‘Almost every newer apartment has a safe room, built from reinforced concrete, with steel on windows and doors, and a chemical agent air purifier’
“Ever since the first bombs fell on Israel, every time the phone rings I get startled and agitated. I pick up fearfully, and carefully follow both our and foreign media outlets. I watch special Israeli news channels to keep myself as updated as possible about what’s happening in Israel and the Gaza Strip. I’m so very worried. I have my daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons (six and 11) in Israel. I’m sort of angry that they didn’t let the children come to Belgrade, where we would take them in and protect them until it’s all over.”
These sincere words opened up our conversation with Avram Izrael, telecommunications engineer and a Jew whose daughter lives with her family about 3,000 kilometres away from Belgrade, in the now war-torn Israel. The former Director of the Belgrade Centre for Emergency Reporting and Alerting during the NATO bombing campaign, Avram Izrael knows only too well what an air raid warning means, and what it feels like to watch bombs and missiles overhead. That is what is happening now all across Israel.
Your daughter and son-in-law, and their two young children, are in Israel. How have you been spending your days since the war broke out?
“We have an open line of communication. We talk on WhatsApp and exchange messages within ten minutes. Mostly it’s us being worried and asking, ‘What’s going on? How are you?’, and them replying and telling us what’s new. Thankfully, they live in a Tel Aviv suburb and are isolated from the south and the part where the greatest clashes are taking place. My daughter spends time in the safe room whenever it is necessary. Today alone they had two air raid warnings and they moved into the safe room. Sadly, we here also had the 1999 experience, when I made many people feel safer at their homes. I learnt that human life is the most important thing, more valuable than anything else. That you only have one and that it is worth fighting for.”
Do children go to school or adults to work?
“No, they don’t. The schools are closed, but the shops are open.”
Can they leave their apartments to buy everything they need? Is there a curfew?
“They leave when they need to. The shops are well-stocked, there is everything. There’s no curfew – it’s a different sort of mentality compared to these parts and our habits. After Saturday and Sunday, everyone’s gathered their wits and are now organizing help for the south of Israel, those affected, and the Armed Forces. What they’re preparing is food, clothes, footwear, and blood for those affected. Yesterday, the Israeli defence forces advised families to secure food and other necessities for a 72-hour period.”
Speaking of “safe rooms”, are they inside apartments? What do they look like?
“Newer buildings have them, old ones do not. Every apartment has a safe room, built from reinforced concrete, with steel on windows and doors, and a chemical agent air purifier. This room always has in it a certain amount of food and water necessary for survival. But air raid warnings in Israel aren’t the same as here in 1999 – lasting seven to eight hours.”
What are they like?
“An air raid warning there lasts only 15 to 20 minutes, 30 at most, and they have about 90 seconds to find shelter. Sometimes they only have 30 seconds to evacuate and go into the safe room.”
As unrests are frequent in Israel, adults are fairly used to how to respond during an air raid warning. How do children respond to it? Your grandsons are small, how bravely are they dealing with it?
“The young one has just started school and, of course, it’s difficult for them. They listen for the sirens, and when they hear an air raid warning, they run into the safe room to hide. They’re wondering what is happening. The public broadcaster has animated films, sort of like cartoons prepared by the military to educate the children. Children also receive training at schools and kindergartens about what to do in case of an air raid warning. But it’s one thing to train, and quite another when there’s real danger, especially when you can see the TV recordings of the atrocities committed in the south of Israel by Hamas. This dark information is a soul-killer.”
Is it possible for the children to come and stay with you in Serbia? Until things calm down.
“Of course we’ve talked about it, and, as grandparents, we immediately suggested it. Having experienced war here, we know how precious it is to save a human life. That’s the one thing we have. This is why we offered that children come here to Serbia. My daughter was OK with it, but my son-in-law was not, for reasons known only to him and unknown to me. My daughter refused to come – she thinks she has to be in Israel and with Israel throughout. She wouldn’t leave Israel at any price, as she is the head of a non-governmental organization fighting against sending money to the Palestinian movement, which misuses it. That said, I’d like to reiterate that it makes no sense for children to stay there and be exposed to risk, while at the same time the door is open for them here, in Serbia, where it’s safe.”
You said that your daughter is now seriously worried for the first time, although there had been unrests before.
“Yes, there have been many attacks, shelling, and unrests there. She always took it with a certain amount of certitude and believed in her country, the Armed Forces, and the intelligence services, but now she’s seriously worried and scared for the first time. Sometimes I’d see her well up, although she is a staid and strong person, not prone to despair. She is also psychologically trained to respond in such difficult situations, but what is happening now goes beyond one’s ability to remain composed and level-headed. Israel does have frequent unrests, but this is a state of war – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said so publicly.”
Would you be able to provide some predictions? How long will this war last?
“I don’t think that the state of war has been declared only because of Hamas, because in military terms, Hamas shouldn’t pose a serious threat to Israel. I assume that the state and military leadership of Israel has a plan in case another front is opened – by Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which is a far more serious terrorist organization, Iran’s right arm, well-equipped, with high-quality weaponry and fighters who have been to the Syrian war zone. And a possible third front could open from Syria, with Iran’s involvement not to be excluded. Israel’s response is strong, but there will be complications if they opt for boots on the ground in the Gaza Strip.”
Mobilization has started in Israel. As many as 300,000 people have been recruited. Are women going too?
“The turn-out was 100 percent. That paints a picture of a harmonious society. As regards women, one part is in the reserves, another in active duty, and everyone who has a duty is obligated to report. But I see that people are reporting over and above what is mandatory, as volunteers.”
There is no excuse for what Hamas as a terrorist organization is doing, but could you agree with the discontent felt by the Palestinian people? It is said that they suffer the terror inflicted by Israel, that they live in inhumane conditions in the Gaza Strip, and that this is the result of everything that has been going on since 1948.
“It is sad that many civilians are used as a shield for Hamas. When I talk about this conflict, I make a clear distinction between Hamas and the Palestinian people. There’s no doubt about that. The genesis of the conflict is long, and bringing up 1948 by their ambassador is at the level of speculation and lies. You know that Israel, when the state was formed in 1948, was divided into the Palestinian and the Israeli parts. With the help of the Arab League, the Palestinian part refused that at the time, striving to throw Israel overboard. Well, that is when they lost their opportunity to have a state of their own. Secondly, the majority of the Palestinians in Gaza are not there as a consequence of the Israeli-Arab conflict – some 900,000 refugees had been thrown out of Jordan because they kept fomenting unrest there and destabilized the country. I hasten to add that there have been around 1,000 attacks against the Israeli territory in the past three or four months – knife attacks, hand grenades, shootings, throwing stones… I cannot but think how those people are dancing and making merry, celebrating what is happening in Israel. They can hardly wait to hit, kick or humiliate in whatever way possible the imprisoned Israelis. When Israel was attacked, there were fireworks and celebrations in the streets of Tehran. People were shouting, ‘Death to Israel, death to America!’, and you don’t see anyone wanting or doing this in Israel. No one wants to destroy the Palestinians in Israel. There is a lot of suffering in Gaza, but there is also propaganda.”
Propaganda in what sense?
“Not everyone there is that poor. There are people who live in large and luxurious villas on the Mediterranean Sea coast. But, let me repeat – you’ve seen pictures of them being joyful over the imprisoned Israelis.”
Are the allegations that the Israeli Intelligence Services have failed justified? Mossad enjoys so much praise.
“I’m under a definite impression that there have been failures. The question of what these services had been doing is being asked already. This will remain a topic of discussion for a long time. It’s a colossal failure on the part of all the services – from the IDF, though the Shin Bet and Mossad, to satellite techniques and barrier drones… To have them storm 28 locations and not have reserve forces deployed for rapid reaction?! There’s no question that there have been horrible failures! Failures disastrous for the Israeli society.”
Will the open help of the United States of America be of the greatest significance for Israel in the war?
“Of course the US’s help means a lot. When one of the biggest powers in the world stands firmly by your side, of course it’s significant. A great number of Jews in the US are stalwartly behind it. Let me make a comparison with Serbia. Here’s why Serbia doesn’t act like Israel – because it has no big ally to get its back and protect it. Israel is no bigger than Serbia, either in terms of the populace or the territory, but just have a look at how powerful it is and able to defy anyone. The US’s help is therefore important in every way.”
Lastly, how do you feel as a father as you expect the next call and watch the scenes of the war?
“The discomfort is hard, and the uncertainty huge. Every time the phone rings, I get startled and agitated. I pick up fearfully and carefully follow both our and foreign media outlets, as well as some special Israeli news channels. I’m so very worried. I learnt that human life is the most important thing, more valuable than anything else. That you only have one and that it is worth fighting for.”
Silvija Slamnig