The war between Israel and the terrorists in Gaza and Lebanon  is viewed  in the world in two different ways, reality and perception. For decades what has dominated opinions on the Israeli - Arab and Israeli-Terrorist wars has been the  perception created by a completely distorted picture of the reality in the Middle East. This picture is an ugly but extremely effective  propaganda. For the Arabs this propaganda is  fantasy turned perceived reality which sells very well all over the world. 

The ability to turn a nation constantly under relentless  terror attacks into the bully is no doubt a real talent. Of course, many misinformed sympathetic news outlets around the world are a great help for the cause as well. As the  Nazi propaganda master, Joseph Goebbels used to say, even the biggest lies can be accepted by the mass as truths if they are repeated long and often enough. It is called brainwashing.

That is why many around  the world believe that Israel is an apartheid state  who oppresses the Arab population almost to the point of enslavement.  “Them Zionists” are extremely cruel  killing Palestinian children, preventing Arabs from having  fresh water, locking them in ghettos and violating any human rights laws in the book.”

While we certainly know better, millions around the world don't. The truth of course  is the exact opposite of these ugly propaganda claims.  

So what really happened two weeks ago that caused the riots in Jerusalem and around the country which was the excuse for the 4,300 Hamas missiles exploded in Israel?

As usual  the Arabs claim that the Jews were trying to evict some peace loving Arabs from their legitimate homes in an Arab town called Sheikh Jarrah  in which they have been living for generations in order to live there themselves. 

This kind of act flies in the face of human rights. It sounds awful and it is.  The Jordanians did exactly that  when they forced  the Jews of the Old City of Jerusalem who had been living there for hundreds of years to leave and then took possession of their homes.  This actually happened to the family of our very own teacher, Morah Sima in 1948 when she was just a child. In this case, however, nothing can be further from the truth.

To begin with, the few homes in dispute  are not in the Arab village of Sheikh Jarrah but a Jewish village called  Shimon Ha-Tzadik (Simon the Righteous) which is situated  at the outskirts of Sheikh Jarrah  but not in it. The Jewish neighborhood, Simon the Righteous which has been in existence  for more than 150 years was briefly captured in 1948  by the Jordanians  and the Jewish population was chased away.  It was recaptured by the Israelis in 1967 during the Six Day War.

During the Jordanian possession  of the neighborhood  a few Arab families squatted in the Jewish families’ properties and settled in their homes. They continued to live there while the legal battle over the property continued  in courts for over three decades. At one point  an agreement was reached and signed  in which  the properties would be recognized as Jewish properties  and the Arab tenants would be allowed to continue staying in the properties as long as they paid rent  and maintained the properties. 

The Arabs  then reneged on their obligation claiming that they did not sign the agreement  nor do they recognize the Jewish ownership. They refused to pay rent. At that point  the Israeli Supreme Court issued an eviction notice and the trouble began. 

So what does all this have to do with 4,300 missiles exploding in Israel courtesy of Hamas? Nothing really.

Officially Hamas declared  that they are helping their brethren, the Palestinians, in the struggle to wipe out the State of Israel  from the map and starting that “process” by punishing  Israel for  oppressing the Palestinians  by violating their human rights.

But the real story is much different. According to some Israeli generals,  Iran, who is Hamas’ master and who tells Hamas exactly when to shoot, needed some valuable information  about the true capabilities of the Iron Dome which protects Israel from incoming missiles. They needed to see how the entire Israeli defense system works against a barrage of thousands of missiles exploding in  Israel  in order to reevaluate  their own strategy against Israel. 

While Israelis  were struggling to survive in  bomb shelters for days at a time the Ayatollah and other leaders of Iran were sitting in their palaces enjoying the show, literally taking notes on the Israeli  military  and civilian reactions to the barrage, figuring  out how to inflict more damage and casualties to Israelis in the next round of hostilities.

According to Israeli military analysis, 10% of the 4,300 missiles managed to sneak by the Iron Dome. That means 430 missiles got to their target in Israel. In the next round of hostilities Iran will most likely activate Hezbollah in Lebanon. This is a terror organization which possesses about 150,000 missiles.

If the Iron Dome maintains 90% effectiveness (which is not clear at all considering the  huge number of missiles it will have to intercept) then at least 15,000 missiles, some with heavy explosive payload, will fall everywhere in Israel. This statistic is now well known to the Iranians who would no doubt try  to improve the capabilities of their missiles  to penetrate the Israeli Iron Dome courtesy of their terrorist friends in the area.

Let us all understand  and remember what the Israelis are facing. Let us not pay attention to ugly Arab propaganda lies. Most importantly, let us all pray for G-D  to watch over the state of Israel as He always does, keeping her strong and vibrant.  And may G-D bless Israel and the entire Middle East with Peace.      

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