Washington DC? I used to go there a lot for work. I also used to go to Israel a lot for work (more times than I can count, in fact, and had an entire department I oversaw there). I have a lot of friends in Israel (not just former colleagues), and needless to say, I've been in particularly close contact with them over the last three months.

I'll take a look for your piece on the war and add it to my to-read list. :)