Ugh. It felt like it was only a matter of time before there'd be a terrorist attack on Dizengoff. I passed by the crowded bars earlier this week, everyone was outside enjoying the nice springtime weather, and the memories of the deadly attack in Bnei Brak the week before were starting to fade away. A bit after I got the notification about the shooting I checked in what a friend who lives near Dizengoff and moved to Israel after the eerily similar Dizengoff shooting in 2016, as well as with a colleague who lives just a few buildings away from the bar that was hit and was all too familiar with these kinds of attacks. My sister left a chilling voice note on the Whatsapp family group chat that she was at the Tel Aviv port, there were rumors that the terrorist was also there, and her phone was about to die - she texted the number of her friend she was with and eventually made it back to her car a few hours later. It was a chaotic night because the police instructed everyone to stay at home and busses and taxis stopped running - but it was Thursday night when so many people from outside of Tel Aviv had come to the city to start the weekend. Many found refuge in shops and strangers' homes when it wasn't clear how long it would take to catch the terrorist (they eventually caught him early Friday morning). I was actually planning to go to Dizengoff yesterday to go shopping for an upcoming event but decided to postpone - not out of fear, just because it didn't feel right. I'll still go to the movies tonight and I'll still go out for pre-Passover drinks next week. I knew that the victims were young, but I wasn't prepared to see the smiling faces of two young men who were childhood friends and were just starting their lives: Tomer Morad (28) and Eytam Magini (27) from the city of Kfar Saba. The third victim, Barak Lufan (35 and a father to three children), died from his wounds on Friday.
I was searching for something comforting and came across this beautiful song by the iconic Rivka Zohar. It was just what I needed to hear. Rivka Zohar has been singing on stage since her military service in 1968, known most famously for Mah Avarech (With what shall I bless), and she recently released the album Hearing the Heart, which you can listen to here.
