Going crazy

People here are starting to go crazy. The media is beginning to frighten people. They are warning us that people in the Tel Aviv area and northward should be “on alert”, whatever that means. Rumor has it that people are staying indoors at least in the evenings, so as not to be caught outside in case of attack.

People are especially cautious because the army was caught with its pants around its ankles on Friday night. Hizb’Allah shot an Iranian missile at a Navy boat, causing it some damage and killing some soldiers. The army/navy and top brass were completely surprised as it seems our top notch intelligence had no idea that Hizb’Allah had ever acquired such technologies and weaponry.

As a result of that, people are concerned that the information coming out of the intelligence and army might be incomplete and maybe Hizb’Allah has other weapons we do not know about with ranges beyond what they have shot at until now.

So, between the army/media warning us combined with the surprises Hizb’Allah has thrown at us, and the fact that today reports say Katyushas have hit as far south as Afula, along with the promises Hizb’Allah has made (and so far they have kept every single promise they have made) to surprise us some more, people are nervous.

At work we are getting into crisis mode. We had some office-wide meetings to go over and refresh emergency procedures of leaving the office and what to do with merchandise depending on various scenarios. BTW, none of the scenarios included strapping on parachutes and jumping out the window (My office is on the 22^nd floor of a building in Tel Aviv, 2 blocks away from the Defense Ministry complex).

Changes in the office have been made to calm people’s nerves and allow for an easier and quicker exit if necessary. I feel it is all a bit over the top, but I guess it is important to keep people calm as much as possible, and if this is what it takes, so be it.

I hope all these preparations are made redundant and none of it will be necessary and that in a couple of weeks we can look back and laugh at how hysterical we seemed…