By Callie Mitchell, OP-ED, SAVED News International Correspondent, Jerusalem, Israel
Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) was hardly normal this year. We knew it wouldn’t be, simply from how events had been progressing the week before. This is the day each year that we commemorate the reunification of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War. It’s one of my favorite events. Schools get out early and we celebrate with a flag parade that concludes with a march to the Kotel (Western/Wailing Wall at Temple Mount).
This year Yom Yerushalayim and the Muslim holiday of Ramadan overlapped on the calendar. During Ramadan, our Muslim neighbors fast during the day, feast at night, and make extra visits to Al-Aqsa Mosque on Temple Mount. Al-Aqsa is the black dome on the south side of the complex and is actually considered a more holy site than the more commonly known golden Dome of the Rock.
Rioting
We had already decided to forgo the parade this year because tensions were running high with our Arab neighbors. Protests had broken out over evicting Arab families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Jewish property owners who have legitimate legal claims of ownership have been fighting with tenants over property and rent for some time now. This has not been a government-led initiative but rather a private dispute handled by the courts and the local municipality; however, molehills often turn to mountains over land disputes here. This one led to increased protests during Ramadan. Which led to an increased Israeli police presence both at the Damascus Gate and Temple Mount.
With stone-throwing and people injured earlier that week, nothing about that particular day felt safe enough to take the children out to celebrate.
Then at dinner, an air raid siren went off!
“Aviel, is do we have a siren on Yom Yerushalayim?” I asked my 11-year son.
We have sirens for Holocaust Remembrance Day, and Memorial Day, in which we all stop what we are doing and stand silently to remember those who perished.
Before he could answer I said, “No… we don’t… this is an air raid siren! Everyone run to the mamad (bomb shelter).”
My husband, Devin, was in our room sick with food poisoning. I gathered the four children, after wrestling with the high chair, and got us down to the shelter rather haphazardly. Devin arrived a few minutes later, followed by our neighbors.
It was really a shock. Even with the tensions, the last thing I expected was sirens. Normally, the conflict with Hamas in Gaza has to escalate quite a bit for them to decide to launch rockets toward Jerusalem. This time they used a different strategy and let that act as a starting point.
What Caused It…
Earlier in the day, Hamas had issued a statement that if Israel did not remove the police presence from Temple Mount by 6 pm, they would retaliate. The siren went off probably around 6:05, right on time. I had not known this information but even if I did, I still probably would not have expected rockets in our direction. That’s what they did, though. They sent seven. Then a few hours later, barraged Tel Aviv and Ashkelon, along with surrounding cities in that area with hundreds of Rockets.
Since then we’ve seen over 1700 rockets come into Israel from Hamas. The goal is to send in mass barrages of rockets to overwhelm our Iron Dome anti-missile system, which has a 90% success rate. Sending rockets in by the hundreds is a means of possibly rendering the Iron Domeless effective. Additionally, we have seen an increase in rioting with the burning of synagogues and other buildings as well. The far-right Jewish extremist groups have rioted in response, though the Israeli government has condemned these actions.
Hamas
This intense effort from Hamas really isn’t as simple as frustrations about the Sheikh Jarrah evictions or even the police presence of Temple Mount. They hijacked these issues to look strong as compared to a weak ruling party in the Palestinian Authority, Fatah. The PA’s leader, Mahmoud Abbas is now well into his 80’s, and Fatah hasn’t seen much success in geopolitical goals. Abbas recently canceled an upcoming election, the first in 13 years, stating Israel wasn’t going to allow people in East Jerusalem to vote. Hamas has been campaigning and used the tensions surrounding Temple Mount as an opportunity to be the strong man, fighting for Al-Aqsa.
Hamas is a terrorist group funded by Iran, but they were also voted into power in Gaza and have hoped to gain more power, particularly recently. In the last few days of riots, it has been disheartening to see neighbors who are normally peaceful display Hamas flags, even on Temple Mount. It’s concerning where this type of support for Hamas could lead, and Israel is taking this round of assaults very seriously. We are expecting to see escalation, and the possibility of a ground invasion of Gaza, though not hoping for this, before it calms down.
How Are We Doing?
We, the Mitchell Family are safe and doing fine. Most of the activity has been located in more South and Central areas of Israel. We’ve only had that one air raid siren, and we have been working at keeping our days as normal as possible. Our four children are certainly aware of the tensions, and I’m personally not sleeping well. With the slightest noise, I’m awake, as if we need to run to the shelter again. That one time showed me how rusty we all have become at this. It has been 7 years now since the last time we had air raid sirens in Jerusalem. That round, I was pregnant with Lydia (number 2) and only had a small Aviel to grab and run. Lydia was born a few months after that conflict and we’ve added Eliora and Yaniv since then. Running with four is much more complicated than when I had a preschooler and a pregnant belly. Even though we’ve had drills before, my children ran right past the stairwell to our Mamad that first time, so we’ve done a few practice rounds. It has gone much better and I think we’re more prepared.
The new normal
Our normal routines have adjusted slightly, just to make sure we are in safe locations. Normally, I use the Damascus Gate train stop twice a day for school drop-off and pick-ups, but we are avoiding that area right now and riding the bus instead. Several events have also been canceled, including Aviel’s baseball practice and games, and even our congregational meeting. With Covid restrictions, we were only able to meet as a congregation in our building last week for the first time since last July. This has been a huge disappointment, though understandable given the actual and real state of emergency we are in.
As Israelis, we suffered the most lockdown days of any nation in the world, at an accumulative 5 months’ worth. In a very human way, it has been hard to hear about cancellations again, even if for a different reason.
Mispacha
Something I’ve been praying for through this is that it would be a time where Israelis remember their identity. One of my favorite attributes of this nation is the sense that it’s one giant “mispacha” or family. The people really will lay their lives down for one another in a way that is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on a cultural and societal level. I think it’s related to the history of suffering and war that the Jewish people have endured over the millennia, and frankly, it’s something that should cause a good number of us who are Christians to take note!
As the Corona year unfolded, a sad situation occurred where I saw fear in the eyes of my neighbors toward one another in a way that it’s never been present before. I’m praying that as we stand together in this time of military conflict, we would remember that love and unity that existed here before, even if there is a lot of grumpy yelling and hand waving before you can really get a taste of beautiful family this place embodies. Hopefully, along with this, more people will see the problems of the Green Passport and press the government to disband it. We cannot afford this globalist and inherently divisive policy in Israel, especially during a time of war.
Prayer request
We also need prayer for a government to form. PM Netanyahu’s party won the most seats in the last election but he was unable to form a coalition. The mandate was then handed to Yair Lapid who has been working with Naphtali Bennett on a Unity Government. It’s hard to know what will happen now that we are in an official military operation, so please pray for the Lord to put the government of His choosing into place.
Again, as of now, we are very safe and carrying on in a more normal capacity than many of our friends in other parts of the country. My close friend, Samantha, says “When you think about us, pray for the nation.” And I want to share that same heart. As you pray for us, pray for Israel, and pray for the IDF.
Prophetic times
We are in prophetic times, living out a great battle for Jerusalem and Temple Mount. Even if it is quieter here than Tel Aviv, that’s what this is about and where it’s headed. Please remember to pray for us all to have endurance, as the Lord has called us here for this season. We are not victims, but rather servants of the King, walking obediently through the trials He has allowed to unfold before Yeshua’s return. Pray for the strengthening of the body of Messiah here, that we would be a light to our neighbors. I hope to update you all with a good report soon.
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