Day 4: Tiberias and Nahariya

Tiberias and Nahariya

Monday: July 24, 2006

Today, for the first time, we experienced a katyusha attack up close. We were visiting a bomb shelter in Tiberias, a town hard hit by days of rocket attacks. Together with Yonah Berman and Rabbi Yamin Levy, we tried to bring joy to the children cooped up in these stuffy, cramped rooms with little ventilation and horrific sanitation facilities.

One set of parents invited us to see their home just 100 feet away. As we left their apartment after spending a few minutes there, the siren went off. I moved slowly, not believing I was in any real danger when suddenly the shouts came,” Run, it's coming this way!”

It was impossible to reach the shelter in the few seconds before we heard the thunderous booms hitting the ground. Between 4-6 rockets landed about 100 yards away. The Katyushas set the fields ablaze and people were afraid that the synagogue just down the road would be set on fire. Thank God that didn't occur. Rockets hit upper Tiberias injuring five people at the very same time as the attack we witnessed.

No one was physically hurt by this particular attack, but I could see the fear in the eyes of the children in the bunker. Little girls were digging their nails into their mother’s hands. Their knees were shaking as they looked to their parents for embrace and love and protection, which their parents could not offer in any foolproof way.

Such is the goal of terror--to instill fear, to immobilize, to make children's bodies quiver and the elderly shake in trepidation.

What could we say to these children as we left? Only to hug them and to tell them how much we love them.

This incident brought home powerfully how vulnerable one could feel not knowing where or how the rockets could hit. I wondered deep down how is it that any human being can target civilians and children?

Even hospitals are potential Hezbollah targets. This was brought home hours earlier when we went to see the Nahariya Hospital. Nahariya is Israel’s most northern coastal town and has been shelled relentlessly. The hospital rooms on the floors above ground have all been cleared out, as hospital officials are fearful that rockets will hit and injure and kill. In fact, the entire hospital has moved underground. Imagine, a hospital functioning through underground tunnels and wards.

Many of these wards are filled with people undergoing normal, scheduled hospital treatment, but there are also a number of soldiers and civilians who have been injured in the war. Jews and Arabs alike. Hizbollah doesn’t discriminate.

Amongst the soldiers we encountered was Eyal, a tank commander from Kibbutz Tirat Tzvi. As his girlfriend and mother sat close by, Eyal insisted that he would return to the battle after his recovery. “My friends are there fighting, I can’t allow them to be there without me,” he said firmly. Together we recalled Matan Robinson from the same kibbutz, who gave his life fighting terrorists in Jenin.

We went to see the family of abducted soldier, Ehud Goldwasser in Nahariya. We met Ehud’s wife, Karnit and his parents Shlomo and Mikki. This is a family that is so full of the joy of life and so full of hope. As we shared the love that Jews and freedom-loving people have for them, we expressed our support and told them of the outpouring of love for Ehud around the world. We discussed ideas about possible public activity to try to secure Ehud’s freedom.

Over the years I have encountered many families of kidnapped sons, but in Karnit I found an unusual spirit. Karnit expressed such deep love, the love of a soul mate for her husband, and in many ways she reminded me of Avital Sharansky who traveled the world to gain her husband’s freedom. May Karnit be successful and may Ehud soon be free.

Our last stop was with the Strauss family, whose name graces a significant portion of Israel’s dairy products. They sit in their plush home near Nahariya with the possibility of going anywhere they want. “This is our home,” they said “and we will not move from here.”

As we left Nahariya we stood in prayer for a few moments on the beach overlooking the Sea. The air was still warm. Perhaps, some would suggest, standing out there in prayer was foolhardy. But we needed this moment just to look around and see the beauty of a peaceful Israel. As we heard more booms in the distance, all we could do was offer the prayer that peace come soon.

Introduction: Diary Of Rabbi Avi Weiss' Week Long Trip In Israel
Day 1: Arrival in Tsfat
Day 2: Shabbat in Tsfat
Day 3: Haifa
Day 4: Tiberias and Nahariya
Day 5: Tsfat and Raanana
Day 6: Sderot, Kiryat Gat and Jerusalem
Day 7: Haifa and The Shomron

Diary of Rabbi Avi Weiss' Return Trip To Israel--Following the Ceasefire

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