The war has been going on for weeks, and there is no end in sight. While the focus of most of the country and most of the world has been on the war in Gaza, there is another front where Hamas is a real and viable threat against Israel: Judea and Samaria. There are 500,000 Jews living in Judea and Samaria, surrounded and outnumbered by some 2 million Palestinians. While not all Palestinians are trying to destroy us, recent surveys indicate that a majority are supporters of Hamas. As a Palestinian supporter of Israel recently pointed out—all Palestinian Arabs have been raised in the same educational system since 1993 and have been taught by both PA and Hamas teachers, that Jews are evil and must be destroyed. They have been raised on the most virulent form of antisemitism. Most are applauding the Hamas attack on Southern Israel of 7 October.
For years, terrorism has flourished in Judea and Samaria, kept in check only by IDF vigilance. This past year, we witnessed a huge increase in terrorism in Judea and Samaria: Jews of all ages were attacked and murdered as they drove home from work, waited at bus stops, filled their cars at a petrol station or stopped for a falafel. Today, we understand that this was all part of a diversionary tactic to draw the IDF’s attention away from Gaza and towards Judea and Samaria.
But after 7 October attack, the IDF realised it could not afford to remove its focus from any of our frontiers. Since that attack, the IDF has arrested more than 1400 terrorists in Judea and Samaria, more than half of whom are members of Hamas. Every one of these terrorists could have killed a Jew in Judea and Samaria. The IDF is literally saving lives and protecting us 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
What does the war feel like in Karnei Shomron? On that fateful Saturday of Simchat Torah, most young men in the community were called up to the IDF on emergency draft. Since then, there have been very few men in the community between the ages of 18 and 40. Our rapid response teams are supplemented by reservists because so many team members have been called to their regular reserve units. Friends of mine in their 60s, who stopped doing reserve duty 20 years ago, are now back in uniform, guarding our schools and daycare centres.
Two of my sons and my son-in-law have been drafted. One is in the south, just outside of Gaza, one is guarding a community in Judea, and one is at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. Every one of my friends has children in the military. Some have grandchildren in the IDF as well. My daughter and daughters-in-law are doing an amazing job coping with it all on their own—the fear for their husbands, looking after the children on their own and keeping up with their jobs.
During the past few days, the death toll from the Gaza ground invasion has risen. Israel is a small country, and we are all connected. I got a call first thing this morning from a friend who usually gives a Bible class in our synagogue. She apologised, but she was not going to be able to make it today—the sons of two close friends fell in battle yesterday, and she was going to both funerals. One of these soldiers was from Shadmot Mechola. The other had just married a girl from my own community of Karnei Shomron. There are no degrees of separation.
Early this morning, I woke early to the sound of gunfire. Rapid and loud. It was coming from the valley just below my neighbourhood, which is actually the Biblical Kana River Valley (Joshua 17). And just as the gunfire stopped, I heard the Muezzin from the neighbouring village issue the morning call to prayer. Yes, this is my neighbourhood. We are surrounded by Arab villages. The closest one is Azzun, which is known as a Hamas centre. The IDF is entering that village nearly every night, arresting terrorists and shutting down terrorist operations. The gunfire we heard was the IDF chasing a terrorist into the valley.
For years, we knew that Azzun was a threat, but we were confident that the IDF had the intelligence and the manpower to stop an attack before the terrorists could enter our community. Today, after the horrific attacks on 7 October in the south, we have to expect that Hamas in Judea and Samaria will try to mimic their Gaza brothers. And that is a whole different level of threat. Until now, our rapid response teams were trained to confront the infiltration of just a few terrorists; today, we know that we have to be prepared for hundreds at a time.
On Friday night, terrorists shot into three homes in the community of Rechalim. The families were home, many in the rooms where the shots entered. It was a miracle that no one was hurt. Arabs have never gotten this close before, never shot into Rechalim’s homes before. The community is hysterical with fear. CFOIC Heartland has provided Rechalim with security cameras, but clearly, they need an additional layer of protection.
At CFOIC Heartland, since 7 October, our focus has been on raising funds to equip the communities in Judea and Samaria to protect them against this new threat of savage Hamas terrorism. Each community has a rapid response team, but they need to increase the size of the teams, equip each new member with protective gear, and add a host of additional equipment, including cameras and communications devices. Thanks to Christians for Israel and to Christian friends all over the world, we have already supplied many communities with vital needs. But there still so many needs and community leaders are phoning us daily, desperate for help. I hope you will do whatever you can to help us, protect the people of Judea and Samaria, and ensure a safe and secure Israel.
And one last thing. I believe that God is expecting each and every one of us to do whatever we can to help ourselves. But he is also waiting for our prayers. We, in Israel, are praying. Our soldiers are praying. Their mothers and fathers are praying. Our leaders are praying. We are all praying. It gives me great comfort to know that you are praying with us. Thank you
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