[img]96|left|||no_popup[/img] Dateline Jerusalem — It was my intention to describe my trips this week to Tel Aviv, Israel's second most populated city, which also is known as “the city that never sleeps,” and Rishon Le Tzion, founded in 1882, its name meaning “first to Zion.” I intended to describe my jaunt down the main boulevard in the city of Rehovot. Street musicians play keyboards, violins, trumpets and a unique instrument called a melodica/melodion. It is a combination keyboard-wind instrument all in one, where a person plays the keyboard while blowing into a mouthpiece on top of it. Its melodious sounds may be heard while residents sit in outdoor cafes under colorful umbrellas and awnings, sipping coffee and devouring pitas filled with falafel, fried eggplant and potato sabich, shwarma, and a variety of other sumptuous Israeli fare.

That was my intention. That was before the four terror attacks in southern Israel killed at least eight and injured another 33 people. And the death toll is rising. That was before terrorists attired in military vests with assault rifles and suicide bomb belts shot at a bus on its way from Be'er Sheva to the resort town of Eilat along the Egyptian border. That was before another bus was attacked. That was before roadside bombs detonated as Israeli army personnel rushed to the scene to try and rescue civilians from the buses. That was before the terrorists fired at an IDF helicopter. That was before more terrorists fired anti-tank missiles at two autos, injuring six people in one, including two small children, and killing the occupants of the other vehicle. That was before the mortar fire started coming from Palestinians in Gaza. That was before Hamas launched rockets toward Ashkelon. That was before the coordinated eight-hour bombardment of terror directed at Israeli civilians.

The city of Eilat, a resort town along the crystal clear blue waters of the Red Sea, is known for its coral reef underwater observatory, dolphin reef, camel tours, free-fall parachuting, nature reserves, and some of the best scuba diving waters in the world. It is the vacation choice of young Israelis, and visitors to Israel often include it on their “must see” list. I had just finished an email to a friend in California who is meeting his daughter for a vacation visit to Cairo, Egypt. I suggested that we meet in Eilat since it is about midway between Cairo and my town in Israel. Only minutes after I sent off my email, I received the first news broadcast about the terror attack near Eilat. I was shocked because I did not expect Israel to be attacked for another couple of weeks, when the Palestinians decide to declare statehood in the U.N.

Rockets and mortars launched from Gaza have been more frequent recently.

Jordan notified Israel of a possible terror attack minutes before it occurred.

Further intelligence places the planning of the coordinated terror attacks in Gaza where the terrorists then entered the Sinai Peninsula through smuggling tunnels and crossed over into Israel. Since the “Arab Spring” overthrew Egyptian President Mubarak's regime, the number of weapons and smuggling in the tunnels has doubled and the gas pipeline in Sinai providing gas to Israel has been sabotaged on several occasions. When Israel made peace with Egypt after capturing the Sinai Peninsula, it gave the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt. Israel also withdrew from Gaza in a good faith effort to make peace with the Palestinians. Unfortunately, “land for peace” means just the opposite. The very day Israel withdrew from Gaza, the Palestinians launched mortars and rockets into Israel. But the world wants Israel to give up more land to the enemies who call for its destruction.

Hopefully the next time I write, the news will be good.

L'hitraot. Shachar.