3 November 2023
The Israel Defense Forces have been involved in a secret operation, only known to very few individuals. It won’t be reported in mainstream media, but it is so huge that it could sway the direction of this war. I am only aware of it because my first cousin, an IDF reserve soldier, was directly involved.
I will share what I am allowed to publicise about this operation, leaving out all identifying details.
My cousin was called up to join his unit when the war started. Along with tens of thousands of reservists, he was pulled away from his family to help protect Israel against its enemies.
His unit is stationed near the border, staying in an evacuated kibbutz. Its usual inhabitants have been relocated to central Israel, due to the dangers of living near the border. I can’t say which kibbutz, or which border it is near.
A makeshift dormitory has been made in the kibbutz kindergarten to house the soldiers. The image is almost surreal. An empty kindergarten, with colourful pictures of the alphabet on the walls, boxes of toys on the shelves, and soldiers sleeping in the cots usually used by toddlers for nap time. This is war.
In one of those divine twists of fate, it turns out that members of the kibbutz have been relocated to my cousin’s neighbourhood in Israel’s centre. So he is staying in their kibbutz, while they are staying around his home village.
When the connection was made, my cousin got a call from a social worker from his home town. She is supporting these kibbutz families, who have been through a terribly traumatic time, after living through missile attacks and now being uprooted from their homes.
The social worker told my cousin that something is troubling the kibbutz children. With all that is going on around them, the kids are very worried about the fish in their kindergarten’s aquarium. Who is feeding them? They have been left behind with no one to take care of them.
My cousin, the soldier, told her to please tell the kids not to worry. His unit will take full responsibility for the fish. They will feed them, and send pictures so the kids can see that the fish are being looked after.
Here is the picture:
Look closely. You can actually see the care and love with which this soldier in uniform is feeding those fish. You can almost see the smiles on the kids faces that he brought through a simple act of kindness.
This delicate military operation is what will win the war. We are fighting a very dark evil force. You can't vanquish evil with military might alone. You need a powerful force of goodness. Kindness, love and concern for others are our most powerful weapons. When our people are united, when we truly care for each other, we are unbeatable. This picture is one small illustration of the tidal wave of kindness coming out of Israel right now.
You may not be a soldier who can fight the military battle, but you can feed someone’s fish. You can calm someone’s concerns, soothe someone’s pain, and reach out to someone who feels alone. And when you do those small acts of kindness, you too are a soldier in Operation Goldfish.
