We had dinner with Billye, Rani Levi and his family. Rani was telling us how they had been to the bomb shelter in their home 15 times in the last two weeks. Rani played a recording of a bomb siren that he had done with his phone. It gives you an erie sense of reality when you hear it. Two hundred fifty missiles have been fired into Israel during that time. Two hundred never hit the ground due to the Iron Dome and military intervention. Forty five hit in open fields doing no damage at all. The other 5 hit buildings and did little damage. One of those hit a school–AFTER the cease fire. Thankfully the government had decided to keep the kids out of school again so no one was there. One hit the military base they had been aiming for. No one hurt but that is very serious that they can reach a base. Rani’s daughter is serving there. One of the Iron Dome launches is one mile from his house so he can see when a dome missile is deployed. I asked if they had ever been away from home when a siren went off. Alma said yes. I asked if she had known where to go and she said no, they just have to lay on the ground and cover their heads. She did not like that at all. All this makes you very thankful for where we live and that all our family is safe. Imagine the sound of tornado sirens–only over and over again, days on end. Israel has asked the security council of the UN to condemn these missile attacks, but they do not feel the need to do so. Unbelievable! Israel could easily “wipe out” Gaza and any area that produces these kind of attacks. But Israel will not allow targeting innocent civilians, no matter what. They will, however, respond to intelligence about terrorists’ location or missile launch sites. These kind of “retaliations” ARE usually condemned by the UN and our government usually issues a statement urging Israel to show restraint. I used to think they would never urge restraint if Mexico began lobbing rockets into Texas. But in light of recent non-action regarding the drug war moving across the border, I’m not so sure. Billye said today that we are all supposed to know about the times that we live in and what God is doing. And to know what God is doing, you must watch Israel. We are doing that up close and personal. Even while they seem on the brink of war they are uncovering more of The City of (King) David, giving more credence to the accuracy of the Bible. In all the world, there is a land–Israel. In all of Israel, there is a city–Jerusalem. In all the city there is a hill–Mount Moriah, The Temple Mount. And we are here.
Shalom
Terri
