There is no end to the hatred of Israels enemies. Remember Yom Kippur war outbreak.

It likely has the Iranian defense ministry up and awake too! My guess is it is for nothing more than a change in philosophy. No attack on Iran yet.. Maybe in October depending on the price of gas in the U.S., and then it will be just a few missils in typical Democrat President style. But.. with Barak as D.M., maybe we have come to the point the we telegraph all our plans. So maybe I am wrong and you are rightfully awake!

They might be soldiers, but they're still kids in my age group (18-22), and we look forward to and expect our vacations. I know my IDF friends do.

Land day marches The Muslim Brotherhood running Egypt. Assad might try start a small scale war to try and boost his image. Then of course we have Hamas wanting to put on a fireworks show, Hezbollah and good old Iran. I bet Moses is glad he isn't having to run things today because it would be a real nightmare and make the Egyptian problem look like a children's squabble.

This is an exceptionally long chol hamoed and many Israelis will be travelling. Due to the problems in Syria, Egypt and Iran, no one cares about the Arabs in Israel. That is why in the past month Fatah has increased the number of "low level" terror attacks and Abbas intends to start a new wave of atrocities on Friday. The IDF is probably worried that Abbas will try to stay in the news and ruin our holiday by keeping the attacks up for a long time.

It's nothing, the army is just being more prepared following the recent violence from the south and signalling they are prepared for any attacks. If the army really was going to perform an operation , they'd censor the news from publishing anything

Well, predictably enough, your IDF "friends" are selfish. There is NOTHING more important than the defense of the State of Israel. NOTHING. But you are an unemployed archaeologist, living at home on your daddy's dime, so what do you really know about anything? Has it occurred to you that the problem is with your expectations, and nothing else? When was the last time you paid for anything?

may have been a bit of a stretch in reporting on the part of Mr. Yehoshua.

As Sarah mildly puts it, who gives a damn about your 'expectations of vacation', when the need for straightforward preparedness is at it's max. Since you are so young, it is understandable that your selfish 'needs and expectations' come to the fore. You have obviously never seen conflict or participated in any morally just cause, other than to yourself. It's a good thing Henry, that nobody has to depend on you, as come vacation time, you would leave those you swore to protect. Truth is, you probably know nobody in any of Israels armed forces, or they would have told you how dumb your remarks would seem to their country. Expect alot of feedback on this Henry. Shalom Israel, Rob

Are you going to fight for Israel yourself or will you watch the war on fox news?

Israeli kids have more in common with Americans these days than they did with their parents. You guys are from an older generation (no offence intended) and so cannot be expected to understand how today's youth think even if you are parents. The kids will be upset about it now because _they_ (not me) expected time off. However, when a war does break out, you're right that they will lose all selfish desires and fight for the State. Also, Sarah, as I have told you before, I am still in university. I only just found out about my being admitted to Phi Beta Kappa (proof can be furnished upon request), but haven't had the induction ceremony yet, for instance. I am graduating in May and then getting a job after my summer digs doing bio anthropology in DC while taking pre-med courses. As well, one's work experience is wholly irrelevant to this discussion. As for Rob, I know quite a few Israelis my age and they're not different from other kids I meet, really (you find that a lot these days though). They have pretty much the same values as the ones here, but tend to agree more on my political view points re: Israel. Some of the older generation in the IDF might not have such selfish desires, but trust me, the young ones do. Please write any replies in a manner that is more befitting of a polite debate.

...pissing up the wall towards Israel from the sweet comfort of their American armchairs!

What does a bitter old woman raised in New York know about Israeli kids? Don't even get me started on that guy at 14

I live in Israel six months out of the year.

Israeli, Shalom, Yes, the FINAL showdown is nearing, exactly as predicted by our great prophets and the DVARIM - the final volume of the Torah HaKedoshah. Mashiach - (not necessarily the Chabad version) is very close now, BUT it will still get a lot darker - right before dawn...

I love how she thinks employment and age are important here when that has nothing to do with what was said. This exercise is a disservice to the families of enlisted people, and the IDF can handle any threat as the Yom Kippur war showed.

Lighten up Sarah. These are kids on duty during Passover; they need breaks too. They'll not fond of fighting, but they are the first ones to respond to war. THEY will respond,...not you or I, ... THEY WILL. Relax,... HaShem has commanded us to celebrate our exodus from Egypt on the 1st and 7th days of Passover. Would you criticize a Jews' need to perform a mitzvah?

Let me guess: NOT IN THE IDF!! If that's the case, then I ask that you direct your misplaced anger towards worthier causes than condemning Henry for understanding people better than the two of you, with your 100+ years of combined wisdom, seem to.

My eldest goes to college in Canada. He is planning to move to Israel permanently upon graduation, and will most definitely enlist -- yes, ENLIST -- in the IDF. He's been taking flying lessons since he was 13 and is hoping to join the IAF. My other children are still in secondary and elementary school. Did you have a point you wished to make? Or are you content to merely put your complete ignorance on display in a public news forum?

Do you have any idea how much your aggrieved sense of expectation grate on a lot of people's nerves? Can you spell "part time job?" Ever consider getting one, or would that necessitate developing a sense of responsibility and degree of maturity far beyond your ability to understand? There are things greater than your comfort and your spoiled sense of entitlement. Unfortunately, I doubt you have ever looked up long enough from your iPad and iPhone to appreciate it. But that is why that your generation of Americans will be the first one, ever, that will not be more successful -- or even as successful -- as their parents. And it has nothing to do with the economy, or anything else. It has everything to do with a false sense of entitlement. It isn't all about you, Henry. By the way -- if you want to go on vacation, get a job and earn enough to take one.

A few points: 1. The only reason we were able to rally the troops so quickly in the YK war was because it was YK. The vast vast majority of the population was in country and not on holiday, people were either in their homes or in synagogue and most importantly there was NO traffic on the roads. 2. These decisions are not made "willy nilly" there is a reason that these decisions are made. What ever prompted the decision may not eventuate BUT it is the duty of any defence force to be prepared .. Pesach or not. 3. My son will not be at our seder table this Pesach, he and his friends will be holding a seder on base . While I would prefer him to be home with me, he is not a child but an adult and he is soldier in a kravi unit, he understands the implications of that. 4. The decision is to have the bases on full alert - soldiers will still get time off, just not everybody on Erev Pesach and all must be contactable at all times. 5. Whether any of you like to admit it or not, we live in ISRAEL and not the US, our young men and women may dress like you, listen to your music, etc etc but at the end of the day, you may not think there is a difference but there is a huge big pink elephant in the middle of the room difference - what ever their ideology, our 18-22 year olds serve in the IDF.

Moses could not have led the Hebrews out of Egypt into the Promised Land, for the good reason that the latter was Egyptian territory at the time. And there is no trace of either a slave revolt against the pharaonic empire or of a sudden conquest of Canaan by outsiders. The builders of the Pyramids were not slaves either because they ate the best meals, received best salaries, and received the best religious services, THEY WEREN'T SLAVES BUT EGYPTIAN WORKERS, FELLAHIN During the idle times of Nile Flood. Yom Kippur War!, it was self defense war to redeem lands Israel taken earlier by Israel in hatred war. Hatred was irrelevant, dude!.

for there are no enough rabbis in the IDF for immediate supervision of wine creation.