40<\/div>SHARES<\/span><\/div>

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When the war broke out on Saturday,\u200d Oct. 7, my\u2064 wife and I were in Israel on day 10 \u200cof a 13-day tour. By a series of small miracles, we were able to leave commercially the following Monday. We\u200b still ask ourselves, \u201cWhy us and not them?\u201d Thousands \u200cremained stranded at the airport with little hope of leaving\u200c as \u200cairline\u200d after\u200b airline canceled flights and stopped service.\u200d Doubtless, many of these unfortunate people waited in misery for\u2062 days. \u2062As we lifted off the \u2063ground, I felt \u201csurvivor\u2019s guilt.\u201d I now understand the term personally.<\/p>\n

This trip \u2063was \u2063our\u200b second to Israel, but \u2064on a private tour with another couple instead of\u200b the standard \u2064bus \u2062tour \u2063we joined in 2018. Those who\u200b have\u200d traveled to Israel\u2062 know that for a Christian, a tour there is a\u2064 pilgrimage,\u2063 not\u2063 a vacation. Our guide is well-known, exceptionally knowledgeable, and one of the deans of the guide community in that country. Also a patriot, completely\u200c mobile and fit despite grievous combat wounds from his army years. <\/p>\n

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We passed places \u200dsouth of \u200cJerusalem, in\u2063 the Golan\u00a0Heights, and in the Old City of Jerusalem where his unit fought. He pointed out\u2062 hundreds of bullet-hole pockmarks in the stone south wall of the Old City and explained\u00a0how some were from his weapon. He energetically\u2062 promotes peace with Palestinians, to the point of criticizing Israel\u2019s national policy \u2063and suggesting very bold ideas\u2063 for changes to Palestinian relations. We \u200dlearned a great deal from him.<\/p>\n

Our\u00a0wonderful\u00a0tour came to \u2062a jarring \u200dend\u00a0that\u00a0Saturday \u200cmorning, our \u200cconversations about Biblical history \u200breplaced exclusively by phone calls planning our urgent exit.<\/p>\n

We cannot know whether his mind changed \u200bafter the\u00a0savage\u00a0atrocities that took place that \u200dSaturday\u00a0near\u00a0Gaza. But he did vehemently say,\u00a0\u201cThis attack is without\u2064 precedent and will never happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The horrible details filtered throughout the\u200d population ahead of news reports. Israel is a \u200csmall country, and we\u2063 could tell nearly every Israeli lost or nearly lost friends or family in the butchery.<\/p>\n

Witnessing Red Flags<\/h2>\n
Without knowing \u200bat the time, we witnessed two \u201cburning red flag\u201d incidents before the attacks started \u200con Saturday. The first was on Wednesday morning \u2062as we\u00a0drove\u00a0near the Lebanese\u200c border.\u00a0Looking west about 800\u00a0yards\u200b from\u2062 the road, \u200bwe saw \u2062a motorized paraglider traveling south. Half an hour later, further south and east, we saw another. My thought was,\u00a0“How\u2063 nice to see people having fun!” <\/p>\n
Now we know the paragliders \u200bwere a primary means of infiltration used from Gaza in\u2062 the south. What\u200d has been underreported in the news is that infiltration also took place in \u200dthe north before \u200dthe big attack from Gaza. We \u2063saw it. This seems a grave development to me. <\/p>\n
On Friday,\u00a0we \u2062visited the\u00a0Church of the\u200d Nativity \u2062in Bethlehem.\u00a0Our\u00a0Israeli\u00a0guide\u200c could not safely accompany us. The local government assigned us a Palestinian\u2062 as our guide. Emerging from the church,\u00a0we saw a line of 50 to 60 Palestinian men shoulder \u2064to shoulder, with their backs to us, blocking passage into or out of the large \u200cplaza \u200din front of the church. To\u200b me, turning one\u2019s \u200cback to another is meant to convey disrespect. <\/p>\n
Opposite the plaza is a mosque, which was broadcasting martial music at deafening volume, along with droning messages which\u200c we knew as hostile\u2064 even without understanding Arabic. We could feel it.\u00a0Our guide\u00a0told us he could not risk being photographed and that we should quickly follow him through a side alley. When we were clear of the scene, he told us the \u200bdemonstrators were demanding\u200d the release of all\u2062 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The incident gave us an uneasy feeling, but we quickly shook it off.<\/p>\n
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Hindsight is 20\/20 <\/h2>\n
After reflecting on our trip for weeks now, several lessons stand out as applicable to Israelis and Americans alike. <\/p>\n
First, on our arrival\u200d flight in 2018, we were sternly told to close \u200dall shutters on the plane windows and to dim\u2064 the lights inside. On our arrival this time, as we approached\u2063 Tel Aviv for\u200d our midnight \u2062landing, we heard no announcement about closing windows or blocking lights \u2062from the plane. The change seemed \u2063odd to us, \u2063and I rationalized it by telling myself\u2064 Israel probably had better technology now\u2064 to identify missile threats. \u2062On reflection, Israel had\u00a0become \u200bcomplacent.<\/p>\n
Second, when driving \u200dalong the Jordanian border on Thursday, we asked about the border fence<\/a>. Closest to the road to the east is\u2063 a 10- to 12-foot steel fence with barbed \u200cwire\u200b to the top and concertina strung\u200d laterally from post to \u2062post. Behind it, \u200bfurther toward the Jordanian side, perhaps 80\u200d yards of bare fields, all\u00a0obviously mined. Then another, lower\u00a0warning\u00a0fence. <\/p>\n
I \u2062asked our guide why the deadly barrier if Jordan and Israel are at peace. He patiently explained that Jordan\u00a0faces its \u200down internal terrorist threats (it tolerates none), and\u00a0wants no trouble with its good neighbor\u00a0should \u200dit miss\u00a0a\u200d terrorist infiltration\u00a0from the Jordanian side.\u00a0He stated firmly that the Trump border wall is a ridiculously expensive physical barrier. He said\u2062 Israel could show the \u2064United States how to build a \u200bbetter wall,\u00a0more effective and \u200dcheaper, using\u2064 sensors, cameras,\u00a0and\u2064 other technology. <\/p>\n
His certainty\u200d about the barrier\u2019s \u2063effectiveness would be \u200cobliterated within two \u2064days when Hamas terrorists disabled the Gaza sensors with cyberattacks,\u00a0shot out the cameras,\u00a0tore out \u2062the flimsy fence with heavy front loaders, and then sent their butchers\u200c through to the Israeli side on motorcycles. We\u2019ve all seen the videos. Why there were not \u2063active minefields is a mystery to me. <\/p>\n
Nonetheless, the lesson \u200bis clear: For\u00a0 effective\u00a0border security<\/a>, a\u200b country needs \u200bformidable walls in \u2064addition to fancy technology. \u2064Borders\u2063 these days, and always, are a serious business for\u00a0any nation.<\/p>\n
The Right to Bear Arms Can Mean\u200b Life or Death <\/h2>\n
The third lesson\u200d comes from how attacks unfolded in the villages\u00a0near Gaza.\u00a0The\u00a0driver taking us to the airport (an\u200c army veteran) said his daughter, \u200cvisiting in \u2063the \u2062United States, lost five friends\u200c murdered at the\u2063 music festival. Nobody was armed, nobody could fight\u2064 back. It\u200d was a slaughter. If not for his daughter\u2019s trip, she would have been there too, and dead. <\/p>\n
At \u200dthe airport, I spoke to a brave Israeli woman who\u2062 reported dutifully to work. Through tears,\u00a0she said, \u201cMy country\u200b will never be the same.\u201d She told me privately that her son\u200c lives within miles of Gaza. <\/p>\n
On Saturday morning, he brought his three young children\u2062 from\u2062 the house \u2064and put them\u200b in \u200cthe car to take to \u200can event. When he \u2063switched on the engine, by\u2062 chance he \u200dlooked in the rearview\u2063 mirror. He saw\u2063 an armed man coming toward them, obviously a terrorist. He rolled\u2063 down the window and \u201cscreamed\u201d\u200b (her words) to his neighbor who\u200c was armed. \u201cTerrorist, shoot him, shoot\u2063 him!\u201d<\/p>\n
The neighbor understood and acted quickly, killing the man. Her\u00a0unarmed\u00a0son then fled with\u200b the kids and\u00a0successfully\u00a0hid. He must have had the\u200c instinct \u200dnot to\u200d leave in the car. Hamas terrorists blocked\u2063 both \u2062ends of the\u200b main \u2064exit road and riddled escaping cars with bullets, murdering hundreds \u2014 almost\u00a0all of whom were unarmed.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the week, we had asked our guide about Israeli gun\u00a0laws. He explained a complicated series of \u200csteps required to get a gun, including annual requalifications. This \u2062was shocking to\u2064 us, not only \u2062because of the ongoing terrorist threat<\/a> but because \u2062almost all Israelis, like him, have military experience including weapons training<\/a>. <\/p>\n
Our guide said,\u00a0\u201cI\u2062 don\u2019t understand Americans and their guns.\u201d We said little more. As foreigners in \u200dhis country, our opinions have no relevance to Israeli affairs. After \u200dSaturday, we \u2062did not have the chance to ask if he had changed\u200c his views about private \u200cgun ownership. The government did\u200b indeed relax<\/a> some\u2064 restrictions the week after the attacks.<\/p>\n
Taking Lessons\u200d Back to America<\/h2>\n
The bloody-minded murderers who so deviously infiltrated\u00a0Israel to\u00a0slaughter innocents (including \u2062infants)\u2063 don\u2019t need to come across our borders \u2064in paragliders.\u00a0For years, they have just walked across it. The terrorists are here in the United \u200cStates \u2014 even \u200dBiden\u2019s Department of Homeland Security admits<\/a> it. We do not \u2063kid ourselves that they hate America \u2062as much as they\u2062 hate Israel. Within the next year \u2064or two, we expect numerous \u200bcoordinated, repetitive \u200cterror attacks \u2063here at home. We pray to God we are\u200b proven wrong, but preparation is superior to hope.<\/p>\n
We returned gratefully to our\u2063 beloved \u200ccountry having learned \u2064many lessons \u200dwhich \u2062we realize\u200d apply\u200d not only to us but to all\u200b Americans.<\/p>\n
Never be complacent about the deadly risk of terrorism. These people\u200d are here in our country\u00a0now, invisible,\u2064 planning. They\u200d mean us terrible harm\u00a0and know how to deliver it.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t think Biden\u2019s open border is somebody else\u2019s problem. It is ours, today, with\u00a0dire\u00a0consequences we must deal with for decades to come.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t take comfort in or settle \u2063for \u200ca \u201ctech\u201d border wall. Cyberattacks do not penetrate or disable a 30-foot wall.<\/p>\n
Never take for \u200dgranted that today\u2019s peaceful life will be tomorrow\u2019s too. Don\u2019t be caught like so many Israelis \u200d\u2014 defenseless,\u00a0panicked,\u00a0waiting for police\u2064 or military who\u00a0will \u2063not arrive to\u00a0save you.\u00a0Never\u2062 assume that\u200d \u201csomebody\u200c will protect us\u201d from terror \u200cattacks. \u200bBe prepared to protect\u200c yourself.<\/p>\n
While it is now\u00a0too late to\u00a0stop\u00a0the internal terrorism risk here, \u200dwe can \u200btry to reduce the\u00a0damage\u2063 from infiltration. Build the wall and do it \u200dnow.\u2064 <\/p>\n
Above all, never give up\u200b your guns. It is your only means\u00a0to defend yourself and your family.\u00a0Never!<\/p>\n
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rnrn <\/p>\n
How did the author feel about \u200bthe infiltration\u2064 incidents that took place in both the south \u2063and north of Israel<\/h2>\n
\u200cThe Unforgettable Journey to \u200bIsrael: Witnessing Red Flags<\/p>\n
When the war broke out on Saturday, Oct. 7, my wife and I were\u200d in \u200cIsrael on\u2063 day \u206210 of \u200ca 13-day tour. By a series of small miracles, we were able to \u2062leave \u2064commercially \u2062the following Monday. \u2062We still ask\u2064 ourselves, \u201cWhy us and not \u2064them?\u201d Thousands remained stranded\u2064 at the airport with little hope of leaving as \u200bairline after airline canceled flights and stopped service. Doubtless, many of these unfortunate people waited in misery for days.\u200d As \u2064we lifted off the ground, I felt \u201csurvivor\u2019s guilt.\u201d \u200bI now understand\u2062 the\u2062 term personally.<\/p>\n
This trip was \u2064our second to Israel, but on a private tour with another couple instead of the standard bus tour we joined in 2018. Those who have traveled to Israel know \u200dthat for a Christian, a tour there is \u2064a pilgrimage, not a vacation. Our guide is well-known, exceptionally knowledgeable, and one \u2064of\u200d the deans of the guide community in that country. Also a patriot, completely mobile and fit despite grievous combat wounds from his army\u2062 years.<\/p>\n
We passed places south of \u2063Jerusalem, in the Golan \u200dHeights, and in the Old City of Jerusalem where his\u2064 unit \u200dfought. He \u200bpointed\u200d out hundreds of bullet-hole pockmarks in the stone south wall of \u200dthe \u2063Old City and explained how some were from his weapon. He energetically promotes peace with Palestinians, to the\u2063 point of criticizing Israel\u2019s national policy \u200dand\u2062 suggesting very bold ideas for changes to Palestinian relations. We learned a great deal from \u200chim.<\/p>\n
Our wonderful tour came\u2063 to a\u2064 jarring end that Saturday morning, our conversations about Biblical history replaced exclusively by phone calls planning our urgent exit.<\/p>\n
We\u200d cannot know whether his mind changed\u200b after the savage atrocities that took place\u200c that Saturday\u200c near\u2064 Gaza. But he did vehemently \u200bsay, \u201cThis attack is without precedent and will never happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The horrible details\u200b filtered throughout the population ahead of news reports. Israel is \u2064a small country, and \u2064we\u2063 could tell nearly every Israeli lost or nearly lost friends or family \u2062in the butchery.<\/p>\n
Witnessing Red Flags<\/p>\n
Without knowing at the\u2063 time, we witnessed two\u2064 \u201cburning red flag\u201d incidents before the attacks\u200c started on Saturday. The first was \u200don Wednesday morning as we drove near the Lebanese\u200b border. Looking west about 800 yards from the road, we saw a\u2062 motorized paraglider traveling\u200c south. Half \u2062an hour\u2063 later, further south and east, we saw another. My thought was, “How nice to see people having fun!”<\/p>\n
Now we know the paragliders were a primary \u2062means of infiltration used from Gaza in the south. What has been underreported in the news\u2062 is that infiltration also took place\u200d in the north before the big attack from Gaza. We\u200c saw it. This seems a grave development to me.<\/p>\n
On Friday, we visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Our Israeli guide could not safely accompany us.\u200d The local government assigned us a\u200d Palestinian as our guide. Emerging from the church, we saw a\u2062 line\u2062 of\u200d 50 to 60 Palestinian men shoulder to shoulder, with their backs to us, blocking passage into or out<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When the war broke out on Saturday, Oct. 7, my wife and I were in Israel on day 10 of a 13-day tour. By a series of small miracles, we were able to leave commercially the following Monday. We still ask ourselves, \u201cWhy us and not them?\u201d Thousands remained stranded at the airport with little<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":771,"featured_media":2094845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2094844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2094844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/771"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2094844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2094844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2094845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2094844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2094844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2094844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}