An injured Israeli child from Kiryat Malachi, where three Jews were killed by a Hamas rocket.
Israel’s current operation against the Islamic terrorists in Gaza — Hamas and affiliates, supported and financed by Iran — has been translated into English as “Operation Pillar of Defense.”
This is a poetic translation which fails to convey the true meaning and purpose of Israel’s military operation.
The original Hebrew is, עמוד ענן, “Amud Anan,” a phrase taken directly from the Torah.
When the children of Israel sojourned through the desert, a divine cloud, “a pillar of cloud” went before them in order to shield them from harm.
And the angel of G-d, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel.—Exodus 14:19-20
Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, February 22, 1040–July 13, 1105) the greatest of all biblical exegetes, a medieval vintner and scholar from Troyes, France, explains:
They [the Egyptians] shot arrows and catapult stones at them, but the angel and cloud caught them.
Thus, the name of this operation is particularly appropriate as Israel defends itself from terrorist rockets and mortars — modern arrows and catapults.
It looks like the war will escalate. Israel must destroy the terrorist infrastructure or she will be at the mercy of genocidal Islamists, and there will be no deterrence.
Israeli air strikes continue. Terrorist missile sites are positioned near mosques, schools and apartment buildings. As always, the terrorists use civilians as human shields.
It’s important to note that the rocket attacks from Gaza have increased massively since Syria fractured into civil war. The Iranians are backing Assad, and it looks like they have made a bad move. The Gulf states bitterly oppose Iran and their client Assad. Hence, in a classic case of distraction — it’s the fault of the Jooz — Iran instructed their lapdog Hamas to step up the attacks on Israeli population centers.
The Arab world will, no doubt, claim to be outraged. But behind closed doors, they look forward to Hamas getting kicked in the teeth, a way of reducing Iran’s regional influence. The Gulf sheikhs understand that Israel is the only power capable of thwarting Iran’s regional ambitions. This extends, naturally, to Iran’s nuclear program.
Consider: the United States, under Barack Hussein Obama, is not a factor in the current Middle East. We have little influence, and no one is looking to us for — well, anything, save Obama’s tedious, Castro-like verbal flatulence. Community organizers get cut down to size very quickly in the Middle East.
As Seraphic Secret wrote the day after Barack Hussein Obama was elected to another four years, Benjamin Netanyahu is now the leader of the free world. Which, in the end, is a blessing.
Meanwhile, IDF combat soldiers and ground troops stream southward towards staging areas near the Gaza border, in preparation for a ground incursion. We can assume that IDF Special Forces are already operating within Gaza and, perhaps, in the Sinai, where the Muslim Brotherhood Egyptian government has little influence and Al Qaeda affiliates operate freely.
Prepare for a deluge of false reports, phony atrocity photos, and Jew-hating blood libels from Islamist and liberal social media, Al Jazeera and the New York Times.
My friend in Israel, Jameel of the Muqata, is liveblogging the war.
