Update

Phone call accomplished and enjoyed. We had a long conversation about Israel and my fear (?) surrounding it - fear of making my mother have an anxiety attack and fear on my own part for my safety there. He was very real about this and didn't dismiss my fears at all (at least not verbally). He agreed that he would avoid taking buses at all costs and avoid large crowds of people. Why am I writing about this? It was actually a depressing and nerve-wracking conversation since the usual reaction to my fear of going to Israel is to push me even harder to do it. He didn't.

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