Israel in the eye of the storm

They say the eye of the storm is the safest place to be, and the reason is that it is where the surface pressures are said to be the least and where things are the calmest.

If that’s true, Israel may be ready to discover that on a personal level, because most of yesterday was dedicated to preparing Israelis for what looks to be an inevitable strike on our country by Iran, in a payback for Monday’s Israeli attack in Damascus, resulting in the “killing of seven Iranian officers, among them, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the most senior Revolutionary Guard figure. The move is being called “the boldest and deadliest in a series of attacks that have picked off Iranian officials in Syria since December.”

While it’s true that this is not the first time we’ve been threatened by Iran, things feel different as warnings are coming fast and furious – including one from the CIA which has assessed that “Iran will attack Israel within 48 hours.

According to Al Mayadeen, an Arab independent media satellite channel, “Tehran is said to be planning a combined attack with a ‘rain’ of drones and missiles fired from its bases at strategic locations inside Israel.”

This is probably the reason why President Biden demanded, in his phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel surrender by calling for an immediate ceasefire. All this comes amidst “US officials fears that the Israeli strike could lead to a wider war in the Middle East.” But does anyone think that a surrender, on our part, would change Iran’s mind from teaching us the lesson which they claim they are set to do?

It may be understandable that American officials, who don’t live in the world’s toughest neighborhood are now jittery, believing that things could spiral out of control very quickly, but what they don’t seem to get is that any sign of weakness or backing down would guarantee Israel’s demise. 

If we have Hamas on the run, why would we let them off the hook at this point in time? If we are able to take out Hezbollah, in the event that it should come to that, why would we continue to kick that can down the road when we are already set up for the showdown?

Israel is the last country that wanted this fight, but here we are, and if we walk away from the biggest bully now, that bully only gets stronger and more determined by knowing that he has won. It is no wonder that one former Pentagon official said, this could be a great escalation with “risks tipping an already volatile, unstable region into full-scale war.”

Yet, what do you do in a situation which demands kill or be killed? Yes, things have rapidly deteriorated and gotten out of hand, but that began with Hamas’ decision to conduct the savage massacre of October 7th, an act which demanded a strong response and the assurance that no one could ever do that to us again.

Anything less would have been the green light the terrorists needed to go full speed ahead and finish us off, knowing that we wouldn’t have the courage, fortitude or determination, with or without the U.S., to finish the job. But finish, we must!

We owe that to the more than 1200 murdered in cold blood on that fateful Shabbat morning. We owe it to the 600 young Israeli soldiers who have given their lives for this fight of good and evil. We owe it to the 100 hostages who have been brutalized, tormented and violated for the past six months, and, most of all, we owe it to ourselves, those of us who are living in our homeland and who, up until now, were willing to do so peaceably with those who ended rejoicing over our tragedy.

It is for them and for us that we are obligated to see this fight to the end. After that, it is also for the rest of the civilized world who are no safer than we are but who are next in line if Israel should not prevail in this battle. They can sleep soundly, knowing that we have taken on this fight for them so that they don’t have to do it themselves.

For now, we do not know what awaits us, but we know that, with God’s help and with the many prayers that are going up on our behalf by those who are truly our loyal friends, Israel will be the safest place to be, even in the eye of the storm, because it is God’s personal piece of real estate – the corner of the world where He has chosen to call home. So, there is no way that we will be abandoned or forgotten!

Even though Israel has come through some very insurmountable attacks and wars, throughout her nearly 76-year history, everyone knows that, this time, we are in uncharted waters. Iran’s rocket arsenal is like no other. Their Kheibar Shakan precision-guided missiles are said to be able to strike further and with more accuracy than any other. Their range is that of 1,450 kilometers (900 miles) which would certainly not pose a problem in hitting Israel.

The thought of that kind of incoming barrage is sobering, to say the least, but if we find ourselves in a position to defend our homeland, we will do so as many call on the Almighty to intervene, both within our borders and outside of them.

So, while Iran may be preoccupied in their countdown to Israel’s demise, it’s important to remember that no one will take out the land which God promised would only cease from being a nation before Him, if the fixed order of the sun for light by day and the moon and the stars for light by night would come to an end. (Jeremiah 31: 36)

No such promise was given to Iran no matter what caliber of weapons they might possess, because yet another promise was given to us – “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.” (Isaiah 54:17)

Israel clearly has the edge in this battle, because we are not fighting it alone. This is why, even in the face of impending calamity, the Jewish homeland can remain calm in the midst of our greatest threat and looming danger. Because, it is the knowledge that our God is together with our nation, so being in the eye of the storm is, without a doubt, the safest place to be, since having God in the mix dissipates all the surface pressure!