Our final few performances of Yeomen of the Guard were dedicated to the real-life Yeomen who are currently defending Israel in the south. While the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have been going on for over a week, the gravity of the invasion didn't really hit me until the ground troops rolled in on Saturday night. The 24 year-old son of one of the lead actors in the show was called in as a tank commander, and that's when I realized just how close to home the situation really is. Another cast member's husband is a journalist hoping to get one of just a small number of press passes that were alloted when the Foreign Press Association petitioned Israel to open up the Gaza crossing to journalists for humanitarian reasons. We were actually joking backstage that the fight for credentials would make an interesting story in itself -- and, sure enough, The Jerusalem Post reported on it this week.
While Gaza might be the hot topic on the news right now, things are pretty much status quo here in Jerusalem. Even though Gaza is not far from here in terms of distance, life goes on as usual. Of course, the normally nonchalant security guards are actually rifling through my bag whenever I enter a store, but that's a small price to pay for peace of mind. We receive regular security updates from the Jewish Agency, and as far as I've been told the only real threat here is the possibility of random terrorist attacks. That's really nothing new -- having such potential cause for worry is an inherent part of daily life in Israel. Even so, I've been avoiding public transportation since I've been here and will continue to do so. Yes, the tension is high, but the general consensus here is that Operation Cast Lead is a necessary detour along the path towards building a more permanent peace in the Middle East. Let's just hope that it moves swiftly and that there are minimal casualties on both sides.
1 comment:
"the general consensus here is that Operation Cast Lead is a necessary detour along the path towards building a more permanent peace in the Middle East. Let's just hope that it moves swiftly and that there are minimal casualties on both sides."
Well said!
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