News 24/7

In past blogs I have written about how fast things happen in Israel, and this situation with kidnapped soldiers and rockets landing every day is no different. The international press was very quick to call this a War, but the Israeli media does not paint the picture so black and white.

Less than a week ago the Hezbollah killed 8 soldiers and captured 2 and since then things have been happening ….fast. It is surreal to be here during this time and live in Tel Aviv. On Thursday I was at the gym when the rockets went off. I was lifting weights and listening to music when I realized that people were staring at the television screens. When I looked up, I saw flames outside of an apartment building and the caption “Katyusha rocket hits Haifa.” All night Ariel and I were watching the news and around midnight we pried ourselves off the couch to go out a walk. Watching the news can be tiring, and in Israel you can find the news on at any hour. You have to know when to stop and come up for air.

Living in Tel Aviv is still a bubble, but these rockets can travel far and everyone is very aware of his/her surroundings. In the office we all look at the news online and hit refresh every so often to find out the updates. At home, the TV is usually on, either as the main event or else it is on low in the background. When that is off then the radio gives hourly updates as well. Being in Israel, even in Tel Aviv, and not knowing what is going to happen is a hard task. The most important thing as I can see it now is to be as informed and alert as possible.

Speculations of how long this will go on range from days to weeks to months. While I am an optimist, I am also a realist and I would put my money on months rather than days. Of course I hope that I am wrong.