News From Israel - Aug. 3, 2006

Hello again and shalom to all our dear friends, who have been writing us hundreds of emails, and phoning from all over the world. It is wonderful to know that you have not forgotten our beleaguered country, nor us, and are standing with us continually in prayer.

The war is now in its fourth week. The heat and the rockets are beginning to dull our minds, and each day merges into the next. It’s difficult sometimes to remember which day of the week it is, or what date! As I am writing, we can hear what could be artillery or falling rockets in the distance, and the police have advised us to take cover.

It was so bad on the first of August, that we agreed to our daughter Miriam’s request to go down for two nights, and visit our other daughter in Arad to say Hello and greet our little three year old granddaughter for her birthday. It seemed both legitimate and wise, and we finally gave in and went, collecting two of our son David’s children en route, in order to take them to the party in Arad. It was not to be. Without going into details, we were faced with enormous logistic difficulties, and were trying yesterday to find a solution.

Then, just after 9 o’clock in the morning, came David’s telephone call! One of the first of hundreds of rockets that landed in the area yesterday, had exploded in his garden, about 5 meters from him, setting the gas tanks alight, and burning the front of the house. The bedroom that his son Allon has slept in until recently was also on fire. Within what seemed like seconds, army personnel, who were afraid that the tanks would blow up, were hauling him out of his house. We realized then that when we were most needed and should have been around, we were not there, so we slowly pulled ourselves together, cancelled the trip to Arad and the birthday party, returned David’s children to their mum in Natanya, and headed back to Nahariya.

We thank God that David was totally unscathed, though his house was filed with shrapnel, and the walls in two of his rooms are badly cracked. The neighbor’s apartment underneath is so badly damaged that they may have to rebuild. Just to the north of us, and still within Nahariya, a man riding his bicycle just outside his home was killed by another Katyusha rocket.

Well, the siren has sounded, so I must go downstairs, will write more in an hour or so.

11am, I’m back, and hopefully I can now finish the letter!

Coming back to David, we saw his burning house on television from our daughter’s home in Modi’in throughout the day, and later David himself was interviewed. When they asked him how he felt when the Katyusha landed, he simply said, “Well my mother went through the blitz, and she always says, “If you hear it, it missed you, and if you don’t, it’s too late anyway!” So, it’s alright.

Our congregation is all scattered. One couple has gone to Holland to be with their daughter. Others have gone to friends all over the country. Those that are left are down in the shelters, or simply waiting it out in their homes without shelter! From time to time we visit to bring essential food supplies, or just to cheer up people who have not seen a soul inside their walls for days!

On a positive note, my two immediate neighbours, who are not always that friendly, welcomed me home with hugs and kisses after my day’s absence. They seemed genuinely pleased to see me back (we all share a tiny shelter), and one of them was cheered by David’s comments on the T.V.

I would just like to end this update with some comments on the Qana Incident, when a Hezbollah village was bombed in South Village, and so many children were killed. I am not an expert on such matters, but for those of you with little access to web sites, these are some of the points that we have gleaned.

1. The building apparently collapsed about 7 hours after the bombing. It was used to store Hezbollah ammunition, and a rocket launcher was stationed on its rooftop.

2. The man seen holding a day child so frequently, and crying in despair was the same man seen in a similar incident some 10 years back, displaying slain children. Sometimes he has a helmet and flack jacket, and later he has latex gloves. He could be a Hezbollah official, expert in propaganda

3. The child was put into an ambulance, and over the next three or four hours, according to the timing of the photographs, was displayed over and over again, being carried out of the building.

4. All the victims were children or women, (no men), who had taken refuge in a Hezbollah ammunition storage house. They were all carried through one opening in the building, and reporters were not allowed in.

The pictures show evidence that Rigor Mortis had been set in for some time, and yet this was supposed to be one hour after the building collapsed, and at least seven hours after it was bombed! The children were dusty but not bloody. It has been suggested that the dead children were from a mortuary in Tyre,  and the whole scene was staged to bring discredit to Israel, and force them to stop the war that has greatly harmed Hezbollah. A controlled explosion could have brought down the building.

For those who have access to the web, here is a site you can look up.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284546,00.html

I trust that his will give you some idea of what is happening on the ground in the North, while our forces are trying to push back the Hezbollah father away from our border.

God bless you all, and there is an attachment showing David's flat (Top), and his neighbour's house, -down below for those who are able to receive it.

Albert and Ruth  Nessim