Our son Mark was hit by a projectile today. His older brother threw a car at him. Otherwise, life as far as we see it here is normal. Without minimizing the real dangers in parts of this country at the moment, I want to comment on the media’s portrayal of events. I read an article tonight about MSNBC which has an insight right at the top. The new general manager of MSNBC faults CNN:

“I have no interest in being anything like CNN,” said Abrams, a surprise appointment to replace Rick Kaplan last month. “The biggest weakness of CNN is I often find myself dozing off as I am watching.”

In other words, news fails if it is boring. He has a solution:

Abrams said he’s determined to make MSNBC’s programming “a little edgier, a little faster and more urgent” than before.

What that means is that Israel will always look like a battleground, unsafe for any but a wild-eyed journalist.

I remember my first introduction to this reality in journalism. I was a college student in Jerusalem and went with some friends to a taping of the Geraldo show. In those days the threat was from Iraq and the host went around before the show asking guests what they thought. At showtime, only the most disturbed people were interviewed. Those of us who thought calmly and rationally were ignored. But the picture in the States was that Israel was really dangerous and everyone was terrified. That’s no longer only the approach of the Geraldo show, it’s the way of mainstream network news. And on one hand, it makes sense. How much “news” is it to put me on TV saying that the Jerusalem area was quiet and peaceful today?

My request, then: please remember this the next time you turn the TV on (and before you send me that email).

On the other hand, if I changed my tone on this blog and got all distressed and fanatic, I bet I could get an interview on TV! Wait, I hear something, BOOOM, ahhhhhh! I think we’re all going to die. (CNN, my phone number is 972-2-765-4321; call now!)

Israel should withdraw from occupied Palestinian territories if they want to enjoy a peaceful existence. The reason for the Muslim violence is the occupation and when that ends, so will suicide bombers, rocket attacks, and kidnappings. So the argument goes from most of the world leaders, the United Nations and some evangelicals.

Last year Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip. All agree that there is no occupation of the Gaza Strip. It’s interesting then that for the last year Israel’s cities have been the target of rockets launched from Gaza. If Gaza is not occupied, why the terror attacks?

Six years ago Israel pulled out of Lebanon. The UN certified that none of Lebanese territory is occupied by Israel. It’s interesting then that it is from Lebanon that hundreds of missiles rained down on Israeli cities in the last few days. If Gaza is not occupied, why the terror attacks?

The reality, as Charles Krauthammer notes, is that the “occupation” is an excuse – a false reason given to deceive Westerners into supporting Islamic terror.

occupation was a mere excuse to persuade gullible and historically ignorant Westerners to support the Arab cause against Israel. The issue is, and has always been, Israel’s existence. That is what is at stake.

Or to say it another way, the problem is the “occupation.” That is, the occupation of any part of Palestine by Israel. When the occupation ends (and the Jews drown in the Sea or move to Uganda), then the violence will end.

And every world leader and every evangelical who supports Palestinians in their quest to end the “occupation” is supporting them in their quest to remove all Jews from the Middle East.

Concerning the Palestinians and their supporters, you can either listen to their words or you can listen to their actions. I suggest that more people start doing the latter.

While I was camping, there were some new developments.

First, about camping. Luke complained that it was noisy at night while he was trying to sleep. We were staying near Tell Yalo, ancient Aijalon. Midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Yes, too noisy. The cows were mooing, the woodpeckers pecking, and the birds chirping.

But it also seems that Hezbollah made some new moves which make some of my comments yesterday in error. At least there is a new reality. It’s no longer just the northern border communities that are vulnerable, but the range of the missiles is greater (Haifa is about 30 miles from the Lebanese border). Do they have missiles capable of reaching Jerusalem? Possibly. Do they still after the last 24 hours of Israeli bombardment? Possibly. Is Israel capable of stopping them? Clearly not.

Hezbollah has killed a few and wounded a hundred, but the impact is greater in terms of the psychological impact. Having said that, I can say that in my very tiny world here, I have seen no change. At the weekly brunch at the community here, hundreds of Israelis were out enjoying the meal and the atmosphere. Traffic was quite normal (that means bad) in Jerusalem today and I noted that security officials guarding the streets seemed relaxed and not on any kind of alert status.

In any case, if you like predictions, here’s a good list of quotes compiled by Arutz-7 on Israel’s safety and the possibility of rockets being fired on Israel given the current peace process. Here’s one:

We’re familiar with the Likud’s horror stories. They promised us Katyushas from Gaza, but Gaza has been under the primary control of the Palestinian Authority for more than a year now, and there hasn’t been a single Katyusha.

Prime Minister, Yitzchak Rabin, Jun 20, 1995

So who was right? Can Rabin consider himself right if there weren’t Katyushas for 5 years? The gambles they make here have pretty big stakes.

PS Six years ago I never would have guessed I’d be camping with a Square B’er.

I’m going to save myself a few future emails, by answering your question before you ask. Four who have already written have said:

I have just been checking the news in Israel and having read about the recent events in regards to Lebanon, was wondering what your take on the whole situation is since Israel is now fighting on two fronts. From my computer screen, it looks like it might be getting scary over there

Just wanted to see if there was any update from you all on the current situation in Israel. Any thoughts or what you are hearing about the seriousness of the situation.

from the news here it sounds like the next 6 day war is imminent, if it hasn’t started already

Right now it seems like a very dangerous time.

The short answer: yes, it is a very dangerous time here for 1) the soldiers; 2) those who live in border communities (with either Lebanon or Gaza), 3) the terrorists and those they choose to hide behind. But for us, living near Jerusalem, today was like any other and we wouldn’t know that something was going on unless we saw the news. The analogy would be a riot in Los Angeles; those in Phoenix would be little affected in any direct way. Since my news source is internet and not TV, my guess is that I’m in much less of a frenzy than TV viewers. My plans to take 5 little boys camping in about an hour are unchanged.