From Dan Kohn, Kibbitz Adamit
Slowly but surely things are returning to normal. Israeli normal. Most people have returned but I did find several parking spaces in Nahariya on Friday morning. That is unheard of. Shops are open, people are working and the city is congested in a reversal of its previous ghost town appearance. Whenever I meet someone that I have not seen recently the conversation automatically starts with what each person went through last month. Schools are preparing to open on schedule, as life should be normal for all ages. That is a simple expectation. I am returning to work in the junior high school this Sunday, two weeks earlier than I normally would. It will be interesting to meet my colleagues. Everyone has a story. The men in uniform have stories. Many are upset. There was too much confusion. There always is in the army but it's different when you are going forward. Many soldiers complained that they were sent in (to Lebanon) and taken out. They were told they would go in again but plans were cancelled. None of them want to fight or are looking for combat but if they have been called up they want to do something and not be given the run around. My son serving in the air force thinks the air force did a good job. A neighbor that was called up never went into Lebanon, which is good for him, but then was he really needed? Other soldiers went in, came out, went in again and came out again. More soldiers went in, advanced and then their mission was canceled. All of the above creates an army of frustrated soldiers with limited trust in their superiors or in the politicians. It is one thing to face the enemy and have a difficult battle with losses. That is terrible but not unexpected. It is another thing to be sent into combat when the chain of command waffles and changes its mind daily. The reservists are returning to their families and they are talking like reservists have never talked before, even after the costly failures of the Yom Kippur War. Israel must do whatever is needed to retain citizens' faith in the army and this includes correcting the mistakes of last month's conflict, conducting training exercises for reservists and returning funds that had been cut from the defense budget for high-tech systems that can defend against anti-tank missiles and Katusha rockets. The roads are again crowded with Israeli drivers making life dangerous and I detect a reluctance to return to everyday traffic laws. It is normal for Israelis to view traffic laws as recommendations only. During the month-long conflict there was no attempt to stop anyone for speeding and most traffic lights were permanently flashing yellow so it was possible to whip through cities as if one was driving in the desert. Today I saw a few drivers that have not returned to normal bad driving and rushed through red lights, entered intersections that were clogged and made wild dashes through congestion. Let's hope that soon we will be back to Israeli normal.
Dan Kohn, Kibbutz Adamit 18 August, 2006