That was my personal wake-up call.
The Vicissitudes of War
What changed?
Well, I have a son serving in a combat unit in the IDF.
And unbeknownst to me at that time, he saw some gruesome things (like dozens of dead terrorists after a week in the sun at the site of the nature party and also on Kibbutz Be'eri).
Then he participated in the unexpected liquidation of two armed terrorists still wandering the Israeli countryside days after the initial Slaughter.
Furthermore, he participated in the "purification" of the attacked areas by shooting his rifle through windows and then entering the homes, hoping they were either empty of live terrorists or that he'd manage to shoot any live terrorists before they shoot him.
And in Sderot, as he huddled on the ground next to a cement wall during a rocket attack, rocket shrapnel shot toward him, hitting the wall just above him, then falling to his side, missing him by inches.
The entire time, rockets were exploding into the Iron Dome overhead.
He'd just turned 19. Until that point, he'd been in a charedi yeshivah and then working at a kosher place.
Neither of these provide suitable preparation for the experiences described above.
A Completely Theoretical Scenario
So then let's say there's a scenario like this:
After the Invasion from Gaza, the IDF (finally!) managed to seal the border.
But not all the armed terrorists and their ghoulish tag-alongs managed to make it back into Gaza before the IDF sealed the border.
Some got stuck on our side of the border.
So let's say these same looting ghoulish Gazans got caught by IDF soldiers and though the Gazans were handcuffed and lying on the ground, one continued thrashing around & cursing just 'cause he wants to prove a point.
And, contrary to the Hollywood movies, soldiers aren't so graceful when dealing with this.
IDF soldiers are supposed to merely hold down the wild animal, but the soldiers are full of gear, with their rifles and backpacks shifting around and shifting them off-balance, and their helmet sliding awkwardly over their eyes as they struggle with the barbarian.
So a fellow soldier who'd been through the scenarios described in the previous section might feel angered watching his friend struggle blindly to subdue the said barbarian.
And so the fellow soldier might ram the butt of his rifle into the Gazan nose, thereby breaking it.
And that's it. It stopped at that.
Theoretically, of course.
Unfortunately, this imaginary scenario disobeys orders and the ethics of the IDF.
Generally, breaking the nose of a wildly thrashing yet handcuffed barbarian should lead to a court-martial.
But under the circumstances with everyone distracted by the initial attack and the ensuing war, the commander might let it go, though not without a stern rebuke to the rifle-butting soldier to obey orders and maintain a high standard of ethics.
Also, such a thing would be kept hush-hush because if higher officials found out about it, a court-martial would need to happen.
Please, dear reader, do NOT let the mainstream media know that even after such a horrific attack of mass murder, torture, and kidnapping, the IDF still maintains such a strict ethical standard of the treatment of obvious participants in the Horror.
After all, we do not want to ruin their Israel-bashing fun.
Will Such Behavior Leave a Stain on One's Jewish Psyche?
Not that she feels any pity for the ghoulish looter or his nose.
But she feels very concerned about the effect hitting a handcuffed perp might have on her son's psyche.
Will this dull his sense of compassion and mercy?
Will this lead to him becoming a cold-hearted or cruel person?
She's very concerned about the effect the incident might have on her son's Jewish values and Jewish heart.
The Illusion-Stripping Phone Call
I listen to it with a translation in Hebrew subtitles and though I understand very little Arabic, I understand enough to know it's accurate and to follow the conversation with the Hebrew translation (as the languages are similar).
And to the best of my recollection, I hear the following said with great exultation and glee:
"Mom! Dad! You can be proud of your son! I killed ten Jews! And I'm calling from the Jewish woman's phone! The Jewish woman I just killed! MA, I HAVE THE JEWISH WOMAN'S BLOOD ON MY HANDS!!! YES, ON MY HANDS RIGHT NOW AS WE SPEAK! You can be proud of your son!"
And they are. The parents are proud of their son.
He continues in this fashion while his parents fervently proclaim: "Allahu akhbar!" The father sounds thrilled and the mother sounds moved beyond words as she finally says, "When are you coming home, my son? My God protect you and may you come home safely."
At that point, younger siblings get on the line while their big brother extolls his own savagery and they sound like nice, normal excited younger siblings, proud of their big brother and excited to know where he is and what he's done and when he's coming home.
Everyone (including the murderer) is nearly crying with joy throughout the phone call.
And that phone call hit me like a ton of bricks, stripping me of all my illusions:
There are no innocent civilians in Gaza.
Never the Twain Shall Meet
We weren't even the same creations, in a sense.
I cannot relate to her on any level.
And she would never understand me either.
While I, with all my flaws, seeks to build the tzelem Elokim (Divine Image) in myself and my children, she seeks to rip that same tzelem Elokim to shreds and actively encouraging her children to do the same, and heaping praise upon them for doing so in the most gruesome manner possible.
I'm representative of my community while she is representative of hers.
(Also, not that it matters ethically, but this terrorist committed these gruesome acts against the people who felt so devoted to him and his people. And his family celebrated their son's barbarism against the Jews who always voted, spoke up, and contributed in support of the cause of the Gazan Arabs. It is cruel and heartless no matter who the Jews were, but it just showcases their ruthlessness to know they behaved this way against Jews so devoted to their cause.)
Motivations Matter
After wondering around for 4 days, trying to find a way back into Israel, he was spotted by Gazan civilians who helpfully returned him to his terrorist captors.
And the verified reports and footage of Gazan women, children, and elderly men stripping the still-warm Jewish corpses of their belongings, gleefully following armed terrorists into Jewish homes to loot and abuse Jews, the abduction of Jews by Gazan "civilians," plus the physically abusive behavior of Gazan children to the terrified captive Jewish children.
And also Yaffa Adar's chilling experience:
yet-another-expose-on-the-innocent-civilians-of-gaza-attacking-a-red-cross-vehicle-filled-with-elderly-and-child-captives.html
Also, the Gazans who oppose Hamas do not oppose them for moral reasons.
The Hamas murder of Jews bothers them not one whit.
They resent Hamas's poor aim, with their rockets falling the Gazans.
They resent not having the political connections that would enable them to up their standard of living and provide them with more power and honor.
They don't want a more decent government, they want a more accessible government to give them stuff.
Yet despite being primitive and barbaric Jew-haters, they aren't completely stupid.
If people they wish to impress ask them, of course they'll say the "right" words.
But they're lying.
And I never realized that until I heard that ghoulish horrific phone call.
It All Comes Back Down to Fighting the Inner Enemy
Only a big talmid chacham would know. (And the military and government elites aren't asking them.)
Mostly, the talmidei chacham aren't saying much right now, except to love each other more, give in to each more, behave and dress more modestly, and honor Shabbat more thoroughly.
Rav Dov Kook stated that each person knows what to work on individually, so each person should do that.
And those statements are the Jewish key to overcoming any enemy.
A real talmid chacham is wiser and more compassionate than everyone else.
But he also knows how to be tough when toughness is the most ethical response.
So I don't know.