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Genine Gita Barel

Readjusting to war…after a Japanese interlude

It’s been two weeks since I’ve returned from a trip to remarkable Japan, and in that time we’ve had almost daily rocket attacks in Rosh Pina and the upper Galilee, sometimes up to 200 missiles a day. The attacks have reached deeper into the country and now Haifa and central parts of Israel have joined the missile party. On the one hand, we’ve become used to the sounds of jets flying overhead, booms punctuating our day and night, sirens alerting us when the danger is near and hurried dashes to the safe room. 

And yet… Three times since I’m home we have had attacks in the middle of the night, and I have not adjusted to being shaken from sleep by a siren screaming at you to hurtle out of bed and run down two flights of steps to the safe room. I believe we have 36 seconds to get to the safe room, and each time we barely manage to reach the door when we hear the loud booms of missiles being shot down or falling nearby. I arrived each time with a pounding heart.

On Yom Kippur, I was in synagogue and a missile attack had us running out in the middle of prayer to the bomb shelter below. This was not my usual routine at home, and I didn’t know if we would make it in time to the shelter. We did, but I arrived shaking.  

Yesterday, I walked my dog Toby at eleven AM. Shortly after arriving home we had an extensive rocket attack and parts of missiles fell in my neighborhood, right near where I had walked the dog. Many fires broke out in the woods surrounding our neighborhood, some reaching just a few feet from houses. Firefighters fought to quell the fires between Safed and Rosh Pina for many hours. 

I was deeply shaken by the thought that I could have been caught outside, with no place to shelter. It terrifies me to think of lying helpless and vulnerable on the ground with only my hands to protect my head, while missiles fly overhead or land nearby. The day after I returned from Japan a couple from Kiryat Shmona were killed by shrapnel from a rocket attack while they were out walking their dogs. 

And yet … Today I walked again, on the same route with Toby. We’ve cut out nature walks in the woods around Rosh Pina for safety concerns, all that is left to poor Toby is a loop around the neighborhood streets. I overcame my fear and took the leash in both hands! Life must go on. 

We continue to live our daily lives here in Israel; continue to send our children to fight for our existence; continue to tremble at the words on the nightly news  – “הותר לפרסום” cleared for publication …which precede photos of beautiful soldiers who gave their lives for us. 

The burden of grief is heavy. Only after I returned home from Japan did I realize how light I felt there. 

I followed the news in Israel closely, was worried and concerned, but the tension in my body, the heaviness, the constant sadness I feel in Israel was gone from my body when I was traveling abroad. 

I see people around me in states of deep stress and trauma. There is a huge rise in people taking antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications. I hear of many people leaving Israel. Some are waiting out the war in calmer climes, some have gone for good and others are assessing a plan B.

I spoke with my yoga instructor from Kibbutz Tziv’on, a lovely community in the mountains near Safed that has been evacuated since last October. She was in Thailand for the summer and many of her neighbors have decided to stay on and are considering relocating. Many evacuees from the North may not return to their homes after the war. There are large Israeli evacuee communities in Thailand, Portugal, Greece. I hear many Israelis are buying homes there. My heart breaks to think of all these good people leaving our country. It is not just the war, the loss of their homes and often livelihoods, but for many the loss of faith in the government, in our leadership, was a breaking point. A trust was broken on October 7th and it has not been addressed yet. 

And yet … I have faith in the people of Israel. We may be lacking the politeness, cleanliness and efficiency of the Japanese; we could definitely learn from the culture of Respect that suffuses their public discourse and behavior; and wow, their public toilets are incredible!

But the heart of the Israeli people is solid gold and our courage and spirit are indomitable. Israelis are kind, compassionate, creative and resilient. We will emerge from this crisis stronger, wiser and with an impetus to heal our community – of secular and religious, right and left, north and south, Jews and Arabs.

I am filled with hope when I look around me, at the people I meet in my daily life and in the media – brave soldiers and their heroic families, scarred survivors pushing forward on their healing journeys, families working untiringly for the freedom of our hostages, weary newscasters keeping us informed and connected, podcasters like Rabbi Donniel Hartmann and Yossi Klein Halevy of “For Heaven’s Sake” from the Hartmann Institute, whose shared insights, thoughts and fears help ground and strengthen me. Knowing that these people are alongside me, I know I … we … can get through this difficult time.

Rosh Pina Oct 20 (image courtesy of author)
Japanese temple garden (image courtesy of author)
Japanese temple (image courtesy of author)
About the Author
A native New Yorker, I am a daughter of Europeans who escaped the Holocaust. In our modern orthodox world, Zionism, education and hesed were our most cherished values. After receiving my B.A. in English literature from Columbia University and M.A. in Middle East studies from NYU, I worked at the Israeli Consulate in the Press and Culture Depts for four wonderful years. I made a solo move to Tel Aviv in 1991 and worked as Director of International Relations at the Cameri Theater until my passions for travel and spirituality overcame me and I packed up for India. There I met my Israeli Chef soul mate and after extensive travel throughout the Far East we eventually settled in Safed, the mountain town of Kaballah, retired hippies and stunning sunsets. We raised a family, hosted groups for gourmet meals in our home and in 2016 opened our boutique hotel - The Way Inn.
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