At 10 last night, Amit Mor was trying to get in touch with his family in Jerusalem and his wife's relatives in Tel Aviv.

"All of our family is in Israel," said Mor, president of the Israeli Student Association. "I hope everyone is all right."

Other University students huddled around televisions and some wept as news of the Iraqi missile attack of Israel was aired.

"Dude, they just attacked Israel, this is not a good time to talk to me," said Nathan Elsberg, president of Hillel/B'nai Brith.

"I've got a girlfriend in Tel Aviv whose been worried for the past week," said Elsberg, who previously studied in Tel Aviv said.

Israelis were well prepared for the bombing because they expected the attack, said Mor, who returned from Israel four days ago.

Rafi Mandlebaum (research fellow-soil biochemistry) was listening to Israeli broadcasts on his shortwave radio prior to the attack, and said the radio announced Iraq's missile attack a few minutes before CNN announced it.

"I heard 'nachach-zepha,' which means rattlesnake," Mandlebaum said. He explained "rattlesnake" is a code word telling Israelis to activate air raid sirens.

Turkish student Memet Sinan Taner said he believes that in attacking Israel, Saddam Hussein has "signed his death lease."

However a Tunisian student, Kamel Naddad, said he believes the United States should not be in the Middle East.

"I'm personally against the involvement in the region because it's not about Kuwait, it's so the United States can dominate (the area) and it's oil supplies," said Naddad. "Kuwait was part of Iraq. Britain created Kuwait so all Kuwaiti money could go in British and American banks."

Naddad said he believes the United States planned to attack Iraq all along.

"(The United States) was never interested in negotiations," Naddad said.

All Arabs are against the U.S. involvement in the area, Naddad said, "except for the gulf countries, which are puppets of the United States anyway."

Naddad said he believes the United States will not be able to outlast Iraq and will eventually stop fighting.

However, several Israeli students said they were confident that Saddam's attack of Israel will lead to the Iraqi leader's downfall.

"I guess now (the world) can see the 'Butcher from Baghdad' has attacked Israel as he has promised, and now he has to pray for his life," Mor said.

Elsberg said he believed that if Israel retaliates, it will bomb Iraq more viciously than did the United States.