It was bound to happen. After almost a year of writing about the war and how safe and comfortable we are in our little town by the sea which is not important enough – or so we thought – for anyone to bomb, at exactly 9:10 AM this morning, the sirens went off in Zikhron Yaakov.

I, and another twenty of us, were in our bathing suits doing aerobics in the pool with our marvelous teacher Leah. “Wait, was that for real?” someone said. It certainly was. There was no panic, but people hustled. Even so, the shelter was a few minutes’ walk, and before we could get there, we heard a few heavy booms. I assume it was the Iron Dome. I still don’t know if the missile itself hit anything. At 9:30 Ynet said: “It was being investigated.” There are still no updates.

The reason I mention this at all was to describe the aftermath. Most of the women, the majority retirement age, went back into the pool and finished the class! No, sadly, I was among the cowards who went home, figuring I’d had enough heart-pumping exercise for one day. But I’m very proud to live among these women. They are marvelous examples to follow, and hopefully next time I will be brave enough to emulate them.

What we experienced in Zikhron Yaakov was similar to many other places where sirens were followed by booms and nothing else. Kibbutz Sa’ar in the Galilee was not so lucky, three people sustaining injuries, one of them more serious than the others. We wish them all a speedy recovery.

There is both a feeling of satisfaction, as well as a fearful uncertainty, in our lives these days. Everyone in Israel agrees it would have been foolish, if not downright criminal, to not have followed up our successes in Lebanon with as many incursions to destroy long-range missiles as possible.

The U.S. and France have other ideas, again pitching their defeatist strategies to deny us the security and victory we so deserve. Israel Today voiced the opinion of many: “The State of Israel should not be talking about political agreements with Hezbollah these days. Instead of dealing with meaningless American proposals, Israel must take advantage of the fact that Nasrallah has been soundly beaten and should make Israel even tougher at this time. A political agreement with Hezbollah would mean that Israeli localities would continue to be under the threat of rockets and infiltration attempts even after a possible ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu promised the people that he would not let up the pressure. Yet since that moment, we have gone from 1,300 air strikes per day to 300. As it looks now, Netanyahu is putting on the brakes, probably because of American pressure and his upcoming speech at the UN General Assembly in New York. The massive airstrikes on Hezbollah must not be slowed down. Full speed ahead! Hezbollah in Lebanon must be defeated, otherwise we will copy the same scenario from the Gaza Strip to the north.”

I agree, but I’m not so quick to judge. Just yesterday, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi hinted about an upcoming ground maneuver in Lebanon and two battalions of reservists have been called up for the war in the north. Since the beeper blow-ups, I’ve learned to have a little patience and trust in our leadership. I’m sure they know something I don’t, and am willing to suspend judgement. Let’s wait and see.

Israel Today also reports that The European Union will weigh imposing sanctions on Israeli government ministers who posted hateful messages against the Palestinians. That’s rich! Can anyone tell me when was the last time the EU imposed sanctions on a Palestinian official for inciting against Israelis? The two-tiered European system of punishing Jews and Israelis for things the Palestinians do in spades is the height of hypocrisy.

Speaking of hypocrisy, is the next step banning Israel from participating in international competitions under her flag? In the Computer Science Olympiad held in Egypt, where Israeli participants impressive achievements included three gold medals and a bronze medal – the best achievement ever – the organizers outrageously decided that next year Israel will not be able to participate as a country, but only with 4 representatives under the Olympic flag!! This decision constitutes one of the first international sanctions against Israel since the start of the war. The Ministry of Education says: Nothing doing.

I agree. You want our brilliant youth to compete, they compete as Israelis. If not, everyone knows your competition is worthless.

There are credible rumors that Iran is waiting for Kamala Harris to be elected before attacking Israel. There is no question that the Biden-Harris administration is doing its best to cripple our military. In a strongly worded letter of protest dated September 25, 2024 written by Senators Tom Cotton and Mitch McConnel sent to Biden they say: “We write to strongly condemn your administration’s continued delay in providing critical military equipment and weapons to our ally Israel in the midst of an existential war. Delays of equipment that Israel requires to win its multi-front war against Iranian-terrorist proxies, compounded by statements by Administration officials blaming Israel for escalation, undercut Israel’s efforts to restore deterrence by emboldening the Iranian-backed terrorists.

“We have reason to believe your administration is currently delaying three critical types of military weapons or equipment.

• MK-84 bombs: Israel requires these bombs to hit Hamas’s deeply buried tunnels and other military infrastructure in Gaza. Hezbollah also has significant military infrastructure that Israel must destroy.
• Apache attack helicopters: Despite ongoing discussions between the United States and Israel, your administration has failed to fast-track and approve the sale of Apache attack helicopters. Israel requested these helicopters last December, recognizing the increased need given the war in Gaza. That need has only increased with Hezbollah’s escalation in the north.
• Caterpillar D9 tractors: We recently learned you are holding up tractors that the IDF uses to clear improvised explosive devices (IEDs) ahead of its troops. Israel puts armor on these tractors and uses them to save the lives of scores of Israel Defense force (IDF) soldiers and civilians. Further delays will endanger Israeli lives, increase the likelihood that the conflict will escalate further, and harm American national security interests. It’s far past time to transfer to Israel the capabilities it needs to win.

Sincerely,

Tom Cotton, United States Senator
Mitch McConnell, United States Senator

I’m begging you, please, please, please do not put Kamala Harris in the White House while we are still in the middle of this existential war! If you do, you are betraying every single Israeli who is depending on regime change in America for her survival. Please! And don’t tell me to mind my own business. As an Israeli-American, and a US taxpayer, this is not only my right, it’s my obligation.

And if you can’t do it for Israel, do it for America.

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