Checking

During times of crisis, the most immediate reaction is for those to connect with loved ones. After Hurricane Katrina, it took me almost an hour, while dealing with a land line that kept losing dial tone, before I was able to hear my son's voice and know he was okay. One I first logged on this morning, I scanned the news as I always do. My heart skipped a couple of beats when I see the words suicide bomber in Israel.

I don't even read the article. I go and check my blogroll to make sure those in Israel are safe. But what of friends from the US who are traveling in Israel? Much harder to check on them.

Treppenwitz, in his post, And So It Begins, writes what it is like to watch a co-worker checking.

Suicide bombers make the international news. But the attacks on Israeli citizens by Palestinian terrorists using Molotov cocktails, rocks, guns, and knives are largely ignored.

Since Israel's disengagement, the scene of checking on the safety of loved ones has been played out over 4,000 times in the town of Sderot.

Israel Matzav and Israellycool are both updating as more news comes in.

And, lest I forget, today's two suicide bombers are curtesy of Israel's "peace partners", Fatah, via Hamas and the destruction of the border crossing.