I know that the media is reluctant to cover the story because that is not the image of settlers they want to portray. They prefer the extremists who prance around screaming that we should kill all the Arabs or ship them off to Saudi Arabia. Pictures of settlers must all show men with long beards (obviously religious extremists.)

Settlers must all have guns, the bigger the better. If they can get a gun-waving, long bearded settler waving a Bible and an axe for chopping down Arab olive trees, then that’s front page material. Sometimes I think they must have Baruch Marzel on speed dial. “Hey Baruch, we’re doing a story on settlements, can you come pose for us? Maybe fire the gun in the air?”

Of course they also need to find stories on IDF soldiers abusing Palestinian children. You can read all about how the media depicts Israeli soldiers in the HonestReporting photo bias study. Basically, they prefer out of context pictures of soldiers pointing guns at children or standing guard next to barbed wire. When they do find the rare story of an IDF soldier who is actually guilty of abuse, they have a field day.

How many times did we all hear about the soldier who shot the Palestinian in the foot? I’m not defending the case at all, just pointing out that the media are obsessed with the idea of  evil, out of control soldiers who shoot random Palestinian civilians.

So it is no wonder that they are reluctant to cover the story of settlers and soldiers saving the life of a Palestinian baby and her mother. It just doesn’t fit the narrative. We are supposed to be shooting the Arabs, not saving them. Remember, we “occupy” this territory and for there to be peace, we need to leave.

But the truth is that these stories are far from rare. The Palestinians know it which is why they seek out medical assistance from settlers and soldiers all the time. And we provide it.

A friend with the police once told me that he was called to protect the medical center in Efrat. An elderly Palestinian woman having a heart attack was brought there in the middle of the night. A whole crowd had accompanied her and the Israeli doctors were afraid what would happen if they could not save her. Yes, settler doctors had to be protected while trying to save the life of a Palestinian.

The fact is that there are far more stories of settlers and soldiers saving Palestinian lives than there are of soldiers shooting people in the foot or settlers vandalizing Palestinian mosques. But you may not know it because the press is just not interested in this narrative.

But for those who think all settlers should leave, who will save the Palestinian babies?

Hamas Memorial Hospital?

After much reflection, I have decided that I was indeed wrong to criticize her writing that way.

“Ranting” is way too kind a word to use.

Heavily populated Palestinian areas lie just to the south of Tsomet HaGush. The most heavily populated Jewish areas lie to the north. Every day, young Israeli men and women risk their lives doing guard duty there, and with good reason.

There have been several terrorist attacks right in the spot that have been thwarted by our soldiers. In the last one, a terrorist was stopped before he could plunge his knife into a woman who was waiting for a ride at the corner.

According to the IDF:

The Gush Etzion juncture is a central one connecting communities in Gush Etzion, Efrat and Hebron and the road coming from Beit Shemesh. The region is one of those constantly under threat in the Judea and Samaria region, the juncture seeing daily conflicts between Israeli civilians and Palestinians. IDF forces are constantly present in the juncture, standing at numerous lookout and security points every hour of the day.

Because there are so many Israeli soldiers serving in this spot, it is also where the Pina Hama (lit. “warm corner”) canteen was established in memory of two residents of the Gush murdered by terrorists. Every day, local volunteers serve cakes and drinks prepared by other local volunteers to the soldiers who can relax inside during their breaks.

It is a way that all of us who live out here and are protected by these young Israeli heroes can say thanks.

So for anyone to refer to such a spot as a “Bastion of the PLO” is more than incorrect. It is insulting and embarassing to most people who live here and an attack on those who defend us. But this kind of language is typical of those who are always trying to speak in the name of the settlers. And that’s the problem.

Because when most people hear what they have to say, they are immediately turned off because of the extremism. And that’s too bad, because some of the best ideas on the peace process are being ignored because so many people, myself included, can’t stand the fiery rhetoric and demands for ideological conformity from the right.

I frequenty am critical of the Palestinians, the international community, the left-wing and anyone else who is spouting nonsense in my not so humble (but honest) opinion. No one gets a free pass in my book.

Not even those who claim to speak in my name.

The esteemed Judge Goldstone.

I spoke with a friend of mine who saw combat in Gaza this past January. He told me about having to kill a seventy year old man.

These are the kind of stories that the media love.

The United Nations Human Rights Commission just published the report of Judge Goldstone accusing Israel of war crimes. The report is five hundred pages long, much of it devoted to tales of Israeli atrocities — based almost entirely on Palestinian accounts.

Now, put yourself in my friend’s position and decide if he is a “war criminal.”

Tell me what you would have done:

His unit was in a Palestinian village near the border that separates Gaza from Israel. They had been ordered to take over a house being used by Hamas to fire rockets into Israel. It was a large house with a commanding view of the area. They got into position in front of the house.

Even though, the Air Force had dropped leaflets in Arabic telling the residents to leave the vicinity of the house, there was still concern that innocent civilians might be inside.

Following standard procedure, the soldiers shouted in Arabic for anyone inside to come out of the house. Just to make sure they were heard, the soldiers repeated the command three times.

No one answered.

Next, the soldiers were given the order to shoot into the ground near the house. They did so to minimize the possibility of a bullet ricocheting off stone. Again, they yelled for anyone inside to come out.

No one answered.

At this point, one of the soldiers saw a person’s shadow in the window of the house. Since intelligence had identified this house as a Hamas base, and since the person inside had ignored repeated warnings to come out, the unit was given permission to open fire. Whomever was inside must be a terrorist.

But the commander was hesitant — what if the person inside was deaf? What if the person inside was handicapped and unable to communicate? Even if there was just a tiny chance that the person inside was innocent, shouldn’t they make sure?

At the risk of their own lives, the soldiers stormed the house and withheld their fire. Inside, they found….

Women and children. The men had fled much earlier because they knew the house would be targeted. They left their wives and children in the IDF’s way. Because of the actions of a nameless Israeli officer, the lives of these women and children were saved.

JUDGE GOLDSTONE, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE???

Later on, the soldiers were in position in the house when they saw a lone Palestinian male running toward another IDF position. This time, they could not take the risk. They shot and killed him. It turns out, the IDF position he was running toward had been booby-trapped, and he was trying to light the fuse.

In all likelihood, their quick thinking saved the lives of Israeli soldiers. Yet for folks like Goldstone, whose detailed “findings” were dictated by Hamas support organizations, the incident would read that Israeli soldiers randomly shot an elderly civilian who was unarmed.

At the beginning of this story, I asked you to put yourself in my friend’s position. What would you have done? Would you have risked your life to avoid harming a civilian? (A civilian who would be very happy to learn of your death by the way).

Now, do one more thing for me. Don’t imagine it was yourself in the IDF soldier’s position.

Imagine it was your child.

Imagine it was your child who might come home in a bag because he didn’t want to take any chance at hurting a civilian. Imagine your child risked his life to prevent harm to a Palestinian. Now read Judge Goldstone’s report saying that your child should be tried as a war criminal.

I am an Israeli who will one day have kids in the Army, and I would rather have a million Goldstone reports and UN condemnations than a single funeral of an Israeli soldier.

What about you Judge Goldstone? Before you submit your report to the representatives of Angola, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia why don’t you take a good look in the mirror and answer the question:

WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?