Horror in Majdal Shams

Over the weekend, our collective hearts were once again broken as we learnt of the indiscriminate and deadly rocket attack on a soccer field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams, which killed 12 children. We join in the outpouring of grief in all Israeli society. It’s worth remembering that in spite of the relative success of Israeli interception attempts, these rockets have deadly intent. Only the resurrection of peace will mean that no more children or innocents of any kind are killed in this conflict.

The attack on a Druze village has once again shown the utter disregard for life by the Hezbollah terrorists who fire indiscriminately into civilian areas. The Druze community is an integral part of Israeli society, and we mourn with it the unbearable loss of these children.

We note that, once again, the South African government has avoided condemning the attack on Israeli civilians (at the time of publication on Wednesday, 31 July).  It’s disappointing that a country claiming to have a human-rights-based foreign policy can be so impotent in criticising the Iran-backed international terrorist network.

Olympics

Once again, we witness the trite calls to have Israel removed from the Olympic Games, which go against the very spirit of the Olympics, and as usual, doesn’t engage at all with the real issues that need to be resolved to bring peace. The calls for an Olympic boycott have clearly not landed with the general population, who, like me, are simply loving the spectacle of human achievement on display.

The sevens team showed us the power of perseverance and grit, overcoming the odds and some lacklustre play to rely on their fortitude and win a bronze. Maybe the lesson from this achievement is more poignant than if they had simply blown away the competition all tournament long.  Further congratulations need to go to the other medal winners: Tatjana Smith and Pieter Coetze (swimming), as well as to Alan Hatherley, who gave us all a reason to watch mountain biking!

We pray that these Olympics continue in the same vein, entrenching the ideals of competition, personal improvement, and international camaraderie. Certainly, following the week we have witnessed, never have these messages been more needed!