More from a friend in Haifa.

Hi there-

I wanted to share yet another e-mail from my friend Shira that lives in Haifa. When I read this the first time; I found myself nodding in agreement with many of the things that she said.

Shira sends everyone an email almost everyday talking about sirens and bomb shelters,
I wont be posting her emails every day, I just really wanted to share this one with you.





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Hi Everybody!

Things have thank G-d been quiet this morning, so I will
try to write a longer email responding to some of your questions from
your personal emails to me, but first some exciting news. Most of you
know that g-D willing we are moving to Yokneam Illit at the end of Sept,
so Maayan had applied to try and get a job in his field there at a
center for kids at risk. He got called for an interview next Thursday.
Let's hope it is quiet, so he can go and get this job because it would be
so great for him.

On that note, as you can see we are building a life here
for ourselves. Despite what you see now we have a future here for
ourselves and we can't just abandon everything we have worked so hard for. I
know you are all concerned and you have no clue how much I appreciate
it, but we are not coming back to Canada. This is our home and it is not
just about our beliefs.. It is also about us and our lives. This is
where we belong, this is where we feel comfortable and ironically enough
we feel safe. We follow all the governments instructions and we will get
through this and return to our regular normal lives just as Israelis
have been doing since 1948 and Jews have been& doing since time
immemorial after wars, expulsions, pogroms and the Holocaust.

I watch the news and it makes me sad and angry. I can't
help thinking about the civilians on both sides who are paying the
price and knowing that this situation will only get worse before it gets
better. As much as I wish there could be peace tomorrow there won't be.
The G8's decision to place an international force will not work
especailly since both sides reject it. We and they are not ready yet, as always
in the& Middle East we need to have more suffering until people are
willing to give in and not have peace, but a cessation of hostilities
until the next time. (Sorry there was just& a siren and we
went& down to the shelter.) This conflict has a lot of fronts and is
incredibly complicated with a deep seeded root on each of the different
fronts. But all historical conflicts take decades if not hundreds of years to
work themselves out and this one is no
different. Are the British and Americans still at war, are the French
and English at war, i could give hundreds of examples, but ultimately
when both sides are tired and ready the situation will be resolved and
all sides will live in peace. However to be pessimistic, but
realistic& for a moment most likely not in my lifetime. There are too many open
wounds for people on both sides. &

How do these sirens work you ask? As soon as a missile
is luanched over the border it is detected and a siren sounds. In Haifa
we are lucky because we have more time than most the others, so as we
run down to the bomb shelter if they are actually falling in Haifa we
can hear them. If we don't hear them that means they fell in Akko,
Nahariya or somehwere more north than Haifa. Once the& siren turns off we
are told to wait 15 mins and then we can come out.& The more
northern cities are sleeping in their shelters because the siren does not
give them enough time, but now problems are starting in the shelters. Alot
of them are old with hundreds of people crammed in them (We are also
lucky that ours is in a building and not public because that makes a huge
difference) The public ones are suffering from overcrowding, lack of
food, jammed toilets and clashes of nervous
personalities. The dangerous thing is when becasue of that situation
people choose not to go down. Some people& have chosen an alternative
method which is to stay in an internal room which is protected and that
is what saved the people in the building in Haifa yesterday. The
missile hit their outside wall and they were slightly injured but safe in the
inner room. Believe me, we take the sirens very seriously, we jump at
every boom,& hawl of wind, and car alarm and we are making every
effort to keep oursleves safe. We left our apartment for that very reason.
It is a top floor& with no inner rooms or bomb shelter, so beleive
me we are taking this very seriously. & &

What do we do here? Well my work has been cancelled
until Sunday and then they will re-evaluate the situation. In the meantime
we sit here togther glued to the news, the computer and keep ourselves
updated and alert. We read and mostly we try to laugh. laughter is
therapeutic and if you don't joke around you go crazy with the seriousness
and chaos around you. You have all been thanking me for these emails,
but the truth is I should be thanking you. These emails are therapeutic
for me. They enable me to express how I'm feeling in& a
constructive and meaningful way. The truth is I haven't really cried yet. Right
now I feel that if I cry I will fall apart. There will be time for that
after. Right now I need to be strong, we all need to be strong, but it
is important to get these emotions and thoughts out, so thank you all
for being my therapists. I appreciate it. Maayan
has also been really great. We keep each other strong and optimistic
and it is good to be staying with Iris's family because at this time we
all need each other.

That is one of the other reasons I cannot come back to
Canada. I'm sorry if my being here causes you to suffer. Please know
that I am not trying to be selfish or then again maybe it is because I
know that if I went back to Canada now Maayan and I would suffer. We would
suffer exactly what you guys are suffering. Not knowing about his
family and our friends and our home and our country. From here we can at
least help and support each other and the ones we love and I try to be in
touch with all of you so that you will not suffer. As much as I
appreciate your requests to come back to Canada because I know that deep down
they are coming from care please stop asking because we won't and it
hurts me to know that I'm causing my family and friends to suffer and
believe me not a day goes by when I don't think about it and feel
horrible, which is why I try to be in touch as much as
I can to ease your pain. Please know its not intentional, but we have
both our families to think of now and it would be just as selfish for us
to abandon Maayan's family and our friends here. Maayan's dad works for
the army and continues to go to work. His mom is helping the city of
Kiryat Yam open their shelters and provide entertainment to keep the
kids' spirits up. His brother and sister went south and his other sister is
in the army guarding her base. His grandparents in Kiryat Haim are
staying put. His grnadparents from Nahariya moved in with his aunt and his
other two uncles and their families in the northern villages of Hosen
and kfar Veradim are hanging in there. His other aunt and her family
moved in with their mother in the Golan Heights, which is now no longer
safe as& well. &

ACTUALLY ISRAELIS THEY ARE LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO GO IN
THE SOUTH. IT IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE THEY ARE SIX PEOPLE 2 ADULTS AND 4
KIDS AGES 3-14. THEY DO NOT WANT TO BE SEPARATED, SO IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE
WHO HAS ROOM PLEASE CONTACT ME. 052-4847787 or Irit directly at
052-470-6311. THANK YOU!

So you see my decision is selfish whatever I do, please
do not make it worse. For those of you who have guilt tripped my
parents please stop their pain is difficult enough. If you don't have
supportive words for them then don't say anything at all. Asking them why they
are bad parents and not making me come home is not supportive. They are
being FANTASTIC parents because they are supporting us and our
decisions and that is what good parents need to do in this difficult time. They
are also actively educating people about the situation both verbally
and in the newspapers and I'm so proud of them. Thank you also to those
of you who have written op-eds and gone to the demonstrations in NY and
MTL. It warms my heart to hear that we are not alone. Eric thanks for
your Sms. We love you all!
Just a quick update before I sign off in our last run
down to the bomb shelter two missiles did hit Haifa one near the
industrial area and one in an abandoned field right near where we married last
year. Thank G-d we did it last year and not this year.

Again words cannot express how grateful I am to all of
you for your prayers and support and if you have more questions I will
try to answer them as I can. Be well and pray for peace for all of us
here in the Middle East. Shira& &