What Can We Learn From the Attack on Israel?
Authors’ Note: Numbers in this article were as of the writing and may have changed.
Saturday, dozens of gunmen from the Palestinian militant group Hamas infiltrated southern Israel in a surprise attack that coincided with a major Jewish holiday and the 50th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Overnight and into the morning, Hamas militants launched thousands of rockets into Israel. They took soldiers, women, and children hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “We are at war, and we will win it,” The Hamas attack was “not an ‘operation,’ not a ‘round,’ but a ‘war.”’
I remember on 9/11 watching the towers fall and saying aloud, “we are at war”. We were fortunate that war did not escalate on our shores but rather in the countries that sponsored the terrorists. Again, we see a terrorist group, Hamas, attack.
Hamas is a terrorist group largely financed by Iran. Since Saturday rockets have also been launched against Israel from Lebanon. But what does this all mean for us? Only time will tell exactly but there are lessons we should learn now.
- Intelligence agencies around the world missed the possibility of an attack. The United States, the United Kingdom and Israel have the best intelligence networks in the world, yet they noticed no hint of an attack. We witnessed the same on 9/11. The attack on Pearl Harbor was noticed but no one believed it. Governments may not always intercept information in time. We may be taken by surprise and need to rely on our own preparations and on the spirit to guide us. As I have interviewed disaster survivors, it has become evident those who were temporally prepared were more able to access the spirit.
- Everything can change overnight. Friday, the Israelis were celebrating Yom Kippur, gathered with family and friends for a festive occasion. Within hours, 600 Israelis men, women, children, entire families were dead, 260 young adults were slaughtered at a music festival. Our overnight disaster may not be a war with rockets but it could be an EMP taking down the power grid. North Korean, Iran, Russia and China have all threatened this and they are all capable of doing it. Remember who finances Hamas? Mega earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, fires can all change your world overnight.
- Hamas attacked on the 50th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Terrorists love striking on special occasions when people are distracted. This can be a happy occasion such as a religious holiday like Christmas, or Fourth of July, or a time of remembrance such as 9/11. We know of over 100 confirmed terrorists who have crossed our southern border over the past two years. Learning to be diligent and aware as we are out and about is an important skill.
- We are dependent on countries we really never considered important. The largest maker of generic drugs is located in Israel. The price of medications and vitamins soared during the pandemic as we realized most of those consumed in the United States came from China. The price has never come back down. Remember how the price of wheat went up after Russia invaded Ukraine? We were not importers of Ukrainian wheat but much of Africa and countries in the region were. Those areas were forced to purchase wheat from other sources, creating a supply and demand crisis, forcing increased prices.
- We are dependent on oil from countries who are not our friends. During the Trump administration we imported 400,000 barrels of oil per day, we now import 3 million per day. Our strategic oil reserve, meant for use during emergencies and by the military in the case of war, is at a 40 year low with only a 17-day stockpile. To replace what we have used the past two years to reduce prices at the pump will take 12 years. As of this writing, the price of a barrel of oil is already up six dollars. The last Yom Kippur war, in 1973, caused a fuel crisis in the United States and many parts of the world. We would be foolish to think that won’t happen again. Iran and Russia have already announced reduction of oil production.
What does all this mean to us as we prepare? Has the time for preparation passed?
- It is time to reexamine our budgets. Are the things we are buying really necessities or just nice to have? When a disaster strikes, and it will, will the things we are purchasing today, the vacations we are taking, the gifts we are giving really seem worth it or will we wish we had devoted more of our resources to preparing? Christmas is coming and preparedness gifts can be fun, more on that in another article.
“Catching the vision of self-reliance is an important part of our responsibility to live providently and help others in these last days. In this effort, the Lord is certainly our greatest resource. If we prayerfully invite his help and guidance—and act upon it—we will be prepared.” (President Spencer W. Kimball Conference Report, Apr. 1974)
- Let’s just consider oil again for a minute. Do you realize all the things we consume made with petroleum? Imagine your world without the following items: chewing gum, shampoo, shaving cream, phones, clothing, toothpaste, trash bags, laptops, diapers, pacifiers, pacemakers, glasses, contact lenses, soap, ink, nail polish, tires, parts in all our appliances, tape, pill capsules (prescriptions, supplements and vitamins), rubbing alcohol, battery casings, dentures, eye glasses, guitar strings, combs and brushes, bandages, and fertilizers, to name a few. Anything on that list you may want to add to the General Store in your home?
- Consider the effect on prices when we rely on gasoline and diesel fuels.We have seen prices for auto and trucking fuels rise by 50% from Jan. 2021. As oil prices rise, we will once again see prices rise on anything transported from food and clothing to medications, appliances and building materials.
- Then there is heating oil. The price will obviously rise but not only because of the price per barrel but also because of the cost to transport it to your home.
- Finally, one you may not have considered. How have you prepared your family emotionally for a disaster? As we see and hear reports from Israel, are we talking to our children? School aged children will hear rumors at school. We cannot protect them from world events, and we should not. Talk as a family, review your preparations so they understand you have planned. Do not watch hours of media coverage and do not become negative, but discuss world events and natural disasters. We know those who have thought about and planned for a disaster cope better and respond in a less stressful way.
Has the time passed for preparing? Absolutely not, but it may never get easier. We do not know what the future holds. Now is the time to reevaluate what you have and what you still need. I remember when we were trying to sell our home, for the third time, a couple came thru and said, “we should have bought this when it was listed the last time”. The value had increased and they could no longer afford the home. Do you remember when bread was $ 1.50? It was not that long ago.
We may not receive a warning from government officials before an attack or a natural disaster, but we have already been warned.
Matthew 24 records:
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars:
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name sake.
10 And then shall many be offened, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
“Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here. Those who believe this are either not acquainted with the revelations of the Lord, or they do not believe them. Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they will somehow be set aside because of the righteousness of the saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion.” Ezra Taft Benson October 1980
For help in meeting your self-reliance goals join Carolyn at http://facebook.com/TotallyReady or her blog. Carolyn’s Totally Ready Emergency Binder is available to purchase and download at Totallyready.com and can be purchased complete or one section at a time.