Two and a half hours ago we got a phone call from Nadav in Colorado, and as we were talking rockets started falling through much of Israel until, and even beyond, Tel Aviv. Most of our conversation took place as Tzippi and I were in what we consider our safest spot in our apartment. Nadav has an alert application on his phone so both he and Tzippi were watching it as it rolled through name after name of towns toward which rockets were being directed. The photograph from our television here shows what we see in real time on our screens if we're watching one of the "official" channels. I shot it after we returned to our "regular" seats. In more "ordinary" extraordinary circumstances we'll see two, three or four rows of areas where rockets are directed, but this time (it was the second barrage and we weren't one of the targets) it was row after row after row after row. I'd meant to shoot a video but didn't notice that I hadn't done that so you only get one shot of what went on for perhaps 30 seconds, row after row.
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This was the second time we were "targeted" today. We were in the chadar ochel for lunch (it reopened, "after" Covid 19, about two weeks ago) when sirens started - actually three times. I prepared a short video (see below) for our archives - the wall between the kitchen and the tables is (or at least is considered) the safest place to be if we're in the chadar ochel.
So? So as I'm writing this our Prime Minister is apparently supposed to very soon make some sort of statement. What does "some sort of" mean? At least part of it is totally predictable. He'll tell us that they started this and that we have no alternative that to show them that we can finish it. And our news channels will report this as though it makes sense, even though only a few hours ago numerous reporters were telling us what should have been obvious - that other than a military response Israel has no strategy for ending this.
While finishing that sentence the news was interviewing someone who's explaining (well, yelling) that all we want is to live with peace and quiet ... and thus Israel has to use real force and make them suffer in order to achieve that quiet. And that, of course, is supposed to make sense.
Now it's Bibi's turn. He's telling us that they (Hamas) have paid, and will continue to pay, a heavy price for what they're doing. Should I translate that into what it means strategically? What it means is that we're making them suffer, and then they'll make us suffer, but we'll say that they suffered more. And then we'll have a period of quiet (during which much too much of Israel will complain that we haven't put "them" back to the stone age) until things start up again.
Interestingly, both Bibi, our Defense Minister (Gantz) and our Chief of Command all made very short, and quite non-committal statements. Nobody mentioned sending ground troops in Aza. This was basically a pep talk - trust us, we're stronger than they are.
If there's one thing that Israel doesn't intend to do (and I don't see this happening even with what was supposed to be a new and somewhat different government) it's recognize that the Palestinians are entitled to the same things we demand for ourselves. But of course (that "of course" sadly isn't as obvious to others as it is to me) until they can see that there's a real chance of getting those things they have no reason to change their strategy, even as it continues to hurt them more than it hurts us.
sent: May 11, 2021
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