by Jonny Alster, Volunteer Activist, Hoshaya

We're three weeks into this crazy situation. Yesterday was quiet. I don't know about today. A few mortar rockets landed in the upper Galilee this morning and there are reports of severe fighting north of Metula. On the other hand, no Katyusha missiles yet.  So, maybe today is going to be a "good day". Maybe not.

We all want and need our routines back desperately. People that left their homes need their own bed, their own surroundings back. Crowding into a family or friends house is okay for a day or two. Not for two or three weeks. It's complicated, it's frustrating.

The economy is hurting. It's another element of insecurity. People that are self- employed don't know how they'll pay their bills. This part of the war isn't portrayed in full. It's the part that is going to hurt the most the day after.

I live in Hoshaya. We weren't hit directly and our area was hit only a few times- so we don't feel extreme danger. We don't stay in safe rooms and our kids go outside. They play basketball outdoors.  I hope to God we won't be sorry that we didn't make them stay home.

My daughter is a soldier and is stationed in a post in Metula. Try to concentrate at work when your daughter is up there. She knew the 8 Golani soldiers that were killed last week. She was with them in the same border post for several months. How does a 20 year old deal with 8 deaths at once?  I see these young kids going from funeral to funeral of their friends and I really don't know how they deal with it.

Now our infantry troops and tanks are going in. Our soldiers are getting killed because we want to minimize the amount of Lebanese women and children getting hurt.

As a parent, I want the air force to wipe out the town (after giving fair notice) before our troops go in. We don't do it that way. There are two reasons why we don't. First of all, public opinion. We see how terrible mistakes like Kfar Kana make this so much more difficult for us in the political and diplomatic arena. Israel needs the time and support to get the job done properly.

More importantly, as an Israeli, as a Jew, as a reserve soldier that fought in the Jenin refugee camp 4 years ago - I'm proud that we act differently. We hurt when we see women and children hurt. We all know that they are cynically used by their own people but it still doesn't change the fact. We are different. We need to stay different. We see our children hurt in the fighting - and it is unbearable. But we will prevail because we are right. Because we are moral. We are fighting for the right to feel safe; for the right to be safe. Let's not forget, the Hezbollah's goal is to destroy us, to exterminate our existence. We don't really have any other choice!

I hope that this will be the last time I feel the need to write something.

One more thing. I cannot find words to describe the importance or deep meaning that the support and warmth that our partners from Michigan have been showing us these past weeks. I think that at the end of the day - that's what makes us so special - and why we - the Jewish people - will never ever be defeated.