A Typical Weekend

Words are funny sometimes. The difference a space can make in the meaning of a word or words. Atypical or a typical.

This weekend, close friends sent their children to the wife's parents in Ashkelon to stay for the weekend. A change of pace for the kids and a bit of peace and quiet for the parents.

At 4 AM, there was a siren - indicating a incoming missiles or rockets. The grandparents, the grandchildren and two uncles had to make their way to the "mamad" - a reinforced security room.

During the afternoon, while playing in a park, another siren, another incoming projectile. everyone, again, had to run to the nearest shelter.

A city of almost 20 elementary schools is under constant barrage of missiles from Hamas in Gaza. A city, which, hosts a hospital that caters to Jews and Muslims alike, is also under constant attack (they are building a new rocket proof emergency room).

So, I ask is this a typical weekend for our children or the atypical weekend?

I sincerely hope the latter.

Iron Dome Works

Yesterday, the Iron Dome system deployed in southern Israel intercepted two short range (Hamas-fired) rockets.

This marks the FIRST TIME in the world that short range rockets have been intercepted.

Though, I do believe that it is important to focus of the success of the deployment and some others will focus on the potential rising costs to the deployment of Iron Dome if Hamas continues the barrage of rockets into Israel (the system is supposed to be able to tell if the rockets will hit a populated area and then deploy and if it will avoid a population zone, the system will not intercept), I think the focus should be on where money IS spent.

Israel is spending billions of dollars to protect its civilians in a purely defensive strategy - this system, bomb shelters, tests run by the Home Front command on dispensing gas masks, etc., while the Hamas and others (inclusive of the Palestinian Authority) spend no money on their people's defense, choosing instead to spend their money on terrorist infrastructure or weaponry.