I've become glued to the news about Israel the likes of which I have not been since the US rolled into Iraq a few years back. I have even been reading Arab versions of the news to see what their take is on this (not surprisingly they say no one has been killed in Israel, when indeed civilians have been killed). Yesterday morning I was in a hotel room when I logged into the internet on my laptop and gasped when I saw reports that Lebanon had hit the northern town of Safed (Tzfat) in Israel, a town close to my heart as I spent a great deal of time there last Sept/Oct. I was worried about those I knew there and was angry that such a beautiful and quiet town was hit with rockets. I stared at the pictures, trying to make out the shops and streets I recognized from walking the streets so many times....

Going into the weekend more reports of Safed getting hit are coming in, not to mention reports of Haifa (another town I love) and various other northern towns. *Hundreds* of rockets have been raining down in Israel over the past few days and Israel has taken to bombing spots in Beirut to cut their supply line and to destroy weapon caches. I'm seriously stressed about the situation and worry about all my friends over there. The feeling of helplessness as I worry about people half a world away well and truly sucks, and having been through it before does not make it any easier this time. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those living through this right now, including the innocents on both sides who are caught in the middle of all.

Shabbat Shalom.