NATANYA, Israel—We have been here for the last three out of five weeks and we intend to stay here until the end of August. All day we can hear helicopters and planes going North. We are living in our home here which is south of Natanya.

We watch the news constantly. I have not yet seen a news report telling the world that there are now Israelis living in tents on the beach because their homes, belongings and livelihoods have been destroyed by the constant rocket attacks. Nor does the BBC report on the thousands of people who do not have enough to eat because they have lost everything.

Today we tried to call out a phone engineer but most of them are up north repairing damage or have been called up.

I feel an immense sense of pride that we are here at this time. In our own way we are helping by just being here. We have many Israeli friends and most of them did not think we would be here this summer. They are overjoyed to see us because they do not feel alone and the fact that we do care and give our support makes them feel that the Jews in the Diaspora are also doing their bit.

The simple fact is that Israel is fighting a fundamentalist group and when they have weakened them enough the world will be a little safer as will Israel.

There is a news channel here, which is being broadcast live from an army base on the Lebanese border. The Israeli army is being quite transparent— no censorship, no secrets and they are simply defending their country in full view of their own population and the rest of the world.

It saddens me to realise that the world has not learnt the lessons from Nazi Germany and how easily we are fooled as we sit in comfortable arm chairs watching the Arab world protest at the Israel Government and Army. 

The Hezbollah have built tunnels into Israel and they have built bunkers so close to the boarder that they can only be for offensive reasons. No sane or rational Israelis want a war nor do they want to fight. When day after day for the last two years rockets have been fired into villages and towns in Israel then enough is enough. The Lebanese government has had two years to disarm Hezbollah. Neither the UN or NATO has lifted a finger to help so as usual we have to do it ourselves. Israel is strong and it will win. 

Perhaps if all the Europeans had reported on all the thousands of rockets fired at Israel over the last two years this awful loss of life could have been prevented. 

 

What Israel needs most is  not to feel isolated from the Jews of America and Europe. I am proud to be here, I am proud of what the Army is doing but as a parent to think of the youth of Israel sacrificing its blood once again makes us all so sad. To think that Israel is being portrayed as the aggressor is outrageous!

 

For our part we feel that we would not want to be anywhere else in the World and we hope and pray that the Israeli soldiers will be returned to their families and that no more innocent people will die whether Arab or Jew.

Please will you let other people in Manchester know of the sacrifice of so many people because I am not sure the world knows or cares at the extreme hardship so many people here are facing.