« The Axis of Jihadism | Main | NY Times: Victimizing the Innocent »
August 30, 2006
Jewish Heroism
by Hillel Fendel for Debka
A collection of incidents of Israeli bravery and heroism during the recent war in Lebanon.
Offensive Defense
A unit of the Harel Division was charged with taking over the outskirts of a southern Lebanese village from which Katyusha rockets were fired at the Galilee. During the morning hours, the enemy saw that the soldiers had taken over a house, and the terrorists prepared to attack. However, the division's elite Sayeret unit deployed such that each house would be protected from two angles.
The attack began, with the Israelis coming under heavy fire from anti-tank missiles and light weapons, and the terrorists consequently approaching the house. At that moment, the surrounding Israeli forces opened fire from their two directions, killing all the terrorists who were near the house and scattering the others. Our forces suffered a number of wounded, but they were able to hold on without medical treatment until the evening hours, when they were evacuated by helicopter.
The Famous Bint Jbeil Battle
During the early morning hours of July 26, our forces approached the hostile village of Bint Jbeil, just a few kilometers from the Israeli border. They tried to circle around and enter one of the houses, which was apparently near an important Hizbullah headquarters. But the terrorists were heavily deployed in the area, and they surprised the Israelis with heavy fire from atop a high terrace.
A number of soldiers were hit in the first burst of fire, and other soldiers quickly arranged themselves to rescue their comrades - dead or alive - and hit back at the enemy. The ambushing terrorists, however, had the advantage of height, and all who entered their field of fire were vulnerable. Despite this, the soldiers bravely continued the battle, fearing that the terrorists would try to abduct bodies or live soldiers, and stormed the area at great risk to themselves.
The battle was led by commanders, many of whom were hit. In the end, the battle was completed by the lower-ranking soldiers, who killed the terrorists, rescued their friends, and reported by radio that the battle was under control and that they were treating the wounded. Despite the heavy losses - eight soldiers killed - some 25 dead terrorists were counted, and the IDF forces displayed great heroism and determination.
Another Natan Elbaz
At one point during the above battle, Maj. Ro'i Klein - 31, father of two young sons, a resident of Eli in the Shomron - found himself and several of his soldiers cornered in a dead-end alley by Hizbullah terrorists, who threw a grenade at them. Klein made a quick decision, called out "Shma Yisrael" - "Hear O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is One" and jumped on the grenade, sacrificing his life in order to save the lives of of his soldiers. His widow said later she prays that her sons will grow up to be like their father.
Klein's act of self-sacrifice was reminiscent of that of Natan Elbaz, a Moroccan Jew who immigrated to Israel without his family in the early 1950's. While serving in the IDF in February 1954, he and a fellow soldier were disarming grenades when the safety cap of one was released. With four seconds left before the grenade would explode and cause a catastrophic explosion in the munitions-filled tent, Natan ran out with the grenade held close to his chest, jumped into a ditch - and, with his death, saved the lives of many others.
Maroun a-Ras
In capturing houses used by the terrorists, the IDF forces found much valuable weaponry, equipment and information. In particular, one home that had been quickly abandoned by Hizbullah turned up advanced observatory equipment, an editing room, maps of both IDF and Hizbullah forces, communications devices and more. Most important of all were anti-tank missiles that had hit Israeli tanks, as well as a Syrian bill of lading for equipment it had sent to Hizbullah. The last item, of course, is critical for Israel's intelligence and foreign relations efforts.
Nearby, an IDF force entered one of the nearby houses - and encountered a Hizbullah cell that had not run away. In the battle that ensued, one or two terrorists were killed, while others hid in inner rooms. A battalion officer - an immigrant from Ethiopia - led the way, and at one point he threw a grenade which bounced off a wall, set off an explosion, caused a door to slam shut - and the officer found himself , wounded, locked inside a room alone against the enemy. However, he continued fighting, and killed another terrorist. Finally, another force of the same battalion blew up an outer wall of the house, killed the other terrorists, and rescued the officer.
The Battle of Andoriya
One of the last battles before the ceasefire went into effect took place in Andoriya, a village from where many Katyushas were fired at Kiryat Shmonah, ten kilometers to the east. A large force of some 600 men, mostly of the Nachal Brigade, descended upon the village after a night-long trek while carrying heavy loads of equipment. They opened fire, but were greeted by a much heavier burst of enemy fire from several directions. One soldier was killed and 12 were wounded, but the force continued with determination, going house to house and yard to yard.
Dozens of rockets and shells were fired at them, by joint Hizbullah and Iranian forces, killing another soldier and wounding 8 more. Nevertheless, the Israelis continued to advance, led by their commanders, until they reached their target, recently abandoned by the terrorists. Hizbullah, well-entrenched in the area, had left rockets, launchers, shoulder-held missiles, and more.
Some of the soldiers ended the battle in a state of dehydration, brought on by a lack of water, difficult conditions before the battle, and the duration of the battle. None of this prevented them from advancing unyieldingly towards their target. The wounded were evacuated under heavy fire. In one case, a medic was wounded while treating a soldier, yet continued treating him until he himself fainted at the door of the helicopter that came to evacuate his patient.
Based on incidents collected by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner
Hat Tip: Seraphic Brother-in-Law, David Singer
Posted by Robert J. Avrech at August 30, 2006 02:31 PM
Comments
Seraphic Secret is private property, that's right, it's an extension of our home, and as such, Karen and I have instituted two Seraphic Rules and we ask commentors to act respectfully.
1. No profanity.2. No Israel bashing. We debate, we discuss, we are respectful. You know what Israel bashing is. The world is full of it. Seraphic Secret is one of the few places in the world that will not tolerate this form of anti-Semitism. That's it. Break either of these rules and you will be banned.
These stories are simultaneously heartwarming and heartrending. Thank you for sharing them.
(And hello Robert after my long absence. I was w/o much internet access for most of the summer, and am now overwhelmed with work. But I will be checking in as able, God willing.)
Posted by: kishke at August 30, 2006 07:44 PM
Robert, it's both sad and wonderful to read these stories...heartrending to read of losses, but it's also so important and good to read about what these young men did defending Eretz Yisrael and their fellow soldiers.
Also, there are more and more stories and essays showing how Hizbollah LOST, contrary to all the media hoopla (discounting Hizbollah's nonsensical pronouncements), and it not because of superior armor and weaponry, it was because of the heart of these IDF soldiers. The above is such an antidote to the poison from the media and too many dumb pundits.
Thanks.
Posted by: Maurice at August 30, 2006 08:18 PM
Kishke:
It pains me to say that these fine and courageous men were led by by a feeble and selfish government with no idea how to conduct the war, nor properly conclude it. Olmert, Livni, Perez and Chalutz are not worthy of even one of these magnificent soldiers.
Good to hear from you again, welcome back!
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.seraphicpress.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at August 30, 2006 08:19 PM
I'd like to think that were Sharon still capable, he would have done a better job. But who knows? His military acumen was not evident in his final year in government, witness the present situation in Gaza.
Posted by: kishke at August 30, 2006 08:26 PM
Maurice:
Yes, in all individual battles the IDF prevailed over Hizbullah. Unfortunately, the political outcome of the war is a disaster for Israel.
Since when does the IDF fight to have foreign troops stationed on her borders?
Since when do you go to war only to beg for a cease-fire so that the enemy can resupply and redeploy behind a screen of UN and European mercenaries?
Since when does the IDF fight a war and then sign a cease-fire with a terrorist gang thereby raising their status all over the world?
This government is criminally negligent and should have been removed from office in the second week of the war--as Seraphic Secret recommended.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at August 30, 2006 08:30 PM
Kishke:
I believe (perhaps mistakenly) that if Sharon were here for this war, it would have been conducted quite differently. Let's be honest: the government leadership was and continues to be disgraceful, and the army was not allowed to fight as an army should fight. The original plans against Hizbullah were jettisoned in favor of a "cheap" and truly ineffective air war.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at August 30, 2006 08:42 PM
Oh, I agree that the government's prosecution of the war was terrible. I'm just saying that Sharon's monumental military misjudgement in Gaza calls his abilities into question.
As for fighting to station foreign troops on Israel's border, it's even worse than it sounds, considering that many of the troops will be Turkish Muslims. If the earlier UN deployment was anti-Israel (and it was), how much more so one that includes the Turks.
But there is one ray of hope! The French will be there! Now they are impartial.
Posted by: kishke at August 30, 2006 08:48 PM
Kishke:
Oh yes, the mighty French, who promised to lead the international mercenaries with several thousand troops--what are they up to? Four hundred ferocious Francaise whose vehicles have only one gear: reverse.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at August 30, 2006 08:56 PM
More important I think is the fact that the French have a longstanding relatinship with the Lebanese. (Lebanon was once a French colony, or something of the sort.) Even without France's oft-demonstrated anti-Israel bias, their special relationship with Lebanon is reason enough to be very wary of their participation.
Posted by: kishke at August 30, 2006 09:03 PM
I agree with you Robert, but my point was more that the IDF, in spite of the odds, the poor planning and direction from above, and the inadequacy of their provisions and basic needs, STILL beat Hezbollah and WON a military battle. There was much more destruction of Hezbollah than was immediately apparent at the end of the war.
The feckless politicians did their best to turn victory into defeat. However, these IDF soldiers were NOT defeated by Hezbollah. I want to separate out the political win/loss from the military win/loss, and yes, I understand the battle plans were not smart because of the high command. But the IDF troops, as detailed in this article and from what else I have read, put a "big hurt" on Hezbollah, and that's still important.
Posted by: Maurice at August 30, 2006 10:21 PM
Something else that I think should be mentioned is Halutz's air force pedigree. I recall that when he was appointed Chief of Staff, there was discussion of this being the first COS drawn from the air force. Well, I think the Lebanon war is the blemished fruit of that unfortunate decision. Without being privy to command decisions (obviously), I'd lay money that his institutional bias was the reason the ground war was delayed, to such unfortunate effect.
Posted by: kishke at August 30, 2006 10:28 PM
Kishke:
It is understood within military doctrine that air force generals are simply too narrowly focused in their own discipline to be appointed Chief of Staff of an Army.
Ariel Sharon appointed Chalutz. Why? Common belief is that Sharon felt that he could "control" Chalutz at the operational level. And, no doubt he could have.
Unfortunately, Sharon also believed that he would live forever. An unforgivable sin.
And of course Olmert and the rest of his stooges could not control Chalutz, much less sit at the same table with him. Olmert has little military experience. Minister of Defense Perez, a hard leftist, also has little military experience, and just a few years ago was a member of Peace Now and was carrying a sign calling Sharon a war criminal.
That these men (and women, Tzipi Livni) were in charge of a war would be a joke if not for the fact that there is so much Jewish blood on their hands.
Seraphic Secret, in the second week of the war, demanded the resignation of the Olmert government and further we said that Gen. Dan Chalutz was incapable of properly leading the IDF in this war.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at August 31, 2006 09:27 AM
Your point regarding Sharon's hubris is well-taken. I actually believe it may have had much to do with his Gaza decision as well. It's possible that Sharon knew that leaving Gaza could lead to bad things (as it has, e.g. the continuing rocket attacks; militarization of Gaza), but felt confident that he would be able to formulate a viable military response. And perhaps he would have been able to! But of course, no one lives forever. He sinned in creating a situation that was inherently unstable; whose viability depended on the continued functioning of one elderly, not terribly healthy, human being. Your observation regarding Halutz is another case in point.
Posted by: kishke at August 31, 2006 09:48 AM
Kishke:
I believe that Sharon's Gaza thinking was a combination political and military decision making.
Political: gain the good will of the US and prove that the war with the Palis has nothing to do with land. "Look, we withdraw from Gaza and do they try and build a viable state? Of course not. They step up their terrorist infrastructure."
Military: When the time comes for an all-out offensive in Gaza (and it will come) there will be no Jewish civilians in the way of IDF firepower. For the IDF to manuever around and through the Jewish civilians at the time of the coming Gaza War would be disastrous.
As much as I hate the Gaza withdrawal, I have always understood why Sharon did it.
OTOH, there is no such logic for Judea and Samaria.
Posted by: Robert J. Avrech at August 31, 2006 11:00 AM
Your arguments are valid with regard to the dismantling of civilian settlements in Gaza. But my problem with Gaza was never the withdrawal of civilians, but the withdrawal of the Israeli military, particularly from such important areas as the Philadelphia corridor. Sharon's full withdrawal of the IDF was madness.
Posted by: kishke at August 31, 2006 11:19 AM