So this is what journalism is like during a time of war. Israel is still being battered with missiles and the pictures of shelled out buildings in Beirut don't look so hot either. It's been only two weeks since I wrote that I went hiking in the Golan Heights and snuck a peak at Syria from the mountaintop. Now you'd have to be crazy to do that. The entire North of Israel is under constant threat of being hit with long range rockets. This afternoon, Haifa was hit with more of these rockets. Six people were wounded. This is becoming routine but at least no one died this time. On Sunday, eight people died when a Haifa bus garage was hit. But that's all over the news. The death count is climbing in Lebanon also. I'm saddened by the news of the deaths of seven Montrealers in Southern Lebanon.

In Jerusalem, I feel relatively safe. Surrounded by mountains, Jerusalem is harder to reach. We're also pretty close to the West Bank and a large population Arab population which might deter Hizbullah from sending Katyushas our way. Plus Hizbullah has no interest in starting a holy war if they accidentally hit the Dome of the Rock or Al-Aqsa mosque. Still, this is Israel and you never know.

I still managed to have an enjoyable birthday weekend. But even on the beach yesterday in Herzliya, the presence of war was apparent as groups of helicopters flew overhead. They were flying North along the coast towards Lebanon and back again. A fleet of about five helicopters had what looked like missiles hanging down from them. I'm no military expert so I'm not sure what exactly what was hanging from under the helicopters but it had a tube-like bullet shape.

When I got back to Jerusalem from my day trip to Herzliya and Ra'nana I was informed by my program leaders that the area I had just left was now under alert. Next time I leave Jerusalem, I have to inform them whenever I leave the city. When I had left in the morning, the area was not under alert. How quickly things change.

What is going on between Israel and Hizbullah is surely felt all over Israel but in Jerusalem it still does not feel immediate. What does feel immediate here is the constant threat of terrorism. This morning a 25 year old Palestinian from the West Bank was found with explosives a few blocks away from my office here. He was walking from the Old City of Jerusalem onto Jaffa street, intending to perform a suicide bombing. This summer, I've done the Old City- to- Jaffa walk countless times. I heard the sirens going off from the window here and only thought of them as an annoyance to the phone interview I was trying to conduct. Little did I know what they were for. Things have been quiet here in Jerusalem this summer so this shook me up- only 500 meters or so away and the bomber was probably going to walk to center town if he hasn't been thwarted. Suddenly the war feels real to me. And all I can do is take a cab instead of a bus today.

In happier news, my first published article on the Media Line is up on the site today! www.themedialine.org in the "facts in context section" under the headline "Southern Lebanon and Israel: New Conflict, Same Old Story." It's a background piece on the history of Lebanese-Israeli relations since the 1970's and puts into perspective what is occurring right now in the region. In a future post, I could also explain some of the history of the tension between Hizbullah and Israel.

Thanks to all the people who posted comments (and the birthday wishes, or words of encouragement). I apologize for answering some people's questions but I'll try to do a better job next time of posting some answers.