Today was a super intense day for me. We visited an IDF Paratrooper training base (which we were not allowed to photograph). They showed us weapons and obstacle training courses. When I walked through the obstacle course and they described the speeds required of the fully armed soldiers, I realized how real the military is for the Israelis. It's not a joke. They're required to join sure, but that doesn't slacken the intensity of their military. Kids younger than me and my same age were serving their country. One soldier described to us how important preserving their country is to them and said, "None of us want to be out here wasting three years of Our lives. We've got everything ahead of us just like you. But if the Israelis put our guns down, we will die. If the Palestinians put their guns down, there will be peace." We talked with some of the soldiers (this is the second time) and they seemed almost shy. Interesting enough. They've told us before that they wish they could be in school like us. After the base we went over to the Gaza strip and met with a colonel who led us to the top of a hill. The first house I saw stepping out of the bus, had 2 rockets stuck in the roof. Real rockets. At the top of the hill we could see clearly into Gaza. He spoke for just a few minutes then ushered us down the hill saying "Sometimes they can spot groups here and might shoot. That got reaaaal real for a minute.
When he took us down the hill, he shared with us how the Israeli military functions. It was an excellent lesson. At the end he shared a story of his mother, who was experimented on at Auschtwitz during world war two and the terrible abuses she suffered at the hands of Nazi men. That was a time when the Jewish people were helpless and could do nothing of their situation. "We are not doing Israel a favor by serving in the armed forces; Israel is doing us a favor by providing for us to defend and protect ourselves, which is something we've not been able to do for a long time in history." boom. wow. After this, we drove over to look at some of the rockets shot over. Each rocket is marked with the date, location (?), and the number of deaths it caused. I had to imagine one of them getting swung like a baseball bat at me. Then times a thousand. Flying through the air, and I have 15 seconds to find shelter. Ten times a day. And this is people's lives. We stopped at a teeny bomb shelter along the side of the road-and there were several scattered down through out the street- the closest thing I can compare it to is a very very teeny bus stop- both in size and frequency along the street. We climbed in just to see. You could only fit about 5 people. So should you be on the street when a rocket comes this is where you'd go. It smelled of urine. Makes sense, if I had a rocket flyin at me I might too.
Then we went to a children's facility. The U.S. donated money for Israel to create a safe place for children to gather. If a child wanted to have friends over, or say, a birthday party, there would not be enough room in a family's bomb shelter to shelter all the children. So this is a location they can all go and fit. This place was high traffic. So many children. The sides of the building and certain rooms were rocket proof, but the center could not afford to rocket proof the center of the building. So should a rocket come, they would set off the alarms and all the children and families would run to the sides of the building. This is how these children live. There was an indoor soccer field, because it isn't safe for these children to play outside. The rockets consume the way the people have to live. Even the toys inside the building were strategic. There was a short climbing wall that wouldn't let you climb very high but was designed for you to climb sideways across. Why you ask. Because it would take more than 15 seconds for a child to jump down from the top of a tall climbing wall to seek shelter from a rocket. There's more, so much more. I guess today I was just kind of hit with the reality of it all. That Israels not political theories or experiments. They are a people who are fighting for their right to survive and live peaceably. They are people who live in scary, uncertain times and have to make scary, uncertain decisions. My heart is broken for these people. I want to adopt three Jewish sons. That I'll keep thinking about, but really.
When he took us down the hill, he shared with us how the Israeli military functions. It was an excellent lesson. At the end he shared a story of his mother, who was experimented on at Auschtwitz during world war two and the terrible abuses she suffered at the hands of Nazi men. That was a time when the Jewish people were helpless and could do nothing of their situation. "We are not doing Israel a favor by serving in the armed forces; Israel is doing us a favor by providing for us to defend and protect ourselves, which is something we've not been able to do for a long time in history." boom. wow. After this, we drove over to look at some of the rockets shot over. Each rocket is marked with the date, location (?), and the number of deaths it caused. I had to imagine one of them getting swung like a baseball bat at me. Then times a thousand. Flying through the air, and I have 15 seconds to find shelter. Ten times a day. And this is people's lives. We stopped at a teeny bomb shelter along the side of the road-and there were several scattered down through out the street- the closest thing I can compare it to is a very very teeny bus stop- both in size and frequency along the street. We climbed in just to see. You could only fit about 5 people. So should you be on the street when a rocket comes this is where you'd go. It smelled of urine. Makes sense, if I had a rocket flyin at me I might too.
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