Air Raid Sirens Heard In Jerusalem!

מוצש"ק פר' תולדות תשע"ג

At around 2:00 PM, while I was still shopping in the Shuq, I got a call from a friend of mine in Tel-Aviv.  He said that the sirens just went off.  I asked him if he knew where his local bomb shelter was.  He said no.  I told him that it was probably a good idea to find out, and that having an extra six pack of bottled water and some batteries, mainly for a radio and a flashlight, would also be a good idea.

I reminded him of the fire drills we used to have as kids in school.  In California, we also had earthquake drills.  The psychological theory behind those drills, in addition to their practicality, is that when people have a plan for what to do in a crisis, and that plan has been drilled into them, over and over again, not only will they have what to do when that crisis strikes, but their anxiety will at a significant lower level than if they did not have a plan.

In any event, I wonder when the "Limousine Liberals" of Ramath Aviv (a northern Tel-Aviv neighborhood) will wake up.

Here in Jerusalem, just a few minutes after sheqi'ath hahamah (sunset), the air raid sirens went off.  Lucky me, my bedroom IS the bomb shelter.  It is also the "sealed room" of the apartment, in the event of chemical or biological attacks.

Of course, did I go into my bedroom?  No.  Instead, I went out on the balcony, and looked around.  Nothing that I could see, and no "all clear" sounding.  I didn't even know if there is an "all clear" sound to expect.  A little while later, I heard some explosions in the distance.  What they were, I could not tell.  Then then were fireworks.  But, those often occur on Friday evenings anyway, Arabs always celebrating about something, a wedding, a holiday, Jews getting killed.  You know, the usual....

When my roommate came home from dinner, he relayed the various rumors and theories about what had happened.  He said that his dinner hosts had their radio on the "silent radio station."  A silent radio station is a station which remains silent, unless their is something dangerous which needs to be reported to the public.  This allows those of us who keep Shabbath to turn the radio on before Shabbath, not be distracted or disturbed by the noise (because there isn't any), and yet be kept informed of what is going on for sake of piqu'ah nefesh (saving a life).

I did not know that this station was still around, or had been reimplemented.  What did I know?  I was living in "safety" within the boundaries of the City of Jerusalem.

I should have know all along that this radio station was operating, for the benefit of those under fire in the South and in North of the country.

The announcements on the radio were not clear.  Some of the theories and rumors my roommate had heard included a rocket hitting Rivqa Street in the southern Baq'a neighborhood.  It was fired from East Jerusalem.  I was fired from Azza.  The rocket landed somewhere in Gush Etzion.

The air raid sirens were a warning to me, and to all of us, not to become complacent.

Apparently, this is what actually happened:

Only 46 miles from Azza to Gush Etzion, just south of Jerusalem

YNET: Hamas Fires First Rockets At Jerusalem 
After reaching Tel Aviv metropolitan area, missile range extended to Israel's capital as well. Air raid siren sounded in Jerusalem area shortly after Palestinian organization promises 'surprise'. Rocket lands near Palestinian village in Gush Etzion area; no injuries or damage reported. 

Noam (Dabul) Dvir, November 16, 2012

After Tel Aviv metropolitan area, capital under fire too: An air raid siren was sounded in Jerusalem and surrounding communities early Friday evening. After residents reported hearing blast sounds, security forces confirmed that one rocket had landed in the Gush Etzion area near a Palestinian village. There were no reports of injuries or damage. (cont.)

Meanwhile, Russia and others countries have been criticizing

The Israeli Government always does a half-ass job.  They send the IDF into Azza.  The "international community" complains.  The government pulls the troops out.  And the rockets start all over again, assuming they ever stopped, which this time they did not.  It is a pattern, an unhealthy pattern, of placing the opinions of goyim (non-Jews) over the opinions of its own people, not to mention HaShem's. It is an unhealthy pattern of following Western values, sensibilities, and practices over Torah values, sensibilities, and practices.

When will they ever learn?  When will we finally stop tolerating it?