3 Things to Remember after Operation Pillar of Defense

Most Americans are back to work,

 having finished their leftover Thanksgiving turkeys.

Australians down under are getting ready for summer holidays.

Israeil tank

The Israeli tanks facing Gaza  

Israeli soldiers

and the IDF battle-ready reserves at the border have returned home.

But before pre-election politics takes over all the headlines, 

there are three important things to remember

now that Operation Pillar of Defense has ended.

3.  Schools were closed for over a week in much of Israel.

Not only young children stayed home with anxious parents,

 but medical schools and universities in the line of fire were closed.

Or Etzion yeshiva, Yeshiva beit midrash. study hall

This yeshiva study hall is located on the second floor of the building.

 It is usually full of students day and night,

but it was emptied during Pillar of Defense.

Many students were called up for army service,  

and for the rest, it was too dangerous.

 It was more than 15 seconds away from the nearest shelter.

2. Bomb shelters had become a way of life in Southern Israel.

Israeli bomb shelter

This Kiryat Malachi shelter was furnished with activities for children,

Israeli playground

but the playground nearby was empty,

shelter in Kiryat Malachi

as parents with young children stayed close to the shelter entrance.

Remember, there are only 15 seconds to get everyone to safety.

Ethiopian couple in Kiryat Malachi

With a break in the rocket fire, there was time for simple things 

boy smiling

like food shopping.

Israeli bomb shelter

Some people were forced to sleep in community shelters for safety.

“Lucky” families had their own reinforced room at home. 

safe room

These girls have grown up with the threat of rockets.

As we all gathered in their safe room during a red alert siren, 

they were happy to make faces and smile for the camera.

near Gaza border

Many Hamas rockets do land in open spaces in Southern Israel.

 But perhaps the ONE most important thing to remember

destroyed apartment Kiryat Malachi

is that those Hamas rockets from Gaza can and do kill.

It only took only 20 seconds to murder

three people sitting in this living room.

After 12,000 rockets from Gaza,

it was time to #StopTheRockets. 

 

7 thoughts on “3 Things to Remember after Operation Pillar of Defense

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.