With the resumption of the school year I have returned to
the recluse’s life. Though to be fair, I have been anything but a recluse. I
have been out and about: to school, at times seven days a week; to Tel Aviv,
and other places around. I wanted to liken myself to an Automaton as well, but
that analogy is also majorly flawed. When it comes down to it, the start of
classes is like treading water. I was never a particularly strong swimmer, so
treading water took pretty much all of my focus, and so too does school.
Between my classes, becoming a teaching assistant, a research assistant and my
own independent research, that’s a task for each hand and foot. It is pretty
easy in that instance to become side tracked or lose site of the time.
Over the past two weeks, the situation in the middle east
has continued to degenerate. I wonder how many people became so entangled with
the US elections that they missed the cross border fire from Syria into israel,
and the reports of three Syrian tanks crossing into the demilitarized region of
the Golan Heights. This just reminded me of how essentially useless the UN
forces there are. It is not the fault of the soldiers stationed there, but
rather, their mandate is so limited as to limit them to shouting at the tanks
that they ought to turn around. On second thought, I don’t know if their
mandate allows them to yell...
More recently, I am fairly certain, that most of you have
heard about the escalation between Gaza and Israel. If anything seems to have
lost its meaning, it is the word ‘hundreds.’ Or at least it seems it has. A
hundred dollars still seems like a good sum of money, even a hundred shekels
isn’t something to scoff at, but ‘hundreds of rockets’ doesn’t seem all that
out of the ordinary at this point.
Over the next few days I will post every single day. As it
seems that something larger is brewing, I want all of you (who I assume are friends
and family) to know I am alright. They won’t be large updates, not that much
major happens day to day; nevertheless, I have been in touch with a good number
of people who have emailed me worried. I don’t want anyone to worry (Mom, Dad),
but I also want to be honest. Sirens have sounded as far north as Tel Aviv.
That being said, I don’t plan to write too much about direct
local events. This is in part due to the government has asked people to refrain
writing about and posting about the rockets as it could help the Hamas
militants (terrorists) adjust their aim. I am going to top this update here to
give myself plenty to tell you of the last few weeks, but I ask one thing of
you all. For those who are religious and pray, regardless of your denomination,
pray for the innocents on both sides. For those who don’t pray and are likely
adding your two cents over facebook or twitter, I ask you to remember three
things:
1) Nothing written in a paragraph can adequately describe
what is happening here.
2) The long standing accusations of photo manipulation and
photo staging by Palestinian and Arab media sources, also called Pallywood,
which has undoubtedly already found its way to your web-browser.
3) Nothing is simple black and white.
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