"Don't Be a Little Girl"

The Jerusalem Post states: "After two days of escalation, there can be no illusions: Israel is at war." Over 700 rockets have landed in Israel in the past couple of days. Tsefat and Haifa have both been hit. Hundreds have been injured; several have been killed.

And what are we doing? We are studying our Hebrew homework, going on an archaeological dig, and preparing for Shabbat. It's very strange, but here in Jerusalem everyone still goes about their everyday business just like it was any other day.

On Thursday, our class asked our Hebrew teacher questions about the situation. "Perhaps we should learn the word for 'bomb shelter' and skip words like 'zoology'?" one student suggested. Our teacher assuaged our fears by saying that the air raid siren hasn't gone off in Jerusalem since 1967, that Jerusalem is a safe place to be because of the important Islamic religious sites here, and that if there were any danger to our safety then the CY would let us know.

Still, there are bombs being dropped on the country just 60 miles from here. Shouldn't people be panicking?

We went on an archaeological dig this morning (see below), so we asked others from the States what they thought about the situation. Were they worried? Would they send their kids home if they were here? Are they thinking about leaving early?

Every single person said not to worry. Many were even surprised we were asking about it. "Are you afraid?" they asked in bewilderment. The truthful answer is no, we are not afraid. But why aren't we and should we be?

My parents would like us to leave. A friend of ours, a guy, told his mom that when he rides the buses (we don't ride the buses at all), there are now armed guards on each bus. His mom answered, "Don't be a little girl." A bit of a strange answer, but she really meant that he should just tough it out. So which should we do? Leave or tough it out? Or, perhaps, leave later?

So far, the fighting is very localized and everyone assures us that Jerusalem is a safe place right now. If that's true, at what point should we be worried? Sometimes we get the feeling that Israelis won't be worried until the fighting reaches their door, at which point they'd just go kick some tush.

However, we, as Americans, have never experienced anything like this. We don't know when we should worry and when not to.

We'll continue talking to friends and others at school about this. We will watch the news very carefully and look for any warnings from the U.S. State Department. We will even get some extra cash to have on hand, look up plane flights, and consider what to pack and what not to pack. We really are fine right now, but we will keep a close eye on the situation.