I am sitting in Jerusalem watching the light of the setting sun reflect against the walls of Old City.  Children are playing in a full pool beneath my hotel window.  I have been on a Jewish Federations of North America mission of 120 people from around the United States to see first hand the work we do helping those in need in Israel.  We started the day in Tel Aviv after an inspiring and informative programs about the political and military situation here and hearing first hand reports of the anxiety and fear that Hamas’s rockets are causing in the South reported out by people on the ground near Sheroot.

And yet, life still goes on.

We were in Jerusalem for lunch and had the honor to be addressed by Gilad Shaar’s father who spoke of the deep sense of connectedness he, his wife and his family felt by the outpouring of support worldwide to the kidnapping and subsequent killing of his 16 year old son.  His talk was followed by the spontaneous reporting of representatives from each community who reported what their community had done to honor their memory.  Julie Gibbs, our director of women’s philanthropy, spoke of our community’s gathering last week at the JCC, and also related a more personal story of her daughter who was in Israel at the time.    The “witnessing” of so many communities reporting directly to Gilad’s parents was as profound and moving as sense of a united Jewish people as I have ever been a part of.

Amid all this sense of normalcy and un-normalcy, we have spent some time in bomb shelters as most residents of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have.  And we have had the good fortune of about 90 seconds of safety unlike the 15 seconds that face residents in the south.

Thanks to the vigilance of residents and preparedness training, the missiles have had a very small material impact on Israel so far. Most of them are falling in unpopulated areas, and those aimed at population centers are not getting through:  it has been reported that the Iron Dome defense system has been shooting down 90% of those.  But there are concerns, including a longer range that is now reaching into the heart of the country and even far up north.  For children and citizens of the south—Sderot, Beersheba, Ashkalon, and Ashdod among others–the psychic harm and significant likelihood of material harm is growing.

Our understanding is that a longer ground campaign is likely, and it will take at least 7-10 more days.  Of course this is speculation, though it has been presented to us by people with authority and consistent with what is being reported in the major papers.

There are some hopeful signs about the political situation.  As reported by two influential speakers today, and again consistent with news reports, Egypt has much less tolerance for Hamas’s approach and appears to be closely cooperating with Israel to shut down their access to munitions.  And the West Bank has been quiet with no significant show of alliance with Hamas in Gaza.  But as both journalists and politicians who addressed our group have reported, as civilian casualties in Gaza grow without any Israeli casualties, there will be pressure on Israel to stop its campaign.  Currently over 100 Gazan’s have been killed by Israel’s attack; I have not seen reliable numbers on how many civilians are a part of that, but it is likely to be very high.  (Importantly, Israel is reported to have taken considerable precautions to limit collateral damage by calling the homes of their targets and warning them in other ways.)

Sam March
Author: Sam March