In The Dark Sky, A Shaft Of Light.

Through the tears I shed for Gaza, I see a positive element emerging from the fire.

I am so impressed with the way the soldiers have handled the almost impossible situation. They are dealing with their fellow Jews in an incredibly compassionate and humanitarian manner.

Where else would you see soldiers who are evacuating protesters doing their utmost to avoid hurting the evacuees?

Where else would you see soldiers/policemen and women crying alongside the people they are being ordered to take away?

Where else would soldiers/policemen who are removing protesters, go into the field unarmed?

Where else would soldiers/policemen exhibit such restraint in the face of extreme provocation, such as their being called Nazis by the Settlers, having food and chemicals thrown at them or continuously being screamed at?

There is total empathy by the soldiers/Police as to how the protesters are feeling and this is demonstrated in their extraordinary behaviour vis a vis the Settlers.

In the Bible, we Jews are commanded to be "Or La Goyim" - a light to the (other) nations of the world. In other words, we have a role to be an example to the other nations in how to behave towards our fellow human beings. We also have a concept of "Kiddush Hashem" - sanctifying G-d's name, whereby when Jews are shown to act in a humanistic way, we extol the virtues of G-d's name and demonstrate that we are indeed acting as that light. I believe that the behaviour of the Army and Police were indeed a case of Kiddush Hashem. The whole world looks at this and sees how Jews behave towards one another and by extension, learn a lesson on how human beings should treat each other.

As a Jew, I am so very proud of my brethren right now. The Israeli Army and Police, maligned by the media most of the time is demonstrating the Jewish ethics and morals that distinguish it from any other army in the world. I'd like to see how the British, French or Americans would behave in such a situation?

We Jews may argue a lot and debate on everything under the sun, but when push comes to shove (quite literally), we unite and remember that we are one people and this gives me great hope as to the future of the State of Israel. United we stand, divided we fall - and from the way the Army has behaved, we will recover from these traumatic events and live to fight another day.

Here's a message to any Palestinians who think that by leaving Gaza, we are demonstrating weakness

- Look at the way we treat one another when our backs are against the wall. You can send us as many suicide bombers as you want; you can call for the destruction of our State till you are blue in the face but you will never never defeat us because Am Yisrael Chai - The Nation of Israel lives - with and without Gaza. You've won this battle but as I look at the way Jews treat their brethren when the chips are down, I am in no doubt that we will win the war.