Updates on the current situation. What the Lowy International School said and what we recommend (and know so far)

 Dear all,

in these hard and stressful days where Israel has started another war, we found ourselves stuck into a nightmare for the whole weekend. First of all, we (Valentina and Bhavana) want to wish you peace, safety and love around you, even if it is difficult.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: on 15.06 the Israeli government extended the nationwide state of emergency till June the 30th (see the Times of Israel News).

We need to take into account that the situation is very fluid, so what we wrote here can change or outdated in any moment, but for now we want to share with you what we know so far, provided that we strongly recommend to follow the Home Front Command, the NEWS and the UPDATES from Orr Abergel, the Int. school community team coordinator and the one who sends updates in the TAU int. WhatsApp community run by the Int. school.

On the 14.06 we had a meeting with Orr and the other team members of the Lowy Int. School, and some of us were attending. 

Here below, we provide a summary of what we spoke and what we got to know:

The Int. School and TAU administration are continuously following the institutional and the Home front Command updates, so for now they don't have the answers to all of the questions, but they are committed to share whatever they know ASAP.

What happens in TAU?

This afternoon at 16.17 you should have received an email from the Office of TAU president with an attached English version of what the current directives for the safety of the campus are. HERE the link to the letter. Briefly, the University is virtually closed for everyone (students, staff and visitors), but for the essential workers, who will be on campus to maintain the basic apparatus. These people are for example the guards, the staff for important maintenance of the structures and the servers, and some researchers who are required to take care of animals, plants or delicate machinery that requires constant supervision. In this case, if you are a researcher who is required for essential tasks, you should have the approval/request from your PI/supervisor and the even more essential approval from the head of the faculty. HERE a link to the TAU guidelines for war emergency and shelters on campus.

What happens in the dorms?

As far as the shelter in Broshim and Einstein are concerned, there are specific area where the actual shelter is, and it is the best protection you can grant yourself. Alternatively, the staircase of Broshim and/or the shelter apartments in every floor will do. Consider anyway that - as long as you are in a protected space - it is definitely safer than being outside. Orr reported that the news stated clearly that the injured / dead people of the last night were OUTSIDE or not well protected. Importantly, when going to the shelter:

1. Reach the closest shelter (it is not recommended to run towards the Greenhouse shelter if you are in Broshim or far away from it) with a bag with the essential with you.
2. The shelter in Broshim is reported to be without water and bathroom. We can't tell what to do if you need to pee, but we recommend to bring a big bottle with you because the shelter are without AC and you might stay there for long time.
3. The shelters might filter any telephone signal, which is a problem. We recommend to get one radio with a good antenna and see where you can hear the updates on the dedicated channel on the radio. Sad story, it's in Hebrew, but if you have some Hebrew-speaking friend with you, or some magic AI technology that can translate for you, it might work!
4. Immediately report to the guards of Broshim or the campus, and to the International School representatives (such as Orr, Tamar or Usu) if something is not open, not working, not as it should be. Mistakes happen, but we can make up something for that.

What happens in the city?

Other things being discussed for everyone (including students out of campus and living in the city):

the city will run these days at the basal mode, so many shops and infrastructures will be close till further notice, except for essential business and emergency places. Among the closed places, there are all the government offices, including the Ministry of Interior. For example, in Ramat Gan most shops will be closed, but a series of designated shops from the municipality are open and listed, so that people can reach them directly. Bus and trains rides are limited, and the ones operating should be able to reach strategic or essential places in the city, such as an hospital. 

UPDATE 15.06 As far as the health service are concerned, they will deal only with emergencies and serious cases. City clinics operate only in branches approved by Home Front Command (therefore contact them to make sure they are open). All of the non-essential and non-emergency services are supposed to be closed. 

On the official website of Tel Aviv municipality, there are some indications to locate a public shelter from the map (link here) or by the address (link here); importantly, if you are far from these facilities, an underground parking lot will do (for example the one in between the Broshim dorms and the Gate 4 of the University). Additionally, the subway stations or the train stations underground are still options. If you unfortunately find yourself in the open air, keep in mind that lay on the ground is safe, and also being around large reinforced concrete structures, as long as they do not collapse (this depends on the power of the bomb!).

If your shelter is private and outside the dorm, you might want to consider to prepare and stock (somewhere safe, and with the permission of the neighbors) emergency items (scroll the webpage till "How should I prepare my protected space?"), and some water, to pass long intervals of time. As written before, the shelters have low to no telephone signal, so you can think about other solutions. One of these is the radio. If you have a good device with a quite big antenna, you might be able to catch signals from the information channel. Unfortunately, the radio is in Hebrew, but maybe you are around someone Hebrew-speaking or you know some words, or you have some magic technological trick. It is noteworthy that Tel Aviv municipality is implementing the shelter wi-fi system, but the default is still "no signal". In another case, I noticed that there was a TV cable coming from the wall, which can be connected to the TV, which receives the signals from above. Same with the ethernet. You can connect a computer, leave it open on the National Emergency Portal and activate the voice alerts option.

The municipality provided people with a call center (HERE) to guide you through all of these things.

What happens with the airport and the evacuations?

What we know so far is that the Ben Gurion airport is due to be closed till Monday at least, and no flights, neither ElAl is flying. It's unclear whether Ramon Airport is working, but for sure not for flights towards east. Check at this Webpage the updates on the airports situation, the regulation of the border crossing etc.

UPDATE 15.06: Ben Gurion and Ramon Airport are officially closed till further notice. They will notify 6 hours in advance when their activities resume

You had better get in touch with the embassy of your country if they are organize any evacuation. For example, we got to know that Poland might organize evacuation routes also via buses (HERE an article discussing it-no official), if the airports won't be operational.

People have thought of leaving the country via ferry; in this case it is highly probable you need to reach Haifa, where there are most of the international maritime routes. 

Someone has thought about leaving Israel from Jordan or Egypt. In this case, we invite you to think very carefully about it because of a series of reasons.

• It might be challenging to reach Eilat (to go to Taba or Aqaba border) or the Allenby border towards Jordan given the restrictions on the bus routes (and no internal flights in Israel).
• At the border you are supposed to pay the entrance fee (either in Jordan and in Egypt), and sometimes you need to coordinate with the local authorities to get it on time.
• After the border, you are entering difficult zones, where it is really not recommended to travel alone. Think about it: what to do in case you are stuck in the middle of nowhere? What to do in case some local criminals steal something from you? What to do if you have a misunderstanding with a local? And if you need medical treatment? Can you reach the embassy? And what about the telephone line?
• From the borders to the airport it will take a few hours; the main Jordanian airport is in Amman, the closest Egyptian one is probably Sharm El-sheik. If you enter from Eilat to Aqaba, the airport should be less than 15 mins away by taxi.

Again, if you are looking for more information, check on this website, at the menu "Land Borders" and this website (The Israel post) that gives details on those routes.

UPDATE 15.06  TAU int. school advised to the ones wanting to leave a private tour company (Amiel Tours WEBSITE and FACEBOOK) that will bring you at the airport in Amman, by taking care of all of the logistics and bureaucracy/ Importantly, this option is a special one and it might not be advertised loudly. The message from Orr (TAU Int. school) cites the name and the telephone number of the person who is organizing this extra-ordinary initiative, Anat Gelkop, the Senior Operations Manager of the company. She is supposed to be available at this specific number 054-3499696 or at email address AnatG@amiel.com 

Better safe than sorry. An atomic (worst) case scenario

In the far-away scenario of an atomic bomb attack, Dr. Ori Nissim Levy, a nuclear expert, still recommends to get to the bomb shelter, making sure it is underground and insulated enough. HERE his interview. Interestingly, the Dizengoff center in Tel Aviv is equipped for an atomic catastrophe, with its own self-sustainable items.

Regarding this topic, the Lowy Int. school representatives don't have much information, and they are committed to give an answer to this. So far, there is no knowledge of an anti-atomic shelter nearby the University.

Yeah, not a nice and relaxing thing to talk about, but you must know this!

We will try to give you some more information as much as we can. Meanwhile, stay safe and stay strong!

PS if you want to help us and the whole community, do not hesitate to contact us and share the contents you got to know. They might help and/or save people!