The Situation continued

So in the week since I last posted, there have been more rockets fired into Israel by Hamas and finally on Thursday after this constant barrage the Israel Defence Force (IDF) went into Gaza with the intention of taking out Hamas ability to fire rockets and there have been casualties on the side of the IDF as well as a growing number of Palestinian Casualties.  And the press seem to care more about one side of this conflict than the other.

As mentioned sadly the IDF has suffered casualties and I’m sure there are people who are saying who cares they’re monsters anyway and that saddens me, because regardless of belief, religion, colour, everyone involved in this conflict is a human being, someone’s Father, Mother, Son or Daughter and from reading comments about it, it feels like people have forgotten that and put labels upon each side and that is wrong, I don’t hate the Palestinians for what is going on, I feel if it were not for Hamas there would be peace.  Some people are just blinded by hatred for Israel for no real reason and only see that Israel is the aggressor, the bad guy.  I’ve seen people suggesting boycotting Israeli goods and it’s actually makes me laugh when there is so much Israel has contributed in terms of modern technology.  I want to ask people if they will give up their electronic devices because it was created in Israel and they are boycotting Israeli goods, I think the answer would be no to that. 

For me I can’t understand the hatred towards Israel for what it is doing, as a small nation it has a right to defend itself, if Scotland started lobbing rockets over into England, wouldn’t the people want the army to defend themselves or would they sit there and take it meekly?  I am not a fan of war or violence but as I said to someone, perhaps peace can only be achieved by war and that is something I don’t want to truly believe.  I wish everyone could come to the table and talk, but we’ve seen 3 ceasefires all violated by Hamas and that should tell you it all, they don’t want to talk and what is left when talking isn’t possible.

Since this all began, I’ve been asked why don’t I go back to England as I have the passport, I could get the hell out of Dodge if I wanted too and the truth is I don’t want too.  Yes it’s a serious situation, scary in some ways as I said in my previous post, this time feels different than 2012 and one friend has said I should come home and I appreciate the concern.  However as I said to him, I’m writing this here now, I am home; if I wanted to be in England I would never have made aliyah in 2011.  I knew that coming here the situation was always tense, a powder keg that could blow at anytime, I just didn’t want to live on regrets that I changed my mind because I was afraid that something like this might happen.  Because it was always going to happen eventually and there are Israelis and people who have been here long enough that are living their lives and trying to keep the day to day routine going and how can I do any less.  We learn from doing and from example and I’m proud to be here in this country, yes a little worried and troubled by the situation, but I’m not going to let it run my life, I will not live in fear and I will continue to build and enjoy my life as much as possible

Situation

I have been thinking long and hard about posting something on my blog, especially in view of the current situation.  Normally I'm not lost for words but I suppose in this case, for everyone living abroad you have seen the news.  The tensions between Israel and Hamas has erupted and it all started with the disappearance of 3 Israeli teens in the West Bank and the search for them, which sadly led to the discovery of their bodies nearly 3 weeks later only served to raise tensions.

What has followed has been the sad killing of three Israeli teens led to the death of Palestinian teenager, which 3 Israelis were arrested and confessed that it was for revenge and from there things have escalated on a level I've not seen since I've lived here in Israel.  I was here in November 2012 when there were rockets flying over, but this time it seems a lot more serious than then.  So from the odd rocket in the south in Ashkelon and Ashdod, Hamas have started an almost steady stream of rockets into the South, including Beersheva, Sderot.  And rockets aimed at Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Rehovot as well.  Its seems there is very few places that Hamas cannot reach with their rockets.

Fortunately there is the Iron Dome protecting the civilians of Israel from the rockets.  The Iron Dome is an all weather defence system, which intercepts the rockets before they can land.  So I'm very grateful for its invention for it being here because with the amount of sirens going off and it wasn't here things could be so much worse.

Since last week there have been sirens in Tel Aviv where I live pretty much every day and the normal procedure for the siren is to go to the Safe Room in your apartment if you have one or to the Shelter if you have one or into the stairwell.  Where I live now we have a shelter on the floor below so when the sirens have gone it is a case of grabs keys and move quickly to the shelter until after the siren has ended and the boom is heard.  At least by going into the shelter, its one good way to get to know your neighbours LOL.  Still it’s quite a frightening situation to be in, but so far I think I've managed to remain calm for the most part, though having been on a bus and in the middle of the street for two sirens I've managed to keep my wits about me to find a place of safety along with other.  Even though it’s been a crisis I've found some humour in hearing stories of friends or other people having to head for the shelter in just a towel or sleepwear, if it weren't a so serious situation and these were just normal day’s hearing that would be hysterically funny.

I want to say I'm not scared and people who have seen my posts on Facebook and Twitter, probably assume I am not, but I am scared because as I said above this feels different than last time and I don't see it ending quickly, especially since a ceasefire which was accepted by Israel, led to more rockets from Hamas who refused it.  All I know is I want to live my life as normal as possible, sadly I'm sure Hamas don't want that.

I've also been following media coverage from abroad and I'm very disappointed if not surprised that it all seems to point the finger at Israel, reading comments from people after news articles, they are decidedly anti-Israel and I've found myself leaving the page and not replying so I don't say/write something I regret.  I wish I could say something to make people change their view or open their eyes to the full situation, but sadly I can't.  I want to say there can be peace in the Middle East, today though it seems even further away than before.  To my friends here in Israel stay safe and stay in touch and to my friends abroad, keeping reading.

The Month that was June

So it’s been over a month since I properly posted, apart from the post earlier this week about the 3 Israeli Teens.  So I thought I would catch everyone up on what I have been up too.

Work has been pretty busy so that’s been keeping me busy the working week.  In just under two weeks though it will be 1 year since I started working there and that is pretty cool for me.  As most people know I've had more than a few jobs since I made aliyah, so having had this job for nearly a year feels like an achievement to me.

Socially I've been pretty busy the past month, plenty of fun with my friends.  A trip to Beersheva as well as attending a Nefesh B'Nefesh event the Negev Music Celebration in Arad which was a lot of fun, good music and good company.  I mean what more can you ask for on a weekend.  Also had the visit of friends from England which is always nice as I don't get to see many people from back home and it was great to see them and hang out and enjoy a nice weekend with good friends.  Managed to also get to Haifa to hang out with a good friend who I haven't seen in almost 9 months so that was good to have a nice catch up, hoping it’s not another 9 months before that happens.

Also spent more time exercising, mostly a lot of walking, but also started to do push-ups, squats as well as bits and pieces.  Back doing Yoga after a nearly a month off, though found it very hard both times I've been since I went back, but I'm determined to keep doing it as I enjoy it a lot.  Finally also attended the wedding of my friends Laura and Jeiro and it was a good night as I got to see good friends married and to see some friends from my Ulpan whom I've not seen for a while.

Also its the World Cup, but I not talking about England or their laughable performance... nope not doing it... okay they were horrible and I think a pub team could have played with more pride and passion than they did, but still you got to be in the tournament and it’s been a good one really, interesting to watch and I still not sure who will win, but I would love to Netherlands do it, having beaten Spain in impressive fashion in the 1st game.

Well that’s all from me, don't be strangers, let me know how things are with you, what's new?  And I will speak with you all soon.