With all the misinformation that's out there about the conflict, living in Tel Aviv will give you an opportunity to see the reality of the situation. An yes, you should be safe in Tel Aviv unless Hamas or Fatah decide to start suicide bombings again (but they haven't in many years). If you travel to the south, you should learn what Tseva Adom means.

No one who isn't a member of an oppressed minority ever has to 'deal with' policies of oppression. You can still contribute to the effectiveness and reach of those policies though - glad for your sake you're able to distance yourself.

There is too little consciousness of the economic and social context of the work technical people do.

While you're not "dealing" with the conflict, I hope you take a look over the giant wall that Israel has built--not only between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories--but around every single Palestinian city.

In order to get in and out of every city, Palestinians need to get permission from 20-year-old Israeli soldiers. Every single Palestinian is treated like a terrorist--children, old people, families. When the soldiers decide to close the gates, no one gets in or out.

I was there for three weeks. It's the world's largest prison. And it's funded by U.S. tax dollars and people who invest in the "Jewish" state. The expansion of Israeli settlements continue as more and more Palestinian land is confiscated for this technical reason or that.

Israel should be treated as a pariah until they end the occupation and give one person one vote instead of treating an entire population like prisoners.