Thank you for sticking with me as I took a little personal and physical health hiatus. These days we strive for any sense of normalcy. Although our collective lives have been shattered, we remain. The cruise ship left Haifa port for Cypress ($5000/head payable in promissory note to Uncle Sam) as well as the planes destination Greece, Germany, Netherlands or Spain. Find your own way to your final destination. No thanks. John and I made the decision to stay.

We take 3 minute showers because we don’t know when the next red alert siren will sound. We make comfort foods. For us it’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes. For my neighbor of Syrian descent, it’s chicken with rice, lentils and spices. I put pumpkin spice in my ground coffee to make a pot of pumpkin spiced coffee in the morning. It’s incredible! Some of my friends paint their nails in blue and white. We crochet, we knit…black watchman’s caps for the soldiers. Most of the soldiers have all they need, so now we collect clothes, toys, diapers for displaced persons.

Many of us with any extra space in our homes have taken in people from the South where the missiles fly constantly. There has not been a lull between barrages for more than two hours in the South. Over 7000 missiles fired so far since 7 October. We sleep in our street clothes (I’m not going into the shelter for L-rd knows how long with other people in my pjs. Not happening). We sleep with our windows cracked to hear the siren. My husband can sleep through Armageddon (we are 14 miles from Megiddo 😉), so someone has to hear the red alert. We sleep with one eye open. And life goes on.

The night before last a hospital in Gaza received missile fire. It was all broadcast live in real time on AlJazeera. They were filming the Gaza skyline as Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad was sending off their missile volleys into Southern and Central Israel. The Ali Ahli Baptist Hospital was hit. Immediately Reuters, the AP, and mainstream media reported that Israel had struck a hospital and over 5000 civilians were killed. The number was soon walked back to a more realistic 500. Except that particular hospital has only 82 beds. And a fireworks/munitions depot is directly adjacent to the building. Important facts. The IDF examined the videos, and then a taped phone call between the Gazan that fired the rocket and a commander. To the rear of the hospital is a cemetery. The rocket was fired from the cemetery. It misfired, part of the still burning fuselage fell back and onto the hospital property. People, naturally went running from the site of the blast. This is all recorded and able to be found on the internet. In the morning, pictures surfaced of the hospital parking lot where the missile fragment actually landed. There were several dozen unfortunate civilian casualties, but the damage had already been done by the hasty reporting. Despite the fact that it was proven Israeli was not to blame -there had been no rocket fire from Israel around that time. Accurate records are kept – journalists, political figures and Church leaders are still holding Israel responsible.

Very soon anfterwards, riots erupted in Amman Jordan at the Israeli and U.S. embassies. Throngs of people mobbed the streets outside the fences crying for blood. Almost simultaneously the protestors breached the Israeli consulate in Istanbul and blocked a military convoy headed to an American military base. The consulate was overrun after the mob broke through a police barricade. Militant rioters raised the Palestinian flag over the fence outside the US embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. A large group gathered in Berlin, the Kahal Adass Jisroel synagogue firebombed. Hate rallies quickly assembled in the streets of Paris and London and throughout Europe. Red paint was splashed on the windows and doors of Jewish businesses in London.

There were huge protests also on American university campuses. By the time we went to bed last night we were getting reports of the streets of Washington, DC being crowded with pro-Palestinians. They had gathered outside Congressional offices, chanting much threatening hate slogans. They had entered the Rotunda of the US Capitol, hung a Ceasefire banner, flew Palestinian flags and disrupted Capitol traffic. Congressional offices were breached by the protesters. In both places, we heard the chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” This means from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, Israel’s boundaries, the Land will be free – of Jews. And “Khaybar, Khaybar yo Yahud” in reference to the 628 AD slaughter or massacre of the Jewish families there by Mohammad. These are the proper references. Do you even know what these mobs are calling for?

Here in the North, it has been relatively quiet. I say relatively. Hizbulla has “knocked on the door” of the Israeli border with Lebanon several times a day. Guided missiles. Artillery fire. Attempts at breaching the border walls. Attempted infiltration. All have been held back in quick and definitive response by the IDF who stands at the ready. It is a proportional response directed at the place of fire. In no way does Israel want to open up a multi-front war or start an international conflict. There are tanks, helicopters, troops moving into different locations throughout the days, staged and ready to respond. We are totally prepared for any escalation, may it never come to that.

Still, even though we are strong people, nerves are frazzled. I was awakened two days ago, while it was still dark, at 5:30am, to two loud helicopters not a football field away circling outside my balcony. It was quite alarming. There were at least four surveillance drones over head and the jets were flying really low. There was no ‘news’ from my reliable sources and there were no sirens in our area. The drama lasted until after 8am. John slept peacefully, dog at his side, curled up under the covers. The staging occurs at different times and different undisclosed locations throughout the country so the IDF is every ready to be active on demand. It happens on a 24/7 basis. One never knows when or where, and for those of us who are not used to it, the stagings can be more than a bit unnerving. Then the relative silence is welcome – but also unnerving.

As far as daily life, friends and acquaintances call each other regularly to check up on one another. We keep in touch with people we know from Eilat to the Golan. We are one. We are united. It is a most beautiful thing. I’m hearing from lots of people I know who reside in central Israel, in the greater Tel Aviv area. Some friends call us, just checking up. Others are wanting to know if anyone has any available space for the elderly or for a young family without a suitable apartment bomb shelter. The older buildings were build in the 50s and 60s with community neighborhood shelters, but in emergency, many must take cover in crowded stairwells. It’s so sad. I am still trying to find a temporary home in the North for an elderly couple who cannot handle stairs well.

I am part of a prayer group for moms of IDF soldiers. A round-the-clock group where hundreds of mothers sign up to pray for a period of time. Also, we are part of a group praying Psalms in sequence 24/7. Tears and prayers. Acts of love and kindness. Finding small things -and the miraculous – for which we can be grateful. That’s what it’s like here now. Being able to be enveloped in my husband’s arms… he, too, is a source of strength and stability for me. The calm one. The funny one.

US Secretary of State Blinken was here for several days and President Biden came to meet with our government heads. Wartime kitchen cabinets were held. Israel was urged to increase Gaza aid. To allow supplies, food and water in. To avoid a humanitarian crisis. As an aside, no one that I have heard in the international media (except an Egyptian site) has mentioned the direct bombing of the children’s hospital at Barzilai Medical Center last week causing extensive damage and, thank goodness, only lightly wounding two. The end result to the diplomatic visit seemed to be a promise of aid to both sides. No ceasefire was able to be brokered. There were supposed to be meetings between Biden and the families of the hostages, but as far as I know, that never happened. There was no positive result in aiding the hostage situation. At official count, Hamas holds 199 Israelis, babies, women, elderly and soldiers. They have said they will execute on live stream platforms if Israel moves troops into Gaza. The State Department still hopes in the promise of a Two State Solution, which has proven untenable,. Israel has repeatedly given land for peace, but peace never comes. President Biden referred to Hamas/PIJ as “ the other team.” We understand he is an aging man, but we are not playing. This is not a sports match. It was yet, another diminishing of the situation we face. Many of those I have talked with throughout the country, both native Israelis and Olim, believe we are ready and able to defend our own country by ourselves. Politico just reported that the Biden administration has pledged $100 million in humanitarian aid to Gaza and the West Bank. Our military entrance into Gaza has been stalled for almost a week now.

People often speak of Israel receiving military aid from the United States. Israel shares technology, information, and intelligence with the U.S.. There are yearly joint training exercises. All of the jets and military equipment we receive are paid for by Israel. Our military budget includes purchases from other countries, another reason our sales tax is 17% and our property taxes (even paid for by renters) are so high.

Over the past week, certain specialized IDF brigades trained in urban warfare have been scouring out various towns and cities for terrorists in hiding. So far, over 4000 armed insurgents have been captured. They have been placed under tarps in fenced in areas, handcuffed and blindfolded. This is a war situation (many of our troops also sleep on the ground under tarps). In one of my social media posts, I uploaded a video of the terrorists listening to a very obnoxious children’s song on repeat for over 8 hours. I was bombarded on both sites with comments of “torture” and “is this the condition you keep your prisoners? In cages? On the ground?” Many of those captured have been interrogated. On the persons of these insurgents from Gaza into Israel have been found arms (guns, grenades, RPGs, and other weapons) and detailed maps and actual printed manuals on exactly where to infiltrate and who and how to kill. There are both satellite maps of the kibbutzim and villages and hand drawn maps of individual homes. The maps include doors, windows, locations of stairwells, bedrooms, safe rooms and even dogs- how many dogs the families owned. How many adults. How many children.

For years Israelis have spoken of peaceful coexistence with Gazan and Palestinian neighbors. 150,000 Palestinians and Gazans are given visas to enter Israel each day for work here. They are our store clerks, our gardeners, our restaurant staff, our housekeepers. For years some of these peaceful day workers have been collecting information to hand on to terror organizations, whether freely or by coercion. These innocent civilians have had access to and handed over the most intimate details of the homes and families living in Israel in order to create a well-planned, fully orchestrated series of attacks which they filmed in real time. Tens of terrorists did not infiltrate. They came by the thousands. I saw firsthand as they streamed in real time their bloodlust.

So now, our military is ready for any event. We hope and pray there will not be an escalation. We are all completely alert, trying not to be glued to our screens. As far as I know, we are. Not boots on the ground yet. Now that Biden has left, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the UK is expected this afternoon. It seems everything is stalled. I keep hearing that the worse is yet to come. Yet from what I am hearing morale among the troops remains very high. There are so many weddings taking place. We are people of hope.

Today I spoke with the 76 year old doctor who is taking the place of my regular physician, called to be part of a MASH unit. Many people are feeling the effects of the stress. He is seeing a plethora of cases of headaches, insomnia, anxiety, rashes and gastrointestinal problems from heartburn to diarrhea. It is not uncommon. Mental health lines are open and handling the flood of calls. People handle the stress in various ways.

Our son calls home every day to check in. He is busy but in good spirits. For now, things are ‘relatively quiet.’ Yet we remain surrounded.