Another week of rollercoaster emotions and war on the Jerusalem streets.
Sunday morning September 1, 2024, was the first day of school after long summer break.
You may have seen photos of protesters that the media loves to share.
But did you also see the tens of thousands of people each night after midnight for Selihot? The Sephardi tradition is to start late-night prayers from Rosh Chodesh Elul.
You can see how many people came to the Kotel, the Western Wall.
At night, the Prime Minister took to English social media to show a map of Israel in the Middle East.
As the night before in a Hebrew version, he highlighted the Gaza Strip and Philadelphi Corridor.
While Sunday morning was the first day of school, the usual excitement and photos were overshadowed by the dreadful news of the murder of six Israeli hostages in Gaza by Hamas terrorists.
Then on Monday afternoon, tens of thousands lined the Jerusalem streets with Israeli flags.
Flags large and small, on both sides of the road, along the route,
arriving from afar to line the way,
as the funeral procession for Hersh Goldberg-Polin went to Har Hamenuhot Cemetery.
Red shirts of his favorite sports team, many with his profile were seen along the way and at the cemetery.
Oh, what a contrast to the red flowers and bridal photoshoot minutes away.
Three brides dressed in white with families and photographers were in the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens.
Going for some quiet beauty in nature, and seeing wedding parties was a bonus on a dark day.
At night, the signs seliha asked for forgiveness for the hostages that were not brought back alive.
Interesting timing, I noticed also a poster for Avraham “Avera” Mengistu an Ethiopian-born Israeli crossed into Gaza on September 7, 2014. Ten years a hostage in Gaza!
With the start of Elul and the Sephardi Selihot, the Kesher Yehudi organization held an opening event.
Sivan Rahav Meir was on hand to support families of hostages still in Gaza.
Musicians Akiva and Yonatan Razel performed for the event before proceeding to the Kotel for selihot.
Rabbanit Yaffa Deri was also there to inspire and encourage the participants.
On Wednesday I took some time off the Jerusalem streets with the constant construction and noise and went south. The old Shmita signs are still up on some fields.
However, this pile of dried hay was interestingly piled up.
It was a quiet day when we were in Sderot with its decorated shelters, but in the north, there were 100 missiles/rockets at the same time. Without shelters, tens of thousands of Israelis are still forced from their homes and schools since October 8.
After decades under attack from Gaza, Sderot has new construction to keep up with the demand.
People arrive in Israel to volunteer and immigrate during a war, and people want to live in Sderot.
I finally got a better photo of the watermelon in front of the library.
Ironic, that the watermelon was there long before its use in a social media campaign against Israel began.
There are bomb shelters by the bus stops along the road to Sderot.
But also, kilometers lined with the Sabra Cactus plants.
On leaving Sderot is the AMDOCS building with a large blue and white banner.
Under the blue and white flag in Hebrew is – “Strong together.”
The week past saw Israelis united in mourning, now to maintain that unity to victory.
