Operation Northern Thunder

The Israelis call it Operation Northern Thunder. Amazing how that name is so apropos to what it actually sounded like when their missiles, mortars or tank shells hit the ground near the school. For about a week we have lived with the constant sound of shelling. It didn’t matter where you were in Gaza, you could hear the shelling going on near the borders. There were a few nights where the shelling sounded like it was right outside. I know that I have repeated it often, but its amazing what you’ll get used to if you’re put in the right situation. We've had nice dinners during the shelling. We held final exams for our students during the shelling and some of us have even had barbeques while being serenaded by explosions. The roof of the apartment building has become the place to be at night during the shelling. On a clear night we can see the shells exploding across the not so distant landscape.

Erez is even more fun, since we can hear the shells on the outbound and then hear them hit. Yet, I’m still trying to figure out how this is going to help the Israelis gain peace. So this is just a question in the wind, “How does the violence and deprivation suffered by the innocent citizens of Gaza help to gain even the remote possibility of peace?” Along with that question I would like to send a direct message to the decision makers in Israel, “Your bombs and explosions are not changing any minds on this side of the green line, only entrenching them.”

Get this, I’m complaining and I get to escape this place on the weekends. Damn, I must be a spoiled westerner.