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There Are No Pacifists in a Bomb Shelter

(Times of Israel) Mark Werner - Most Americans have never had the experience of being wakened in the middle of the night by a Code Red siren, rushing to the closest bomb shelter, and hiding in the shelter while listening for the explosion of a Palestinian missile. I recently had this experience and am writing to share it. Together with nine other Sar-el volunteers, for three weeks this summer I was stationed on an IDF base in fairly close proximity to Gaza. On our second day on the base, the soldier (Danielle) in charge of our team of volunteers showed us the closest bomb shelter. That evening the sirens jolted us awake. Danielle ran down our corridor, banging on our doors: "Code Red Alert! Missile attack! Get to the bomb shelter fast!" We could tell by the urgency of her tone that this was not a drill. And so we all jumped out of our beds and ran to the bomb shelter. What did I think about in the bomb shelter while we waited to hear whether a missile would explode nearby? My first thought was a feeling of anger, directed at the Palestinians who were firing missiles at us. I knew that, if we were in a bomb shelter, so were tens of thousands of Israeli civilians who lived between our base and Gaza. I was angry that mothers and fathers had to scoop up their terrified children and hide in bomb shelters because the Palestinians seek to terrorize the Israeli population. As I stood in the shelter feeling helpless, my anger morphed into a second thought. None of this proportionate response stuff! For every missile fired into Israel, I wanted Israel to retaliate with 100 missiles. I knew that Israel's response, unlike the Palestinians who target Israeli civilians, would be directed towards military targets and would strive to minimize civilian casualties. Certainly, if North Korea fired missiles at the U.S., the U.S. response would be massive, not proportionate. And no one would expect less. There are no pacifists in a bomb shelter. The urge to strike back at your attacker is instinctive. No one should have to live like that. And so peace can only be possible once the Palestinians cease their violence towards Israel. No one should expect more of a people forced to live in bomb shelters. The writer is a retired lawyer in Raleigh, North Carolina, who has just returned from his 17th volunteer stint on an IDF base.
2018-08-10 00:00:00
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