The Mideast Conflict Affects A Rockford Family

Rockford, Illinois- The death toll continues to rise the Mideast conflict. Officials say 13 Israelis and at least 233 people in Lebanon have been killed since the crisis erupted a week ago. While the fighting is over seas, it still affects many here in the U.S. "In 1978, I got enlisted into the army," says Roni Golan, "and then the peace with Egypt started so everybody thought that`s the last war we`re ever gonna have." They were wrong. In 1996, Roni moved his family and his art gallery 6,000 miles to Rockford from Tel-Aviv, Israel. "There`s not much difference in everyday, daily, life," says Roni. His two teenage daughters recently moved back to Israel and have joined the Israeli Defense Force. Roni talks to them everyday through his computer. Yasmin and Maya Golan live in Jerusalem, but in November they will be moving to the northern part of the country, bordering Lebanon. We had Roni ask them what it`s like there now. "It`s pretty scary for us for the first time anyway, hearing the sirens. I mean, you don`t know what to do at first," says Maya, "You don`t know whether to go to the shelter, whether you should stay inside. You definitely don`t want to be walking around outdoors, you don`t know what`s going to happen out there." Yasmin and Maya will be in the army for two years. "Well, we grew up here, so we feel that part of being an Israeli is being in the army," says Maya. Roni and his daughters told us they hope the war ends soon, but they just do not know when that will be. The Associated Press reported today that Israel is prepared to fight Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon for several more weeks. "It`s not easy to see it from here and to be away from where I was born," says Roni. Roni says all he can do from Rockford, is call his family and keep in touch.