Israel, Asking For Help

IT WAS ONE OF THOSE TV COMMERCIALS which seem to last forever, on that station that shows old western movies. The one from the Humane Society, with images of unhappy dogs, I cannot watch. This one had a young attractive Jewish-looking lady on camera, in a room full of cute, energetic little kids. With a deeply sad facial expression, she reminded us of of the horrible terrorist attack suffered by Israel last Otober seventh. The death, the senseless suffering. Because and only because of this vicious, brutal, unprovoked attack,Israel is at war, against terrorists, fighting for its very survival. Hundreds of children, much like the ones right behind her, were murdered, she reminds us. She goes on. Now, because of this war, children all over Israel are staying in bomb shelters, and they don't always have good nutritious meals. Israelis in general are suffering from this war, and need your help, needs help from Christians and Jews all over the world, she continues. A vague sense of Christians and Jews ganging up on Muslims. As she stares straight into the camera and into the hearts and minds of millions, her voice exuding total sincerity in her passionate plea to help save Israel, it became difficult to imagine anyone not being moved by her imploring words, asking for help...I started thinking. How much and what kind of help does Israel actually need? I asked the same question when the United States was sending "military assistance" to Israel, wondering precisely what kind of military assistance the nation of Israel needed that it was lacking, and didn't already have in abundance. To me, Israel seems to be quite a powerful, well stocked country militarily, quite able to defend itself,and doing quite well in that capacity at the moment. Precisely why are Israeli children spending time in bomb shelters? Precisely who is bombing Israel, or even threatening to? How many rockets are being fired into Israel daily? How is their vaunted defense system, "Iron Dome", holding up? Anyone who has ever visited Israel notices how beautiful, clean, and well maintainted the country is, industrious, successful, prosperous. How mcuh actual trouble is Israel having properly feeding its children? The thought crossed my mind that among the Palestinian civilian population is where all the food, medicine, protection is needed, much more so than among the Israeli civilian population. Correct? A few hundred Israeli children were murdered. More than thirty thousand Palestinian civilians have been murdered, and perhaps a million are threatened with faminine, disease, starvation. Correct? The young Israeli lady asked everyone to send forty five dollars to help Israel, to help Israeli children have well balanced, nutritious meals. Not fifty dollars, not forty dollars, not a hundred dollars. Forty five dollars. She didn't say why that particular amount. Maybe there is something about the number "45" that triggers a charitable impulse. Rest assured there is a reason for the number, a very well thought out reason....Hard to argue with the cause. Most of us could use forty five bucks, and a few well balanced, nutritious meals. But the plain fact is, no bias or anti-Semitism intended, before I send forty five dollars to Israel, or one dollar, or any amount, I'm going to send a little bit of help to the Palestinians; They seem to need mmoney, and much more,even more than Israeli children.