For the last week, since the battle in the north started, there has been a kind of hush among the ERETZ staff. It is the same hush that is sensed in the streets of Israel – from the most secure to the ones under fire today. It is the hush of determination, of unity of purpose, of the consensus that Israelis, like other people, are entitled to live a normal life.

 In a week of fighting that started with the Hizbullah firing missiles on the Galilee, ambushing an Israeli army patrol along the border, and kidnapping two soldiers, northern Israel has been hit by thousands of rockets and missiles. But the Israeli public, especially the people living in the north, who are under constant attack, have given the government the go ahead to remove the Hizbullah from our northern border.

 We are not fighting to conquer or destroy. We don't even want the Lebanese government to sign a peace agreement, or any other agreement, with Israel. We only want one thing: we want the sovereign government of Lebanon to make sure that Israelis are not attacked from its territory.

 In ERETZ Magazine, like in nearly all the businesses in Israel that are not under direct missile attack, we have decided that we will not let the Hizbullah disrupt our lives. We will continue with our production schedule, as planned, even though many of us have relatives and friends in the north and many of us have opened our homes to families from the towns and villages that are under attack.

 Our website  will continue to keep you posted on heritage, nature and travel in Israel and in addition will provide you with our commentary on the events in the north. Hopefully, our enemies will begin to understand that Israelis can be divided on many issues, but when it comes to standing firm for something that we all believe in then the powerful hush heard in the streets is the inner spirit of this country – the determination that created it and the unity of purpose that keeps it going.

 Sincerely,

Yadin Roman
Editor in Chief
ERETZ Magazine