A Haunted Dream

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It is Day 22 of the war here. I feel sluggish, anxious, unfocussed. It is as if a powerful earthquake shifted the plates below my feet. I feel its tremors below and do not know what the future will bring.

This ‘earthquake’ has shaken both Israel and the world to its foundations, unleashing evil and darkness. Hatred and lies are spewing as never before. Shaken, I feel as if our cherished concepts of kindness and light, and of goodness and love have been trumped.

This feeling reminds me of The Lord of the Rings, when darkness unleashes a power causing "a time of peril unseen, of fear without form, an uneasy vigil; or a haunted dream, leading through despair to the shadow of Death."

A haunted dream come true, this is our reality in Israel’s south. Here, terrorists dig tunnels and emerge from holes in cover of darkness falsely disguised in IDF uniforms with guns and masks and death on their minds. They come to wreak terror upon families huddled in beds and children fast asleep in their cribs.  

A peril unseen, rockets are shot high into the skies, aiming for civilian populations. The rockets soar and the sirens wail as we sleep, drive, or work, sending us running, filling us with panic and fear.

Darkness unleashes a power in Israel and also across the world:

In Miami, Hamas thugs aggressively demonstrate on downtown streets screaming ““Khaybar, Khaybar, ya yahud, jaish Muhammad sa yaoud.” (The threat of Muhammad’s to exterminate all Jews.)

In Paris, mobs shout, scream, beat, plunder and smash.

In The Hague, the Islamic State (formerly Isis) proudly wave black flags under the cry “Death to the Jews.”

In London, there is a warning that the “black flag of jihad” will fly over Downing Street.

In the media worldwide, journalists write lies, weave fabrications and uphold terror.

In world politics, democratic leaders and ‘peace’ organizations condemn a country for defending itself and pity those bent on destruction and death.

It seems as if the world has shifted to a place of darkness and lies and all seems upside down. I dream of those quiet days in the ‘Shire’ and wish we could return. But I feel as if something huge has shifted the precarious balance we once enjoyed--and I do not know how we can get back home to a life of surety, security, love and comfort.

As J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in The Hobbit:

The bells were ringing in the dale
And men looked up with faces pale;
Then dragon's ire more fierce than fire
Laid low their towers and houses frail

We will not allow this dragon to make our faces pale and hope to vanquish this evil darkness. But for those who do not live here in Israel, please be aware that this shift has unleashed fumes of ire that have been simmering undercover for some time. And they are gathering force worldwide. 

I always like to see the positive side and do not want to sound like a doomsday sayer, but Israel is like a canary in a coal mine. And it is dark down here.

Are you feeling the earthquake’s aftershock?