Yes, I know the fear and the panic, but I also know that while I was scared for a while in Israel, I am frightened in Sweden, all the time.

Fear not, Israel; take comfort in knowing that millions of Muslims and peace groups around the world are demonstrating against the murderous attacks on Israeli families being done in the name of Islam.

Jerusalem Post

Bomb shelter in Beersheba

 

... " '15 seconds," I said. "15 seconds to make sure that you and the people you love are safe. Imagine the terror, imagine the fear, and imagine not knowing the outcome.' "...

 

... "We run into the street and I see hordes of people running in the same direction. A group of men from the shul down the street, an old woman carrying a pink bag, heavy with vegetables, a small family just coming back from a day at the beach. They disappear into the building across the street, so I grab the kids by the hand and I follow them. The room is cool, or maybe it’s just me, shaking with chills. Children are sitting on the floor, a young man is on the phone with his mother, my own children are quiet, and the oldest is fighting back tears- watching my face as to see how scared he is supposed to be. I am just about to try and tell them something when I hear the boom. It’s so much louder than I had expected. I feel it in the floor, the impact traveling through my entire body." ...

 

Annika Hernroth-Rothstein is a political adviser, writer and activist. An alumni of the Young Jewish diplomatic seminar (organized by the Mizrad Hahutz) and Tikvah seminars in NYC. She lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with her two children.