One Family

It could have been any one of us. It could have been our next door neighbors' kids. It could have been any of our brothers, cousins, uncles or fathers. It could have been one of our sisters, aunts or mothers. Those evil terrorists want all of us dead and would stop at nothing to make that happen... 

People are criticizing the three kids, their parents, and our culture because they were hitchhiking and because they live in "the settlements".On March 11th, 2011,in the settlement of Itamar of the West Bank, five members of the same family were murdered in their beds. The victims were the father Ehud (Udi) Fogel, the mother Ruth Fogel, and three of their six children. They were also criticized for living in the settlements...

The Dolphinarium discotheque suicide bombing was a terrorist attack on June 1, 2001 in which a terrorist linked to Hamas, blew himself up outside a discotheque on a beachfront in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 21 Israeli teenagers and injuring 132. So those teens should NOT have gone to enjoy an evening out, right?And no Jews should have gone out to enjoy a pizza at The Sbarro restaurant in downtown Jerusalem on 9 August 2001, right?15 civilians were killed, including 7 children and a pregnant woman, and 130 wounded by a terrorist. But it's OUR fault for living and breathing in OUR land.

Those three young yeshiva boys are G-d only knows where and meanwhile, the entire country is terrified, sitting glued by computers, radios and televisions, waiting to hear news of their whereabouts. Yeshivas are saying tehillim, hundreds of people gathered by the Kotel last night to pray together, groups of mothers are gathering together to do the same. Those three boys are OUR boys. Every mother and father in this country can think of nothing else. There's no room for ambivalence or indifference when you live here, because every tragedy is your own just as every happy occasion gives you a reason for pure unadulterated joy.

Since I found out about the kidnapping right before Shabbat, I haven't been able to think about much else. Those three young and innocent boys, their families, the savages who kidnapped them...When I look at my beautiful family, it tears my heart to pieces when I think that there are actually evil subhuman beings out there who would kill them if they had the chance.

We are all one family in this tiny country of ours. When one mother sobs tears of fear, all the rest of us are there, bawling right with her.

I pray from the depths of my soul that our boys come back home soon, healthy and whole.

With Love,

Cigal