Dearest
TNP,
Please join me in praying to whoever or whatever you believe in or even halfway believe in because one of my dear friends is VOLUNTEERING IN ISRAEL and protecting Gaza children...
I just received the message below this morning and cannot stop weeping...
Love,
Val~
aka Tracy, mamaT, Odonata
P.S. when I say "GOD," I mean ALL gods, goddesses and loving energies ...
"god" is just easier to say in society ...
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Dear All,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to you from the
Southern Negev town of Israel, Yerucham, about twenty miles southeast
of Be'er Sheva. This year, I am serving as a volunteer in the
periphery towns of Israel, helping to coordinate programs to promote
the economic and educational conditions of these regions. The current
situation in Israel, however, has drastically affected both my
position and responsibility as a volunteer, as well as my personal
experience in Israel.
For the past twelve days, Israel has been conducting air strikes
and, more recently, ground operations, in the cities of Gaza, in
response to the terrorist organization Hamas' unremitting rocket
attacks on the Southern towns of Israel. While many news outlets have
taken the opportunity to highlight the "Twelve-Day Humanitarian Crisis
of Gaza," they have neglected to report on the humanitarian crisis of
Southern Israel - created by Hamas - which has been ongoing for the
past eight years. While it may appear as though the Israeli Army's
actions are indiscriminate assaults on the cities of Gaza, they are
actually strategic attacks, pinpointed directly at Hamas military
targets, including rocket launching cells, weapons storehouses, and
smuggling tunnels. These strikes are a necessary defense against the
over 8620 rockets and counting that have been propelled across the
border into Israeli towns since the year 2000.
There can be no doubt that these Hamas rockets solely target
civilians, as they are recklessly launched directly into residential
communities devoid of any government offices or army bases, landing
inside living rooms and kindergarten classrooms. Each day, residents
suffering from post-traumatic stress after a rocket attack are treated
in makeshift trauma centers inside buildings that once held offices or
shops. Pre-school children have nap time inside bomb shelters - if
they are able to leave their homes to attend day care at all. In
response to the situation, I, along with three other girls in my
volunteer group, have coordinated a Day Camp for children who live in
the nearby town of Be'er Sheva and are unable to attend school due to
rocket attacks. Over 90 children are currently enrolled, and the camp
will continue until the children can return safely to their respective
schools.
The current situation in Israel - and in fact, in Gaza itself -
however, is truly a last resort for the Israeli government. Every
attempt made by Israel over the last eight years to peacefully end
these attacks has been firmly rejected by Hamas. Even during supposed
"ceasefires," Hamas continued to fire rockets, demonstrating an
unwillingness to compromise and create a situation where Israeli
citizens can live without fearing for their lives each time they exit
their homes. In 2005, Israel went so far as to forcefully and
tearfully remove her own citizens from their homes inside
Israeli-controlled Gaza in an effort to foster peace and
improve the living conditions for Palestinians in the region.
The official Palestinian response was to utilize the increased
territory to fire missiles into Israel at an even closer range. In
fact, there has been a marked increase in rocket attacks on Israeli
civilians since the Gaza disengagement and the subsequent Hamas rise
to power. This
response is unsurprising, as the Hamas Charter states that, "Israel
will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it,
just as it obliterated others before it." Many Israeli residents from
Gaza still remain displaced today, some even living in trailers within
range of falling rockets. These escalating conditions are what have
prompted Israel to undertake her mission to disable Hamas and finally
halt the rocket attacks that have been disrupting Southern Israeli
society since the beginning of the century.
Unfortunately, major media sources have essentially been acting as
virtual rocket launchers for Hamas, enabling the terrorist
organization to propel stories laden with exaggeration and non truths
without abandon, creating eruptions of anti-Israel sentiment wherever
they land. For example, during a CNN interview on the third day of the
Gaza air strikes, a New York Times correspondent passionately
described a single trek to a hospital in Gaza, during which she
stepped over "50 dead bodies of civilians." Two days later, CNN
reported that the civilian death toll over the first five days of the
Gaza operation was just nearing sixty. This by no means implies that
this number is in any way insignificant; it is simply unfortunate that
the media is so quick to falsely portray Israel as a heartless
militia, destroying all who stand in her path. On the contrary, the
loss of even a single innocent life is considered by Israel to be an
unacceptable failure, a unique perspective for any army during a time
of war. The Israeli army has taken great measures to ensure that
innocent civilians remain unharmed - text messages are regularly sent
out to all Gaza residents, in addition to leaflets dropped throughout
the Strip, warning them to steer clear of Hamas
militant compounds, as they are all considered to be targets.
Most recently, the media has been blasting Israel for yesterday's
attack on a United Nations school within Gaza. Unfortunately, over 30
civilians were killed, and the UN has denounced Israel, declaring that
they are "99% sure that no Hamas militants were in the area." One
headline that has not made the American news broadcasts, though, is
The Jerusalem Post's report of two witnesses -
residents of the Gazan town, in fact – who have come forward and stated
that Hamas had been firing mortar shells at Israeli troops from this
school. In response to these shells, Israeli forces fought back,
resulting in the deaths of civilians. Defense officials also informed
The Associated Press that booby-trapped bombs in the school, placed by
Hamas forces, had triggered secondary explosions that killed
additional Palestinians there. Despite UN claims that no terrorists were
in the area, Hamas senior operatives Imad Abu Askhar and Hassan Abu
Askhar are reported as two of the "victims" of the attack. Lastly, the
Israel Defense Force has released video footage of this school being
used to fire mortar shells at Southern Israel in the past, a video
that has yet to be aired on CNN or BBC news.
It is important to remember that while the number of Palestinian
deaths have been labeled as a disproportionate response to the Hamas
rocket attacks, over 80% of these "victims" are actually Hamas
terrorists, plotting to carry out attacks on Israeli civilians. When
we look even closer, it is clear that the responsibility for any
civilian deaths is truly in the hands of the terrorists who endanger
their own citizens by turning homes, schools, and even hospitals into
booby-trapped hideouts for militants and weapons as well as launching
pads for terrorist activity. As long as Hamas
continues to use her civilians as human shields and, ultimately, to
elicit international sympathy with the loss of their own citizens'
lives, it will be impossible for Israel to successfully disable the
terrorist organization without the unintentional loss of innocent
lives.
Most recently, Hamas has rejected a ceasefire of rockets, despite the
fact that Israel has agreed to halt her attack on Hamas military
compounds for three hours each day to allow humanitarian aid into
Gaza. Here in Israel, we are praying for an end to the Hamas rocket
attacks and, thus, an end to the loss of civilian life on all sides.
Please continue to follow coverage of the situation in Israel, and
educate others about the facts behind the conflict.
Sincerely,
Ilana Arnowitz
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Dearest Ilana,
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU ARE DOING to help our children. I hope you saw my most recent post about the Hamas travesty as well. To all my friends, Ilana has more insight and knowledge as to the TRUE CORE of this situation and I TRUST her COMPLETELY. She is one of the PUREST spirits I know and we can take this update "to the bank" if you will.
Ilana, while I am grateful to know that you and your sisters are there protecting our children, I will not lie and say that I'm now weeping even more and wish I could transport you and them and all the children home here to "safety" whatever that means this day.
I hope that EVERYONE will read Ilana's words as TRUTHS and recognize them as MORE TRUTHFUL than any media or organized slant and I for one, am grateful that she has the courage and integrity not only to dig into the trenches to save our children but that she took the time to share such VITAL information.
Ilana, my prayers are with you and all that you do, the knowledge you share, the children you save, the prayers that you send up to GOD. I shall make it my personal mission here in the states to share your insights and quest for peace.
Ilana was a co-worker and has been a dear friend in my heart since 2005.
Please join me in praying for her safety, the safety of her family and all those surrounding her, the children she is mothering, the soldiers, the terrorists, please join me in PRAYING FOR PEACE FOR ALL and safety.
Ilana, you are an AMAZING LADY and I send you ALL my LOVE and SUPPORT! If I can do ANYTHING from my end, you just let me know.
PEACE AND LOVE SISTER,
Tracy Fullington Meucci
The REAL deal in GAZA from my FRIEND in trenches there NOW 
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