Project Interchange experience fosters better understanding of Middle East issues, but answers remain elusive.
By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle
JERUSALEM — After a busy day that included a tour of a high-tech company in Ramallah, West Bank, and a visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, I was wrapping up dinner when my phone pinged.
“Your mom just called super worried,” my wife texted from 7,000 miles away.
About the same time, a friend emailed to make sure I was OK.
What in the world?
As I soon learned, rockets fired from the Gaza Strip had set off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv, where I had been earlier in the week. No damages or injuries were reported, but the attack quickly made international news.
“There is really no need to panic, no need to be concerned,” said Lt. Col. (Res.) Avital Leibovich, who served 22 years with the Israel Defense Forces.
In a nation with more than a million bomb shelters, this strike — which quickly drew an Israeli military response — was no big deal. Really, Mom.
That was just one of many lessons I learned during my recent trip to Israel.
This column appears in the May 2019 print edition of The Christian Chronicle.
Related: Is the Holy Land the Promised Land? (reporting from Jerusalem)
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