Our mamad (safe room) is your mamad.
Day 618
I know as much (or as little) as any of you about the strategy behind, efficacy of, and next phases in the war on Iran (collectively, the Substantive). And, while we’ve be in constant touch with many in Israel over the past three days, we are not there so can only begin to understand the feelings on the ground (or, quite often, underground in shelters) (the Emotive).
For more on the Substantive, tune into the following podcasts:
For insights into the Emotive, I share snippets from Rachel’s or my conversations before and after Shabbat:
One neighbor thanked Rachel profusely (and unnecessarily) for allowing her sister and niece to stay in our mamad; our neighbor’s nephew is serving in Gaza and brother-in-law is stuck in China where he was attending a conference; the sister does not have a private mamad; as Rachel said, our neighbor, our mamad is their mamad
Three of my Honigman colleagues are stuck in the United States; they were en route to Detroit for meetings; they’re now in New York waiting … Israel’s airport remains closed and commercial planes grounded; when the skies open, only El Al will be flying, and it estimates that it will take weeks to return all stranded Israelis to their homes and families
One of Rachel’s close friends likens the current situation to Covid with missiles; the Homefront Command issued a national state of emergency that, among other things, requires all Israelis to stay in immediate proximity to shelters; those with private safe rooms essentially cannot leave home; those without private safe rooms are gathering in subways and bus stations
Another friend with a daughter in an intelligence unit had planned to take the family up north for this past weekend; not being able to share classified information, the daughter craftily suggested that the best time to make the driver would be early in the day, i.e., at a time before the Israeli attack was to be launched (unbeknownst to her mother)
Like me, our American Jewish friends all are now experts in matters of intelligence and military, pontificating on why, how, when, what next; our Israeli friends, generally not shy with opinions, are showing only humility, not positing on any of the Substantive; they feel vulnerably clueless, simultaneously hopeless and hopeful but in the dark
With permission, our neighbors have tapped our freezer for brisket and soup and our cabinets for canned goods and bottled water; this is not a mere ten minute lockdown like those triggered by Houthis; this is the real deal
And still,
our Israeli colleagues continue working, albeit from bomb shelters much of the time;
a forty-something Israeli friend called up to reserves took time to send mazal tov greetings to mutual friends who celebrated a bar mitzvah in New York this past weekend;
an eighty-something year old American friend preemptively called off his long-scheduled trip to Israel this week so as not to take a seat on a plane (if the plane goes) but already is thinking about what dates he can go later in the summer;
several of my non-Jewish Honigman colleagues have proactively sent the warmest of sentiments to their colleagues in Israel.1
As one of my Israeli partners wrote, “We'll get through this one too. Onwards and upwards!”
Here’s one of many: We are watching the news here at home as no doubt you all are ... Please know that you (and your families) are in the thoughts and prayers of Courtney, me and our children and have been for quite some time now.