months, sometimes more? And the answer, Obama, is that if don’t have the best soldiers, the best weapons, the best ideas and strategies, if we don’t think ahead, if we don’t take action and control over our own presents and futures, then we shall have none.
Will you protect us, Mr. President? If we give up everything, Jerusalem, West Bank, the Golan Heights, will you be there if it turns out to have been an outstanding manipulation to strip us first and kill us later? I think not. You are playing to the hands of terrorists, encouraging terrorist countries (Iran, Syria, North Korea) and entities (Hamas). Will you be there to help clean up the consequences?
Of course, there was another thought involved. As I reflect on myself, I am reassured. My father was a soldier in his time, I was in mine, and the new generation is now in charge. I’m glad to state, they are much better than I or my father ever were. And I trust them way more than I do Obama to ensure my own existence as well as my people’s.
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