Sudden changes are rarely a good thing

11th November, 2004

"We're moving to Jericho, Arafat died today at 4:30am."

...and so we were brought back to our home base to pack our things before departing to Jericho.

Before reaching my room, Yoav approached me and said: "If the rumours are correct, I congratulate you!". I wasn't sure if his smile indicated him being cynical.

"Huh? What rumours?"
"You're taking my rifle."
"What?!"

Most soldiers have regular short M16s, better known as M4 Carbines. They only weigh ~2Kgs(4.4 pounds).

Yoav has an M16-A3 rifle which is intended for platoon's marksman. A limited number of soldiers in the battery receives M16-A3s and M16 grenade launchers. While soldiers with these weapons are most likely to be chosen to commit arrests, go on night patrols and such, these weapons are considered to be clumsy and heavy. This is a big disadvantage, because you carry the weapon anywhere you go. You also sign for more equipment (A3 night vision scope, a regular scope, a few grenades etc..) and if you dare losing it, you'll end up paying a lot of money from your own pocket.

Very few soldiers prefer to own those weapons. That's also why they're usually given to juniors who've just joined the battery.

I don't care much about what kind of weapon I get to carry, as long as it's light and comfortable. But this weapon is far from being light OR comfortable!

But the rumours were true... Yoav's joining the battery's HQ team as a 2nd caretaker. He'll get a regular weapon... but why choose me as his replacement? There are a dozen of younger soldiers from November '03 and soon soldiers from March '04 are going to join the battery.

Matan promised me he'll do his best to make sure I'll get rid of this weapon. I really hope so.

For now, I'll have to get used to carrying it around. The battery will send me on a 2-day marksmen course next week, when we'll all be training at a training base in the center.

Before assuming control of a certain sector in the territories, the battalion has to train a few days/weeks at one of the training bases, where soldiers imrpove their various military skills and get in shape.

After the weekend in Jericho, we'll spend a few days at a training base. Then we'll move to Qalqiliya... When we get there, two teams will be released home. It's probably going to be my team and 2C, because by then it'd be 3 weeks since the last time that we were home. But nothing is certain, and our schedule is always dynamic.

12th November, 2004

Today's the ceremony of Arafat's burial. At 4pm we were taken to a roadblock located at the entrance to Jericho. For around 8 hours buses kept going in and out of the city, full of Palestinian citizens who were coming back from Ramallah.














































The guard tower was full of annoying mosquitos and the base was crawling with restless flies. Where do they all come from?

13th November, 2004

We had some good sleep this Friday night.

This morning we were told that the threat level is down again and that all our missions were cancelled. Great!

We were also told that we'll receive an "after" (Up to 24 hours of vacation), but apparently there was a misunderstanding between the bus company and the battery, so we ended up waiting until the evening when our Lieutenant gathered us all for an update: "the bus is stuck and it is unclear whether it'll arrive this evening or not. Due to the late hour, only those who live in the cities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem can get on that bus (Public transportation doesn't operate at nights), IF it arrives."

We've already packed everything and loaded all the equipment on the trucks, ready to leave tomorrow morning to the training base.

A moment later there were more bad news to come - The officers have decided that my team's not gonna get home the following weekend, but only the next one. That means that I'll be stuck in the army for a total of... 25 days!!! No way! I HAVE to get home!

The bus did not arrive. Fortunately for us, the Lieutenant was nice enough to let us take the public bus to Jerusalem. I got home at 1am.

14th November, 2004

We had to get to Kiryat Gat by 2pm. I checked the departure time of trains... The train leaves Tel Aviv at 9:15, 10:15, 11:15, 12:15... 14:15. No 13:15!!

I was almost late to the train of 12:15, so I decided to take a minibus-cab to get there faster. When I wanted to pay the driver, I realized that I didn't have enough money on me. I had no other choice but ask the other passengers if they could give me a couple of NIS to pay the ride. I felt really uncomfortable, dressed as a soldier and asking for money...

* * * * *I joined the battery at the training base. I was supposed to start the marksmen course and train separately from my battery, but they there were no instructors available for the course and so I joined the battery for the regular training.

As usual, a week before new March '04 soldiers are supposed to join the battery, a few soldiers who finished the commanders course join the battery as new commanders. They are... Ido! The same guy who was in my team, patrolling with me in Adorra is now a commander in the battery. He's not my direct commander, lucky for me! He's the commander of 2C. I don't like his character much.

Another commander who's joined our battery is... a female soldier from Nov '03! Her name is Ravit.

When she was still a regular soldier, everybody's been talking about her in the battalion. I was like: "who the hell are you talking about all the time? what is she, a goddess or something?"

Then one day I had a day at the kitchen with her and I realized what they were talking about. Dark-blonde curly hair, green eyes, beautiful face... and well-behaved. She reminds me a bit of Jasmin Wagner.

I was told that her first commander in the army was a guy who asked her out in Eilat, back when she was still a regular citizen. She said "No".

There were also 3 new officers in the battery now. Idan was promoted to be 2nd in command (after the battery's commander). Yair, my platoon's officer, was replaced by Michael and Raleb was replaced by Oded.

* * * * *
We've been practicing for two days and I haven't missed a single target... But that's no wonder because with I have a x4 scope attached to the A3 and I shoot at a 25 meter shooting range like everyone else.

16th November, 2004

I haven't received any message from Angel lately. We talked a bit during the "after" 2 days ago. She explained that her cellphone's SMS messaging service doesn't work anymore, for some reason. She told me she's been depressed again... She and Sarah are no longer friends. Angel told Sarah of all her problems, Sarah tried to help her but then followed her mother's advice and decided to cut any contact with Angel.

"What problems are you having, honey? Can you share them with me?"

She told me she gets depressed very often, that she hates herself... and that before and after we'd met.. she used to cut herself!

Oh my... poor Angel. There seem to be so many things I don't know about her. Now I really worry about her... I wish I could help her, but how? Perhaps I should talk to her more often, I don't know.

"Don't worry. Friends always fight, but they eventually forgive one another and become friends again. It's just temporary."

I love her no matter what!!!

Tomorrow we're moving to Qalqiliya...

Nothing will stand between us

15th August, 2004

I talked to Yair on Sunday evening. He said that it most likely won't be a problem to release me on September 15th! That's great news! I asked him if it's possible to release me on 9th, switch with one of the soldiers from the 1st platoon or something. He replied negatively, saying that it will be difficult to do and may cause all kinds of problems. (If I switch vacations with one of the soldiers from the 1st platoon, things won't be organic anymore. When I'll be at the base, my team and another team from my platoon will be home and I'll be with the 1st platoon most of the time even though I don't belong there.)

Yair said I'll know the final answer tomorrow. I really must hurry, because my mom will fly abroad in 4 days and won't be able to order tickets. (She knows much better than me about all the tour agencies, where to find the cheapest available flight and so on) I might be sent to a pillbox again on 17th and won't be able to send the papers on time as I won't be at the base where the desk-work soldiers are.

While I was guarding and patrolling, I suddenly noticed an officer standing near the guarding post. He told me he was standing there for quite a long time, checking how well I guard by sitting a meter from the post, throwing a rock to the bushes and all kinds of things. He said I should be more alert, not for his sake, but for the sake of protecting the base.

That shocking encounter definitely made me more alert... more alert to bored and annoying officers that sneak on soldiers at night! ....... *sigh* 4 hours of guarding is so boring and tiresome, especially at night. How can he expect me to be concentrated all the time?!

















16th August, 2004

This evening Yair finally gave me the dates! 13th-20th September. I called my mom and she started looking for available tickets for these dates. It's not easy to find tickets for specific dates, and ticket availability is not a certainty especially since Rosh Ha Shana (the Jewish new year) is celebrated on 14th.

I sent an SMS to my sweetheart and asked her to find out if her mom lets us travel, stay in hotels and let her skip school for 4 days.

The night of 17th. It was 2:15a.m. I was guarding at the bunker with Ofir when I received an e-mail from Angel. I read it on my old (Samsung 624) cellphone. She talked to her mom and these are the results: Her mom won't let her skip school at all, but I can stay at her place and wait for her to come home from school everyday, and on the weekend we can travel somewhere and stay in a hotel.

Thinking about it thoroughly... What will I do at her place all by myself? I'll fly to Germany and have only 7 very short days every minute of which I'll want to spend with her.

Will they really let me, a complete stranger, stay alone at their place? Will her mother let us go to a hotel on the weekend? I sent 4 messages to Angel asking her to talk to her mom, to try and convince her in various ways to let her skip school for just these 4 days or otherwise it just won't work. It's the beginning of the school year anyway. Nothing useful is taught on those days.

In other words I was very disappointed about it. At first it was planned that she'll come to Israel and I'll show her the whole country and make it an unforgettable experience, but her mother forbid her to come and left us with one alternative - I come to Germany. Now her mother is making it even more difficult.

From 2:15 until the end of my guarding shift at 6a.m. I'd been thinking about this problem, hopefully the last obstacle to our dream-meeting. I don't wanna cope with seeing her for only half a day. I asked Angel to e-mail me as soon as possible, and also to tell me what time I could call her.

I had to pack - move to Telem. Now I can't send the papers. I'll only be able to send it on 24th, the last day before I go home. (We're usually taken to the base on the day before going home. I might not be able to visit the base until then.)

I received Angel's e-mail. "Maybe we should see each other in April" she wrote. "I will be 18. Independent from my mother."

She was probably in despair after my messages. She wrote she felt hopeless, that it would be pointless for me to stay at her place while she's in school.

I can imagine myself sitting at school, half-listening to the teacher, knowing that there's a girl who came all over from Germany just to be with me and is waiting for me at my home while I'm stuck in school... and not just a girl, but the girl I'm in love with.

My mom offered Angel to talk to her mom and try to sort things out, but Angel said it won't help.

I was in despair.

When I arrived to Telem, I had a phone talk with my mom. I told her that I would still meet her. It doesn't matter how little time I will have to share with her, I'm going to meet her no matter what. Eventually we will find a solution. Maybe her mom won't be that strict when she meets me. But my mother suggested that I find a girlfriend in Israel. That's what everyone tells me! I feel like I had lost my mother's support. Now there's absolutely nobody who supports me on meeting Angel. I feel so alone, so sad. Soon Angel and mom will both fly abroad and I'll be alone even more. =(

It's tearing me apart. I hope Angel's not feeling that way. We should both stay strong, everything will work out just fine...

I called her and we had a long conversation and it was worth every second! =) I'm very very happy now. We might be able to rent a hotel in town and she'll only have 3-4 hours of school everyday. She told me she suggested that we meet in April because I wrote "It won't work" in one of my SMS messages. But it would work! I was wrong! I was just very disappointed and I didn't want to accept the bad news last night. All is great! Except the phone bill... It's not too high, but is not okay either.

As I said: everything is going to be alright. We finished our conversation, both feeling very happy. I'm gonna meet her and it will be grrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!!! =)