Saturday morning I awoke to a text from a friend: “War in Israel.” More texts…TV…checking websites…talking to experts…checking in with friends, as layers of horror unfolded before our eyes. By the end of the day the full extent of the catastrophe was clearer. There will indeed now be a long and difficult and evil war.
Yes, grieve for all the Israeli and Palestinian children and families. But at the same time please pray for all the people that live in fear because of political and corporate corruption and pray for peace in our time. If not now, when?
Marianne, I share your need to grieve the injustices people inflict upon each other. I recall what the Dalaí Lama attributes to this condition: ignorance. Indeed, humans are still way off the mark when it comes to realizing how much we are the same and need each other to thrive. We are not separate but are one! Peace. And thanks for reflecting your views as always! Your journey is beautiful.
It also makes me very sad that forces in this country will almost certainly use the instability to further our own grievances and separation. That makes me ill.
"Today I simply want to grieve. I don’t want to argue. I don’t want to take a position or argue policy. I just want to grieve." ... The horror of what we do to each other is beyond comprehension!
Pray for the safe return of the hostages, an immediate de-escalation of violence, and the safety of all souls in Israel right now citizens and visitors alike. 🙏🏻🤍💙
I remember visiting Jerusalem about 15 years ago and feeling somewhat uncomfortable, something wasn’t sitting right.
I noticed how very small it was. How the Arab and Jewish quarters were right next each other. How the Temple Mount was so visible from the security gate which one has to pass to enter the city, but we were forbidden from going in that direction. Meandering through narrow passages during Lent, storefronts on all sides, as we walked the path of the stations of the cross. In awe as I witnessed pilgrims from all over walking this path. Feeling so sad upon learning that the city had been destroyed, attacked, besieged, and recaptured countless and countless of times. Watching the Israeli youth carrying their rifles on their backs while visiting the wailing wall. What a juxtaposition. Even though my mind understands this need for protection and defense, at my soul level, all I felt was sadness. What insanity. All this death and hatred. How does humanity create such destruction in the pursuit of the holy ?
It’s so hard to grasp the contradiction of it all.
As I shared on another site, all that comes to my heart is this prayer...
“May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all beings rejoice in the well-being of others.
May all beings live in peace, free from greed and hatred.”
¨This statement is written and signed by Palestinians, Jews, and others who are committed to holding complex truths and striving to overcome polarization. We feel the pain of our people, identify with their pain, and need to work together to uplift our shared humanity.
The unfolding horror in Israel and Gaza is an escalation of decades of state-sanctioned violence by Israel against Palestinians. We condemn the horrific actions of Hamas against Israeli civilians. We likewise condemn Israel’s unbridled bombing and cutting off access to all basic needs, including food, water, electricity, and medical care. Attacks on Palestinian and Israeli civilians are repugnant.
Israeli violence against Palestinians has been intentionally hidden, slow, and steady. Contrary to what the media is reporting, this attack was not unprovoked. The Israeli and American governments have worked together to suppress and deny the inhumane acts against Palestinians that have led to this moment. There are Palestinians and Jews who have been raising red flags and warning about this inevitable outcome for decades, only to be dismissed and ignored.
The world’s failure to challenge Israel’s ongoing occupation, apartheid, and unbridled violence by settlers and soldiers in the West Bank provides the context for what is happening now. The recent Israeli government’s escalation of violence, encroachment of Al Aqsa Mosque, and its 16-year siege of Gaza has led to the current explosion.
We repeat: the brutality of Hamas’ attack on Israeli civilians is unjustified.
As we watch the violent attacks and rallying of xenophobia on both sides, we are brokenhearted. Although it feels like a time to stand with “our people,” we know this is a time to come together. This is a time of great suffering for all; a time of painful emotions. It is only by recognizing our shared fears and our shared tears that we will find our way through this nightmare. It is a struggle we need to undertake jointly.
When we fall back into our separate and distinct identities we risk becoming part of the problem, not the solution. Both peoples suffer from ongoing trauma. We are all on high alert. The fear is palpable. And it is easy for us to objectify the 'other.'
We seek a third path that neither perpetuates a xenophobic response nor sustains an unjust status quo. This moment calls us to slow down, sit with the pain and complexity, and grapple with our discomfort. It is a moment for digging deep, seeing across differences, and remembering our deep yearning for peace and justice. It is only through compassion and empathy that we will find a different way.
We recognize and uplift the humanity of all peoples in Israel/Palestine.
We call for an immediate ceasefire from Hamas and Israel.
We demand that basic needs be provided to Gazans.
We demand that the United States provide only humanitarian support to Israel and Gaza.
We support the creation of a movement that recognizes and affirms the humanity, dignity, and desire of both peoples to live in peace through reconciliation and justice.¨ Add your name :
SECURITY EXPERTS BLAME ISRAEL GOVERNMENT FOR ATTACK : THEY HAD SOURCES INSIDE
Posted by Yudi Sherman October 11, 2023
¨Security experts are blaming Israel’s government for Saturday’s invasion in which Muslim forces from Gaza massacred over 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped at least one hundred hostages.
So far no investigations have been launched into how the invaders were able to cross Israel’s heavily fortified border unimpeded, nor why it took Israel’s highly trained security forces over six hours to respond to calls for help.
Since 2005, when Israel expelled all Jewish residents from Gaza and ceded the territory to Muslims, Israel has been building sophisticated defense systems along the border. Foreseeing a possible above-ground invasion, Israel spent $220 million to develop an advanced security system “with no margin of error.” This includes barbed wire fences and a 23-foot high wall. Motion sensors are embedded in the ground along the electronic fences, which are accompanied by watchtowers armed with remote-control machine guns. The border is also patrolled by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, and Humvees operated by highly trained troops. Hundreds of night-vision cameras placed along the border constantly transmit to command centers which are operational 24/7.
Also deployed along the Gaza border is at least one semi-autonomous robotic vehicle called the Jaguar, equipped with dozens of cameras, sensors, transmitters and a 7.62mm MAG machine gun. The Jaguar sports a remote-controlled PA system and can self-destruct if captured by the enemy.
To stave off underground invasions, a 40-mile-long underground “smart fence” equipped with hundreds of AI-powered cameras, radar, and other sensors. The fence can detect infiltration by sea and is connected to a remote-controlled weapons system. One hundred and forty thousand tons of steel and concrete were reportedly used to build the barrier.
Israel’s Gazan border security also includes Sky Dew, a giant airborne balloon designed to help the Israel Air Force detect threats such as missiles and aircraft.
Video footage from Saturday’s invasion shows Muslim forces using a single bulldozer to dismantle a barbed wire fence. Media operatives have tried to claim that the invaders were able to cross the border after first dropping bombs on observation towers, somehow evading detection by Sky Dew, UAVs, electronic sensors and patrols. There is also no explanation for how the loss of transmission escaped notice by the military and intelligence units in the command centers.
Those units conduct regular drills and maneuvers. According to one military commander who was stationed at the Gaza border, one of those drills is a daily “dawn alert” during which both the night and day shifts inspect the border’s defenses. The Muslim forces, who invaded during the dawn hours, would have stumbled into a massive surveillance exercise by hypervigilant troops.
“In the 40 or more years that I’ve been following Israel one way or another, I’ve never seen this happen,” commented Trump-appointed former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. “I’ve never seen the border breached in this manner. Usually, even one person from Gaza gets close to the border, they’re intercepted and neutralized long before they can do anything. This is just something I’ve never seen before. It’s of course a large intelligence failure.”
Israeli officials have also not addressed how hours after the attack began and Israel’s forces had been alerted, the invaders were able to return the way they came, taking hostages on dirt bikes back to Gaza.
“It is almost inconceivable how they missed this,” said CIA counterterrorism veteran Marc Polymeropoulos.
Security experts are also baffled as to how Israel’s intelligence network, which includes the feared Mossad and the country’s domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, could have been ignorant of the operation.
“I’m truly astonished for something of this magnitude to go down and for the Israelis to have no clue that this is about to happen. I’m just speechless,” said Senior Fellow Colin Clarke at the global security research tank Soufan Center. “They have had sources inside these Palestinian groups for years.”
“Israel has exquisite, world-class intelligence collection and analysis capabilities and would have a far better picture of what’s going on in its own backyard. This one falls squarely on the Israelis,” he added.
Former Kerem Shalom Battalion Commander Yoram Erez wrote: "Something here doesn't add up to me!!! This is a mystery that I can't find an answer to since yesterday?
"I happen to know how things work in Gaza and on the border. I was the commander of the Kerem Shalom sector (Rafiah), I was in charge of Kissuf sector, I know the perimeter fence very well, I know how the army works there. I was in the Shatti refugee camp in Gaza, I was in charge of the Jibaliya refugee camp, I would make ambushes on the fence and deep in the area. I met Gazans, ate and breathed Gaza.
"The obstacle is built so that even a fox cannot pass it:
"Alerts are set according to 3 levels of pressure. It must alert when it is cut. There are, 24/7, forces that are responsible for arriving within a few minutes, if not seconds, to the point where there is an alert in the fence.
"Every day they do at least one penetration drill. Each subdivision has a standby squad whose role is to increase the force in an emergency situation. Observations scattered along the border cover every inch of it.
"The female observers are champions at identification. They don't miss. They detect movement even before it even approaches the obstacle - day and night. At problematic points (dead areas) they place a tank with observation and detection capabilities, and a terrifying firepower. In some cases snipers are deployed in the field.
"Every day before dawn there is a ‘dawn alert’ procedure. At this hour all the forces are awake (in this case also the hour when hundreds of terrorists entered Israel). The night shift alternates with the day shift. The commander of each force inspects the axis to make sure there were no infiltrations during the night.
"Trackers that move on the axis know how to recognize traces. They know who crossed the fence, how much and even when.
"Each scenario has a clear procedure. For example, a procedure for infiltrating terrorists, a procedure for taking hostages. Everything is written in blood and has been proving itself for years.
"There are several other layers of security that this is not the place to talk about. In short, we are talking about an obstacle that proves itself for years and years.
"So how the hell does a Palestinian tractor move towards the fence without anyone reacting to it?
"How did the tractor manage to sabotage the fence for a long hour and open access to Israel without anyone reacting to it?
"How did hundreds of terrorists and civilians cross the barrier without anyone on our side lifting a finger?
"How did terrorists arrive on foot and in vehicles, armed from head to toe, to dozens of Israeli settlements, without any reaction from our side?
"How did hundreds of terrorists stay in Israeli territory for long hours, shoot hundreds of Israelis, loot property, without there being even a single reaction on our side?
"How did it happen that hundreds of terrorists kidnapped dozens of Israelis, woke women, children, babies, old people from their deaths, surprised soldiers, officers when they were not ready, and kidnapped them to Gaza, without anyone stopping them?
"How is it that one bullet was not fired?
"How did all this happen under our noses?
"Where did an entire division go?
"Where did 3 brigades go?
"Who swallowed 9 battalions?
"What happened to 36 companies?
"Where did an entire regular infantry brigade go that usually outnumbers the elite?
"Where were all the reserve battalions that augment the regular army?
DEBACLE
Yes, grieve for all the Israeli and Palestinian children and families. But at the same time please pray for all the people that live in fear because of political and corporate corruption and pray for peace in our time. If not now, when?
Marianne, I share your need to grieve the injustices people inflict upon each other. I recall what the Dalaí Lama attributes to this condition: ignorance. Indeed, humans are still way off the mark when it comes to realizing how much we are the same and need each other to thrive. We are not separate but are one! Peace. And thanks for reflecting your views as always! Your journey is beautiful.
It also makes me very sad that forces in this country will almost certainly use the instability to further our own grievances and separation. That makes me ill.
"Today I simply want to grieve. I don’t want to argue. I don’t want to take a position or argue policy. I just want to grieve." ... The horror of what we do to each other is beyond comprehension!
Pray for the safe return of the hostages, an immediate de-escalation of violence, and the safety of all souls in Israel right now citizens and visitors alike. 🙏🏻🤍💙
I remember visiting Jerusalem about 15 years ago and feeling somewhat uncomfortable, something wasn’t sitting right.
I noticed how very small it was. How the Arab and Jewish quarters were right next each other. How the Temple Mount was so visible from the security gate which one has to pass to enter the city, but we were forbidden from going in that direction. Meandering through narrow passages during Lent, storefronts on all sides, as we walked the path of the stations of the cross. In awe as I witnessed pilgrims from all over walking this path. Feeling so sad upon learning that the city had been destroyed, attacked, besieged, and recaptured countless and countless of times. Watching the Israeli youth carrying their rifles on their backs while visiting the wailing wall. What a juxtaposition. Even though my mind understands this need for protection and defense, at my soul level, all I felt was sadness. What insanity. All this death and hatred. How does humanity create such destruction in the pursuit of the holy ?
It’s so hard to grasp the contradiction of it all.
As I shared on another site, all that comes to my heart is this prayer...
“May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.
May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May all beings rejoice in the well-being of others.
May all beings live in peace, free from greed and hatred.”
May we be a witness to a miracle of peace. ☮️
AND SO IT IS ❤️
Amen - Mary-Anne you are an Angel
I believe it should read “grieve” where it says “agree” in the text: “I agree for the world that we could not do better than this”.
Praying for a miracle too 🙏
We must have hope, for without it we are lost.
Hope that the majority of good people in the world will see clearly the evil machinations of the power hungry few.
But yes, first I grieve 🙏😪
When will we learn to live from a point of love? In war, we all lose.
Hamas is NOT THE PALESTINIANS. AND JEWS DO BELIEVE IN MIRACLES
😨😰😱🙏🙏🙏☮️☮️☮️🕊️🕊️🕊️
Such a complex situation! With faults on both sides. Violence is never the answer!
I deeply grieve as well and just ask the Father to show the world a better way.
Statement of Solidarity with Palestine and Israel
¨This statement is written and signed by Palestinians, Jews, and others who are committed to holding complex truths and striving to overcome polarization. We feel the pain of our people, identify with their pain, and need to work together to uplift our shared humanity.
The unfolding horror in Israel and Gaza is an escalation of decades of state-sanctioned violence by Israel against Palestinians. We condemn the horrific actions of Hamas against Israeli civilians. We likewise condemn Israel’s unbridled bombing and cutting off access to all basic needs, including food, water, electricity, and medical care. Attacks on Palestinian and Israeli civilians are repugnant.
Israeli violence against Palestinians has been intentionally hidden, slow, and steady. Contrary to what the media is reporting, this attack was not unprovoked. The Israeli and American governments have worked together to suppress and deny the inhumane acts against Palestinians that have led to this moment. There are Palestinians and Jews who have been raising red flags and warning about this inevitable outcome for decades, only to be dismissed and ignored.
The world’s failure to challenge Israel’s ongoing occupation, apartheid, and unbridled violence by settlers and soldiers in the West Bank provides the context for what is happening now. The recent Israeli government’s escalation of violence, encroachment of Al Aqsa Mosque, and its 16-year siege of Gaza has led to the current explosion.
We repeat: the brutality of Hamas’ attack on Israeli civilians is unjustified.
As we watch the violent attacks and rallying of xenophobia on both sides, we are brokenhearted. Although it feels like a time to stand with “our people,” we know this is a time to come together. This is a time of great suffering for all; a time of painful emotions. It is only by recognizing our shared fears and our shared tears that we will find our way through this nightmare. It is a struggle we need to undertake jointly.
When we fall back into our separate and distinct identities we risk becoming part of the problem, not the solution. Both peoples suffer from ongoing trauma. We are all on high alert. The fear is palpable. And it is easy for us to objectify the 'other.'
We seek a third path that neither perpetuates a xenophobic response nor sustains an unjust status quo. This moment calls us to slow down, sit with the pain and complexity, and grapple with our discomfort. It is a moment for digging deep, seeing across differences, and remembering our deep yearning for peace and justice. It is only through compassion and empathy that we will find a different way.
We recognize and uplift the humanity of all peoples in Israel/Palestine.
We call for an immediate ceasefire from Hamas and Israel.
We demand that basic needs be provided to Gazans.
We demand that the United States provide only humanitarian support to Israel and Gaza.
We support the creation of a movement that recognizes and affirms the humanity, dignity, and desire of both peoples to live in peace through reconciliation and justice.¨ Add your name :
https://www.tikkun.org/statement-of-solidarity-with-israel-palestine/
SECURITY EXPERTS BLAME ISRAEL GOVERNMENT FOR ATTACK : THEY HAD SOURCES INSIDE
Posted by Yudi Sherman October 11, 2023
¨Security experts are blaming Israel’s government for Saturday’s invasion in which Muslim forces from Gaza massacred over 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped at least one hundred hostages.
So far no investigations have been launched into how the invaders were able to cross Israel’s heavily fortified border unimpeded, nor why it took Israel’s highly trained security forces over six hours to respond to calls for help.
Since 2005, when Israel expelled all Jewish residents from Gaza and ceded the territory to Muslims, Israel has been building sophisticated defense systems along the border. Foreseeing a possible above-ground invasion, Israel spent $220 million to develop an advanced security system “with no margin of error.” This includes barbed wire fences and a 23-foot high wall. Motion sensors are embedded in the ground along the electronic fences, which are accompanied by watchtowers armed with remote-control machine guns. The border is also patrolled by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, and Humvees operated by highly trained troops. Hundreds of night-vision cameras placed along the border constantly transmit to command centers which are operational 24/7.
Also deployed along the Gaza border is at least one semi-autonomous robotic vehicle called the Jaguar, equipped with dozens of cameras, sensors, transmitters and a 7.62mm MAG machine gun. The Jaguar sports a remote-controlled PA system and can self-destruct if captured by the enemy.
To stave off underground invasions, a 40-mile-long underground “smart fence” equipped with hundreds of AI-powered cameras, radar, and other sensors. The fence can detect infiltration by sea and is connected to a remote-controlled weapons system. One hundred and forty thousand tons of steel and concrete were reportedly used to build the barrier.
Israel’s Gazan border security also includes Sky Dew, a giant airborne balloon designed to help the Israel Air Force detect threats such as missiles and aircraft.
Video footage from Saturday’s invasion shows Muslim forces using a single bulldozer to dismantle a barbed wire fence. Media operatives have tried to claim that the invaders were able to cross the border after first dropping bombs on observation towers, somehow evading detection by Sky Dew, UAVs, electronic sensors and patrols. There is also no explanation for how the loss of transmission escaped notice by the military and intelligence units in the command centers.
Those units conduct regular drills and maneuvers. According to one military commander who was stationed at the Gaza border, one of those drills is a daily “dawn alert” during which both the night and day shifts inspect the border’s defenses. The Muslim forces, who invaded during the dawn hours, would have stumbled into a massive surveillance exercise by hypervigilant troops.
“In the 40 or more years that I’ve been following Israel one way or another, I’ve never seen this happen,” commented Trump-appointed former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. “I’ve never seen the border breached in this manner. Usually, even one person from Gaza gets close to the border, they’re intercepted and neutralized long before they can do anything. This is just something I’ve never seen before. It’s of course a large intelligence failure.”
Israeli officials have also not addressed how hours after the attack began and Israel’s forces had been alerted, the invaders were able to return the way they came, taking hostages on dirt bikes back to Gaza.
“It is almost inconceivable how they missed this,” said CIA counterterrorism veteran Marc Polymeropoulos.
Security experts are also baffled as to how Israel’s intelligence network, which includes the feared Mossad and the country’s domestic intelligence agency, the Shin Bet, could have been ignorant of the operation.
“I’m truly astonished for something of this magnitude to go down and for the Israelis to have no clue that this is about to happen. I’m just speechless,” said Senior Fellow Colin Clarke at the global security research tank Soufan Center. “They have had sources inside these Palestinian groups for years.”
“Israel has exquisite, world-class intelligence collection and analysis capabilities and would have a far better picture of what’s going on in its own backyard. This one falls squarely on the Israelis,” he added.
Former Kerem Shalom Battalion Commander Yoram Erez wrote: "Something here doesn't add up to me!!! This is a mystery that I can't find an answer to since yesterday?
"I happen to know how things work in Gaza and on the border. I was the commander of the Kerem Shalom sector (Rafiah), I was in charge of Kissuf sector, I know the perimeter fence very well, I know how the army works there. I was in the Shatti refugee camp in Gaza, I was in charge of the Jibaliya refugee camp, I would make ambushes on the fence and deep in the area. I met Gazans, ate and breathed Gaza.
"The obstacle is built so that even a fox cannot pass it:
"Alerts are set according to 3 levels of pressure. It must alert when it is cut. There are, 24/7, forces that are responsible for arriving within a few minutes, if not seconds, to the point where there is an alert in the fence.
"Every day they do at least one penetration drill. Each subdivision has a standby squad whose role is to increase the force in an emergency situation. Observations scattered along the border cover every inch of it.
"The female observers are champions at identification. They don't miss. They detect movement even before it even approaches the obstacle - day and night. At problematic points (dead areas) they place a tank with observation and detection capabilities, and a terrifying firepower. In some cases snipers are deployed in the field.
"Every day before dawn there is a ‘dawn alert’ procedure. At this hour all the forces are awake (in this case also the hour when hundreds of terrorists entered Israel). The night shift alternates with the day shift. The commander of each force inspects the axis to make sure there were no infiltrations during the night.
"Trackers that move on the axis know how to recognize traces. They know who crossed the fence, how much and even when.
"Each scenario has a clear procedure. For example, a procedure for infiltrating terrorists, a procedure for taking hostages. Everything is written in blood and has been proving itself for years.
"There are several other layers of security that this is not the place to talk about. In short, we are talking about an obstacle that proves itself for years and years.
"So how the hell does a Palestinian tractor move towards the fence without anyone reacting to it?
"How did the tractor manage to sabotage the fence for a long hour and open access to Israel without anyone reacting to it?
"How did hundreds of terrorists and civilians cross the barrier without anyone on our side lifting a finger?
"How did terrorists arrive on foot and in vehicles, armed from head to toe, to dozens of Israeli settlements, without any reaction from our side?
"How did hundreds of terrorists stay in Israeli territory for long hours, shoot hundreds of Israelis, loot property, without there being even a single reaction on our side?
"How did it happen that hundreds of terrorists kidnapped dozens of Israelis, woke women, children, babies, old people from their deaths, surprised soldiers, officers when they were not ready, and kidnapped them to Gaza, without anyone stopping them?
"How is it that one bullet was not fired?
"How did all this happen under our noses?
"Where did an entire division go?
"Where did 3 brigades go?
"Who swallowed 9 battalions?
"What happened to 36 companies?
"Where did an entire regular infantry brigade go that usually outnumbers the elite?
"Where were all the reserve battalions that augment the regular army?
"Where did thousands of soldiers go???
"Someone here needs to provide explanations!!"
https://frontline.news/post/security-experts-blame-israel-government-for-attack-they-had-sources-inside