CHAPTER TWO - WARS AND TERRORISM

              The State of Israel’s brief history is replete with Arab aggression and terrorism such as that witnessed at Entebbe. On May 15, 1948, Israel became a nation. On May 16, 1948, five Arab nations descended upon Israel with the stated goal of destroying her. Egypt, Trans-Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon all swooped in for the kill. Israel did not stand a chance. Or, did she? This was yet another inexplicable event. How did a nation the size of a postage stamp fend off an attack from all sides?  Anyone who gives warfare even a cursory glance would say Israel was doomed from the first moment. Yet, she prevailed. How? The War of Independence is just one of many stories in the history of Israel that makes one wonder about the existence and divine intervention of God.

            Miko Peled will take exception to the following account of the Six-Day-War. I will give him credit for having a very unique version of events. Billing himself on YouTube and elsewhere as “An Honest Israeli Jew Tells the Truth About Israel”, he shamelessly uses his maternal grandfather (who signed Israel’s Declaration of Independence) and his father (who was an Israeli general with the IDF) to promote his anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian propaganda. What I am about to recount are the facts.

            June 5, 1967. Tensions had grown increasingly worse between Israel and Egypt for years, as well as with Syria. In May, Egypt had cut off the Straits of Tiran (Israel’s main shipping lane), ordered the UN Emergency Force to leave (UNEF had been protecting the Israeli border since 1956), and Egyptian President Nasser declared his desire to “exterminate the Zionist existence”. Syria followed suit, eager to participate in Israel’s destruction via the Golan Heights, which had been a hotbed of Syrian aggression for months. By the time war broke out Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan had all joined forces to “wipe Israel off the map”.

            Peled goes to great pains to explain how Israel was the “aggressor” in this “unprovoked” war, but history does not support his ridiculous assertion. In reality, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt, using the element of surprise to gain the advantage against what would have been a formidable attack had she waited. The results were staggering. Israel destroyed the Egyptian and Jordanian air forces as well as half of Syria’s, and even took out an Iraqi air base…all in the first day. By June 10^th, Israel had won an astounding victory, although that victory would eventually be undermined by politics involving the United States and the United Nations.

            Before I leave this discussion of the Six-Day War, I should clarify something that has been the source of much confusion over the years. Up until June 9, 1967, the people we call “Palestinians” were known as Jordanians, because they came from Jordan. What we now call Jordan was, at the time, Trans-Jordan (so-named because it was across the river from Jordan). On June 10, 1967, literally overnight, the Jordanians became Palestinians. Who/what was responsible for this change in identity? Yasser Arafat. The entire Palestinian identity was created as a propaganda tool. To make it abundantly clear: There is not now, nor has there ever been, a “Palestine”. 

             Munich, Germany. 1972 Summer Olympics. Black September, a Palestinian terrorist organization, breaks into 31 Connollystrasse, which housed the Israeli athletes during the Games. One coach was killed instantly, another (a weight-lifter) slowly bled to death from the wounds he incurred during the initial assault, and the remaining 9 athletes were taken hostage. What occurred afterwards can only be described as farcical; in fact the Germans made the Keystone Cops look competent! Authorities surrounded the dormitory and began negotiations. Eventually, they were able to talk the terrorists into allowing a “neutral” party to enter the apartment in order to check on the condition of the athletes. This is the one and only thing the Germans did right during the entire fiasco.

            During the visit, German authorities were able to assess the entire scene. How many terrorists were there? (Unfortunately, they thought there were only five; evidently, Germans do not know how to count to eight.) What was the condition of the hostages? Where was everyone located? What is the layout of the apartment? Where are the windows? Where is the furniture? How best to breach the dorm? The Germans had everything handed to them on a silver platter. Every Hostage Rescue Team dreams of such a scenario. The only thing left to do was to plan the breach and execute the rescue, right?

            Wrong. The terrorists demanded a bus so they could transfer the hostages to the airport, where they wanted an airplane to fly them out of Munich. What did the Germans do? They provided the bus and allowed the hostage transfer! Anyone familiar with hostage rescue tactics knows how utterly stupid that decision was. But, it gets worse. Much worse. The Germans planned a counter-assault at the airport. The plan was to have snipers in position so that when the terrorists began to transfer the athletes to the awaiting two helicopters, they would be able to kill the terrorists and end the siege. There were several things that went wrong with this ill-conceived plan.

1)      The snipers in question were not actual snipers. They were beat cops who had been recruited for the rescue.

2)      The helicopters landed in the direct line of fire. Snipers were on either side of the tarmac, and the helicopters were placed directly in between.

3)      The helicopters were supposed to be positioned facing east, enabling easy access to the hostages when the time came to help them escape. Apparently, Germans do not know east from west, because the choppers were erroneously positioned facing west.

4)      The sniper (known as “Sniper #3”), who was charged with shooting the leader of the terrorist group, “Issa”, missed the shot. Granted, it was night, and he did not have a scope nor night vision goggles, excuses the Germans gave ad nauseum after the Munich Massacre. However, it was a 100 meter shot, he had a rifle, and the tarmac had overhead lighting. This was the most important shot “Sniper #3” would ever make in his life, and he missed the “kill” shot, only hitting “Issa” in the leg. The gunfire alerted the terrorists, who then opened fire on five of the athletes in one of the helicopters, and threw a hand grenade into the helicopter containing the remaining four.

All eleven Israeli athletes were lost that day. Of course, it was Germany and they were Jews…but no, that would not have had anything to do with the slop of this operation, or would it?

            Yom Kippur is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. It is a day of atonement in which all sins against God may be forgiven. Jews fast for almost 26 hours, during which time they do not work, instead spending most of the time in synagogue services. On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria decided to take advantage of Yom Kippur by attacking Israel in retaliation for her successes in the 1967 war. Thinking they would have the advantage against a nation caught off guard, Egypt and Syria staged a two-front assault.

            Egypt wanted the Sinai back, which Israel had retained after the Six-Day War, Syria wanted the Golan Heights, and soon Iraq joined the fight. Meanwhile, Russia was providing support to Egypt, and Syria was being aided by Jordan. Once again, by all appearances Israel was outnumbered and caught off guard. Militarily, Israel did not stand much of a chance against such an onslaught. However, within a few days Israel had mobilized and was able to repel the invaders successfully, albeit not without cost. On October 25, 1973, a cease-fire was negotiated with Egypt and, having lost its ally, Syria was forced to retreat. Several years later, a peace agreement was reached between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachim Begin (1979), and the Sinai was returned to Egypt.

            No mention of the Yom Kippur War would be complete without including then-Prime Minister Golda Meir. She was lambasted after the attack, accused of not protecting Israel adequately. Meir was so distraught she was on the verge of suicide. In desperation, she called the United States for assistance. The “Great Statesman”, Henry Kissinger, upon hearing her plea for help, remarked sarcastically, “Let the Jews bleed a little.” As if they had not already bled enough. But, to his credit, then-President Richard Nixon was reminded of something his mother had told him. She said that if he ever had a chance to help the Jews, that he should do so, advice Nixon had taken to heart. So, Nixon came to Prime Minister Meir’s rescue, and in so doing likely saved her life.

            But, this book is about my journey toward faith, and there is a little-known incident that occurred during the Yom Kippur War that begs the question of just Who is protecting Israel. As the Israelis launched their offensive against Syria, one night a group of IDF soldiers were charged with the task of crossing through the Golan Heights to a pre-determined location in order to mount an offensive at dawn. As they began their mission, the soldiers quickly found themselves in a mine field. At night, with very little light, there was only one way to clear the mines: they would have to use their knives to feel around for them and then disarm the explosives one-by-one. This task would at least take all night, thus costing the soldiers the advantage of surprise. Nevertheless, they had their orders, so they began searching for the mines.

            Suddenly, a fierce dust storm came out of nowhere. It was blinding, and the soldiers were further discouraged because now they could not even search for the mines; it was all they could do to try and shelter themselves from the pelting sand. The soldiers did the only thing they could do: they hunkered down and waited until the storm passed. After a while, the dust storm did indeed stop just as suddenly as it had begun. When the soldiers looked around, miraculously all of the mines had been exposed! They were able to cross the field quickly and without fear of being killed. Was this just a fluke? A strange act of nature? A coincidence? Or, perhaps, just perhaps, Divine Intervention?

            Being victimized by terrorism has become a way of life for Israel. To list all of the terrorist attacks against that great nation would require a separate book. However, I would like to touch on some of the most notable in an attempt to dispel, once and for all, the myth that the Palestinians want “peace”. Let me begin by quoting a portion of the Hamas Charter (1987), which will give you an idea of just what it is these terrorists want:

“The day of Judgement (sic) will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jews will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say o muslims, o Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.”

            This philosophy is nothing new in the history of the “Palestinians”. In 1947, when the Jordanians (now known as “Palestinians”) were offered a very lucrative land offer (the 1947 Partition Plan) in which they were offered 85% to 90% of what is now Israel, the Jordanians refused the offer, instead vowing to shove Israel into the Sea, an endeavor to which they have worked steadily ever since.

            I have already covered Munich and Entebbe, so I will begin my list of terrorist events with Dawson’s Field. Between September 6^th and September 9^th, 1970, a total of five airplanes were hijacked by the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, an offshoot of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, or PLO). TWA Flight 741 and Swissair Flight 100, both originating in Germany, were taken to Dawson’s Field near Zarka, Jordan. Pan Am Flight 93 was taken to Cairo as the terrorists were not certain the newly-created 747 could land at Dawson’s Field. BOAC Flight 775 was later hijacked on September 9^th, and was also taken to Zarka.

            Terrorists attempted to hijack a fifth flight, El Al Flight 219, which originated from  Amsterdam, but were unsuccessful when two of the hijackers were refused boarding by Israeli security (instead, they bought tickets for the Pan Am flight and participated in that hijacking), one of the remaining hijackers (Patrick Arguello) was killed in flight by an Air Marshall, and the final hijacker was injured (Leila Khaled). The PFLP later demanded Leila Khaled’s release after taking BOAC Flight 775, and used the hostages as their bargaining chips in negotiating with the British. 

            Predictably, non-Jewish hostages were released, with the PFLP holding all professed Jews and those whose passports indicated they had begun their travel from Israel. The remaining hostages were removed from the flights hijacked on the 6^th and, on September 12^th, the terrorists blew up the three planes.

            All five incidents ended without a single injury or the death of any of the hostages. However, the passengers on Flight 93 in Cairo came within seconds of becoming victims of an Israeli 9/11. Flight Director John Ferruggio was the hero who saved the lives of the hostages. After the plane was diverted to Beirut, where the terrorists picked up more associates and explosives, he sensed what was going to happen and instructed the passengers to disembark the instant the aircraft came to a stop. They did so, and no sooner had everyone cleared the plane the Palestinians ignited the explosives, turning the aircraft into a fireball.

            The hostages from all four flights who had not been released were held captive for over two weeks until the British agreed to release Khaled, and the miraculous footnote to this story is that not one passenger was lost during what became known as “Black September” (the source of the name used by the group in the Munich Massacre).

On May 3, 1972, the PFLP recruited three members of the Japanese Red Army to storm Lod Airport (now Ben Gurion International). During this siege, 26 people were killed and 80 more were wounded with assault rifles and hand grenades. Two of the three Red Army members were killed, with the third, Kozo Okamoto, being captured and imprisoned.

In a town called Ma’alot, on May 15, 1974, members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP, another PLO offshoot) went on a killing spree that ultimately took them to Netiv Meir Elementary School, where they took 115 people hostage, 105 of whom were children. Once again, the terrorists’ demand was the release of prisoners, including Kozo Okamoto of the Lod Airport Massacre. Thus began a two-day standoff that ended in incomprehensible tragedy. Negotiations had been ongoing, and it appeared that an agreement had been reached. The children were told they were about to go home. Then the terrorists proceeded to splatter them all over the walls with machine guns and hand grenades. As the children screamed, and asked “why”, they were told, “Because you are going to grow up to be Israeli soldiers”. Twenty-five were slaughtered, and many more were maimed.

         March 4, 1975. Palestinians attacked the Savoy Hotel in Tel Aviv, taking the guests hostage and demanding the release of prisoners being held by the Israelis. The terrorists gave Israel a deadline of four hours. Instead, Sayeret Matkal stormed the hotel, killing seven of the Palestinians. They captured one other. Unfortunately, eight hostages also died in the incident, along with three soldiers.

          These attacks are but a brief overview of the terror Palestinians have inflicted on Israel. Then of course, there are the homicide bombings: buses, cafes, and the like. The “rock”-throwing. The fire-bombs. The Molotov Cocktails. The rockets. Oh, yes, the rockets. Almost 13,000 fired at Tel Aviv, 9,000+ having been fired from Gaza since 2005 after Israel withdrew from the region. But, the Palestinians want peace. At least, that is what I keep hearing. I thought all of the violence was because Israel was “oppressing” the Palestinians. So, after successfully driving Israel out of Gaza, what is their problem now? Remember the Hamas Charter? Well, it goes much deeper than that, and we will take a close look at what is really happening in Israel shortly.