Temple Micah education forum speaker describes unsettling but familiar experiences while in Israel
By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
For 50 days last summer, Jeremy Maissel raced back and forth between the living quarters and the “safe room” at his home in Kibbutz Alumim.
It was 282 times, to be exact, that Mr. Maissel ran for cover from the missiles launched across the Gaza border into Israel.
And he had less than 18 seconds to make it.
But it wasn’t just the missile and mortar attacks that he and the other Israelis faced. It was also the tunnels between Gaza and Israel, through which militants expected to raid Israel, Mr. Maissel said. The Israeli Defense Forces discovered and blew up 32 tunnels.
“I never locked my doors. Since the story of the tunnels (came out), people lock their doors,” said Mr. Maissel, who spoke to about 50 people at an adult education forum sponsored by Temple Micah last week. He is a speaker with Israel Seminars.
It was an unsettling experience, but it was a familiar one for Mr. Maissel, who immigrated to Israel from Great Britain in 1984. There have been long-standing hostilities between Israel and its neighbors since Israel’s creation in 1948.
“Every story has a start, a middle and an end. When did the (Gaza-Israel conflict) start,” he asked rhetorically.
Some would say it started in the 1880s, when there was a wave of immigration into the land that was known as Palestine, he said. Or it could have begun with the Balfour Declaration in 1917. That’s when Great Britain took control of the land from the Ottoman Empire and set it aside as a Jewish homeland.
And then again, it could have begun when the State of Israel was created in 1948, Mr. Maissel said. Or maybe the hostilities began when the Jewish population left Gaza — which the Israelis had captured from Egypt during the Six Day War 38 years earlier — in 2005, he said.
“Since then, there has been an escalation of the number of missiles fired (from Gaza into Israel),” he said. “Hamas (which controls Gaza) uses Google Earth to direct the missiles. They know where to aim them.”
The terrorist organization, whose stated goal is to wipe out Israel, stepped up its rocket attacks last spring. Israel responded militarily through the Israel Defense Forces’ Operation Protective Edge. The objective was to end the rocket attacks.
Kibbutz Alumim, which is a collective, religious community, is very close to the Gaza border, he said. Given that proximity, the kibbutz had a policy that residents should do whatever they felt was “right” for them during Operation Protective Edge, he said. They did not have to stay. In fact, many residents were offered alternative housing away from the danger zone.
“But 95 to 98 percent of the members of Kibbutz Alumim stayed. I’m not exactly sure why. Whatever problems we had at Kibbutz Alumim, they faded,” said Mr. Maissel, who did not leave the kibbutz.
During Operation Protective Edge, Kibbutz Alumim was surrounded by the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces. The soldiers slept in the kibbutz’ offices, and the women offered to take care of the soldiers’ laundry, he said.
And ironically, given that it was so close to the Gaza border, the only missile that fell inside the kibbutz was a stray missile from an Israel Defense Forces helicopter, Mr. Maissel said. Israel’s anti-missile defense system, known as the Iron Dome, intercepted virtually all of the missiles that were lobbed at the country.
The Iron Dome, which was developed by the Israelis, is able to detect a missile and its trajectory, he said. If it appears that the missile will land in a populated area, the defense system launches a rocket to destroy it in mid-air. If the missile is going to land in a field, no steps are taken.
Aiming to help the audience understand the conflict in Gaza, Mr. Maissel condensed it into a handful of points. He also contrasted the beliefs of the Jews and the version of Islam that is promoted by terror groups such as Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel.
For one, Jews do not believe in forced conversions from other religions to theirs, Mr. Maissel said. In fact, the conversion process is deliberately made to be difficult. There are barriers to discourage all but the most sincere and dedicated would-be converts to become Jewish.
“There is no Jewish jihad or crusade,” he said. But the radical Islamists seek to subjugate others. Those who do not convert can be killed, he said.
Judaism sets a supreme value on life, Mr. Maissel said. The reward for “being good” is a long life, he said. Although Jews are restricted in what they can do during the Sabbath, they are allowed to break the law if it means saving a life.
“Judaism does not glorify death or martyrs. It’s just the opposite. They seek to preserve life,” he said, comparing it to the radical Islamists’ belief that martyrdom means they will go to heaven and be greeted by 72 virgins.
Jews have a long-standing connection to Israel, he said, adding that there is a “deep, intrinsic connection” between them. There has been a Jewish presence in that land for more than 4,000 years, he said.
Mr. Maissel also cautioned against “demonizing” political figures — specifically, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is not a dictator. He was elected to be the prime minister by virtue of a political coalition. Any notion that he is acting on his own is “nonsense,” Mr. Maissel said.
Mr. Maissel also dismissed criticism that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian Arabs — “that’s the narrative they want to sell.” The land was given to the Jews for a homeland by the Allies because of the genocide perpetrated against them during World War II, he said.
And to compare Israel to South Africa, which was known for apartheid, is “completely preposterous,” Mr. Maissel said. He pointed out that Arabs sit in Israel’s governing body and even on its Supreme Court. They can attend any university that they want. There are Arab students, professors, doctors, administrators, cleaners and athletes, he said.
Circling back to Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, Mr. Maissel said its full capacity has not yet been tested. If Israel wanted to sell the system to other countries, no other country would want to buy it. Why? Because any other country that is in the same position as Israel — surrounded by enemies — would wipe them out, he said.
Mr. Maissel also pointed out that while more than 2,200 Palestinians were killed during Operation Protective Edge, the Israel Defense Forces took steps to alert those civilians that it was going to drop bombs in their neighborhoods before it did so. The goal was to prevent civilian casualties, he said.
“Since the first missile was fired (by militants) in 2001, all the children know is to run for the protective room. Arabs from Gaza worked on the kibbutz. We would go to the beach (in Gaza). We weren’t all brothers, but we managed to live together,” Mr. Maissel said.