Local families caught in war recall hardship

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Category: News

Created: Monday, 31 July 2006 15:35

Published: Monday, 31 July 2006 05:00

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As the attacks continued, families evacuated throughout northern Israel, some to shelters and tent cities. By the time that Renee Jaenicke of Camarillo arrived in Haifa on July 16, about half of the city's 250,000 people were gone. Sirens blared several times a day, followed by Hezbollah rockets. Shops were closed. Windows were shuttered.

"On Saturday, a trouble-maker came into our hotel," Jaenicke wrote in an e-mail. "Apparently, someone recognized him and asked him to leave. He started yelling and shouting and pushing people around. He picked up an American flag and started thrusting it out as if it were a spear. I was about 6 feet away from this scene."

Jaenicke was one of about 170 members of the Baha'i faith who made a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to Haifa, a city considered their spiritual home. They prayed, asked for guidance and strolled in the Baha'i Gardens.

"We feel that we are in the eye of the storm," wrote Jaenicke, who finished her journey and returned to California on Friday. "We believe we are protected here due to our prayers and the purpose of our visit."