Ezi tried to wake me at 1 a.m. to get me down to the shelter but I was too deep in sleep. The rocket from Yemen wasn’t quite in our neighborhood anyway.
The fact that I could be so exhausted I couldn’t even think about protecting myself disturbs me. But the fact that I had a good night’s sleep is amazing!
It’s the other cease fires that bother me. Every time we start to win, we are urged to stop, and then the other side uses the time to build up weapons, Right now we’ve got rockets coming from Yemen, Iraq, Gaza, as well as Lebanon’s Hizballah. The rockets from these countries all fall in civilian areas – towns, schools, soccer fields, the sea of Galilee. That has made all Israelis politically and militarily responsible for our safety. And I take this as seriously as an old lady can.
I also appreciate the fact that our army announces where they will be bombing – unless of course, they’re going for a terrorist leader. Our citizens are the target, and we’re informed by our civil defence to seek shelter.
So as rotten as our leaders appear, I’m not sorry they’re not going for a cease fire.
cease fire 2006 – 27.09.24 Read Post »
First thing in the morning I heard talk of a ceasefire. It was a moment of release. 3 weeks would allow my friends to go back home and pick up their photo albums, get some clothes, maybe even restart their lives. Then I started hearing from people who warned us to remember the Treaty of al-Hudaybiya, the 10 years of ceasefire that allowed Mohammed to take over Mecca (depending on how you understand history, of course.) If I comprehend correctly this was just after the Jewish community of Haybar was slaughtered in the same neighborhood. The name Haybar may be familiar to some from the occasional chant warning the Jews that the army of Mohammed will return. This was a problem the last time we had a ceasefire with Hizballah. They understood the ceasefire as being just for us to observe. Something to consider when ceasefire is mentioned.
I finally managed to get up at 6 to have breakfast with Ezi before he goes to the hospital, so although I was not dressed I was one of the first down to the shelter this morning.
I have no shame.
Ir didn’t change the rest of our day but it was a surprise to hear from Lebanon that I’m living in a military area.
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so far – rocket 1 tel aviv Read Post »
all this talk about the present had made me forget my past altogether. so I’m going to write a bit about my past/
all the talk about present moment is making me forgot the past- 9.24.24 Read Post »
I thought I was calm, practical, and realistic – watching the war on tv all evening and then forgetting it for the night. But then I went crazy over a badly washed shirt and I realized that the death, exile, wounding, on both sides, was too much to even pretend to be blase about.
I know it’s going to be hell, and today with its rockets hitting more and more towns in Israel, and many more in Lebanon, it shook up most of both countries. Ezi even was reminded of our standard war line from his mother’s kindergarten comparison: “it all started when he hit me back.” That line usually makes us less frightened – but not this time. Because we’re just at the beginning.
war so far – 21.9.24 Read Post »
We’re all really good at it. We’ve been training for years. For me, it started in 1973, but that was child’s play compared to now. And that’s for another time.
Now, most people have a safe room in their home that can be closed off with a metal door and metal window. But lots of old people (like us) live in old buildings, and we have a shelter in the basement. Since most old people no longer use the stairs, and the elevator is dangerous in a time of attack, they are in greater trouble if they rush to the shelter, so they huddle in the staircase. Others, like us, can make it to the shelter but we have to be ready when the sirens go off. That means – 1. be dressed (shower only when it seems safe and shampoo fast) 2. make sure the timing is sufficient ti make it 3.ensure the safety of the shelter. 4. wait for the warning siren.
We are not in the range right now of the bombing, but I’ve got a hunch that they going to arrive pretty soon, and to ease my sense of responsibility for the building, I’ve been nagging Ezi all day about the air vents.
So today, as we went out to close the air vents of the shelter, that turned out to be so complicated that I had to take a quick shower, I started thinking about how we can get our dear old neighbors down in time, I noticed that the stairs need safety stickers to prevent slipping.
I think I will let Ezi rest after our flu shots now, and worry more tomorrow.
Shelter Instructions – 23.9.24 Read Post »
For days the commentators have been asking the question, why now? Why did we blow up the pagers at that particular moment? Why did we waste what should have been an opening salvo to an operation that would have wiped out Hizballah? Especially since we’re being blamed for starting a fight with Lebanon for no reason.
Well for the second part of the question, you know the answer. You know there have been enough rockets from the north every day since October 7 to cause a massive evacuation of over 150 000 people. Over half have returned to their homes while under constant fire.
But why now? Because there was a clear and immediate alert of a repeat performance of October 7 on the north. That information was whispered in Israel since the first moment after the pager explosions – that the plan to rape, slaughter, and mutilate the citizens of the north was about to be implemented.
And when you think about it, why not? Many people in the world don’t even believe it happened on Oct 7? Many people don’t believe there are over a starving hundred hostages in Gaza that need to be released. They think we made it up. So why not torture us again? It seems to work…
And when we try to prevent it, we are the agressor.
So why should Nasrallah stop?
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Here’s another aspect of the situation: We’ve been showered with gifts this year for the new year. And every time, we look at the package and wonder if we should open it. Will it explode?
