Israeli strikes

for the past month, there has been a University student strike throughout Israel due to their dissatisfaction with tuition rates. They have held numerous protests statewide, created disturbances on campus, and "blocked" the entrances to campus, forcing me to climb the fence to get in. As an international student, my program of study has not been affected (other than these outrageous displays), as we are visiting scholars technically not a part of the overall Israeli education system. Coincidentally I personally pay more for tuition than possibly an other student currently enrolled at the University, so I don't understand what their problem is. Nevertheless I have observed the extreme behaviors of Israeli students during the strike process, as just an example of the overall Israeli extremism which is an integral part of their existence here.

In addition to the student strike, there have been numerous train strikes - at least one per week, labor strikes, and even bread and egg strikes. I kid you not, for an entire week it was illegal to buy bread and it was pulled from the store shelves (except in Arab areas). If that weren't enough, every weekend (called Shabbat) and every holiday (there are at least one per week besides Shabbat) ALL of the stores are closed (except in Arab areas). This is just a part of the overall Israeli culture, so foreign to a foreigner like myself. For the past two weeks there have been rumors of the student strike ending, in order to avoid canceling their entire semester. Fortunately MY semester ends in a few weeks, as I will be completing my second MA.

Now Israel has a greater kind of strike to deal with, brought on by the presence of qassams being fired into in the Negev. For the past few weeks, extreme factional violence has been occurring in Gaza and into Israeli territory, leading to retaliatory strikes by the IDF, into Gaza and on various Palestinian factions and their leaders. Israel's militant response to Palestinian extremism has created a feeling of deja vu, likened to last year's resistance to Hizbollah's strikes in the north. This country is in disarray, from its factional violence, criminals roaming the streets, to its government and education system and unethical decision-making therein. Sending out an SOS to the world - God please help us, here in your Promised Land.