Despite Armageddon * WorldNetDaily * by Jonathan Feldstein

I would be lying if I told you that the situation in Israel is not tense right now, both on a national and personal level. As always, humor is one of the ways to cope, even when the situation is far from funny.

One of the best posts I saw on social media was on Friday, asking what traditional pre-Armageddon food one should prepare for Shabbat, the Sabbath.

Indeed, many Israelis entered Shabbat, the day of rest, feeling very uneasy. As Orthodox Jews who typically turn off all devices on Friday night for 25 hours, this Shabbat we – and many others – left our phones on silent, set up our bomb shelter with food and drink, and organized activities for our grandchildren. We listened to a silent radio station that broadcasts nothing except in emergencies. All this so that we could enjoy a peaceful and restful Shabbat according to Jewish tradition, but to be aware of any life-threatening emergency protocols beyond the air raid sirens to which we are accustomed.

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In a radio interview Friday, I joked with the host that I was glad most of our children and grandchildren were with us for Shabbat. If something were to happen, cramming 12 people into a one-room bomb shelter could be stressful, although it would be important for us all to be together, especially since four of our children live in buildings without bomb shelters.

“On the other hand,” I told him, “even though I will have my phone on in case of emergency, if the planned Iranian attack happens on Shabbat, I won’t be able to film it.” After the Iranian attack on April 13 with over 300 drones and cruise and ballistic missiles, and after seeing one of the missiles (36 feet long with a massive warhead) up close, even if I am in my bomb shelter, if one hits my building, I probably wouldn’t survive. “I prefer to go out and take good videos and hope my phone survives.”

He was worried, told me it wasn’t safe and that I should take refuge in my bomb shelter. I joked that he was doing just like my mother and that I was sure he would love to see the video. He admitted that he would. But still.

Shabbat passed without incident. We recounted how we had flown with five children, ages 3 to 11, exactly 20 years ago to move to Israel. Despite the difficulties, and there have been many, including those exacerbated by the 10-month war, even with no end in sight and a sense of Armageddon on the horizon, or something close to it, we agreed that it was the best decision and that we would do it again every day.

This doesn’t make reality any easier.

In an attempt to keep up with life, we are rethinking our plans, planning not to stray too far from home, just in case. I have three days of meetings scheduled at the moment, but I understand that things can change at any moment. My daughter and son-in-law are expecting their fourth child in a month and are planning to go away for a night this week so we can watch their grandchildren. Like any good mother, even my radio host friend, is uncomfortable with the idea of ​​being an hour away from home and her children, just in case. They need to get away, and I hope they do. Canceling their plans won’t be the worst thing that can happen if there is a major escalation. But we need to continue living, not existing in fear.

My appointments have been arranged with the tacit agreement, “unless escalated.” The truth is, if/when something happens, I don’t want to be away from home either. So I try to stay close, but plan my schedule as if nothing is different, even a travel program to Israel that I am organizing. The truth is, I have to do this because in my work—building bridges between Jews and Christians in support of Israel—I need to be there, planning what I can plan, communicating with the many who look to me for updates, who pray, advocate, and donate for us.

Just before Shabbat, we began to fear for a while that something was going to happen, with rumors that Iran was planning to attack Israel on the occasion of the holiday of Tisha B’Av next week. This is all part of their psychological warfare, or perhaps even – as I told my children – a disinformation campaign: us against the terrorists, or the terrorists against us. They could indeed be planning this date (August 12-13) because of the symbolism, since it is the anniversary of many calamities that have befallen the Jewish people on this date throughout history. Or not. Or simply to try to catch Israel off guard. Or perhaps something will happen as early as tomorrow, as some reports indicate. Who knows.

The only thing I know for sure is that Iran has now created the expectation, domestically and internationally, that it must retaliate, if not for the assassination of Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut a week ago, for which Israel openly claimed responsibility, then surely for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah at an IRGC base in central Tehran the following day, for which Israel did not claim responsibility.

It is highly unlikely that the bloodthirsty Iranian Islamic regime will not respond, and that it will not do so with force. The drone and missile attack on Israel in April is unprecedented in the world. Iran could have done worse on its own, or by unleashing Hezbollah (with at least 150,000 missiles and rockets, as well as countless drones) in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen who have Iranian long-range weapons, the remnants of Hamas in Gaza, and even Hamas and other terrorists inside Israel.

A multi-pronged attack would indeed be massive. I don’t know if anyone knows for sure, but I’ve heard estimates of 500 Israeli casualties per day in the first few weeks.

There is a lot going on, and the uncertainty is no less. I intend to continue to provide these regular updates for those who ask questions and want to know what is really going on. Despite the Armageddon.

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