Puppies & Snakes
by Tamar YonahI walked into the back room and my two older kids were watching the news. "Ima, (mother) look at this news report."
I stopped what I was doing and stood to watch a clip that Israel's channel 10 news showed of a Lebanese military training camp. They showed the usual 'tough guys' in camouflage uniform running through obstacle courses and looking macho. Then they showed how youth were coming there after school to train as well. They were way underage; some looked like they were only 13 years old. The kicker here is what the young men did next to show how tough they were to the others.
As they were lined up, a big box was brought out and opened up in front of them. Inside the box were live, slithering snakes. One of the head soldiers there bent down and pulled out the snakes, handing them to the other 'youth' there, and holding them in tow, almost on cue, they all brought their faces down to the snakes and took bites out of them and ate them while they were still alive.
Don't believe me? Watch this (shorter version) video, but I am warning you, it is graphic.
These are the enemies Israel has to contend with. And the interesting thing here, is that Lebanon is considered to be one of the more 'moderate' Arab countries.
Can you imagine what the more intolerant Arab countries do????
I remember years ago watching another news report showing how – I think it was kids from the Palestinian Authority- were all lined up in a court yard in different rows. They were kids, I'd say between 7 and 10 years old. My memory is foggy, because it was so awful, I didn't want to remember. But what I recall is the news showing these kids – also in some type of uniform, boys, and girls, but in separate sections, holding the cutest little puppy dogs. They must not have been more than a couple of months old, if that. Now, if I remember, these kids were given these puppies to care for, play with, feed, etc… After a month or so, at their (graduation?) ceremony from their military training, they came with their little puppies that they playfully held, and at a count and then an order from their leader, were instructed to either break the puppies' necks, or to strangle them. Either way, the result was the same. I recall something about them chanting in Arabic, ""This little dog is like a Jew. This is what I do to Jewish dogs." And then, hands around the neck, they twisted it and broke the neck or strangled them. I don't remember, I don't want to remember.
What does it take to get a kid attached to a cute little puppy, and then order them to kill them with their own hands? Did they give names to their puppies? These 'people', the International community tells us, are supposed to be our peace partners. These are the 'moderates': Lebanon and our 'Palestinian Peace Partners'.
How should Israel respond when these are the enemies she has to contend with?
Who's the puppy and who's the snake?
