Observations From The Front Line

Notes from Zachary Taylor a soldier in the Nachal Haredi
Unit, sent by his mother.

People jump to conclusions about the Israeli leadership and
their strategies concerning Gaza and Lebanon. First of all,
do not believe anything you read in a foreign newspaper or
even half of the Israeli ones about this current situation.
For example, just a few months ago an Arab Family in Gaza
was killed on a beach. The Palestinians said the Israelis
did the killing, as did international media. After research
it was shown that in no way whatsovever was it an Israeli
bomb that murdered that family, but a bomb that was left by
HAMAS. However, by then, we lost the sympathies of world
media, and Olmert apologized prematurely for something that
Israel did not even do.

In Lebanon, you must understan that Hizbollah is not a
"faction" it is part of the government. As we have seen
lately as the puppet Lebonese government has come out and
declared itself as defenseless aganist Hizbollah. However,
that is not the case. Civilians in Beirut are handing out
cakes and cookies as a celebration of the 8 dead Israeli
soldiers and the two kidnapped ones.

What I have learned in three months of being at checkpoints
is something I call the middle eastern personality which is
common in both Arabs and middle easterners. People who visit
Israel have experienced it here too. It is the attitude that
"I gotta get for me what I can at the expense of almost
everyone else." The expression in Hebrew is to "work"
someone. At the checkpoints people come and cry or claim
they are sick and need to go to the hospital, or have
important meetings, all in an attempt to get us to let them
pass quickly into Israel. Most of the cases are false, and
just the way to "work" or "hustle" the soldiers at the
checkpoint.

Most of this is witnessed by the Women in Black,
who for some reason, believe these stories and only take the
position of the Arabs, never that the soldiers are trying to
protect the citizens of Israel from potential terrorists.
So, the Arab citizens play up these stories to "work" the
hearts and minds of the "human rights" activists and the
media.

These people do not learn through discussion or
compromise because of Middle Eastern culture. Look at the
history now in every Arab country about their ability to
compromise where it be honor killing, jihad terrorism,
constant civil war, pillaging and rape and all the other
cultural riches of the Arab world. It is not within their
mentality which has been nurtured thought history to
compromise civilly. (This does not in any way reflect on all
Muslims or Arabs) However, it is the typical behavior you
witness in the Arab marketplaces in Egypt and Israel If you
have been to these marketplaces, then you will understand
what I am talking about.

Israel is a westernized and Jewish society which is all
about discussion, analysis, and compromise Just look at the
Talmud! What Israel is coming to realize now because of
recent events and "compromises" such as leaving Gaza (while
Israel reaps the rewards of daily punishment by missiles
hitting several major cities such as Ashkelon and Sderot.
Our Jewish naivete is that everyone is nice and perfect and
can be dealt with through diplomacy. This is not true. Our
enemies learn one way and the one and only way is through
the language of war and the language of the sword. We did
not set it up that way, they have. And now, going into
Lebanon and destroying all of Hizbollah and their
infrastructure and their supporters with a firm, unwavering
hand is the only way. We were in Southern Lebanon for 20
years and there was "peace in the North" only when we
"compromised" and pulled out. Our soldiers are getting
kidnapped and missiles now fall on Haifa.

Now you have to understand the Arab guerilla tactics, both
Palestinian and Lebanese. They never fight in a battle field
like a normal army. They retreat to civilian villages and
cities and hide their until they poke their nose out of some
window and shoot some anti tank or aircraft missile.

So for defense, and I say DEFENSE forces, to succeed they must
battle them even if they are in civilian territory.
Again, We did not decide that, they did. So when civilians are killed
unintentionally it is because THEY decided that it should be
that way.

The world is full of naive bleeding hearts that will bash
Israel for doing what it has been FORCED to do. They forget
the fact that when soldier go into an Arab town for the sole
purpose of finding a group of terrorists, the "civilians"
are suddenly not so civil. They have guns, they throw
Molotov cocktails, and rocks, big large cement blocks at
soldiers. That is what we experience everyday in Gaza, the
West Bank and Lebanon.

We are fighting a guerilla and civilian army at ALL times.
Suicide bombers are not part of an army they are civilians.
There has never been a war fought like this in the history of humankind.
But the "lefties" and even some on the right and the people who are
not even connected and oblivious, including the international community
think they have the right to tell Israel how to act, how to respond!

Do you know why so many soldiers die in the West Bank,
Gaza and Lebanon?

Not because the enemy's army is better, they are not even close to the
IDF. We have better equipment, more equipment, better
training, so how is it that soldiers are kidnapped and
killed? That's a good question. It is because the left and
the international community is keeping such a close look,
and bias toward Israel's defense tactics, that are hands are
tied in defending ourselves properly. We take so many
dangerous steps in order to protect civilians, that in
return, we are killed and kidnapped.

Did you know that at the Lebanon Border for the last ten years,
because of "International" pressure, that if you see 500 Hizbollah
terrorists with AK47's and rocket launchers and missiles
coming up to the actual border fence, 50 feet from the
Israel soldiers, 50 feet from Israel's soil, that the IDF
cannot fire unless they fire first! They can aim, set up
shop 50 feet from you, but until they fire and shoot at you,
the Israeli soldiers cannot defend themselves. Is that
logical? No, it is insane. The only reason why so many
Israeli's both civilian and military are dying is explicitly
the fault of the International Leftist agenda. The Left
likes to see the minority win, even if it is Hamas and
Hezbollah. We can only defend ourselves the way of the
sword. Do not let anyone tell you anything differently. As I
and the other soldiers and Israeli citizens have personal
stakes in the matter, and as a supporter of the Jewish
homeland, you do too.

Am Yisrael Chai!

Zachary Rowen Taylor,
20 years old.
(Zacharia Ben Abraham)
Nachal Haredi Unit, Beit Shean, July 16, 2006