This is now part 3 three, but I had to finish the poem!!
Most of you know that the cease-fire with Gaza ended a few days ago. For those of you didn't, there was a cease-fire with Gaza. Israel wanted them to stop shooting rockets into settlements so they stopped for about a year and it ended last week and it has gotten really bad. There have been attacks in Ashkelon, in Be'er Sheva a few hours ago, and Ashdod. All the places are south of me. Very south, beyond Jerusalem.
I know my family is nervous about my safety, but honestly I feel that it's different when you are actually here. When I am in the US, it's hard for me to understand why you would live in a war zone and although Haifa is not a "war zone" per se, rockets are going off only a few hours away. That's like 9/11 everyday. Maybe not AS dramatic, but close. At home, it's hard to connect to a place that an ocean and thensome away. It's to foreign to feel any true emotion. I do feel bad for the soldiers who have to go and fight. But actually seeing these 18 year olds holding a gun. Or knowing that my friend's roommate's boyfriend is going to be stationed in Gaza is a bit nerve racking. As my friend in Israel says, everyone know someone. Despite this, I personally do not feel unsafe. I am not worrying about Haifa being hit at this moment. I might feel differently if the attacks were going on in, say, Akko, which only forty five minutes from here. It's hard to explain why it's different here. In my Psychology of Conflict class we talked about how we felt about our safety and I was trying to explain this and it did not come out well. (On a side note, my English has gotten so bad. I realized today that I was saying "um" in the places that Israelis say "um" and I can't think of the right words anymore). Another thing that is kind of unrelated is that to get anywhere you have to ride the bus. Everyone rides the buses. Public transporatation is used so much more here than in the United States. So when riding a bus in Jerusalem, you don't think about the "what ifs". Riding the bus is another part of your everyday life.
I think that the point of this post to reassure my friends coming here. If Israel were that unsafe, they wouldn't let you come. The university does a good job in looking out for your safety. (Shaina, you can tell your mom that). But honestly the whole atmosphere is different in Israel than in the US.
And another thing, the Boston Globe says that over 360 Palestinains have been killed. What they don't mention is that most of those are Hamas followers and terrorists themselves.
Most of you know that the cease-fire with Gaza ended a few days ago. For those of you didn't, there was a cease-fire with Gaza. Israel wanted them to stop shooting rockets into settlements so they stopped for about a year and it ended last week and it has gotten really bad. There have been attacks in Ashkelon, in Be'er Sheva a few hours ago, and Ashdod. All the places are south of me. Very south, beyond Jerusalem.
I know my family is nervous about my safety, but honestly I feel that it's different when you are actually here. When I am in the US, it's hard for me to understand why you would live in a war zone and although Haifa is not a "war zone" per se, rockets are going off only a few hours away. That's like 9/11 everyday. Maybe not AS dramatic, but close. At home, it's hard to connect to a place that an ocean and thensome away. It's to foreign to feel any true emotion. I do feel bad for the soldiers who have to go and fight. But actually seeing these 18 year olds holding a gun. Or knowing that my friend's roommate's boyfriend is going to be stationed in Gaza is a bit nerve racking. As my friend in Israel says, everyone know someone. Despite this, I personally do not feel unsafe. I am not worrying about Haifa being hit at this moment. I might feel differently if the attacks were going on in, say, Akko, which only forty five minutes from here. It's hard to explain why it's different here. In my Psychology of Conflict class we talked about how we felt about our safety and I was trying to explain this and it did not come out well. (On a side note, my English has gotten so bad. I realized today that I was saying "um" in the places that Israelis say "um" and I can't think of the right words anymore). Another thing that is kind of unrelated is that to get anywhere you have to ride the bus. Everyone rides the buses. Public transporatation is used so much more here than in the United States. So when riding a bus in Jerusalem, you don't think about the "what ifs". Riding the bus is another part of your everyday life.
I think that the point of this post to reassure my friends coming here. If Israel were that unsafe, they wouldn't let you come. The university does a good job in looking out for your safety. (Shaina, you can tell your mom that). But honestly the whole atmosphere is different in Israel than in the US.
And another thing, the Boston Globe says that over 360 Palestinains have been killed. What they don't mention is that most of those are Hamas followers and terrorists themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment