Getting Worse before it Gets Better

Hello friends and family,

I have received a few emails/ phone calls about the situation between Israel and Gaza and how I am doing and I just want to reassure all of you that I am safe in Jerusalem. I am not traveling anywhere for New Years just hanging around Jerusalem with some friends.

It is with hesitation that I write this email about the matzav (situation) because a part of me hopes that it is over in a couple of days; although the reality is it will most likely get worse before it gets better. I can go on and on about the political issues, but most of you know that Iran is funding Hamas and Hamas's sole agenda is to destroy Israel, so the big picture is the reality of fighting Iran but the immediate threat is that throughout these 6 months Hamas has rearmed with longer ranging missiles, weapons and training. Now it is finally time to deal with Hamas on the ground.

Throughout these 6 months of living in Israel I've met some great guys that are now in the army, some were called up to go into Gaza and some were trained in Gaza. It is a very unsettling feeling of actually knowing good friends here that are in Gaza compared to living in Boston knowing that "some random guys" are fighting on behalf of the Jewish State.

One of the stories I can tell you that happened a couple of days ago is this: I called my friend Dave at 10:30 Monday night and in a panicky voice he said he would call me back in 10 minutes. Ten minutes later Dave called me back and he was in shock. He was just on the phone with his mate that is a journalist who was driving near Ashquelon and all of a sudden Dave's mate heard a siren that a rocket was launched from Gaza and in position to hit Ashquelon. In Ashquelon they have 1 full minute before impact so he had 1 minute to find a shelter. Dave's mate stopped the car, put the cell phone on the seat but did not turn it off, and ran to the nearest shelter. One minute later, Dave was still on the phone listening through the phone and heard the rocket's thud. Dave then hung up the phone. Dave's mate called him back once he got back into the car and said that he was safe but could not find a shelter so he had to lie on the ground with his hands over his head until he heard the rockets impact.

My daily life is not directly affected by the situation like the people living in Beer Sheba, Sderot, Ashquelon, Ashdod and other Southern cities, but who knows? I can only hope that this mission will be swift and that the IDF learned a lot from their mistakes in the Second Lebanon War.

I am still on all these list serves from Jewish American organizations and I want to thank you for your media support, organizing rallies, and general support of Israel. I hope the next time I write it is with good news. Go to my friend Benji's blog for his comedic insight, he is brilliant. http://www.whatwarzone.com/2008/12/here-we-go-again.html

Happy New Year…all my love

Esther