Jerusalem Jane: Finding light and healing throughout years of war in Israel - opinion

Her laughter was like sunshine penetrating the darkness and deep pain inside my soul. The sound of laughter was so unusual that I had to step outside to see where it came from.I stepped out on my balcony, and there I saw her, a cute young girl around 7 years old, fully dressed and laughing her heart out. She was running through the water sprinklers while being completely soaked! Could her name be Tamar, Esther, or Rachel?Her mother was sitting on a bench nearby, laughing while watching her precious child getting soaked and having the best time!As I watched from my balcony, I started crying, and I whispered: “Lord, thank you for this encouragement in the midst of a mourning time for me and also a very challenging time for the land of Israel.”As I was looking at this woman with her young child, I pondered if it's possible that the father and husband could be one of the warriors in uniform away from his family and home, defending the Jewish Homeland either in Gaza or in Lebanon. Was he one of the thousands of soldiers serving for hundreds of days on the battlefield?My eyes left the young girl and her mother, and with teary eyes I stared at the incredible picture before me, a landscape so beautiful and majestic that my soul often calmed down after waves of trauma had previously swept me away!After living in Jerusalem for 12 years, the home of my heart, God opened the door for me to find solitude, recovery time, and restoration in an extraordinarily beautiful apartment overlooking the Sea of Galilee. This was something I deeply needed, more than I even knew, because I had held everything together for so long - not by choice, but because as a single woman having to deal with everything by myself, I had no other options!Missile warning bombarded at all timesAs we pulled up in front of the complex of my new home in Tiberias, we were suddenly under attack once again! The missile warnings were blowing up on all of our phones, and because I was now up north, we got missile and rocket attacks all at once from Hezbollah from the north of us, and ballistic missiles coming from Iran in the east.So yes, I moved to Tiberias from Jerusalem in the midst of the last round of war with Iran, just after my dad had passed away! I felt overwhelmed with personal trauma and the deep trauma and horrific onslaught of terror which had pounded on Israel for years!The seemingly relentless sounds of Red Alert sirens and incoming rocket and missile attacks were something that I had heard many, many times. It is a sound that penetrates your whole body and shivers down your spine as you run for cover - except most of those times, I tried to shun the terror by always going to my balcony to video these attacks on Israel!So that's how I started my healing time in Tiberias, in the midst of war and standing on my balcony while filming rockets and missiles being intercepted above the Sea of Galilee. In its own way, it was extraordinarily beautiful, almost like it was fireworks! I was compelled to video this spectacle for the world to once again see the Jewish Homeland under constant attack!When it became too close, I had to run into the bomb shelter with the whole house shaking from the explosions caused by the interceptions, it something you never get used to and it never should be. Many people told me not to go on my balcony and shoot video when I had hundreds of missiles flying over my head, but in those moments, I never felt afraid.I have also been in the shower a couple of times when all of a sudden missiles were flying over my head. I've been in the supermarkets numerous times when we all had to run for cover into the parking garage; I've been walking down Jaffa Street in Jerusalem when missiles would fly overhead, and then we all had to run to a parking garage under City Hall, or I would be riding on the light rail when all of a sudden, I saw missiles fly over the train.Growing up in Denmark and living there most of my life, I never knew that this kind of deep trauma was possible to experience until I followed my destiny and relocated to the Jewish homeland.For those of you who know me as Jerusalem Jane, just an ordinary civilian, a small-town Danish woman who arrived with one suitcase, not sent out by anyone and not knowing anyone in Israel, all on my own, stepping out in obedience to what I felt God had called me to. And then I just started sharing on my social media what happened in Israel, speaking from my heart! To the best of my ability, I began reporting about all of the horrific terrorist attacks that have taken the lives of babies, toddlers, children, parents, and grandparents in the Jewish homeland. Here is a link to the article the Jerusalem Post wrote about me, for those who don't know my history: Jerusalem Jane: God created me to defend Israel | The Jerusalem PostFor me sharing news and views from Israel, it was never just a headline for me with the love that God has deeply imprinted in my heart, and in my DNA for the Jewish people.Despite the horrific realities of October 7, the world responded with hatredEvery terror attack felt like an attack on someone in my family, and after reporting about yet another horrific terror attack (which almost never made mainstream news around the world), I would step into my bedroom and weep over the brutal murder of yet another Jewish citizen of Israel who was murdered just for being Jewish.The height of this soul-piercing experience happened when Israel was brutally attacked in the October 7 massacre. I still cannot begin to fully form words about this horrific carnage, and of course, it is indescribable what we have gone through. And yet, I have still tried to put it into words in my previous articles on the Jerusalem Post, and in thousands of video updates and live videos I posted to my social media sources, while speaking and pouring my heart out to the world. I kept trying my best in some way for the world to understand what we had experienced, but instead, I saw the horrific hatred towards Israel coming from around the world, and the never-ending hate that was directed specifically towards me for sharing the truth about Israel.Like most people here in Israel, my soul was weary, and my heart was broken, if not actually crushed from so many years of terrorism and wars and rockets and missiles and then witnessing the October 7 onslaught.I kept giving myself over and over again to urgently reporting about all of these traumatic events without ever taking a break, going on vacation, leaving the country, or allowing myself to be evacuated out of the country as many people did. I have only left Israel twice in the span of the past 12 years. That commission was to speak the truth and to comfort, comfort my people, - what an absolute privilege it has been.I have freely given the best of my life and strength in support of Israel for so many years by sharing news and views as a volunteer without any salary. My efforts have resulted in thousands of live broadcasts and video updates, and written articles I have composed, while never being paid one shekel for all of my reporting out of Israel, reaching millions of people around the world. I am simply Jane, sharing what happens in Israel! I have tried so many times to start writing this article, but I found myself putting down my pen because the words were drowned by the tears that were constantly pouring down my cheeks.The depth of how I love Israel and Her people, and living here, has been the biggest roller coaster ride imaginable as I have stood with the Jewish people. I have cried with them in their pain, and I have wept with them at funerals for terror victims. I have laughed with them, I have celebrated with them, and I have just loved them with all that was in my heart when the pain left no words for me to speak!A few years ago, a doctor looked at me and said: “Thank you for what you're doing for Israel and the Jewish people, but who is taking care of you, Jerusalem Jane?”That question is being answered by what I have been doing these last few months in Tiberias, which also became a season of mourning as I dealt with the death of my father, then the death of a beloved aunt, and recently, the death of a dear friend. All of this occurred only within a few months, on top of all the trauma from war and terrorism.Despite all this, I knew this was one of the reasons why I'm here in Israel, because the world needs to see the reality of what the Jewish people are facing. I have tried to document it the best way I know how. It has never been about me, but about showing what is going on in Israel in real time. But naturally, when you live through this over and over, it pierces the very depths of your being, which affects your whole body, mind, emotions, soul, and spirit. It is an inevitable reality that every person living in Israel can bear witness to.As for me, being single without a strong husband standing by my side or having the love and support of my own family, there's only so much one person can do year after year. I never realized that being “famous” all over the world from the videos I made on The Temple Mount, which were shared on Arab news sites, would temper that fame with many threats to my life!I was willing to take that risk because I want to do so much beyond what I see lacking in the mainstream media, which is so inadequate in presenting the truth when it comes to Israel!Though Jane is not Jewish, she works to spread the truth about Israel I'm just unbelievably humbled and grateful that people around the world are following this small-town Danish woman, who is not Jewish or even Israeli, yet has a boundless passion to share uncompromising news, views, and truth out of Israel.I'm reminded of a conversation I had with a shop owner in downtown Jerusalem that I got to know a bit after shopping there for several years. On one day of my visits, he looked at me and said, “I don't watch the news anymore; it's too horrible, but you have to. It's your job to report it to the world, I can't even begin to imagine what's it like for you, thank you for what you do for my people!”And when I left, he said, “Jane, try to keep smiling, always find a reason to smile in the midst of it all! It's for people like him I continue speaking from my heart, sharing news and views and truth out of Israel!I want to bring to mind the struggles of the brave men in the military, and how thousands of soldiers have lost limbs, how thousands and thousands of soldiers are struggling with PTSD, and so much more. My heart hurts for the women who are home alone, raising their children for hundreds of days while their abba is out in a war zone against these evil enemies who want to annihilate the Jewish people.There is always light at the end of the tunnel, and that's what I have found, being released from a massive amount of trauma. As I look forward to the future and prepare to leave this season of rest and recovery in Tiberius, I realize that before you can step into a new season, you need to deal with and finish up the old, and that is what I am doing in this secret place; how grateful I am!.So soon, God willing, this August, I can return home to Jerusalem and continue to be a voice speaking out for Israel. I am thankful for the thousands of people who are constantly encouraging me to keep sharing straight from my heart with the passion and love I have in my heart for the Jewish people!Finally, I previously shared in an article for the Jerusalem Post about my heart's desire to start a podcast and do more professional broadcasts where I can interview some of the thousands of soldiers who were injured and survived the ravages of war and terrorism. Their stories need to be told, along with everyday people who have survived terror attacks, survivors from the Nova Music Festival, and the doctors and nurses who have treated all of these patients. Interviews with politicians as we have entered election season in Israel!There are thousands of stories that need to be told, and I am determined to find a way to interview these people and share news and views out of Israel, which I hope and pray will be a reality for me as I make my move forward for the future here in Israel. God willing, it will come together with the help and support of amazing people like you.I invite you to please read all about this vision and goal I have by following this link: New podcast from Jerusalem Jane | The Jerusalem Post