It is very different to be here and experience these situations then to do it from abroad. Here, you see one side and barely the other. Abroad, you see both, obviously you see one more - which ever one comes across more 'rate-able' on the tv screen. Seeing things from outside though does give you a different perspective, as silly as that sentence is.
Both sides are to blame here. While that's almost always true, it does seem lost on people. I want to mention though that over 8000 rockets have been shot over at Israel since it pulled out of the Gaza strip 6 years ago. Over 8000. And yes Israel has put the Gaza strip under blockade since Hamas came into power. And is facing elections.
I am not getting into politics beyond those sentences.
The sound of the siren takes me back to post 9/11 when every time I heard a plane I automatically looked up to the sky in fright. Now motorcycles speeding sound a bit like the siren... Memories of '91 (The Gulf war, numero uno).
They opened the bomb shelters here. The one closest to my house is very close and very roomy, almost friendly in its spacious-ness and white-wall-ness. It is also right under a kindergarten and the Northern TLV police station. Whatever that may mean...
My parents arrived just in time, I might add. They came in Wednesday. On the way to picking them up from the airport I heard on the news that the Hamas military leader was killed. Welcome to Israel eema abba!
And with all of this, Israelies deal with the situation with humor, very dark humor. Here are a few of the funnies from FB, with context explained...
So there were two rockets shot over to Tel Aviv and then one to Jerusalem. As far as the cities are concerned, Tel Aviv is clearly the cool and fashionable one. So after a rocket was shot to Jerusalem, someone wrote in FB - the fastest move in history of a trend from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Much criticism has been dished out to citizens of Tel Aviv, that they don't understand what its like to live under fire (true) and that while many parts of Israel are in the line of fire, they just go out to coffee shops and parties. After the first siren went out here someone wrote on FB, shit, I spilled my espresso. And of course the photo below...
Let's hope for a quick and peaceful end to this, there are children in both sides and they should be able to grow up peacefully, play and dream.
