what started as a story about india and (at least potentially) pakistan seems to have become a story about us here in israel.. 3 blasts in mumbai is the first thing i remember hearing and of course i immediately was concerned about the death toll which as everyone is surely now aware rapidly spiralled upwards from a handful to now over 150.. with roughly 25 bodies being declared recovered per day.. as is normal for any person i wondered if any of my friends were there and then wondered if my colleagues might be there praying all were safe.. a university friend who i now stay in touch with through a social networking site was also contacted and sure enough he does indeed live only a few blocks away but is safe and sound..
very soon we learned about the chabad house being under seige and the story slowly seemed to evolve from a "regular" terror story to one about us..
as the picture above indicates - our news bulletins have been very focussed on the developments in mumbai and tv has been surveying the speeches given around the world by prominent figures discussing the various angles..
one of the most common comments by reporters is that the people of mumbai have been stung by a sense of shock.. and that they do not really know how to handle the situation.. i think - however - that this commentary is somewhat self reflective.. i think israel is a bit in shock by these events and doesnt know what to do or say.. i think telaviv in particular cant really believe it and that we are barely digesting the gravity of this story.. it seems all so much like a bad dream.. that we dont seem to be waking up from but that surely we will sometime soon..
i was in eilat this past weekend and recorded the above grab from the hotel room.. the hotel had arab and jewish guests and the place was so serene.. jordan and egypt and saudia arabia too for that matter - all just a stone throw away.. and the yet it was such a peaceful weekend..
what a contrast..
wishing us a better week ahead..