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Appreciation

Photo: Rafi Deloya
Hanoch Daum Photo: Rafi Deloya

Red Mail





Thank you, soldiers

Hanoch Daum expresses nation’s gratitude to our troops, who regained Israel’s pride

Hanoch Daum
Published: 01.19.09, 11:02 / Israel Opinion

Let’s hold for a moment. Let’s wait a bit with the political debates of the “day after.” After all, we shall have plenty of time to argue. Knesset Member Talab El-Sana will say that we’re murderers, Knesset Member Arieh Eldad will say that we should have dropped a nuclear bomb on Jabaliya, and meanwhile Tzipi Livni will try to explain why her deal with Rice is worth anything, and Netanyahu will try to say that he would have done more.


All of the above debates are legitimate. Yet we should be doing it only after we express our deep gratitude to IDF soldiers. As beyond all the political discussions, and beyond the question of whether we should have ended the Gaza operation or continued, we have our heroic soldiers, the young kids from Golani, from the paratroopers, and from Givati, the armored corps troops and the elite unit fighters, who went to protect southern residents with their bodies, with no fear or hesitation.


We should also not be forgetting division commanders who went deep into the Strip with their soldiers, were wounded, yet returned to the battlefield instead of staying behind near the plasma screens.


They were of course joined by the reserve soldiers; Tens of thousands of citizens who at one moment kissed their children goodbye and went into the unknown to risk their lives. In this era of reality TV shows we almost forget that there is also a real reality out there, a reality whereby a person leaves his family in order to fight for his country and defend its citizens.


We must not forget that these regular troops and these reservists defeated Hamas’ terrorists at every turn. They killed them in every clash, overcame them every time they came into contact, and defeated them unconditionally, even under the most difficult conditions. They came with modesty and determination and showed Hamas – and through it showed Iran, Hizbullah, and Syria – that they better think twice in the future before they rush into battle with our troops.


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Some of the media prefer to criticize and get smart, yet the overwhelming majority of this nation knows how to express gratitude to its troops, who again proved that we all have someone to count on.


So a moment before we sink back into political debates of the “day after,” it would be appropriate to say thank you to our soldiers, pray for the wounded, and tell the families of those who were killed: You are our brothers, and we shall never forget your loved ones, who were killed in a just war; a war where, thanks to your sons, Israel regained its pride.