Last Week

Hello Everyone! It's hard to be believe that my time in Israel is drawing to a close. These past two weeks have been incredible and have changed the way I look at the world. I still have two days left of volunteering, but thus far working with the PDD (Autism spectrum) students have been a fun and fulfilling experience. Most of the students are extremely smart and only struggle with the articulation of their thoughts. Sometimes I pity them for their struggles, but sometimes I envy their unique feats and abilities, such as one student who taught himself German in 6 months by simply reading a book. I have also enjoyed meeting the Leo Baeck staff and community and look forward to sharing some of the projects they are working on with everyone back home. Leo Baeck is an amazing place that does so much for so many different people. Even being there for a few weeks I can see how it has changed the lives of so many in the Haifa community and beyond. In regards to the Gaza situation, things haven't changed much. Everyday it seems there's breaking news that Israel and Hamas are SO CLOSE to a cease-fire. But it always falls through. And that doesn't bother a large portion of the population here. They want to keep fighting. Especially in the South, where they're sick and tired of running into their shelters every hour due to constant rocket fire. They want Hamas destroyed once and for all and every last rocket and tunnel destroyed. Quite frankly, I don't blame them. If I lived in Ashkelon, I wouldn't want a cease-fire; I would want an escalation. The sooner I can stop being tied to my bomb shelter, the better. Yes, the civilian casualties in Gaza have been horrific. But, there are some things, as a nation, that you simply can't put up with. And incessant rocket fire at your civilian population is one of them. No nation, not the United States, not China, and sure as hell not Russia, would tolerate what Israel has been forced to take for so many years. All I can say is, thank G-d for the Iron Dome.