Operation Protective Edge Your Way Around by Sara Layah Shomron

Operation Protective Edge Your Way Around
by Sara Layah Shomron
Nitzan, July 15, 2014

It’s called Operation Protective Edge leaving citizens throughout the country living on a knife-edge. Yesterday, I was walking through the Nitzan caravilla site on my way to work in Ashdod when the siren blared. I made haste to the closest government provided sewer pipe for use on such occasions. Tell me, what would you do seated all alone, sirens blaring, nearby ‘booms’ heard?  I took a selfie!


It’s called Operation Protective Edge and the sound of incoming rockets sets people’s teeth on edge.   I have received lesson cancellation after cancellation as adult students need to be at home to comfort their young children or as families seek protection further inland until the situation ‘calms down.’ The dispossession and destruction of Gush Katif broke me. Yet sometimes the strongest vessels are the broken ones. I’m on the go when students call to confirm we have a lesson.

It’s called Operation Protective Edge and we will not be edged out from our daily routine.  We will go to work and carry on.  Lately I've seen the interior of students’ home bomb shelters. While most double as a bedroom, I was most favorably impressed by the one in the parental bedroom. It doubles as a well organized walk-in closet. Who’d have thought? I was in it twice yesterday. For those of you building a home, this is something to go over with your architect. Sorry, no pic.

It’s called Operation Protective Edge and the Ashdod commercial center is fraying around the edges. Usually bustling with people the city center and central bus station City Mall are closing mid afternoon or not even opening. Local and inter-city buses usually filled with people aren't crowded. Traffic is light. Nary a child is at play in the city parks.

It’s called Operation Protective Edge and our citizens give us the leading edge. My fear throughout this war has been use of public transportation (I’m not a car owner by choice). The open road leaves a person totally exposed. During my inter-city bus ride home from work yesterday the siren blared yet again. The driver didn't make an announcement and I didn't know bus protocol. The silence in the bus was deafening as the bus abruptly pulled over along the side of the highway. Initially the passengers looked around and then we made eye contact. I made a silent pact with each glance: We are resilient, we will be strong, YOU matter. Silently and orderly the passengers de-bussed.  There was no shoving, no yelling, no hysteria. We’re Israelis, aye? When did we become polite and gentle Canadians? I was so impressed and felt such a surge of pride. See, we do have it in us! People calmly and casually walked in search of protective cover. Some squatted adjacent to the bus, at a near bus stop or crouched in the nearby bushes. Of course there were those who stood searching the sky to get a glimpse of our cutting edge technology Iron Dome in action.

It’s called Operation Protective Edge and is a double-edged sword. Our top political and military leaders are determined to take the edge off and reduce enemy effectiveness in a way that shows the world we are a moral society. What about to eliminate and render the enemy impotent? It’s called war. Worried about world opinion? The world loves a winner and our clear victory is the only option.

It’s called Operation Protective Edge and has driven our political leaders to the edge with talk of an outrageous ceasefire.  Remember, it is the victor who calls the shots for surrender.

Article and photos by Sara Layah Shomron.
Sara Layah Shomron made aliya from the USA and was privileged to raise her family in Gush Katif. She is an English Teacher and the publicist for the novel Grains Of Sand The Fall Of Neve Dekalim by Shifra Shomon (Mazo Publishers.)