Nervous Parent?

After a week of aerial bombardment, the Israeli army has entered Gaza in the hope of terminating the ability of Gazans to launch missiles into Israel. A secondary objective, I presume, is to destabilize the Hamas government in the hope that a more moderate Palestinian group will take over; perhaps rapprochement with the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank.

This, of course, is news you can read in almost any media, I mention it because my son is in Jerusalem preparing for his final exams at Hebrew University. Monica and I are also preparing to fly to Israel in mid-January to visit him during his vacation.

While Jerusalem is out of range of the Gaza missiles, and I can control my touring to stay well out of range, the nervousness comes from the ongoing fear of an isolated terrorist incident which could occur anywhere in Israel. Too often, the targets are in Jerusalem.

My son's program has applied sensible security rules, restricted travel to riskier areas, and, for a while, even restricted riding on the public bus. However, anything can happen anywhere and even if it is unlikely, it is certainly possible.

Both my Mother and my Mother-in-Law have expressed concern and asked me to bring him home and not go myself. I'm determined to ignore this well-intentioned advice. It is important to me that our behavior is an expression of solidarity with Israel. Most Israeli's can't and won't run away. Other Jews shouldn't either.

If things get out of hand, Israel will send my son home and tell us not to visit at this time. I don't expect that to happen. We will go forward as planned and we pray that the Gazans do the two things required for a cease-fire; end the missile launching and release the captive Israeli soldier. Until that happens, Israel has every duty to protect its citizens and visitors.

I must believe that peace is possible and the current Israeli military activity is a necessary part of the process. I pray it will be both successful and brief. Express your support of Israel. Inform yourself of the real issues, don't fall for the propaganda, and plan to do what you can to be a partner with Israel in the pursuit of peace.

None of this means I'll be less nervous about my son, my wife, or myself in Israel. However, I think the physical risk to us is quite modest, but the symbolism of our solidarity is profound.