Timorous in Tel Aviv

I have a confession to make. I'm terror-stricken in Tel Aviv. For those who don't really follow Israel news, there is a rapist on the loose in Tel Aviv. On Friday, this monster (who has raped and sexually assaulted more than 14 women since 2003) somehow convinced the prison guards that he had a court date. While they transported him to the courthouse for this bogus court date, he managed to scale the freakin' wall and escape. All while wearing handcuffs.

Israel has launched the largest manhunt in history and, almost non stop since Friday afternoon, there have been helicopters and sirens throughout my neighborhood. Yeah, I'm a little scared. Apparently, he has been coordinating and planning this for quite some time. He is known to be in incredible shape right now and was spotten a few hours ago on Arlozorov street near the train station.

Here's some interesting facts about this entire messed up situation.

1) How the heck did he manage to convince the entire prison system of a fake court date? Apparently he showed them forged documents. Ummm, can anyone say inside job? What I don't understand is who in their right mind would help a RAPIST?

2) He was spotted on Erev Shabbos changing out of his prison issued brown pants and into a pair of jeans. Anyone else wonder where he got the jeans from?

3) Apparently, he was sighted a few blocks from his mother's apartment. Seriously now folks, does no one in Israel watch American crime TV programs? The first place you stake out is the family! Why weren't there unmarked vehicles sitting in front and in the back of his mother's apartment?

So, I ate Friday night dinner at Lana's and right before I hopped into the shower, she called a little nervous. I felt the same way so I quickly got dressed, skipped any makeup, lit candles and ran to her apartment while it was still light out. Fortunately for her, Aussie Gayle decided to spend the night so she wasn't alone. Me, no such luck. The meal was actually a lot of fun, I got to meet a couple of new people and hang out with some of the familiar faces. After dinner, I asked Aussie Benjy to walk me home and then check out my apartment to make sure it was all clear. Normally, I wouldn't have been that ridiculous but I didn't leave any lights on but my bathroom and I just wanted someone else there when I walked through the place. He was so nice and came up and inspected the apartment to make sure it was all clear and then listened as I locked the door behind him.

The ONE night Itai decides not to come home had to have been last night, right?

I didn't sleep very well last night, again, between the helicopters and the sirens I was pretty amped up. The neighborhood kids were having a party so I heard a lot of screaming until Midnight, and that definitely didn't help my precarious state. I ended up just relaxing today and catching up on some good reading for school.

Man, I hope they catch this guy soon! In the meantime, a friend of mine mentioned picking me up a bottle of Mace/pepper spray and I gave him the go-ahead to do that. In the interim, I'm going to e-mail Slight Mad for some safety pointers. Sadly, she has a lot of experience working with rape victims.

I hope everyone else had a much lighter and happier Shabbos!

Song of the night is Son of Sam by Elliott Smith.