Winnipeg Jewish Review  
Site Search:
Home  |  Archives  |  Contact Us
 
Features Local Israel Next Generation Arts/Op-Eds Editorial/Letters Links Obituary/In Memoriam

Harriet Berkal

 
Harriet Berkal: Tripping

posted Oct 23, 2023

 

 

Sure, go have a look at your parent’s faces. Did they dabble in recreational drugs way back in the 60’s and 70’s? I’m not only talking about pot/weed etc. No, I’m referring to dropping acid, a hallucinogenic to drown out inner demons and let one escape to an alter ego.

 

Today we’ve got Molly (MDMA) a party drug, cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, etc. to help many chill out and have a good time.

 

Drugs have been around forever. The ancient Sumerians used opium starting around 5000 BCE. Ancient Egypt used alcohol in 3500 BCE, while ancient China used cannabis (the source of marijuana) around 3000 BCE. Ancient people in what is now Switzerland ate poppy seeds (the source of opium) in 2500 BCE.

Of course, they were used for enlightenment and getting high.

 

But there is another way that controlled substances have been promoted in the military, to ensure troops could stay awake for days and conquer cities and win battles. 

 

I recently only found out about Hitler using methamphetamines, cocaine and opiates himself. He supplied his troops with pervitan, a pill formulation of crystal meth to reinforce their fortitude to kill those they viewed as the enemy. (Time Magazine: time.com)

 

On October 7, how did the Hamas possess the viciousness to conduct such a barbaric attack on those attending a music festival in Israel on October 7th, where women were raped and people were executed at close range?

 

How did they enter kibbutzim and torture and kill families and do the unspeakable to babies?

 

Did they act without conscience all on their own, or did they use any enhancers to muster up the savagery to slaughter, maim and murder, destroying all whilst cheering in the name of Allah.

 

Indeed, they did!! They were fuelled with a poor man’s form of cocaine called captagon.

 

But make no mistake about this. Evil is evil whether there are drugs associated with the war crimes or not. 

 

Let us not be naive and know that the Israeli troops plus the citizens of Israel, need to  know exactly who they are dealing with. How else can you properly defend yourself if you are unaware of all the factors at play? Do they have weapons? Of course they do - ones you can see. But what else do they possess that potentially makes them that much more dangerous which we might be oblivious to ? Drugs are part their arsenal! 

 

If their adrenaline is enhanced by drugs, another weapon of war- WE NEED TO KNOW THIS. It likely intensified and magnified the horrors which they may commit. 

“Know thy enemy “ the awareness of yourself and of the enemy. 

 

Sun Tzu said, “Know the enemy and know yourself in a hundred battles you will never be in peril”. When you are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and of yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril.  https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA440962#:~:text=Sun%20Tzu%20said%20Know%20the,battle%20to%20be%20in%20peril.


 

 

Israeli media reported on October 19 that Hamas terrorists were fuelled by the synthetic amphetamine, captagon as they rampaged through southern Israel on October 7. Captagon has the potential for inducing psychotic reactions. Its primary effects evoke a euphoric state, a reduced need for sleep, suppressed appetite and sustained energy. (The Jerusalem Post.)

 

I suspect it takes a special pill to help one disassociate with humanity and commit such atrocities. You are on a killing rampage and need that extra ounce of elixir in your body to become unstoppable, inhuman, and they were.

 

It’s quite possible that without drugs, the same outcome might have occurred. But why chance it: Hitler didn’t. You implore a certain outcome and so you enhance the physical performance of your forces - who appeared to be young recruits for Hamas, filled with pure hate for Jews.

 

The irony here is that I suspect many enjoying the music festival were stoned throughout. Did this impair their ability to think clearly, plan and act on an escape? They were caught totally off guard. How I wished they had been armed to protect themselves, but did the surreal reality befallen them take a minute longer to realize what indeed was going on? I don’t know. They were sheep to slaughter. The outcome was devastating.

 

There is one “YouTube” video, showing the group of Israelis trying to escape by car. The driver is high on acid and drives like a maniac but saves the lives of his friends.

 

At the kibbutzim, where did the Hamas movement stop even once, to question human lives, civility and respect? They did not. So, it is no surprise to find out that once again in history, political killings, acts of war, are being carried out with the assistance of drug induced individuals, whose actions are totally devoid of humanity.

 

It exists throughout history. It’s not just pure hatred or duty that propels soldiers forward. Many nations have utilized “magic pills” to give them an added drive.

 

 

“The grounds on which amphetamine was adopted by both British and American militaries had less to do with the science of fatigue than with the drug's mood-altering effects, as judged by military men. It increased confidence and aggression, and elevated "morale."(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov )

 

 

Bravado is key to conquest. If you want your troops to be aggressive and not question their fear or morality, give them drugs to deplete their brains of boundaries, which should be inherent in all humans. But we aren’t dealing with humans at this stage.

 

I find it so incredibly disturbing to have learned that the Nazis utilized drugs, about two weeks before the massacre in Israel on October 7.

 

So, I shouldn’t be shocked that Hamas used a similar strategy of war in order to commit their crimes.

 

If a soul needs stimulates to perform such acts, then to some extent I think we have our answer. It reflects the horrors of war. How do humans engage in such behaviour against other people, or do they morph into savages?

 

Drugs are part of their arsenal. They are on a mission to destroy all Jews. So, they use whatever they have made available to them to complete the mission with greater ease. It doesn’t excuse any of their actions. Their mandate is the same. 
 

 

With each story still being revealed all over social media, we listen in disbelief. How did this happen to Jews yet again?

 

Speak out against the oppression of Israel and stand proud as a Jew.

 

Confront the fake news spread all over the world even by some Jews themselves- some descendants of the Holocaust.

 

Pray as well for the return of ALL hostages.

 

Israel has never taken hostages, raped or beheaded babies.  Always remember that. They did not start this war. They have the right to defend their country. And most importantly, there are not two sides to this. Hamas are cheering death to the Jews - not freedom for Palestine.

 

 

 

 

 
<<Previous Article       Next Article >>
Subscribe to the Winnipeg Jewish Review
  • RBC
  • Taylor McCaffrey
  • Winter's Collision
  • Equitable Solutions Consulting
  • Obby Khan
  • Orthodox Union
  • Munroe Pharmacy
  • Booke + Partners
  • The Bob Silver Family
  • Leonard and Susan Asper Foundation
  • Taverna Rodos
  • Coughlin Insurance Brokers
  • Safeway Tuxedo
  • Gislason Targownik Peters
  • Jacqueline Simkin
  • Lanny Silver
  • Sobeys Grant Park
  • West Kildonan Auto Service
  • Accurate Lawn & Garden
  • Artista Homes
  • Fetching Style
  • MCW Consultants Ltd.
  • Bridges for Peace
  • Myers LLP
  • Elaine and Ian Goldstine
  • Wolson Roitenberg Robinson Wolson & Minuk
  • Rudy Fidel
  • Pitblado
  • Cavalier Candies
  • Kathleen Cook
  • John Orlikow
  • Ted Falk
  • Danny and Cara Stoller and family
  • James Bezan
  • Evan Duncan
  • Ross Eadie
  • Cindy Lamoureux
  • Roseman Corp
  • Ronald B. Zimmerman
  • Ambassador Mechanical
  • Red River Coop
  • CdnVISA Immigration Consultants
  • Holiday Inn Polo Park
  • Superlite
  • Tradesman Mechanical
  • Chochy's
  • Astroid Management Limited
  • Dr. Marshall Stitz
  • Nick's Inn
  • Shoppers Drug Mart
  • Josef Ryan
  • Fair Service
  • Broadway Law Group
  • kristinas-greek
  • The Center for Near East Policy Research Ltd.
  • Sarel Canada
  • Roofco Winnipeg Roofing
  • Center for Near East Policy Research
  • Nachum Bedein
Rhonda Spivak, Editor

Publisher: Spivak's Jewish Review Ltd.


Opinions expressed in letters to the editor or articles by contributing writers are not necessarily endorsed by Winnipeg Jewish Review.