More than two years ago, I began this regular column as a way to communicate to you the experiences of the terrible war that began on 7 October 2023. I would never have dreamt then that we would still be enmeshed in that same war today. The first nine months were catastrophic. The focus was on Gaza and the need to destroy Hamas and release our hostages. At some point, the fighting became less intense but persisted nevertheless until the final hostages, both alive and the remains of those who had died, were returned to Israel. But Hamas is still alive in Gaza, albeit weakened, and Israel remains in control of about half of the Gaza Strip, which requires ongoing vigilance and frequent fighting.
During this time, we experienced several rounds of fighting with Hezbollah in the north, including the amazing pager attack and ultimately, the removal of Hezbollah leader, Hasan Nasrallah. Despite the cease-fire that took effect in Southern Lebanon, the IDF retained a strategic presence in the area and continued to fight against Hezbollah and destroy their weapons caches as the opportunity arose. We were told that the threat from the north had been largely neutralised and the tens of thousands of residents of Kiryat Shmona and the smaller norther communities who had been evacuated in October 2023, were able to return home and rebuild their lives.
Iran attacked Israel with missile barrages several times during that period, including ongoing attacks from the Houthis in Yemen. In June of last year, there was all-out war with Iran, as we attempted to destroy their ballistic missile and nuclear capabilities. The US joined the effort and destroyed two vital nuclear sites, but shortly thereafter, they forced Israel to halt the fighting, leaving Iran’s ballistic missile capability largely intact. Since then, Iran doubled down on their ballistic missile production and initiated steps to restart their nuclear programme.
On Saturday 28 February, the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran, taking out their top leadership and launching Operation Lion’s Roar/Epic Fury to completely destroy Iran’s military capability and enable regime change. Shortly afterward, Hezbollah launched missile attacks against Northern Israel.
So here we are again, engaged in major warfare with Iran and their proxy terrorist group Hezbollah. The entire country has been running to bomb shelters for weeks and the people of Northern Israel are practically living in bomb shelters because they have no advance warning of an attack. And although the circumstances change from month to month, we are still at war and life is not really normal.
As the siren rang out and we rushed downstairs to the shelter of the synagogue, we kept repeating to ourselves the words from the end of Deuteronomy 25 – Destroy Amalek!
I had gone to the US in February for a series of meetings and lectures to promote the work of CFOIC Heartland and to educate Christian audiences about Israel, about the war and about life in Judea and Samaria. While there, war talk coming out of Israel became far more serious than before and I made the decision to return to Israel earlier than scheduled. It was a wise decision.
Just before the war broke out, my nephew Yonatan got married (photo above). His older brother Amichai had fallen in this war just two years ago, in January 2024. The wedding was an amazing celebration of life after tragedy; even as we remembered Amichai and his terrible sacrifice, we celebrated the new family that was being created—life goes on. On the Shabbat following the wedding, the entire family of both bride and groom gathered together in Karnei Shomron to celebrate the new couple. As is the custom, we enjoyed large family meals together, with singing, blessings and Bible teaching. Friday night went without a hitch.
On Saturday morning, the first siren went off just after 8am. When we received the all-clear, we went to the synagogue as usual—we were not updated on exactly what was going on other than the fact that Israel had attacked Iran. The Torah reading that day included a special segment dedicated to the holiday of Purim which would fall just a few days later. We read Deuteronomy 25:17-19 which reminds us of Amalek’s attack against the Israelites as they left Egypt, an attack that represents for us the evil of antisemitism as it has harmed us throughout the ages. Haman is associated with Amalek; hence, the custom to read these verses on the Shabbat preceding Purim, the day we celebrate our salvation from the wicked Haman of Persia some 2,500 years ago.
As the siren rang out and we rushed downstairs to the shelter of the synagogue, we kept repeating to ourselves the words from the end of Deuteronomy 25—destroy Amalek! Indeed, we believe that we are engaged in the battle against Amalek today in the form of modern-day Persia (Iran), even as our ancestors fought against Haman and ancient Persia. And then as now, we await God’s salvation. As we read the Book of Esther on Purim, we felt as if we were reading current events—once again, we are threatened with annihilation by Persia and once again we fight and defeat our enemies with God’s help.
During the coming days, we continued to run to the shelters, sometimes eight times a day, sometimes less and during the night as well. But spirits remained high throughout. In fact, as we gathered at night in our community shelter, pajamas and all, we were a bit groggy but settled into comfortable chats with our neighbours as if it were afternoon tea-time. Our shelter reflects our neighbourhood, mostly retirees with the occasional family with teen-age children. But in neighbourhoods comprised mostly of young families, there is singing and dancing, colouring and puzzles and other child-oriented activities to keep the children busy and happy.
In the meantime, my newly-married nephew and his beautiful bride were both drafted into emergency reserve duty just days after their wedding. Thankfully they were both stationed in the north and, although at separate bases, they are able to see each other from time to time. But I am overwhelmed with gratitude to these two young people and others like them, who time and time again put their personal lives on hold to run to the defence of our people.
As I write this article, I have no idea when and how this battle will end. In Israel, we are unified in our determination to fight this war to the end. We cannot tolerate countries with both the capability and the determination to destroy us. We are patient as we sit in our bomb shelters, night and day, as our schools are closed and so many businesses remain paralysed. It is all worth it if we can rid ourselves of this terrible enemy and its proxies once and for all. We can no longer tolerate the threat of ballistic missiles from Iran, Iraq and Yemen firing at us at the whim of evil dictators. We will no longer sit tight while terrorist organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah and their patron states, Lebanon and Iran, rain terror upon us in the form of missiles and guerrilla warfare. Our people deserve a normal life and we are determined to return to normalcy.
Israel has shown itself in these recent years to be a regional power. The IDF is a full partner with the US in the battle against Iran, which is crazy when you think about it. Israel is smaller than the smallest state in the US and yet we have developed the technology and intelligence that is helping major superpowers defend themselves. God promised Abraham some 4,000 years ago that “Through you all the Nations of the World will be blessed” and today we are seeing that promise being fulfilled. But Israel can bless the world with far more than military know-how. We have become world leaders in technology, medicine and science. But the greatest blessing we have ever shared with the world is the knowledge of God. We hope and pray that peace will come to our region which will enable Israel to share with the world the many blessings that God has bestowed upon us. For the good of all humanity!
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