Israel

The news over the holiday weekend in Israel was disturbing, tragic, and confusing. As a community we mourn the loss of life and pray for the healing of the wounded. The videos of Israeli soldiers being lowered into the Turkish lead ship and then being beaten, stabbed, and thrown overboard, was horrifying to witness.  The Israeli Army had announced that they would be boarding the ships in order to escort them to the Israeli port city Ashdod, where the contents of the ship would go through a security check for illegal weapons and other contraband and then all food and medical supplies would be shipped over land by Israelis into the Gaza Strip. With this in mind, Israeli soldiers boarded all ships peacefully, except for the lead ship, from which a band of terrorist and criminals beat them. The Israelis did not have weapons drawn. They first attempted paint pellets to subdue the crowd, then pistols at the feet of the crowd, and then as they feared for their lives, the situation escalated. There is clearly much to be learned in the following days about the details of the planning and execution of this mission.