Cease Fire Over

Hey everyone! First, and most importantly, I'm perfectly safe! I will keep you updated, I promise. I intend for my status to remain exactly the same though.

A few days ago, I heard some loud booms. At first I thought it was thunder (we don't get much rain in the desert, but we get some thunder). Then, I noticed that the walls of my room were shaking. Suddenly, it occured to me that perhaps they were bombs. I waited to listen for the next one, but they'd stopped for the time being. Slightly rattled, I went to talk to Goldie, the director of the program in which I'm studying. I went into the office and told him I'd heard loud noises and that my walls had been shaking. I asked if he knew what they were.

"Oh those? Those were bombs." He replied non-chalantly.
"Ummm... BOMBS?? I heard that Hamas has been firing rockets since yesterday, are they bombs from Gaza?"
"Oh no! We're right next to the Israeli army practice site. Those are our practice bombs. Don't worry, this happens all the time." He informed me.

Later, my friend Zoe told me that she's seen signs saying "Do not enter, Israeli Army missle test site" while on her bike rides in the Negev. It's things that which really bring home the fact that I'm in the middle east right now...

For those of you who haven't heard, the cease fire between Israel and Palestine officially ended a few days ago, when Hamas launched 30 missiles from Gaza into Israel, hitting an industrial district in Ashkolon and a Kibbutz on the border of Gaza. Israel went in directly after that, killing one Palestinian. Yesterday, Hamas launched 60 more rockets. Again, there were no Israeli casualties, just shock. Today, the Israeli Army went into Gaza in a major military action that has so far caused 155 Palestinian casualties, most of which are unfortunately civilian.

I happen to be surrounded by intelligent, well educated, and well informed people in my Kibbutz Ulpan program, and they've been talking about the conflict and their knowledge of Hamas' tactics. My friend Max, a New Yorker who attends Dartmouth, seems to know a great deal about the subject. He claims that Hamas shoots the rockets into Israel in order to provoke a retaliation. Most of the time, Israel chooses to enact a direct and pointed military retaliation. Hamas intentionally surrounds it's leaders and military strongholds by civilians. Any leader of Hamas is going to be living among civilians, look like a civilian, and have an entourage of civilians. Plus, the line between civilians and militants is often a little fuzzy. Many civilians actively support Hamas, and though call themselves civilians and technically are, may help store heavy artilary and weapons for Hamas. This is all intended to disparage the reputation of Israel in the world's perpective. Hamas provokes Israel, Israel retaliates, and Hamas insures that when they do, there is a high percentage of civilian casualties. Of course, Israel always has the option not to respond militarily, which seems to be a good idea, but it's not to long before those 30 missles a day hit someone or something major and cause a good deal of death and damage. It's a difficult and messy issue. It seemed to me, at first, such a horrible act on Israel's part to end up killing so many civilians, seeing as Israel has one of the world's best armies. But I understand now that it's not so cut and dry. Obviously, there are other ways to go about it, but the high civilian casualty rate is very much the fault of Hamas as well.

Many people are saying that this action will incite Hezbola and other organizations to get involved. I certainly hope this is not the case. This seems like such a step away from peace. Those less optimistic, which is a large group of people, believe that there will never be true and lasting peace. I find this incredibly depressing, but unfortunately, quite plausible. I believe personally that the most major cause of the hatred between these groups is lack of balanced education. In Israel and Arab nations both, there is a good deal of propoganda and racism. In the top schools in Israel, I think most children get a more balanced education, but I know that for the lower income classes this is not always the case. It is even more true in areas like Gaza, where most schools are funded by Hamas. I had always blamed Israel for this, but Max tells me I'm incorrect in this assumption. Israel has offered to provide schools and hospitals, but Hamas and the Palistinians refuse. I find this sort of education of fundamentalism similar to the way fundamentalist Christians educate in the US. I suppose in any sort of ideology where you desperately want and need your children to think the way you do, hearing both sides of the issues seems incredibly dangerous. It's very unfortunate.

Yesterday, I met an American girl who works for an organization called "Seeds of Peace." For those who don't know, this is an organization that facilitates summer camps with Palestinian and Israeli children. The hope is that by mixing them and teaching them to work together at a young age, they will grow up to be more sensitive to the other side of the issue and see the opposition as people rather than as enemies. I think this is a brilliant idea, but unfortunately, it seems much too small scale to work. If people really want their children to believe exactly what they do, and all most children are exposed to is racism and hatred propoganda, they'll grow up to continue fighting.

I don't really see any solution to the problem or even really have any suggestions. It's just something I've been thinking about lately, due to the fact that I'm here and that it's an issue I care about. I plan to read more literature on the subject and will definitely keep you updated on my political musings and my reading list. It's strange, because even though I know I'm less than 15 miles from Gaza while I'm on the Kibbutz, it all seems so far away. It doesn't really impact my life any more than it did when I was living in the US. It's weird because life is just going on as normal still. I'm expecting more security in general, but beyond that, the conflict doesn't really present itself in my daily life. It's an odd feeling.