August1

There will be ample time a little later for me to write
my impressions of the first days’ experiences. For now,
here are a few photographs from August 1, 2006: Day
One on the StandWithUs mission. We started out on a
helicopter ride to survey the wall/fence and the “green
line” between Israel and the Pali territories, and we
were interviewed about our purpose for coming here.

Then we went to a little amusement park near Tel
Aviv—I think it is called “Superland”—where 200
children had been bussed down from Haifa—they
had been in bomb shelters for at least 2 weeks.
StandWithUs paid for a day of fun for them. We were
there at lunch time—and helped serve them pizza and
coke.

We then went to Chaim Sheba Medical Center (rehab)
and visited soldiers who are recuperating from this
Lebanon war. One 19 year old nearly lost his leg last
week in that deadly tank attack that cost the army
several lives. He is on the mend but his eyes are
haunted. He, like a dozen others, was presented with a
DVD player by StandWithUs. We were told that Ariel
Sharon is in that same medical center.

After that I left the group and drove with Shannon
Shibatta (StandWithUs’ Jerusalem director) to a
military strategy “think tank” in Tel Aviv. There we
picked up a DVD of Israel Defense Forces footage shot
in Lebanon in recent days: Hizbollah launching rockets
within a few feet of a civilian house, using civilians
as human shields, launching a Katyusha rocked and
running frantically away. They all (it looked like 10 or
so) piled into a Pali ambulance—knowing the Israelis
will not attack a rescue vehicle. There were also images
of the terrorists stockpiling major weapons in the living
room of a house—a stronghold in the midst of a civilian
home. StandWithUs, the group I’m here with, will try
their best to be sure this footage finds its way into the
mainstream media.

After that we went to the fence/wall that keeps the
Palestinians from entering Israel with explosive
backpacks or bomb belts. There we crossed into a no-
civilians zone and met with an young IDF officer who
oversees a very complex border crossing between the
Palestinian village Kolkirya and an agricultural area.

As of now, I am in my room packing my 5,000 lbs of
luggage—the weight alone will surely terrorize the bus
driver tomorrow morning!