To stay or to flee

My beloved Irit and I are undecided about staying in Haifa or fleeing temporarily like many others to somewhere in central Israel. We have had offers from family and friends in Tel Aviv, Kfar Shmaryahu and Jerusalem to host us and also from Arab friends in the village of Faradis and the town of Um-El-Fahm (more of that in a separate post).

Unlike the refugees in Lebanon for whom the very act of fleeing is fraught with dangers (from Hezbollah or the Israeli Air Force), we can take the car anytime and go somewhere in Israel beyond the current range of the Katyusha rockets. We do it from time to time - a couple of days ago we visited some frends from Canada who are staying at a holiday village on the beautiful coast between Tel Aviv and Haifa (see picture) . It is quite surrealistic to come from Haifa - where the streets are half-empty and the shops shut - to central Israel with the beaches full and traffic jams abound.

We somehow don't feel at ease in an environment which seems to be functioning as if there is no war on. We hear that people are going out less and reactions seem to depend on the age group. From what we hear from our anxious, liberal friends our middle-aged generation seems more concerned or at least more verbal than the 20-somethings who are more detached. Now that many more reserve soldiers are to be called up, that may change.