Looking for Moses: Refugees

In the two and half years we've lived in Israel, the violence that would erupt sporadically between the Israelis and Palestinians were always far removed from our daily lives in Tel Aviv. As protests and riots flared in the West Bank and Hamas rockets landed in southern Israel every so often, we were always miles away enjoying the beach and food in the bubble that is Tel Aviv.

The last rockets to fall in Tel Aviv were back in '91 during the 1st Gulf War when Iraqi SCUD missiles were raining down with only little protection from the Patriot missile defense system. However back then, the main worry was not of the missiles themselves but any chemical warheads that were attached. Israelis retell that they were advised not to go into the bomb shelters but to stay put, seal the doors and windows with plastic, and wear gas masks.

The previous range of the rockets in Hama's arsenal were about 45 km, able to reach Beer Sheva and send students scurrying to the stairwell at BGU. This time around, to the surprise of many Israelis, they decided to use newly acquired rockets from Iran with a range of about 70 km to target Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The first rocket hit Tel Aviv while I was ordering lechmachun shwarmas and Jana and Makai were at home. I actually didn't even hear the bomb siren and only noticed the commotion in the street and store. This was quickly followed by a loud BOOM of a rocket making impact! A man next to me and turned and said, "welcome to Israel."

We experienced one more rocket scare during the 8 day offensive. Fortunately, the Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted every other rocket that was fired this way. In these instances, the boom was softer and came much earlier. I must say that there's a raw emotion that I felt and imagine can only come with the experience of being targeted and on the receiving end of an incoming missile. And it is this emotion that takes the Israeli/Palestinian issue away from the abstract and gives a greater appreciation and understanding of the perspective of the people that are caught in the ordeal.

Even though the probabilities of being at the wrong spot at the wrong time were tiny, the anticipation of the bomb siren and need to scurry down to the shelter frayed my nerves, especially at night. With any and every sound, we stirred awake wondering if we needed to scramble to pick Makai up and run downstairs to the shelter. And because we weren't Israelis who seemed not entirely scared of the situation and very much because we could, we spent the next week in other parts of Israel that were well out of rocket range. First was around the Dead Sea, and then up the coastline in Mihkmoret.

It was nice to escape, and we were able to make the most of our "vacation" time. Only wish everyone who wanted to had the opportunity to do so.