About the author: Stefanie Zimerman is the daughter of Karyn Zimerman, who works at the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. Stefanie finished her Israeli Defense Forces service in 2014. She now lives in Tel Aviv with four American roommates who all serve in the IDF.

Living in Israel during all of the uprisings and attacks is a surreal experience. Everyone goes about their daily schedules as normal as possible, but everyone is on alert. When I walk around, ride my bike, or take the bus, I find myself always checking people's hands to see what they're holding, how they're acting. I practiced self-defense at home with my roommates.  I just try to be as ready and alert as possible, while living my daily life; going to school and work. 

Constantly, I check the news for updates to see what attacks and where they happened. Most of the attacks happen in places I know well,  bus stations I used to travel through weekly on my way to the army, malls I shop in. The attacks are always a topic of conversation.  Nightly, my friends and I watch videos of the attacks, and talk about them. 

While living here during this time is without a doubt scary, it causes me to remember all the reasons why I'm so proud to live in Israel and be Jewish.