A few months ago, my youngest son and his family, wife and four small children, moved in with us. They began an expansion of their home to accommodate their growing family, and we were overjoyed that they decided to move in with us. They live in the same town as we do, Karnei Shomron, but in a different neighbourhood. So it was very convenient for them to be able to leave home amidst all the construction but still live so close to home.
They are still with us for a few more weeks and we have loved every minute of it. While we have lots more noise in our home than usual, when it’s just my husband and I, but the noise is the joyous tumult of children. What greater joy than that! My son and daughter-in-law both work full-time and the children are in school (the youngest in day care) so we do have quiet during the day. But beginning at 2:30 in the afternoon when the first children come home, the noise, and the mess, arrive. The school bags tossed casually in the front hallway, the older ones sprawled on the couch watching TV or playing guitar with friends. There is always someone tossing a basketball outside in the yard, in the net we still have up from when our kids were small. And there are always kids from the neighbourhood stopping in to pick someone up or join in for a jamming session right here.
Some of you may have had similar experiences with your adult children. But there is one experience you probably have not had—the three months when my son was in the IDF Reserves. Yehuda was drafted from just after Rosh Hashana in late September until early in January, right after Hanukkah. He missed much of the holiday celebrations during this time. This was his 5th tour of duty since 7 October, with a total of 400 days in the military.
Yehuda is also a high-school teacher. He met his students for just a few weeks in September and then they had a substitute teacher for more than three months.
When he went back to teach, it was like starting over again at the beginning of the year. It was a challenge for him but I am sure it was not easy for his students. And his students, as well as so many all over the country, have had ongoing upheaval since 7 October. And that is coming on the heels of the Covid crisis with its impact on children all over the world!
This time, though, I was able to witness first-hand the impact of my son’s extended military service on his family. Thank God we were there to lend a helping hand in a more intensive way than before when we were living in separate houses.
My daughter-in-law Sapir is truly remarkable. She is always cool and collected. And she keeps track of so many comings and goings. She takes the children to school each morning and then ferries them to various afternoon enrichment programmes that are walking distance from their home but too far to walk from my house. In between she is working at a high school about a half-hour drive from here.
Night after night, she is the one feeding the children, taking care of the baths for the little ones, putting them to bed, doing mounds of laundry (did kids always generate so much laundry?), supervising homework, and making sure everyone has a good breakfast and is dressed and ready for school each morning. My son is usually a full partner in all of the housework and childcare, so when he is absent, the burden on Sapir is enormous. And this is not just for two weeks when a husband might be away for a work trip in any country. This is for hundreds of days over a two year period. When I recently asked Sapir how she is feeling, she said “tired.”
Israel has never fought such a long-lasting war. And even though the war is supposedly over, the Reservists’ experience is still heavily involved with war. There is no question, the fighting and intense military missions were far more concentrated during the first year of the war. There is far less tension and fear today. And the country has generally returned to normal. But the families of reservists are still feeling the strain as their young and not-so-young men are constantly being called up for service.
“We need you on our side, to serve in a very different sort of army—the army of public opinion.”
My son spent many months in Gaza. After that, he was in Lebanon, then in Samaria. Most recently in Syria. There are voices around the world speaking of the chances for peace between Israel and her northern neighbours—Lebanon and Syria. But the fact is that Hezbollah is continuing to re-arm in Lebanon, and Syrian militias are testing the IDF’s level of alertness and response. The IDF has learned its lessons from 7 October. We will no longer trust the assurances of enemy and ally alike—Israel will ensure the safety of Israel. There is no other way.
So that means ongoing reserve duty for our brave young men. At least 100 days of service each year, if not more. Their wives are amazing, tough women who see their role in the family as their own sort of draft for the nation. As they soldier on looking after home and children, their husbands soldier on against our enemies.
Will this ever end? Maybe one day. We often speak of a war on multiple fronts—the threats coming from Iran, Yemen, Gaza, Syria and Lebanon, with ongoing terrorist activity threatening us from Jordan and Egypt as well. It is these threats that occupy our military. But there is another front—the front of public opinion. And that front may be the most significant of the entire war.
It is no secret that antisemitism has reared its head in an unprecedented manner, not seen since the 1930s in Europe. But today’s antisemitism not only feeds on traditional antisemitism, but is fueled by social media, university professors and politicians, in the pay of or under the influence of Qatar and other Middle Eastern Islamists. The narrative that Israel has been starving Palestinians in Gaza, holding them hostage in tent cities in the midst of snow-storms (which don’t exist in Gaza!), that Israel is committing genocide, are all lies, created, planted and nurtured with billions of dollars from our worst enemies.
As long as there are people around the world who support the Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran narratives, their foot-soldiers in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran will continue to attack Israel.
And our reservists will continue to serve for months at a time. We are willing to serve. We are willing to pay the price because we have no choice. Our very survival is at stake.
We need you on our side, to serve in a very different sort of army—the army of public opinion. Recent reports predict that Christian Zionism will die out because the younger generation is influenced by these virulent antisemitic narratives. We cannot let that happen. When Muslim terrorists attacked Jews in Sydney, most Australians were horrified. But a disturbing number of Australian young people were sharing their antisemitic messages on social media.
I am turning to you to help us reach the young people who can still be reached, who are still horrified by such acts of terror. These young people are your neighbours, your friends’ children and grandchildren. They are the future of the free world. They need to hear the truth. They need to understand what is at stake. When these young people reject the evil of antisemitism and understand the truth, then our reservists will come home.
Share this article and all Zionist material with everyone you know. Sign them up for the CFOIC Heartland newsletter (www.cfoic.com) and for the Israel & Christians Today newspaper. It is one easy but effective way to join the effort. And with God’s help, we will prevail. We have no choice!
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