Succot terror

Two small children, Dorit Aniso 2, and Yuval Abebeh 4, were killed while
playing outside their home in Sderot in southern Israel by a single rocket
on Friday morning (erev Succot). This was one of hundreds of rockets
targeting this Israeli town that is closest to the Gaza Strip. At the same
time a woman, Shulamit Batito, 36, was shot dead while jogging near her home
in Nitsanit in Gaza, and two soldiers, Gilad Fisher and Victor Ariel,
manning positions in Beit Hanun, were killed by fire from Palestinian
gunmen. The loss of five persons triggered a decision by the Israeli
security cabinet to expand the re-occupation of northern Gaza with a larger
IDF force to attempt to stop the firing of rockets into Israel.
It is important to note that the Gaza Strip is not "occupied" by Israel, but
is surrounded by Israel and has a Security Fence, on which the one around
the West Bank is based, that has been very successful in stopping suicide
bombers infiltrating from Gaza. However, it has not of course stopped the
firing of rockets over the fence. These actions have caused Israel to send
in the IDF to re-occupy areas that had been given up to PA control. So if
anyone says that it is the "Israeli occupation" that is the cause of the
problems there, you can tell them that the Israeli re-occupation is a
response to Palestinian attacks on defenseless Israeli towns, killing
civilians, including children. This was certainly glossed over in the news
from the BBC and CNN, that of course emphasized the IDF columns entering the
Jabaliya refugee camp today, and the loss of Palestinian life there. Up to
10 Palestinian "gunmen" have been killed so far.
The US is adopting the same strategy in Samara in Iraq, i.e.. going in with
tanks and heavy weapons, and this brings out the gunmen, and then they are
destroyed with superior force. This seems to be working. Certainly there
will be more civilian casualties this way, but this is war and the
alternative is to leave the city under the control of the insurgents, in
both Gaza and Iraq.
One side-note of the tragedy in Sderot is that the two children killed were
Ethiopian immigrants. So if anyone tells you that Israel is a racist
("apartheid") state ask them why the Palestinian Arabs are targeting black
children?
Over Succot, at my daughter's home in Beersheva, we met an immigrant couple
from Germany (she was Jewish, they met in Tel Aviv and he converted). What
was notable was that their German/Hebrew speaking children are as blond as
can be. Israel is truly a "rainbow nation," including many Arabs.
While we were there we noticed that our two youngest grandchildren were
playing "mechablim" (terrorists), in which cars chase each other and then
blow up. So this has replaced "cowboys and Indians" for Israeli kids,
reflecting their times. But, then I wonder if in the US they now play
"cowboys and native Americans?"