Years ago it was said Israel wouldn’t go to war - but if they did - it would last a long time - and they would lose. That was said a week before the 6 Day War started.
I lived there, and spent the happiest years of my life there. I knew Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Haifa, and the Galil like the back of my hand. Want a good falafel shop on Jaffo street or Ben Yehuda? I’ll tell you where. Then the Intifada started, and everything changed. Have you ever had Israeli soldiers banging on your door late at night in Bethlehem, being utterly helpless with your wife and children cowering beside you? With no one to help as the Muslim radicals had butchered any police who dared stay by their posts? But let me tell you that those Israeli soldiers who entered our home in search of terrorists treated us with utmost respect, and politely excused themselves when it became obvious that we were not in any way involved with the terrorists. This is why I have the utmost respect for the Israeli army (IDF).