When you enter a shelter for protection from rockets
Do you inquire politely if everyone is clean?
Do you demand to see proof of vaccination
Or do you just breathe deeply, relieved
To be away from a more aggressive jeopardy
To be with people as frightened as you?
may 20, 2021 – a new day, right? Read Post »
Because I learned so much from zoom this year, I was anxious to see how the kids have switched back to zoom after having been in school for a few weeks. The only difference I noticed was the extent to which their ears were attuned to sounds outside. A motorcycle revving up, a whirr from a kitchen appliance, a news program from a passing car – anything can prime them for a race to shelter. Things seem normal, but there is a level of awareness and sensitivity that I remember from previous wars. So many previous wars.
I know the children in Gaza are affected worse – they get a phone call to leave their homes and their homes disappear. And then no one is responsible for them. It is terrible.
may 19, 2021 – school on zoom Read Post »
There’s more action today than usual – as if we’re ending with a bang. As if we’re heading for a ceasefire and have to use up all our equipment before its over. But I don’t know what anyone has gained from it. We’re breaking even – with many lives and entire fortunes lost.
In any case the chance of a few rockets over us tonight are greater than usual.
may 19, 2021 – pre-ceasefire grandstand Read Post »
i am sure grandmothers in Gaza and all over the country here were being squeezed out of bed, or at least out of their comfort zone, by frightened children. Me, I got a rejection from a poetry magazine I was sure would take a poem of mine. And I sat thinking that no one is going to publish anything by an Israeli poem now, so why should I even try. and by the time I got to bed, a child came along frightened by a motorcycle that sounded like a siren, and squeezed in. Even the amulet didn’t convince her that she was safe.
in the morning I put on the shirt I bought twenty years ago in Trinity College – it’s a translation from Irish about a monk and his cat – both up at night, the cat chasing mice, and he chasing knowledge – “turning darkness into light” – this shirt, now ragged, will help me get through the day.
may 19, 2021 – getting through the night Read Post »
the last item on the news I saw was a Gazan grandmother looking for her family. That was before my grandchildren came to stay over tonight. They don’t have a shelter and I was worried about their safety – especially tonight. We know there are launchers aimed at us out there, and as a therapist my daughter is in great demand at work and her partner is even more needed in the public sphere. So I asked to have them visit.
But as we were finishing dinner it turned out that one is so totally traumatized she can’t go to the bathroom by herself and has terrible nightmares.
And then – as we were watching a late night movie, it was announced that they have school on zoom in the morning.
The eight year old couldn’t sleep and I put an amulet under her pillow after a long comforting conversation. But now I’ll never relax – how will i get them down to the shelter in time? How stupid was I to think I could do more than get my old ass out of range?
Yes, I want the fighting to stop. I don’t want to hear about more losses of life in Gaza. The people I have met in Gaza – every single one of them – was as dear as my own sweet granddaughter. But I don’t want to have her attacked again.
may 18, 2021 – grandmothers Read Post »
A quiet morning. After gym I packed my mail and went to the post office (strangely the only native Israeli in the crowd). I didn’t have to go grocery shopping I thought because I had ordered a whole bunch of food from supersal, and after lunch thought I’d go to the pharmacy to get my prescriptions filled.
That’s when I got the message from the supermarket chain that my order had been cancelled because delivery men didn’t come to work.
Right. The day of rage – Arab strike.
Good for them. Who could not identify with the poor people of Gaza who are being terrorized – never mind that our blasts are aimed only at military targets, they hit civilians as well.
then wait a minute – what prescriptions? the pharmacists I like are also Arab.
wait a minute – the rockets have been hitting again – killing people who – like the people in the post office – are only here to work.
maybe I’ll just stay home today and kvetch. Work or any activity not immediately critical will wait.
may 18, 2021 – chaos 5 Read Post »
One thing that really surprises me whenever a rocket falls on some house here is how the inhabitants, the neighbors, the bystanders, as well as the police and ambulances, know exactly what to do to save lives. Many of these people are Arab as well as Jews – and they are right there when it comes to protecting the lives of all concerned.
Even today, when there is supposed to be a ‘day of rage’ and a strike in the Arab population here, most of the doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and pharmacists are right on their job. I find it amazing.
may 18, 2021 – the unsung heroes Read Post »
The vision I released last night of how we are being played with released me from the constant terror and I slept all night. Ezi on the other hand kept watch all night….
may 18, 2021 – slept all night Read Post »
