For 56-year-old Sderot resident Yossi Buchbut, running ten times daily to the ‘migunit’ shelter down the street is a non-starter. Yossi does not have a safe room and the public shelter is too far for him to entertain the move in the 15-second allotted to residents. As such, on Shabbos, with the start of Operation Cast Lead, Yossi packed a carton of basics and along with a bed, moved his residence to the street shelter. He explains that now, he no longer needs to run all day and he feels safe behind the thick cement walls.

Buchbut is a divorced dad of four, all married, and he rules out continuing efforts to maintain a normal life at home, with the need to constantly seek cover in the ‘migunit’ shelter.

Yossi explains he is not holding a one-man protest or angry, but needed a way to stop running for cover. He spoke with city officials who suggested he relocate temporarily to another city where things are safe but this too is unacceptable, with Yossi explaining “Sderot is my home and I am not leaving”.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)