I've been working long days lately and going a bit crazy. But the other night I was on my way back to my flat and stopped by to visit a friend and have a cup of tea. By the time I left it was close to midnight and I was walking through the deserted streets of Haifa all by myself. And I just as I was thinking that I feel safer in Israel than in almost any other place I've been, I walked around the corner and saw two elderly women, 80 if they were a day, sitting on a park bench chatting softly at midnight. And then I thought to myself that I actually feel safer here than ANYWHERE else I've ever been. And maybe that's strange. But then again, I tend not to watch the news when I'm here...