John and I have returned from a much-needed vacation and celebration of our 40th anniversary. We left our house for Italy under multiple volleys of missiles and returned to Israel last Wednesday. Our trip, although physically grueling, was glorious. We rented a car in Milan and drove to Lake Como, Mantua (medieval city, Mantegna frescoes), Padua, Venice (museums, opera house, St Mark’s Cathedral, sunset gondola ride, Jewish quarter), Ravenna (4th century mosaics!!!), Florence, Siena, Tuscany, Arezzo, Ptigliano (medieval city carved from rock on a cliff and “little Jerusalem-“ haven to Italy’s persecuted Jews in the 1500s), Lucca (home to Puccini), San Gimignano, Assisi, Pompei, Herculaneum, Paestum (entire Greek city from 500 BC with 3 huge and beautiful Greek temples in the Doric order), the Amalfi Coast (spectacularly gorgeous and makes the Big Sur Drive in California look like chump change) and Rome where I finally gave up the ghost and couldn’t walk no further. All-in-all, we had a fantastic time.

While in Italy, we traveled on our American passports. When anyone asked, we told them we were from California, outside of Los Angeles. It’s not a lie. Several times we met up with these dear, sweet British sisters. First in Florence at a museum, then in Siena and finally in Lucca. They asked us to join them for tea in Lucca, and we gladly obliged. We shared stories of England and Scotland travel d told them we had two children living there. It was all quite pleasant. After a while, I explained to them that we had moved to the Holy Land and were living in Galilee. They wanted to know about the war, having heard about occupation, Israeli aggression against Christians and basically….you know….the genocide and humanitarian disaster. They really were not at all interested in hearing our side, because…you know…the BBC does not lie.

We decided not to tell anyone else. The last week of the trip, there were extreme anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli pogroms against Israeli football spectators in Amsterdam. Riots. Destruction of Jewish property. ElAl airlines had to charter two special planes to bring the fans back home. Then there were shake-ups against Jewish people in France. We got texts on our phones from the Israeli State Department to not visit certain countries, and if warranted, to not look so visibly Jewish (wear a baseball cap or other hat rather than a kipa. Tuck in Jewish jewelry. Hide tsitsit (men’s prayer fringes). John and I ran into no trouble and continued to enjoy ourselves.

So, was I surprised when I saw the European coverage of the news? Not horribly. Anything concerning the Middle East was decidedly one sided and pro-Palestinian/Hamas /Hezbulla. They were always the victims, and there was no talk of attacks towards Israel. Neither was there mention of any humanitarian efforts in Gaza on behalf of Israel. The only time we saw anything to do with the 101 remaining hostages was when we went to the Venice and Rome Jewish ghetto areas and in Ptigliano, little Jerusalem. The good news: until we got to Rome, there were no pro-Hamas protestors or Palestinian and Hizbulla flags.

We had a lovely welcome home shortly after we returned to Israel. Ben Gurion Airport was shut down temporarily due to heavy missile fire. We just made it to baggage claim and were able to reach a safe space. On the way back to our city in the North, we had three sirens and had to stop: once under a bridge; then beside the road we had to get out of the car (there was no way I was going to lay down on the ground, hands protecting my head); and inside a tunnel.

Since being back, we’ve had a couple more missile barrages here and many in the towns neighboring us, especially towards Akko and Haifa. A kindergarten in Akko suffered a direct hit by rocket yesterday. Thankfully all the children and teachers were safe in their protected areas.

We’ve learned to go about our regular business with a little prayer under our lips unless there is a warning siren in our immediate area. Then we proceed swiftly and calmly to the nearest protected space. Several of our friends are afraid to venture out anywhere and all the local businesses are suffering greatly. We had plans to get together with another couple families for Thanksgiving, but the couple doesn’t have a safe room big enough for everyone, so it was cancelled. We have offered to have our friends from Tiberias over with us, but they are too afraid to drive any ‘far’ distance.

In the past two and a half months, there have been several direct strikes on homes and apartments both in our city and in neighboring communities. Two yesterday alone. Despite the fact that civilian population centers are targeted, there have only been a handful of deaths, but quite a few injuries. This is miraculous. Most missiles on the trajectory to land in populated spaces are intercepted by Iron Dome (right over our house). It’s the falling shrapnel that is so dangerous. After a strike, our mayor has teams that go out to each neighborhood to check on the local population and to pick up any pieces that have fallen from the sky.

I’m hoping that next week I can resume some more upbeat news and features. I’ve collected a few amazing recipes both in Italy and here. I just can’t wait to share them with you…. I took a little cooking class in Tuscany. In the meantime, have a relaxing weekend and our prayer is for cooler heads to prevail among the worlds’ current leaders. Shabbat shalom!