Good morning from Be'er Sheva, and Merry Christmas to friends who are celebrating. The move-in is going well -- today we will do some shopping to make sure my daughter is fully equipped and stocked, and tomorrow I'll be heading to see some friends in Jerusalem before going back to Haifa on Wednesday.
This is just a quick note intended as an update, because as I am looking at the news this morning, once again I can't believe how far apart North American media is from Israeli media in terms of what they're choosing to report on. Here are the headlines on the Middle East from the NY Times today: "Israel Says it is Intensifying Its Campaign Against Hamas in Gaza," "In Campus Protests Over Gaza, Echoes of Outcry Over Vietnam," and under Opinion, "Let Me Walk You Through The Gaza I See Today." The CBC's only headline on the Middle East: "Christmas in Mourning in Birthplace of Christ Amid Ongoing Gaza War." I wonder if you'll ever see reported over there, any of the things I'm seeing here in Israel today: "Hamas Policeman Fatally Shoots Young Gazan Seeking Aid in Rafah," "IDF: Troops Find Kid-Sized Explosive Belts in Gaza Building Used to Shelter Civilians," "Tel Aviv University Opens Emergency National PTSD Clinic," "Med students’ antisemitic comments after Oct. 7 roil two prominent DC universities," and my favorite, "Pro-Palestinian Protests Take Place Across Canada" which features both Hamas and Taliban flags being waved at yesterday's protest in Toronto. You can watch an interesting Israeli news segment on this here. And of course, headlines about the endless and ongoing rocket attacks in the north, the Israeli government's infighting, and the names and photos of fallen soldiers from the last 24 hours (10 of them).
The mood here in Be'er Sheva, which is (incredibly) even more culturally diverse than Haifa, is pretty much the same as it has been in the other cities we have visited. Posters of hostages that say "bring them home," and Israeli flags with slogans exclaiming "together we will win" are everywhere. But one thing that we have noticed in every city we have been in, is just how friendly Israelis are being when we speak to them. As some of you know, it can be a little intimidating to approach them in English for help, directions, or even to order a meal at a restaurant -- I've mentioned before that like prickly pear cactus fruits, they can be ... well, prickly on the outside. This has really not been our experience though. We keep commenting about this to each other every time we interact with someone. Our waitress last night was so friendly I thought for a minute she was going to sit down at the table with us. When she found out that my daughter was staying here to study at the university, she seemed overjoyed. She told my daughter that she hopes to see her often (she will -- the restaurant was a hummus bar, complete with vegan shawarma on offer, the pita was hot and fresh, and the food was cheap and amazing) and offered to be on call for "anything you need!" She continued, "I'm serious, anything, you just ask me!"
And that leads me to one final observation before I head off to pick up my daughter and go find the local Ikea: it seems that most of the international students that BGU was expecting, which I think is usually around 1000 per year, will not be coming back. In fact, my daughter was contacted by a prospective international student from the Netherlands last week, asking if my daughter would be coming back, and was surprised when she said she was already here. Apparently, every other student she had contacted had said they dropped out of the program and wouldn't be coming. She and my daughter chatted over text and the other girl decided she would be coming; they will meet on Thursday when she arrives.