Two Acts of Terror in One Picture

 It's 7:00 in the morning in Israel. Time when people get up, dressed and out the door for work. Time when children are dressed and fed, their books and pencils and all packed and ready to go. Minutes away from leaving their home...just like most mornings.

Except today, there is no school, no packed lunches. No rush to catch the bus. Parents aren't frantically looking at their watches, half their minds on all the little details of a regular morning and the other half contemplating traffic, scheduled meetings and more.

The early warning sounded, woke me from the last moments of sleep. I'd been up late baking 200 cookies...

853 cities (towns, villages, whatever) were warned at 7:02 a.m. Incoming missiles. This morning, yet again, we assume it's coming from Iran...maybe Yemen...maybe Hezbollah.

Four minutes later, another 430 places were warned...and 3 minutes later yet again, the south and 29 cities there were warned.

My area got the early warning and as is our "custom" (me and my two youngest kids, the neighbor's son in the next building and the people on the floor above me. This morning, I went alone out on the balcony. The rule is, if the siren goes off here, there is no lingering. Straight to the bomb shelter.

But the siren wasn't "here", it was "there". There - over one of the most ancient cities in the world, certainly the holiest for the Jewish people, one of three for Muslims and I suppose one of several for Christians.

Jerusalem...city of my dreams, the view outside my home. The symbol of my people returned home.

This morning's sirens sent 2 million people to bomb shelters. At least for this one, it didn't include me, my children and grandchildren and so I was "honored" to have the opportunity to see two acts of terrorism take place in roughly the same area, in roughly the same time.

The first is a war crime, a crime against humanity. It is the remnants of a ballistic missile fired by Iran, blown up over Jerusalem. Ironically above the heads of the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem. The boom was catastrophic. You feel it in your heart. I can't explain the power behind the explosion...and this is only in the air. This isn't the ones that hit the ground and shake the windows or our homes.

The second act of terrorism is the smoke you see below the white puff. The white puff is there because yet again, our amazing soldiers shot down Iran's missiles, stealing glory from them and preventing death and injury against us. Another missile landed near Jericho, I heard - they do love to try to blow up ancient cities, don't they?

The second act of terrorism has been going on for weeks now. It is called "environmental terrorism". The deliberate burning of toxic waste, day in, day out. Late at night; early in the morning.

Early in the morning, they set fires outside the same neighborhood that nearly got a message from Iran. Weeks ago, the fires were started on the morning of Shavuot, another Jewish holiday. As religious Jews, we could do nothing but watch it burn in the distance. For more than 60 hours, they polluted our skies. We kept our windows closed and prayed their terrorism wouldn't endanger our lives.

Ironic to have these two attacks in one picture. The missile is a symbol of their hate for the people of Israel; the smoking cloud a symbol of their disdain for the land of Israel.

My heart is still racing from the power of the multiple booms I heard moments ago. Last night, Donald J. Trump had the audacity to order Israel not to respond to Iran. He presented this order first to an Israeli reporter and the people of Israel.

In his somewhat simplistic view of the world, he felt that we had had our "fun" bombing Hezbollah neighborhoods in Beirut and now Iran had had their fun firing....another incoming warning now...more missiles.

But Iran fired again. The question of Israel's response has been answered. Israel will respond and the government of Iran will shake so hard, it is, hopefully, going to fall.

More warning. Emergency alert: Extreme.

Soon I will go to the bomb shelter, like millions of other Israelis, and soon, our sons and daughters will again be called to battle.

200 cookies will go with my sons...my heart hurts. For the people and the land; for the terrorism and the war they inflict upon us.

The God of Israel protects my people. Nothing and no one will protect Iran's government.

War comes to my land. We are free of any obligation to restrain ourselves. It is not a war we planned, but maybe this time, it is a war we will finish - with the US and the allies, or alone.

Always and forever, alone.