Returned from a local peace rally, convinced it has no influence. Yet my mood lifted. Classic revitalization that meeting the likeminded generates. Still, a moment thinking I am associated with a group of people sharing values and opinions. But caution should be exercised on assumptions of shared opinions. Even where likeminded agree on complexity, there is an easy tendency to assume consent to uniform messages. And lose the nuances of our own thoughts.

Necessary for conveying a message. I get it. Like people voting for a party, choosing the lesser of all evils. Not necessarily buying into the whole party platform. So be it for objections to war.

Difficult to sift through information and disinformation and distill thoughts concisely and precisely.  Hence, my less concise and hardly precise thought: Considering justifications for this war, were it possible to believe politicians’ claims regarding Iranian capabilities, and US and Israeli military achievements in Iran, I doubt there was no other way to promote US and Israeli security interests, and interests of Iranians seeking to break free from their regime.

The best, new slogan at the rally today – and it jingles in Hebrew: something to the effect of, “Absolute security,” as in “achieved by the war in June” [cynical], and “Back to the shelter,” as in “here we are again.”

And why should the rally have improved my state of mind? I was happily – though with guilty conscience, enjoying the weekend. Happy – a family Friday night dinner. First time in three weeks no air raid siren after dinner imposing quality family time in our saferoom. Enjoying the weekend – we only had an air raid siren sending us to our saferoom around midnight, and at 6:18 AM, after which we managed to sleep until 10:00. We drove to the nearby Arab town, Tira, to replenish my coffee bean supply. We do it in the best of times.

But on our way home, I insisted we drive to the corner of the next street beyond ours. Guilty conscience. Media outlets, the neighborhood WhatsApp groups, and the mayor’s TikTok account presented pictures yesterday afternoon – with the permission of the IDF censor (because in some times and places pictures might disclose information of use to our attackers). Yesterday around 3:00 PM, while preparing dinner, there was an air raid siren. We spent 10 minutes in our shelter. Nothing unusual. But media soon brought to our attention that interceptor shrapnel went through the roof of a home on the street at the next corner. No bodily injuries.

But neighbors with their home destroyed. Closer to home than far worse damages. We had a family dinner and carried on with our routine. Really? Can we just be grateful and go on? And yet we are helpless to do much else, and repeatedly told of the importance of resilience, following safety instructions, taking hold of ourselves to go on against the odds – even when at odds with so much of what our government is doing.

Harriet Gimpel – March 28, 2026

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