Yesterday at 10:00 am the sirens went off. At 10:00 am every Israeli stood atogether in silence. Cars stopped. At 10:00 am every Israeli, and every Jew, remembered where we came from and those whose lives were lost at at the hands of intolerance and ignorance.
The sirens are powerfully haunting. The entire country stops in respect and remembrance. I have never experienced anything like it. Here are some videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lYADekjoG0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
At 9:48 I was eating breakfast with my coworkers in the dining room. Noam looked at the time and said we had to hurry back before the sirens started. We got to the madan at 9:58. We ran inside and turned on the radio. The emotions I experienced in these moments before the sirens reminded me of waiting for a tsunami to hit. I think it was suspense caused by the knowledge that something powerful was coming and inevitable. Then the sirens started. Even without the radio on, we could hear them. They are deafening and they fill the air. It was stunning. At that moment, I felt a deep sadness and yet an intense appreciation for my life.
I am lucky.
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