Monday, October 17, 2016

Israel: Continuous Jewish Presence in Their Land and Enduring Wars Against Her

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                             
Hills of Judah, southern part of Israel
where tribe of Judah lived


King David 1010-
970 BCE

For over 3,000 years, Jews lived in Eretz Yisrael as proven by archeological and historical evidence.  It's civilization was already over 1,000 years old when Rome destroyed the Holy Temple and conquered the Jewish nation in the 70 CE-the 1st century that nations of today count from in their calendar.
Solomon's Temple

Rome exiled only a portion of the population.  The remaining Jews were banned by Rome from living in Jerusalem, so they flourished for centuries in other Jewish towns such as Yavne, Rafah, Gaza, Ashkelon, Jaffa and Caesarea.
                                                     
Christian Crusaders of the 12th century CE decimated the Jewish population they had found when they invaded the land.  However, the Jewish population managed to rebound in the next centuries as Jews returned in waves of immigration and settled in Safed, Jerusalem, Tiberius and Hebron, the 4 sacred and holy cities of Judaism.  Today Hebron has been taken over by Muslims.
                                                                               
After 1850, the Jewish population grew even more.  By the 1870's, Jews were the majority religious group in Jerusalem.  Early modern Zionists began purchasing land and created thriving communities like Tel Aviv in 1909, even while the land was being ruled by the Ottoman Empire who by the 1st World War had held it for the past 400 years.  The 1880's had brought on 5 Jewish immigration groups from Russia and the surrounding area called Alliyahs.  They had had enough suffering from pogroms in Russia that were continuous.

1920-1921 In Palestine there were Arab Riots and Terrorism against Jews led by Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Sherif of Jerusalem.  This is when Britain was given the mandate by the League of Nations (1st United Nations).  Jews were killed and wounded.  Jews organized a defensive force to protection as had none from English there.  Beginnings of Haganah-first IDF soldiering.
                                                                             
1929  Continued massacres against Jews, Hebron Jews attacked, 67 slaughtered.  Jews were raped, tortured, babies beheaded and mutilated.  135 Jews killed, 30 maimed/wounded.
                                                                               
1936-1939  Nazi Germany developed causing rebellion against British in Great Arab Revolt with Haj Amin al-Husseini visiting Hitler in Germany, plotting against Jews.  415 Jews, 200 Brits and 5,000 Arab killed.
                                                                       
1948-1949: Israel's War of Independence-Mandate ended on May 14, 1948 so State of Israel then established.  
                                                                             
1949-1956 Egypt trained Arab terrorists (fedayeen) attacked Jews in Lebanon, Gaza and Jordan.  1,300 Jewish Israelis killed or wounded in attacks.  Nasser in charge of Gaza attacks.

1956 The Sinai/Suez War blockage Israeli shipping in Suez Canal, port of Eilat.  Israel then captured Sinai Peninsula and Gaza.  Egypt peace and so Israel withdrew-assured Israel of safety.
                                                 

1959  Al Fatah Raids:  Yasser Arafat formed Fatah with guerrilla warfare against Israel and they planned animosity between Israel and Arab neighbors.
                                                             
Hillary Clinton known of admiration for Arafat
1964  {Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) formed in Egypt, supported by Arab League, anti Israel militant groups.  Fatah and PLO united..  PLO made thousands of attacks against Israelis, others around world.  Committed the 1st airplane hijackings.
                                                                         
1967 The Six-Day War:  Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq with Egypt keeping international water from Israel, expelled UN peace-keeping forces easily.  Full scale invasion planned to turn Jews into dust.  Israel pre-empted in a defensive war, captured Judea and Samaria (was to be part of Jewish Homeland plan of League of Nations when Jordan captured them in 1948.)  Also took back Gaza and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and Golan Heights from Syria.  
                                                                             
Meeting Halevy, Commander of Galilee Division of IDF
    
1967-1970 The War of Attrition  After 67 Ceasefire-Egypt broke it and attacked Israelis in Sinai; lasted 3 years with 1,424 Israeli soldiers and over 100 Israeli civilians killed.  Jordan expelled PLO-had war with them in 1970.  
                                                                               

1972 The Munich Massacre  Palestinians terrorists act worldwide.  Black September group held hostages and murdered 11 of Israel's Olympic Team at 1972 Munich Olympics.  Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction of PLO responsible.                                              
Moshe Dayan (1915-1981) in Haganah, founder of Palmah, lost eye in 1941
in British Army in Lebanon; In War of Independence, repelled Syrian army from Jordan Valley,
Commander of Jerusalem region, chief of general staff from 1953-1958, in 1956 responsibvle for Sinai Operation, in Knesset  in 1959, Minister of Defense before 6 Day War, resigned in 1974 because of
Yom Kippur War's setbacks.  
1973  The Yom Kippur War when Egypt and Syria's surprise attack on the holiest day of the Jewish year when all were in the synagogues praying and fasting.  IDF pushed Syrian troops back from Golan Heights.  2,688 Israeli soldiers killed in 3 weeks of fighting.  Egypt claimed its honor again because of 1st 48 hours.
                                                
Lived in Safed from 1981 to November 1985 in apartment
in northern Galilee close to Lebanon.


1982-1985 The Lebanon War (I had immigrated in 1980) PLO now in Lebanon who had Civil War from 1975 to 1990.  PLO attacked northern Israel. (I lived in Safed-very close to Lebanon.) Israel entered Lebanon in 1982 to root out PLO who later relocated in Tunis. By then 95,000 people had died by 1982.  In 1985 Israel withdrew to a 4 miles wide  area along border; unilaterally withdrew in 2000.  Civil War had Lebanese Christian Phalangists entering PLO refugee camps of Sabra and Shatilla and massacred about 460 to 700 people including 200 PLO fighters.  Israeli court said that Israel and General Ariel Sharon had indirect responsibility because of not stopping Phalangists from entering into the camps. They had asked, Sharon and agreed that they did the entering.  They were our friends, had been guarding our border, did R&R in Israel.
1987-1991-First Intifada by PLO with 27 Israelis killed, over 1,400 civilians and 1,700 soldiers injured.  Palestinian casualties from other PLOs in the Intifada-internal fighting among PLO factions.
                                                                       
1991  Persian Gulf War:  USA led coalition to get Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait and he tried to draw Israel into the war and fired 39 Scud missiles into Israel.  Israel din't retaliate, helping coalition this way.  

1994  First suicide bombing in Israel: 8 civilians were killed while on a bus in Central Israel, followed up repeatedly by radical Islamic terrorist factions all over the world.
                                                             
Israeli patrol near Jenin, Palestinian town from bible days
of En Gannim mentioned in Joshua, or Ginaea in Roman days.  Center of Arab
nationalistic fanaticism in the 1930s.  Part of Jordan from 1948 to 1967, In 1967-
population was 8,346 apart from 5,019 Arab refugees in the vicinity.  
2000-2006 2nd Al Aqsa Intifada  suicide bombings and terrorist attacks started September 29, 2000 and in 5 years left over 1,068 Israelis dead and over 7,000 injured--69% civilians.  About 3,k000 Palestinians were killed in this conflict.  2005 saw Israel withdraw from Gaza.
                                                       
Black Jew, Druze, Christian and Muslim IDF soldiers

2006-2008  Acts of War against Israel with Hamas and other terrorists attack daily with rockets 6 months after withdrawal from Gaza.  June 2006 saw Gaza terrorists tunnel into Israel, killing 2 soldiers and kidnapping 1.  Hezbollah-helped by Iran and Syria, attacked Israel across the Lebanese border, killed 8 soldiers and kidnapped 2, shooting rockets into civilian towns in northern Israel.  Israel had military operation that lasted 34 days to end it.  
Fatah-Hamas Leaders United into Their Palestine
                                                     
Women IDF soldiers

2008-2009  Operation Cast Lead-Hamas rocket fire from Gaza reduced
2012  Operation Pillar of Defense-Hamas rocket fire from Gaza stopped
2014  Operation Protective Edge-destruction of Hamas tunnels
                                                     

And UNESCO says that Israel does not have a presence in Jerusalem?  We have a presence in all of this land going back to Abraham and to Moses who re-entered with 6 million in 1271 BCE.  We've shed blood and tears over this land to bring about a normal  and morally good life that others had had for over 2,000 years.  Evidently their idea of morality did not include the rights of Jews. 
Research:  Israel 101 magazine by StandWithUs, page 42, 12-13.
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia 1992 edition/FactsOnFile-New York/Oxford
Letters From Israel by Nadene Goldfoot-amazon.com




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