We built a nation, they do nothing

shopping at the local mall - Leonie Lachmish

Dear friends and family,
On Wednesday, while Haim was sitting shiva for his Mother in Netania, we =
got the news that our local shopping centre, "Kenion Hutzot" ( a smaller =
version of Brent Cross) had suffered a direct missile hit. The words =
sound so clean: "suffer a hit". What it means is that families, =
teenagers, elderly people, you name it, who were strolling around the =
shopping centre or waiting for a medical appointment one second, were =
suddenly attacked by Palestinian terror.=20
=20
Today I had a doctor's appointment and went on to the Hutzot mall to the =
New Pharm pharmacy (New Pharm and Superpharm are our "Boots") on the =
ground floor but I was compelled to go up to the 2nd floor to see the =
miracle for myself because what happened there, or more to the point, =
what didn't happen there was nothing short of a miracle.
=20
As I gestured my offer to open my bag to the guard at the entrance to =
the mall as we always do as a matter of habit (I remember getting stared =
at by the guard at a store on a visit to London when I instinctively =
opened my bag at the entrance, forgetting he is there solely to check =
against potential thieves leaving the store), he smiled and gestured =
that that wasn't necessary and I suppose he and I were both thinking =
about the irony of checking people's bags when a rocket can soar in at =
any moment. =20

I went up in the glass-walled circular lift that the kids love riding =
and as I exited the lift, there were workmen busy renovating the health =
clinic which seemed to be functioning with a "business as usual" =
attitude. The entrance was re-adjusted because the direct entrance was =
cordoned off so as to allow the work to be done. I looked up and saw the =
roof as you see in the enclosed pix (supplied by Ashkelon Municipality) =
from the day of the attack. The roof is already partially repaired.
I stood there watching everyone getting on with the renovations and =
thought about the Israeli people, the Jewish people. Our enemies strive =
to destroy and we build. After 6 million of our people were annihilated, =
the remnant came to Palestine and rebuilt. They had every reason to want =
to blow up the entire world but they didn't. Instead, they built a =
country, they rebuilt families. Hundreds of thousands of Jews from the =
neighbouring Arab countries left everything and fled to Israel and were =
temporarily housed in tents or sheds until housing was built for =
everyone. Israel never had refugee camps, just maabarot, temporary =
makeshift housing for all the refugees - we called them immigrants.
60 years later, here we are, celebrating 60 years of independence and =
here they are, still crying about their refugees still in refugee camps, =
still putting their money and energies and education into hate and =
destruction.
In a week, maybe less, there will be no sign that a rocket hit the =
Hutzot mall.
That's the difference between our spirit and theirs, our contribution to =
the world and theirs.
=20
But the miracle of what happened there is unfathomable. How, at any =
other angle, the missile would have injured hundreds and God Forbid, =
killed tens of people. How the injured are all out of danger. One doctor =
, Mirale Sidrer (don't know her mother's name), an immigrant from the =
former USSR, was seriously wounded and I understand her face has been =
damaged. The young mother (Avital bat Penina) and her toddler (Tair bat =
Avital) are out of danger, all their limbs in tact. The mother is being =
operated on today. May they and all the wounded have a full and speedy =
recovery.
The young girl at the cash desk in New Pharm told me the whole building =
shook and then there were a few seconds of total silence and then, where =
she was on the ground floor- suddenly, screaming, crying, fainting, =
panic to get out and disbelief that it was happening.
=20
I know we mustn't rely on miracles and just last week 2 Israelis were =
killed by direct hits of kassams, Jimmy Kdoshim in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, =
opposite Saad (near Netivot) and Shuli Katz who drove away from her =
kibbutz, Gvaram, in order to visit her sister in law further away (who =
was too scared to meet her in Ashkelon) and was hit in her =
sister-in-law's parking lot, but I think the outstanding miracles =
deserve to be advertised - pirsum haness.
=20
Being in the mall today reminded me that
-though the daily lives of many Israeli civilians of all ages are =
unacceptably abnormal, full of (legitimate and justified) fear and =
worry,
-though our neighbours really do want to kill us personally not just =
metaphorically and keep trying to do so (you get to feel that seven =
years of missiles, presently tens of rockets a day into our kibbutzim =
and towns are a subtle hint that your neighbours REALLY don't like you =
in a very personal way - and this after we've uprooted and evacuated =
every last Jew in the Gaza area AND changed our soap and deodorant)
-and although our government is pathetic (and that's a euphemism),=20
Someone up there is showing us that we, Am Yisrael, have reason to =
remain optimistic. =20
=20
Leonie (Lachmish)