Jerusalem resident Leah was shopping in the Mahaneh Yehuda market on Thursday instead of hosting her daughter’s bat mitzvah party. The reason? The rockets that have rained on Israel this week in reaction to the IDF’s Operation Shield and Arrow.
Although no rockets have targeted the Jerusalem area, Leah wasn’t taking any chances.
“It’s very sad,” Leah said. “My sister has a lot of little kids, and she sings to them because they don’t want to hear and they won’t be afraid. But we are afraid for them.”
The market was bustling with people shopping for Shabbat. They were expressing concern for their fellow citizens under attack but were not going to stop their normal routine.
Orit, also a resident of Jerusalem, said it was very depressing that every year or two, Israelis have to endure another round of fighting with the terrorist groups that control Gaza.
“I feel that it is very sad,” she said. “I think that in war, everyone loses and that both sides are suffering right now.”
Her husband’s children, who are both teenagers, were very aware of the current situation and said it is something that her family talks about. Despite the ongoing rocket warning, Orit said she was hopeful the conflict would end soon.
“I think the people [in Israel] are quite depressed, and you can see that in the streets,” she said. “The mood isn’t perfect, but I believe it will be okay.”
Getting used to conflict
Ben, who lives in Jerusalem, said he and his family felt safe, and the periodic conflicts are something they have gotten used to.
“You get used to everything. If you don’t get used to it, then you cannot live a healthy life,” Ben said, adding that he trusts the government to do the right thing. “Above all, I trust God. This nation has been through a lot of things through history, and every time, even if we suffered, we stayed.”
Linda Singer, a tourist who lives outside Washington, DC, arrived in Israel Friday afternoon to visit her son, Adam Singer. She said she didn’t fear so much for her own safety, since she would be leaving the country Thursday night, but worries about her son and his family in Israel.
The situation is complicated, Singer said.
“There is no place safe,”
Linda Singer
“I suspect that whichever side you’re on, you feel like it is the right side,” she said. “I think both are to blame, and both have their own points of view.”
Singer said she hoped the two sides would have more of a common ground, because “killing people on either side is not such a great solution.”
Adam Singer, a father of three from Ramat Beit Shemesh, said the operation came as a surprise to him, but he is not worried about his family’s safety.
“I was out getting a sandwich with my mother and my son when the siren went off, and we were told to duck and cover,” he said.
Singer said that although it felt normal, this was the first time he was actually looking for a safe room.
“Killing bad guys is never a bad thing when it cannot be avoided, but killing innocent people is always horrible,” he said.
Singer shared a theory he had heard, saying the killing of the three Islamic Jihad leaders was an attempt to instigate a response that would trigger an even bigger response in time for Jerusalem Day next week.
“That’s more concerning to me,” he said. “I fear for the stability and the direction that the government tends to lead in, whether it’s making us more safe or less safe, in the interest of making themselves more powerful.
Although there is a lot of uncertainty within the political climate of Israel, Linda Singer considers herself a realist and believes that time is precious, and people should continue traveling to Israel.
“There is no place safe,” she said. “You could get hit by a bus in your own city. You might as well live your life and use every day well.”