Friday, August 1, 2014

Take sides for peace. 

Egypt and Saudi Arabia demand release of soldier. Last time we got here the US released the pressure on Hamas by opening talks to Qatar (who houses Hamas' Mashaal and the $12 million in aid he said  went 'missing in the war' 2 years ago), and Turkey (who today sent a humanitarian package by sea via Ashdod where, under fire from Hamas rockets, Israelis found boxes of lead ball bearings. Chocolate molds, said Turkey. They put real chocolate and flour in package too. Nice camouflage! The chocolate was the contraband when I sent humanitarian packages to my kids in camp. Why ball bearings? On explosive belts they become deadly shrapnel. Old, established method, tried and true.)

Haven't heard from the US. In America it's still morning. Delegates actually may be in the air, en route to Cairo. 

The kidnapped soldier is dual-British. In Givati, Eric's brigade. 23, Eric's age. These truly are our sons. 

Another Shabbat. 

Jill 

On Aug 1, 2014, at 3:54 PM, Anne Angowitz <anne@preferredplacement.com> wrote:
This Shabbat must include prayers for all the soldiers.  And the one who was just kidnapped.  Have you heard about this in our press yet?  I don’t get the NY Times anymore.  Was it in there?
I had forwarded Jill’s blog page before.  I am going to have to stop sending these around every day so please follow her.   And pass it around.  2lonesoldiersmom@blogspot.com.  

August 1

Friday

Uh oh. As soon as you think you can see the end....

Ceasefire went from cynical to sinister this morning as Hamas took advantage of the 72-hour stoppage to capture a soldier who was performing 'UN permitted' tunnel dismantling. This was a terrible idea, IDF has become a sitting target as it dismantles tunnels in plain view of Hamas.

The parents of the kidnapped soldier have been notified. He is 20, younger than Eric. And there are now 63 soldiers dead, plus more wounded this morning. Some in this war have been wounded so gravely their physical lives are forever altered by this.

This kidnapping will get played out on the international stage, and we all have a front seat to this as talks go on in Egypt, with the US in attendance. First word from the UN is that Hamas committed a foul. Will they keep up that cry? Will others?

A kidnapping puts the peace process in stark relief, and tests the fairness and standards of the players. As it is meant to. If Hamas uses the soldier for a bargaining chip, negotiations are overtly strained. And the longer the IDF stays in, the more chances there are for more such nonsense.

It will be an anxious Shabbat for many. If cool heads and fair hearts prevail, the IDF finishes the tunnels this weekend and gets the hell out of dodge.

[Best article I have read (minus the dodgy rape reference). Written by a Palestinian Canadian. Detente!]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-a-rizvi/picking-a-side-in-israel-palestine_b_5602701.html
Posted by Jill Levy at 4:10 AM
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Anne Angowitz


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