A report from Haifa

Below is an email I recieved from Gustavo Mesch, a colleague and my research sponsor in the Sociology Dept at the University of Haifa. He gives some good insights into what life is currently like in Haifa:

Dear friends-
many of you have send me notes expressing concern and support. During the last five days, all the northern part of Israel, including Haifa, have been under heavy bombing and as many citizens of Israel we are closely following the instructions of the military going to underground shelters according to the indications. In many localities citizens have spent days and nights in shelters only to find their houses destroyed. Haifa University is closed and all the exams and classes have been cancelled. Yet the public is not in panic, anddespite the situation is continuing their routines. My wife is a nurse at one of the major hospitals in Haifa and keeps going to work. I came eveyday to theuniversity and try to finish grading papers and research. From time to time my work is interrrupted by the sound of the alert in all the northern area, i go to the shelter and listen to the bombs falling somewhere in Haifa, Accre, Naharya, Safed. My family from Naharya has temporarily moved to our house, butbeyond sleeping at home they go everyday to work in Naharya and Haifa. All my family and friends are safe and well, there is no panic...only understanding of the magnitude of the danger that the Hezbollah has been building up with theclose support of Syria and Iran and the blindness of the internationalcommunity. As always I appreciate very much your concern and hope that this will be a final round of hostilities, for the well being of the people ofLebanon that had suffered enough since foreign forces and countries have usedtheir country as a battleground and for the well being of our people that wish for a long lasting cease fire.
best regards Gustavo