17 of Tammuz in Tzfat

Moshe & Yaffa write from Tzfat:

Seven missiles slammed into Tzfat this afternoon. Three came screeching over our house in quick succession. The first one's sound caught me by surprise and I didn't realize what it was until it slammed into a building across the valley from our neighborhood. Then . . . the second and then . . . the third. Moshe yelled, "We're being bombed. We have to leave now for the shelter." I grabbed Roxy and looked out the window to see brownish/reddish smoke rising in a billowing cloud near the Bank Discount building. I was shocked and just stood there while the smoke billowed and the sprinkler system on the roof of the building began shooting out a large stream of water. Moshe insisted we leave and we did, with two more billows of smoke drifting from around the corner of our building. The Ethiopian absorption center had been hit, or close by; between the center and the police station. Another hit on the main street in town, the Midrochov. There were no sirens, no warning, just slam after slam; a deadening blow to the soil reverberating through the mountainside.

The bomb shelter across from our house quickly filled with neighbors. Miriam, my friend above our house was missing. She arrived later with her own story about how she and her youngest were at the Rav Chessed Grocery store in town near the Regional College when the schrill whine of a rocket incoming instantly made her grab Meny and drop to the floor. The large glass window at the grocery store shuddered but held as a rocket fell about 100 feet from the store. Police yelled at people to move quickly into close by bomb shelters. She was herded with Meny to the main bus station's big bomb shelter. Later, Egged buses were organized and the people from the shelter were taken to their respective neighborhoods. The police wanted everyone off the street and back to their homes.

Moshe eventually went back to the house and got our emergency lantern, the emergency battery radio and my Tehillim plus our cell phone. Many ladies and some children started to read from their books. Another lady brought water and cups for everyone. Today, being the 17 of Tammuz, meant that many in the bomb shelters had been fasting all day. This event added extra impact to the meaning of the day.

Wide-eyed children quietly sat on a bench to my left. There was a lot of talking on cellphones; no panic. Just shock and bewilderment. Tzfat had been hit. Seven times. Never such damage since 1948. We could hear planes above and also the sound of a siren for a short time. We were in the shelter for about 1 to 2 hours. Frankly, we lost track of time. We were grateful the rockets didn't cause more injury or damage. If they had hit during Klezmer, it would have been horrible because the streets of the city were filled with cars, buses and people. Klezmer ended on Tuesday. The fire department immediately scrambled. You could hear the sirens shortly after the first thud of the rocket. Ambulance sirens quickly followed. Street traffic stopped. You could see people below running to wherever and then . . . nothing on the streets. The Mayor got on the TV eventually to assure everyone watching that Tzfat was under control, there had been some damage, he was OK and things were being handled as necessary.

This morning, before 7 AM, when doing my prayers, I heard thuds. They were explosions nearby and the mountain strata was carrying the waves. Eventually, I learned Rosh Pina had been hit as well as Meron. A fire broke out in Meron and I heard this afternoon they were without electricity or water. Half way through my morning prayers, I again heard thuds of explosions. This gave me extra strength in my prayers.

I heard there were casualties in Tzfat and one woman was killed. I can't verify this at this time. This has been an eventful 17 of Tammuz. What lies ahead, only Hashem knows. When we returned from the bomb shelter we had 8 messages on our machine. One was a reporter from the Jerusalem Post. She interviewed me on the phone as to my reactions and observations regarding the Tzfat attack. She got my number from Penina of the AACI office in Haifa. She asked if we had thoughts of moving to the central part of the county. Answer: no. She asked if we would think of moving back to America. Answer: Not even if you offered us a fortune. Israel is our homeland, our people, our work and our reason. We have the right to survive. We have, we are and we will.