Today is a sad day in Israel and a sad one in Yokneam, Shmuel Ben Shimon - our neighbor - was buried today. Shmuel was one of the 8 fatal casualties of yesterday's rocket attack on Haifa. Shmuel worked at the Israel Railroad, where the rocket hit.

Shmuel ZL and his wife Natalie - who came on Aliyah from Russia - celebrated the Brit Milah of their first baby boy after years of attempts to give birth. The 3 week old baby is now an orphan, as a result  of a brutal terrorist attack waged against each and every one of us.

In my previous message on Friday , I had mentioned that our response as civilians , as Jews as residents of Israel, is to maintain our daily routine. The conditions have changed ,and maintaining normal routine is a bit more difficult , and yet we are still trying to do just that. Many residents of Yokneam, work in Haifa. Most of them could not go to work today. Many of the people who work in Yokneam, live in Haifa. Most of them could not leave their homes and family, to come to work.

The industry is still trying to maintain "business as usual". Even though transportation up north is difficult, and some logistics providers have stopped arriving.

UPS and DHL and  other truckers are not bringing raw material to the companies, nor picking up finished goods. Most of the banks in the region are closed (in Yokneam both banks are open). The post office is open but no mail is being delivered. However - at this point - all of the companies I spoke to, are continuing with the plans and objectives unchanged.

By the way - last night rockets fell in Nazareth, Afula, Ramat Yishay and elsewhere, so the same effect is true for all the people living and working there as well.

As I am writing these words, I am listening to reports of the missile - provided to Hezbollah by Syria- which hit a 3 story house in Haifa, and miraculously caused only medium injuries to 11 people there. Other reports are that katyusha missiles hit the water reservoir of Kfar Baruch, in the Jezzreel Valley , a bit to close to home for comfort.

Here in Yokneam - thank G-d - things are quiet.

Saturday night we went with our neighbors to check the status of our shelter. We live in the older apartment buildings which still do not have "security rooms". It is clean and ready ,should the need arise.

Our Mayor , Simon Alfasi convened all the emergency and security personnel to make sure everything here is ready for any event. The sirens were tested, the public shelters were prepared, and other measures were taken to ensure preparedness for the situation.

The children's summer activities - most of which are run by our Matnas (Community Center) - were suspended at least until next week. Some people came to work with their children.

No one can estimate - at this point - how long this operation will take, however all the population is united in its patience, while the Israeli Defense forces, are out there, with the goal of getting rid of the terrorists, who have had too much freedom to build too much capability, to inflict too much damage. Well their time is up. We shall wait until the kidnapped soldiers are returned safely to their families, and until the terrorist threat is removed from our borders and cities.

In our Synagogues we add to our prayers some Psalms from Tehillim . One of them is chapter 83:

Best Regards

Hanan Caspi

He who makes peace in the heavens, shall bring peace onto us and unto all of Israel, Amen