It was Moshe Gottlieb's day for volunteer work. Every week, the holistic chiropractor left his private practice to work with Down's Syndrome babies and hyperactive children.

"Take care and be safe," his wife Sheila told him before he left. She usually said that before he went for the bus.

	Overview Sisters' story Widow's story The rescue worker The bomber

"I heard the explosion," says Sheila. "My window faces the road and I thought it was another roadside bomb - I got my binoculars and realised that a bus had exploded."

Realising that her husband could have been on that bus, Sheila immediately called the hospitals to see if Moshe had been admitted. But his name wasn't on the list.

Ahead of her lay almost 24-hours of agonised waiting.

"Some friends came over and got in touch with the national forensic centre, where the bodies had been taken," she says. "My son went down there to see if my husband's was among them."

DNA match

Because many of the bodies had been so badly mutilated by the bomb, their son was required to give a blood test to match up his DNA with that of the body parts.

"The waiting and not knowing was terrible - absolutely terrible," Sheila says.

The following morning, the family heard that Moshe was among the dead.

"This tragedy has affected so many people in our neighbourhood in Gilo - 15 people including young children and teenagers.

"The whole neighbourhood is in shock - there are no words to describe it. No one deserves to die in this way.

Sheila says the greatest source of strength besides her family has been the local rabbi, Eliahu Schlesinger.

Regular attacks

"My husband was very connected to the synagogue - he helped build it," says Sheila. "He will be remembered through this."

My message is to Israel and Jerusalem that the people have to be strong and continue with their daily activities

Sheila Gottlieb

Gilo - home to 60,000 - 70,000 Israelis and built on West Bank land captured by Israel in 1967 - has long been the target for attack by Palestinian militants. Israelis consider it a neighbourhood of Jerusalem, while Palestinians consider it an illegal settlement.

"We have been shot at regularly from Beit Jala," she says. "Although we have never had any problem with the Palestinian community in Beit Safafa, which is just below us.

"My husband would hear about these incidents and it affected him terribly - he couldn't understand these drive-by shootings and bombings. But it's not getting the Arabs what they want, it's will only achieve the reverse effect."

So will Sheila leave the community she and her husband - a New York native - have called home since 1978?

"I hope to be here for a long time," she says. "We have an apartment with a beautiful view of all Jerusalem. My husband's chair was in front of the window looking out at all this - that's his chair and it will always be there."