When Shock and Anger Breaks You - Terror in Jerusalem

They got on a bus and opened fire in a central location where thousands pass each day. At least 15 have been wounded. Five are in "matsav anush"...this is how it goes. 

Update to understand what is happening in the chaos. Now they are saying 4 dead. It's what we don't know that terrifies us nearly as much as what we do. 

Terrorists in the center of Jerusalem, the heart of our land and our people. They come in hate and today, they won...30 minutes after the attack, we know that four were killed. It seems 2 were children. Many are wounded, several of them in critical condition.

We know that the soldier who neutralized the terrorists was a new soldier from the Haredi (ultra-orthodox) unit Hashmonaim. And we know pain.

The pain and anger of knowing these were normal human beings on their way to school, to work and their lives and their families have been devastated because two creatures from the underworld believe hate and death can win.

In truth, for a little while, we will let the anger and the hate fill our veins. They are checking for explosives.

And my children are safe. They've taken over my job of checking on each other. My daughter in the Philippines writes in "everyone okay?".

And one by one her siblings check in - not just for themselves but for their spouse and children...our family has grown. "By us, everyone is fine", writes are brother's wife. It sounds better in Hebrew.

And each checks in. 

And now I'll tell you something that annoys me. There are two medical emergency organizations in Israel, one is decades old and the street is filled with their ambulances and their medics.

And then there is another, Ichud Hatzala, newer, a fraction of the ambulances. And they've turned this into a competition and it sickens me at these moments. They arrive in a car and rush to the microphone. I'm not being fair and I know they do good work; but I hate how they crave attention. Even giving incorrect information in their rush to get attention. I'm being unkind, directing my anger at them and I know in my heart it isn't fair. But for each of them, there are 10 from MADA, for the few vehicles they sent, a dozen ambulances. They do not rush to the microphone - MADA, they care for the injured and rush them to hospitals.

Yes, MADA is there - Magen David Adom, the national emergency service of Israel. Yes, I'm prejudice. Four of my five served on their ambulances, two still do. One is a volunteer ambulance driver. They taught my children how to deal with an emergency. 

Five dead...one of the mortally wounded has died...more are fighting for their lives. It's the numbers in a terror attack that flatten you...you know in those moments that more are wounded than we know, perhaps worse than we know.

And ZAKA is there. They too do not rush to the microphone. They rush to offer what we call "true compassion." True compassion is that which is offered to those who can never return the kindness. Too many offer kindness hoping to receive it in return. ZAKA knows they will never be repaid, not in this world. Their job is to care for the dead, to gather the blood, the remnants of a life and prepare it for burial. Many of them were broken by rushing to the south to care for hundreds and hundreds of bodies after October 7. Today, they gently remove those we lost today.

And police, in between the wounded and the caregivers are the police who slowly struggle to bring normality to abnormal. They calm, they check, they move people, they manage ambulances moving, people gathering nearby. They struggle to keep the lanes open so emergency vehicles can move.

Now the wounded have been evacuated. What remains are those who will manage the scene. Bags filled with towels used to wipe the sheets of the blood that was shed today. That too will be buried in our holy soil. 

Five murdered...they have yet to tell us who we have lost, knowing that will break us even more. 

Another update. Five dead...12 have been evacuated. It's still uncertain. Others ran and may make their own way for treatment. 

One man in his 40s, is very severe and unstable condition. They are fighting for his life with all the knowledge...and all the love...in total, 6 are in critical condition. The reporter continues with a count of how many were moved to each hospital. She explains that they move them to the operating room quickly, many have lost blood and need transfusions.

The terrorists' bodies remain on the ground. They will be moved last, when all the wounded and all the victims of this terror attack are removed. They will be given more respect than they gave us.