My Trip North #2
August 10, 2006
Dear Friends,Early this morning, I left Jerusalem with three friends and travelled up North in an effort to continue the project I launched in light of the current war in Israel. We have been successful in sending trucks filled with ready-cooked meals and other supplies to people living in bomb-shelters for the past few weeks and I wanted to have another opportunity to go to the North myself and connect with people whose lives are so badly affected on a daily basis. Today was day 30 of this war and for the soldiers fighting so that we can continue to live our lives in our small country and for the residents of the North unable to live in their homes and crammed into small unventilated bomb-shelters it feels like far longer than one month.
As I didn't sleep all of last night, I had already heard the news that had been reported in the early hours of the morning. 15 reserve soldiers were killed in Lebanon yesterday. 24 were injured, some of them seriously. My friends were hearing this news on the radio for the first time as we were exiting Jerusalem and the tension in the car was palpable and set the tone for much of what was to follow the rest of the day.
Yesterday afternoon the Israeli security cabinet decided to expand military operations in southern Lebanon, sending troops as far as the Litani River.
The news caused a frenzy in the North and in many parts of the country and for a short while there was a little doubt as to whether we would still be allowed to go up North today. That decision has since been put on hold because the United States is demanding Israel further diplomatic efforts in order to reach a cease-fire. The United Nations has proposed a draft which calls for the withdrawal of the Israeli army with the arrival of an international peacekeeping force. As far as I am concerned, the only real option we have right now is to continue our military offensive and disarm Hizbullah.
More than 80 rockets were fired into the city of Kiryat Shmona yesterday.
Already at the entrance to the city, I could see evidence of far more destruction than the last time I was there, two and a half weeks ago. We were witness to some of the more than 650 buildings and apartments that have been hit by Katyusha rockets. Kiryat Shmona is the city that has suffered the most building damage in this war, followed by Nahariya and then Tzfat.
Having said that, it is very important to emphasise the miracles that continue to occur here daily. According to yesterday's army reports more than 3200 rockets have hit northern Israel since the start of this war and only 5% of them have hit buildings. The report also states that of those people who have listened to army directives and remained in bomb-shelters and protected rooms, no-one has died or been badly injured.
While we were in Kiryat Shmona, I got a call from a friend who was at Ben Gurion airport. She was there to welcome friends who were making aliya today on the Nefesh b'Nefesh plane. Sitting in this boiling hot, stuffy bomb-shelter, I felt incredibly comforted knowing that 243 Jews had just chosen to make Israel their home and that this war had not derailed their plans or their determination. My friend told me that Nefesh b'Nefesh co-founder Rabbi Yehoshua Fass said that a few months ago 243 people had registered to be on today's flight and despite the war, not a single person cancelled. Demographically, without continued aliya our situation is far more grave than many realise. I want you to know that despite the security situation in Israel, aliya continues to flourish and people making aliya through Nefesh B'Nefesh are only some of those choosing to make Israel their home right now. There are many more Nefesh B'Nefesh flights expected this summer including 3 flights on August 16 alone! After ending the phone conversation, I told the woman sitting next to me about what I had just been told. The news spread through the bomb-shelter like wild fire and everyone had something to say about it. Almost everyone was amazed that people were prepared to make Israel their home right now. I told them about Nefesh b'Nefesh and the incredible work they do to facilitate thousands of people making aliya. One man said "When this war is over and the next Nefesh b'Nefesh plane arrives, I will be at Ben Gurion airport to welcome them."
Someone sitting on my left said "Pity we can't be there now." So I said, "We can't be there now, but we can sing Hatikva now, just as they are doing right now at the airport". Every single person in that bomb-shelter stood and sang Hatikva with a heightened sense of intention and meaning and by the end of the anthem there was not a single dry eye in the shelter.
At around 11:00 a.m. sirens sounded throughout the North of the county. We were unloading food from a truck and were rushed into the bomb-shelter which we were just about to enter to distribute food. Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon landed in many cities including Kiryat Shmona, where we were. A short while later we heard that a mother and her baby were killed in a rocket attack in the Arab village of Dir al-Assad, near Carmiel, and other family members had been hospitalised.
The people left in Kiryat Shmona are primarily those unable to help themselves – the poor, elderly, handicapped and sick who cannot afford to leave the city. We met some patriots who told us they have remained to look after their homes and to watch over the city and who refuse to be run out of Kiryat Shmona by terrorists. In some of the bomb-shelters, we heard that the Kiryat Shmona municipality had handed out food vouchers to people in certain shelters on Tuesday because the food crisis is so grave.
From Kiryat Shmona we went to Nahariya. Once again, the shelters were unventilated and boiling hot. The sanitary conditions are very difficult and there are no showers. People greeted us with unconstrained appreciation. They seemed desperate for food. Katyusha rockets had been fired into Nahariya early this morning and some of the people we met were still visibly in shock. It was clear to us that a lot more people had left the city since we were last there.
At 2:30 p.m. sirens sounded again all over the North. By then we were in Carmiel. A home in the Ma'alot area was damaged in a Katyusha rocket attack and rockets landed in Rosh Hanikra. Fire fighters and fire fighting planes were battling to control forest fires in the Golan Heights and Upper Galil areas, resulting from Katyusha rocket attacks. I want you to know that this is what is happening here every day! Every single day! You will not see this on BBC and CNN but this is our reality.
The strength of Am Yisrael is so clear to me. Since this war began I have been inundated with calls and emails from people here in Israel and all over the world, genuinely wanting to help. People have sent money and others have brought packages to my apartment filled with toys, books, games, clothes and toiletries. Chessed (kindness) is our strength and so is tefilla (prayer). The attitude of the people living day after day, night after night in these small bomb-shelters with horrendous conditions is exceptional. Despite the incredible difficulties they have faith in Hashem. Wherever we went yesterday, people openly shared their feelings and thoughts, and place after place we heard people say they were willing to endure all that this war entails so long as the government allows the army to complete their job and does not give into international pressure.
For me, one of the most moving parts of my day was stopping to distribute food and supplies to a group of soldiers. These soldiers are all very young – 19, 20 years old. They told me how the religious among them put tefillin on the irreligious soldiers every morning, how the irreligious soldiers have learned Tefillat Haderech off by heart from their religious friends and what made me cry (for the umpteenth time today) was when they told me how they sing "Ani Ma'amin" as they march in Lebanon to face Hizbullah terrorists. I thanked them profusely for their holy work and told them that because of them and what they are doing to protect us, we are able to remain here.
At about 3:15 p.m. I was on the phone with someone in Kiryat Shmona, when the siren sounded again and we had to cut the call short so that he could get into a bomb-shelter. The bomb-shelter we were in was shaking and children were screaming. My heart was pounding. It was very scary and I kept thinking that with all the experience these people have gained in the past month, this is just not something you get used to. A few minutes later I heard that sirens were also sounding in Shlomi, Nahariya and other northern cities.
We left Carmiel and arrived in Haifa just after 4:00 p.m. and we took a short break for Mincha. About 15 minutes later, literally seconds after I finished davenning, warning sirens sounded in Haifa, Carmiel, Nahariya, Rosh Hanikra and surrounding areas. Residents were told to take cover in bomb-shelters and protected rooms. A building in Haifa suffered a direct hit and people were injured. We piled into the closest bomb-shelter and a bunch of children were sitting nearest to the entrance playing cards. Seeing four new faces in their shelter they asked us who we were. I sat down next to them and as we talked they asked me to play with them. They shared with me how hard this past month has been and how helpless they feel about their own reality. We spoke about ways people can help themselves in difficult times and when I suggested that we recite Tehillim together they were very skeptical. They spoke among themselves and one of them told me very matter-of-factly that they would say "just one". 40 minutes later as we said goodbye, these kids were still reciting Tehillim.
While we were in that bomb-shelter someone told me that an army official had just announced on the news that aerial photos of Kiryat Shmona were found in southern Lebanon in one of the villages used as Hizbullah headquarters. At that moment all I could think about were the faces of the people I had seen this morning in Kiryat Shmona.
After 5:00 p.m. we heard on the news that ten rockets exploded in Ma'alot and again sirens were sounding in Nahariya and Kiryat Shmona. The whole day we kept hearing news broadcasts and the names of the soldiers killed yesterday were slowly released for publication. There was an outburst of anger in one of the bomb-shelters when a few men heard on the news that IAF planes had once again dropped flyers in Beirut neighbourhoods, warning residents to leave for their own safety. The men explained to us that it infuriates them that our army constantly gives Hizbullah warning of impending attacks when Hizbullah continues to rain rockets on our cities with no hesitation or warning.
In all the places that we went to today, aside from buildings and structures that have been destroyed, I was very aware of the large number of trees that have been destroyed by forest fires that have broken out as a result of Hizbullah rockets. At approximately 6:15 p.m. 3 rockets were fired into Acco and sirens were again sounding in Kiryat Shmona and surrounding areas.
Forest fires had broken out in the area.
Throughout the day, I saw many familiar faces – people I had seen and met the last time I was in the North. One of the most heart-warming reunions was that of my "Sudoku buddies" in Haifa. They showed me the Sudoku puzzle books I had sent them and told me they would soon be needing new ones.
At 8:00 p.m. we took a break and sat in a bomb-shelter watching the news on television. We heard that more than 160 Katyusha rockets had been fired into Israel today. I got a sms to my cellphone that a tourist had been stabbed to death by an Arab terrorist in the Old City of Jerusalem. Arabs have free access to our cities, public transport, restaurants, malls ands cafe's and so attacking Jews simply poses no problem for them. Needless to say what would happen if Jews were to enter their restaurants, malls ands cafe's!
I am very grateful to those of you who don't know me but were forwarded my first article and made the effort to call and email me. To all of you who have generously contributed to my project, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! The money has allowed us to continue sending prepared meals up to the North daily and I can tell you that the expressions on the faces of the people in the bomb-shelters, especially the children, when we distributed the toys, games, clothes and toiletries was priceless. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! May Hashem bless you and bless us to continue our work.
Shabbat is coming in soon so I will have to end now. I will try send another article with more information about my time in the North. There are so many stories and it is not possible to relay them all.
Shabbat shalom!
Love,
Shana.
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SHANA HOVSHA
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL.
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