Where is Avital, You Ask?!

Don't even ask me where Avital is right now! Don't ask ! I don't want to really talk about it............okay, okay twist my arm........she is out.....no, not at the mall, no, not at a friends house, no, she isn't studying at someone's house..............she is out trying to prevent the "take down" of neve daniel's outpost. I just spoke to her on her cell a few minutes ago, the conversation went something like this.
Me: Hi Avital, did you get to the maachaz (outpost) yet?
Avital: No, the army won't let us in, so we got out of the car and are trying to make our way in on foot. UH, where are we Yarden (an adult friend of ours)? Uh, we are in some field....some arabs field?
Me: Is the arab in the field too and if so does he mind that you are there
Avital: No it's fine Ema, don't worry, we are with someone who is helping us get in. ?(like that makes me feel so much better)
Me: Okay, well,.....are you still with Yarden?
Avital: Yeah, he's with me.
Me: Well, okay you make sure you stay with him........and Avital honey, DO NOT GET ARRESTED!!!!!!!! Oh , yeah Avital it is 2:00 now you have to be home at 3:45 , you have an orthodentist appointment.


It all started in ulpan when Avital got a phone call from her friend to tell her what was going on in Neve Daniel. "Everyone" is heading out there to oppose the take down. The rest of ulpan was her bugging me to go out there with her. Class ended and Yarden , of course, announced he was heading out to the maachez. Can Avital tag along I hear my voice asking? Sure, and off the two of them go. So that's what happened. Then the above conversation takes place.........pinch, pinch ...........is this real? I guess that's what I am feeling a lot of lately! Reality! How many times have I heard about outpost take downs and think for maybe 3 minutes about the people who live there, why are they doing this and what will be? Now suddenly the outpost is in my neighborhood and my daughter andfriend are one if the "settlers" opposing the take down.

I drive home from my errand in Efrat and enter the gate of our yishuv, smack into a convoy of army trucks. I heard on the news that 6 settlers were already arrested. There were hummers and other various trucks. Again, is this real? I pass by the trucks and look at the "baby faced" soldiers, one is eating a sandwich and joking with his friend and I wonder how they deal with this. I notice that the soldiers I see are not wearing kippas, is this on purpose? Is it easier for chiloni soldiers to do this because they feel disconnected from the religious world and even disdain towards us? Will this rift ever fill in? Is it that they have this image of us that clumps us together in one group to which they cannot relate? So many questions!

I call Avital again. This time she answers crying! What is wrong... are you okay?!!!! It is just so Sad ema, so sad! I choke back tears, did I do the wrong thing allowing her to see this? I know Tali, it is sad, this is your first taste of the real reality here. I know I could not have protected her forever from all this but to hear the pain in her voice and imagining the images she was witnessing, it is painful to me. She describes the line of people blocking the police and the police breaking through them. I hear the screaming through the phone. Ema they are hitting the police and the police are hitting back. Oh my Gd. ema they are bringing in a tractor! There are a group of girls sitting on the ground in front of the tractor and then the police are picking them up and moving them. Ema, I'm sorry, I am not going to go to the orthodentist today....I cannot make it back in time! Some things are just more important!

Yonatan comes home from school and catches wind of what is going on. I want to go in also. You my little friend are not going in....anyways, you can't get there the police won't let you through! Can I just go up and see what's going on? You can go up to where the police say turn around and then you must turn around. Off he goes.

I call Avital....hi ema, they are at the house (supposedly it is 'only' one house they are there to demolish or remove), and the people won't come out, they are bringing in more army and............oh yeah, Yonatan is here..............WHAT?...........yeah, he got in with Alon (Yonatan's 15 year old math tutor)! i cannot believe it, I am not worried for their physical safety , I know they are not in front of the tractors or in confrontation with police /army, what I am concerned about is their exposure to harsh, scary images that are not just images but reality. But as a friend gently explains, this is reality, their and our reality now and you cannot protect them from it. The stories are not about the greater "THEM" anymore they are about the smaller "us". Yes, it sometimes feels scary being smack down in the middle of the 'story' but at the same time it feels right, and it feels good.......this really is our home ,we are active participants in the events that will one day be jewish history 101.

I just called Avital again, she is crying! They just finished knocking down the house, someones home! I think of Gush Katif. I think of Avital and want to hug her.
They are arresting people now, she says she's coming home soon, I think even she has had enough of reality for one day. I am going to wait now for her and Yonatan to come home so we can talk about their day.