We tried to distract ourselves today with a vegan food tour called Death By Chocolate. We are currently recovering by lying as still as possible in our hotel beds. But of course I also have to read through all the news. I see CBC has an entire article on how desperate the situation is in Gaza because of a lack of basic supplies and Israel's relentless bombing. I scan the article and see not one word mentioning that Hamas has stockpiled food, fuel and water, which even the New York Times has reported.
I have a lot of things that I want to write about, many thoughts about past present and future that all of the events of the past few weeks have brought to a boil in my mind. But it is hard to do that here, where I'm feeling like I'm in a kind of limbo, my mind in Israel and my body in Greece. I don't know what it will be like to fly back to North America tomorrow. Some solitude in Florida may be a respite and an opportunity to articulate what is now just watery chaos, emotion and content bubbling together almost incomprehensibly.
I read an article that brought a lot of my own thoughts together in a way that makes sense, which I will share here with the highest recommendation. I'm sure that whatever I will write in the coming week will be my own versions of the same theme. Copying someone else's more coherent and intelligible rendering of how I'm feeling in this moment in history is the best I can do right now. Sorry I don't have more to say. And tomorrow you probably won't hear from me at all as I will be in transit. I'll aim to be in touch Tuesday if I'm feeling up to it, but in the meantime, thank you all so much for continuing to read my daily musings. I apologize for not being great at answering everyone's emails in a timely way, but I will do my best to get through them all this coming week -- thanks to so many of you for engaging with what I have to say, and for sharing your own thoughts with me. I continue to deeply appreciate the many notes of love and support.
One last thing: I received a petition from CIJA to the Canadian government calling on the Prime Minister to demand the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held captive by Hamas; to use all resources – diplomatic, economic, and military – to pressure Hamas to release all hostages; and to reaffirm Canada's commitment to supporting the State of Israel in its defence against terrorism. I have no idea if petition-signing actually does anything or just helps people to feel like they're doing something in a situation in which they are otherwise helpless, but I signed it and would encourage you all to do the same.