Tensions Devolve into Violence
Why do we clip our fingernails if they keep growing back?
Violence begets violence, and with Hamas, as soon as one top official is killed, another steps into his place. So Israel, after experiencing relentless mortars and Qassam rockets fired at the southern regions of Ashkelon and Be’er Sheva, as many as 80 in one day, decided to do something else.
Rather than keep clipping the fingernails, they decided to cut off the finger at the joint.
Here in Jerusalem, I am isolated from what is happening in Gaza. Certainly there are many Arabs here who are outraged, and I am also quite close to the West Bank. The Arabs in East Jerusalem have a fairly functioning middle class and conditions are definitely better there than they were in 2000-2003. Most violence coming out of East Jerusalem is being perpetrated by youth, teenagers and young adults.
The Old City is supposedly closed off and I’ve been advised to avoid it anyway. Most of the Old City is comprised of Arab residents, even in the Jewish Quarter. Tension can be high there even with smaller incidents such as in Akko earlier this year. However, I would like to visit my friend Suleiman before I leave and here what he thinks about these “developments”. (See what I did there, that was an understatement!)
I’ll be avoiding inter-city public transportation and places like Ben Yehuda. Finals are closing in and I need to stay in and work anyway. I just wanted to update everyone with the situation from my perspective and let you know that I’m safe and well-informed regarding changes going on. Jenna is also here, of course. She is on a trip with a private bus and I’m sure will be fine. All the Birthright trips have full-time security staff.
At this point, the best thing you can do is imagine the human condition in Gaza, because that’s where the tragedy is. But it’s like I told my friend Alex who got caught in Haifa during the Lebanon War in 2007 and came back to study abroad at Hebrew U last spring, “it wouldn’t be abroad in Israel without getting caught in a war.” B’hatzlacha l’Tzahav.
