Painfully Small Country

In Israel, the theory of six degrees of separation is not applicable. Not because it's not a valid theory but because this is such a small country that people are are connected to each other not through five intermediaries but probably through no more than two.

This has become painfully true for me yesterday.

A couple of weeks ago, almost every Israeli knew someone that was living under constant bombing up north. Last week, almost every Israeli knew someone who had been drafted to join the war. Last Friday, I was informed of a young soldier who had died fighting in Lebanon; I did not know him personally, but through one intermediary. (I also "know" one of the two kidnapped soldiers in Lebanon through two intermdiaries.)

This is a small country. At most times claustrophobically so. At times like these painfully so.