I do. Three cousins.@Marquis de Potpourri do you have family living in Israel?
Yesterday, while observing Shabbat and the holiday of Shemini Atzeret, my family was oblivious to what was happening in Israel.
The only person who knew about the attacks was my wife who did not know how to tell anyone of us.
She knew how close Israel was to our hearts as a family. We have homes in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv.
As soon as Shabbat ended, we were all shocked by the news and started contacting family and friends.
None of them picked up their phones which added greatly to our crippling worry and helplessness. It was grueling.
One cousin finally made contact about five hours ago--which was the middle of the early morning hours there.
She and her husband live in a beachfront community on the outskirts of Ashdod where they are very close to the fighting.
She told me that they'd been told to stay indoors and close down their window steel barriers! They are safe, but very much afraid.
The other cousin who lives in Tel Aviv called her dad (my uncle) about two hours ago and told him that they saw a couple of Hamas rockets hit an apartment building and level a business to the ground just five blocks down from their apartment building. They all want to leave, but none of them can fly out of the country. All flights have been canceled. I was supposed to go two weeks from now.
My cousin's best friend's neighbor, a beautiful 22-year-old woman had been taken captive by terrorists from her home in Sderot.
Her family fears the worst has already happened.
The third, a second cousin who is an IDF reservist and a medical doctor in Jerusalem has been called to report for duty.
Everything feels so surreal. So many innocent lives are ruined and wasted on both sides.
Prayers and positive thoughts are appreciated.
Last edited: