At around noon Israeli time, I was about to post that the latest development in Gaza was that the Israeli Army struck a building which was a meeting place for terrorists.

This is still the latest news from Gaza but now there is more breaking news in the country. Two Israeli Soldiers have been kidnapped by Hizbullah in Lebanon. Lebanon is north of Israel and this morning, Hizbullah launched several rockets at communities and Israeli posts on the Northern border. ("Hizbullah is the radical Shia group formed in Lebanon; dedicated to creation of Iranian-style Islamic republic in Lebanon and removal of all non-Islamic influences from the area."- US State Department)

There have always been disputes over the borders between Lebanon and Israel but it is thought that this attack was a response to Israel's striking the building in Gaza and injuring Muhammad Deif, an "arch terrorist" who had been on Israel's hit list for years.

I'm going to put this post up which was written mostly yesterday and I will write a shorter one later today or tomorrow with an update on the situation. Keep in mind the tone of this post is a little lighter than usual and was written before the latest kidnappings and escalation in the north.

Back to Gaza and the strike against the building and Muhammad Deif. I asked the Bureau Chief here what the difference was between an arch-terrorist and a terrorist. He answered that unlike regular terrorists, arch-terrorists don't go shopping. Another senior Hamas member, who was said to be directly involved with the kidnapping of Corporal Gilad Shalit, was also wounded. There is still no word on the kidnapped soldier and no word on when Israel is getting out of Gaza.

Right now I'm glued to the Indian bombings story. Bombings on public transportation sound nightmarish even to someone who's only been living in Israel for a month.

The work here has picked up so I haven't had time to post an entry in a while. On Sunday I was sent into the "field" for the first time. Armed with a very official looking Media Line microphone (it looks like the ones reporters use on TV) and a small recorder that was surprisingly sensitive, I hit the Old City. The Old City is a short walk from the offices here. This walled city is the original Jerusalem. It contains the Jewish, Arab, Christian and Armenian quarters. The Western Wall which is located within the Old City, is as close as Jews can get to their holiest site—the Temple Mount. Currently the women's prayer area is significantly smaller than the men's prayer area. The women's area can get quite cramped on a busy day. After years of complaints, the Israeli Government has finally decided to expand the women's prayer area. They are not going to take away from the men's side but rather renovate the "Mughrabi" path. This path is the ramp that can be seen diagonally above the women's prayer area. It is used by Muslim worshippers to reach the Mughrabi Gate which leads to their holy sites. Before anyone gets angry, rebuilding this ramp is not as bad as sounds. The ramp was built in 1967 and is a pretty rickety old thing having almost crumbled last winter during an earthquake. The renovations are supposed to make everyone happy. The women's prayer area at the Wall will be increased to be equal to the men's side and the Mughrabi path or ramp will be made safer and more accessible. Any changes to the Temple Mount area have always elicited strong reactions from both Muslims and Jews. The government has to take extreme precaution when dealing with the holiest sites of both faiths and many people are already disappointed.

The outgoing mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Areas has already spoken out publicly against the renovations, saying they will create a change in the character of the area and affect Islamic archeological remains. Muslims say they fear this plan is part of an Israeli plot to take over the Temple Mount, which is home to the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

My job was to hit the streets of the Old City and take a "vox pop," short for vox populi which is Latin for "voice of the people." In short, I had to ask people what they thought of the renovations and record their answers for radio use. A vox pop. has to include a variety of opinions and people so I tried my best to speak to Jews, Christians, Muslim Arabs, Non-Orthodox Arabs—anyone who could give me a response in English for our largely American audience.

Now most people know to stay away from the Western Wall at noon in the dead of the heat. At the time, I seemed to have forgotten about the lack of shade in the area. I emerged two hours later from the Jaffa Gate (the main entrance/exit to the Old City) with some great audio and an even better sunburn featured prominently on my nose.

Some people's perspectives on the issue were surprising. I expected women to be gung-ho happy about their increased prayer space. While most women I spoke to were thrilled, the first woman I spoke to said that these renovations were totally unnecessary. Women, she said, are not supposed to pray as much as men and she found it unfortunate that so many women were uninformed about their role. I spoke to a number of men who seemed to think the changes were a good idea. I was instructed to look for "Haredi" men, meaning ultra-Orthodox Jewish men to get their opinion. I was told to be careful because chances are that they are not going to talk to me. The other day I was about to purchase some postcards in a more religious area. A friend of mine told me not to look the merchant in the eye since it might be disrespectful and I could be reproached for doing so. So I admit to not being that successful in recording the opinions of these men, but to be fair, I also didn't see any, when like I said, most people prefer to stay home than to brave the noon-day sun.

In the Old City, I recorded myself saying the introduction to the piece. I was given some tips at work (keep your voice lower than usual etc.) as I tried to emulate a "radio voice." I still have a long way to go with that, but I was told that I have potential. I definitely need a lot more practice to develop my own style. But even after listening to my first try and then my later tries, I could detect a major difference so there is hope in sight.

The value of an internship is the experience of learning in the "real world." I'm learning to be less sensitive about my own abilities. I have never really been in the situation where criticism is a positive thing. Here, the more feedback I receive, the better it is because it is the only way I'm going to learn to become a somewhat functioning skilled journalist. Before this summer, I could never imagine myself venturing out in Jerusalem alone, and surely not with a microphone, having just cold called Yemen.

I would just like to report a bizarre event that occurred yesterday. I was walking from my dorms to the bus stop when a small truck pulled up next to me. The driver rolled down a window, yelled something so I'd look up and then threw what felt like a bucket of water on me. I could not get a good look at the license plate as the truck drove off really quickly. Also I can now attest that when you get hit with water in the face, it is a natural reaction to shut your eyes. This sabotage left me in shock and without time to go back in change, I dried off by just standing in the sun at the bus stop. It was truly an inauspicious start to the day and when people asked me why I was soaking wet, no one seemed to believe me. Whoever did this got a good laugh, and I could hear it for a few seconds as the perpetrator drove off. My birthday is on Saturday so hopefully they won't crash the party.