Kites of Peace

Very hot days in Israel right now. And in this heat, "gifts" of fire are sent our way by our neighbors in Gaza. Fire kites, fire balloons, which, primitive as they are, cause a lot of damage, physical and mental. Agricultural fields on the Jewish side of the border catch fire and burn, causing immense financial damage to the farmers. Small children, who are used to thinking of kites and balloons in an innocent way, are forced to rearrange their concepts to fit this insane reality. Of course, here in Jerusalem nothing of this is felt. The kites don't reach this part of the Land. So today, together with a few more people, I went south, to the Gaza border, not far from where I was born and raised. Thousands of people were there. The traffic jam leading to the area was very long.
We all went there for one purpose - to fly kites of peace and balloons of hope, and to support the local residents and the parents of the dead Israeli soldier, Hadar Goldin, whose body is still in the hands of Hamas, and Hamas would not give it back. Hadar's family do not ask for a 'prisoner release deal' with Hamas. They do not want our government to release terrorists from prison, like it did in the Gilad Schalit deal, because such deals bring about more kidnapping, more violence and more death. They ask instead that Israel put more pressure on the Hamas leaders in order for them to give back Hadar's body.

Many people were there today, giving talks about the current situation and about our need to keep our hope and strength. Among them were Hadar Goldin's family, local residents of the Jewish areas around Gaza, former judges and current politicians. It was quite an happening.
Very happily, I spotted in the crowd also two Arab men, Muslims, clad in their traditional Kafiyah and Galabiyah, who came to support us, to support Hadar's family and to support the local residents in the Jewish settlements around Gaza. It was moving to see them!

It was beautiful to see all these kites, colored blue-and-white (colors of our flag, colors of our prayer shawl, colors of spirituality and peace), flying up in the sky, and the kids and parents enjoying this activity. When we were there, no kites of fire were flown to us from Gaza. It reminds me of a famous phrase by the Lubavitcher Rabbi: "A little bit of light can drive away a lot of darkness". I want to believe that our little peaceful gesture, our peaceful kite flying today, caused a spiritual effect that prevented the black kites of fire from landing in our territory. But anyway, it didn't seem like the people who were there were afraid. They weren't. I wasn't either.
This week we will read in synagogues in Israel and around the world this verse from Jeremiah: "And they shall fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you". These words are said to Jeremiah, but I think many people in Israel live with this consciousness, that G-d is with us, and that even if other people fight us (from Gaza, or in the UN), they will not prevail, for G-d is with us. Later on it says there (Jeremiah 2): "Israel is the Lord's hallowed portion, His first-fruits of the increase. All that devour him shall be held guilty, evil shall come upon them, says the Lord". I'm thinking of the Hamas leaders, and feel this verse speaks about them these days. They do not fight us. They fight G-d, and their behavior shows that their destructive motivation is not pure. They are willing to burn their own area (one of their kites actually burned a power-supply station that gives electricity to Gaza), they are willing to suffer, they are willing to die, as long as we suffer and die. No gestures of peace are accepted. The hatred is so big. But I believe that the day will come in which they too will wake up and realize the truth that is there in G-d's words.

Here are a few pictures that I took today near Gaza (you can faintly see the Gaza Strip in the background, but the camera on my phone is not that good, so it doesn't show well).

Shabbat Shalom!
Revital