Israelis are living in a parallel universe lately. For most, life is filled with the ordinary. We get up in the morning, get ourselves and our families organized for the day. We’ll sit at a computer or work in business, go for a walk with a friend, have lunch at a nearby restaurant, do the weekly shopping, or chat on the phone. It’s all so ordinary, so routine, so normal.
Except that this morning…like every morning for the last few few weeks…a rocket was fired at one of our towns and people went scurrying for cover, panicked that they wouldn’t reach safety in time. A thousand thoughts go through their minds. Where will it hit this time? Where is my husband…or my wife? Where is my mother…or my father…or my son…or my daughter? That’s what the people of Sderot are going through each time the Color Red warning goes off. Then there is a boom – loud if it is close by, or a dull thud if it is further in the distance. Either way, it now becomes a mad dash for the phone to check on loved ones, to tell others that this time they are safe. And through these moments of terror and worry, the rest of us are going about our lives and doing normal things.
It was like that this past summer as well. That time, it was all the people in the north who sat in bomb shelters while we continued to work, to visit with friends, and to do all those ordinary things that people must do to survive. And yet, a part of our consciousness was always focused to the north, and now to the people living within striking distance of Gaza. We know that they are in danger. We feel their fear and we worry for them. Like last summer, we are at a loss how we can help. The kassem rockets, like the katyushas last summer, are terror weapons. They are not targeted to a specific area, they have no guidance system. It is simply a matter of pointing and shooting. The success almost doesn’t matter because in the seconds it takes before impact, the purpose, that of terrifying our civilian population, is accomplished.
Last summer, during the war, hundreds of thousands of people relocated and stayed with friends and family. So too, thousands of residents from the danger area have relocated in this latest crisis. At the same time, many choose to stay. For those that stay, maintaining a business is very difficult and sometimes dangerous. Like last summer, an effort is being made to help, at least financially, those who remain behind.
This past Shabbat, an effort was made throughout the country to raise money to purchase challot, the braided sweet bread eaten on the Sabbath, from a bakery in Sderot. Money was collected, but because of the precarious situation, it was never able to reach Sderot and it will be attempted again this coming weekend. In the meantime, a friend called me with the suggestion that all the money that was collected still be given to the Sderot community and a new effort to collect more money from individual families for their weekly challah be started again. This way, at least financially, we are still able to help the people of Sderot.
This coming Shabbat, hopefully hundreds and thousands of Israelis will order challah from Sderot and hopefully this week, even before the Sabbath arrives, the Israeli government will find a way to ensure that our efforts are not wasted. But even more so, we hope the Israeli government will finally fulfill its reason for existing – to protect the people of Israel. They failed last summer, that is clear to all. And, they are failing now, as each rocket hits and people have 15 seconds to run to safety.
This coming Shabbat is a test for all – to those not living in the danger zone – please make the effort to find a community representative who has organized this challah-purchasing effort (or coordinate it on your own).
To the Israeli government – please do something to ensure that this coming Shabbat, and all that follow, bring the people of Sderot and its surrounding communities security and safety.
Reprinted with permission.
Paula R. Stern is a freelance journalist. You can visit her personal website at: www.paulasays.com and her blog at http://israelisoldiersmother.blogspot.com/.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Friday, June 1, 2007
Why do we bother?
A few days ago, an eight-day-old Palestinian baby girl was rushed to an Israeli hospital, suffering from a life-threatening heart condition
An Israeli paramedic at the scene explained: "She is from Gaza and we are taking her to Tel Hashomer hospital. She is going to be operated there to mend the heart problem."
Her father and a Palestinian medical team was allowed through the checkpoint to accompany the infant to the hospital for the surgery. According to Israeli medical sources, in the past five months about 200 Palestinians, including members of rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, have been treated at Israeli hospitals. They mostly had bullet wounds or injuries sustained during beatings inflicted by Palestinians themselves.
Amazingly enough, this story made little headlines around the world. It was something expected - that Israel, in the midst of war and rocket bombardments, would open its gates (figuratively and literally) to help a Palestinian child. China Central Television, wary of perhaps reporting something that might be considered pro-Israel, worked hard to counter the positive nature of the report by blaming Israel for the Palestinian's failing medical infrastructure.
One feels compelled to remind the Chinese and others that had the Palestinians taken the more than 10 billion Euros it has received in aid since 1993 and invested it in education and hospitals, instead of bombs, rockets and bullets, the Palestinian medical infrastructure would almost definitely be in a much healthier condition.
As for Israelis, on another day when rockets fall, one wonders why we even bother. And, before others condemn me...let me say that we bother because, as Hizbullah's Nasrallah points out, Jews love life.
An Israeli paramedic at the scene explained: "She is from Gaza and we are taking her to Tel Hashomer hospital. She is going to be operated there to mend the heart problem."
Her father and a Palestinian medical team was allowed through the checkpoint to accompany the infant to the hospital for the surgery. According to Israeli medical sources, in the past five months about 200 Palestinians, including members of rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, have been treated at Israeli hospitals. They mostly had bullet wounds or injuries sustained during beatings inflicted by Palestinians themselves.
Amazingly enough, this story made little headlines around the world. It was something expected - that Israel, in the midst of war and rocket bombardments, would open its gates (figuratively and literally) to help a Palestinian child. China Central Television, wary of perhaps reporting something that might be considered pro-Israel, worked hard to counter the positive nature of the report by blaming Israel for the Palestinian's failing medical infrastructure.
One feels compelled to remind the Chinese and others that had the Palestinians taken the more than 10 billion Euros it has received in aid since 1993 and invested it in education and hospitals, instead of bombs, rockets and bullets, the Palestinian medical infrastructure would almost definitely be in a much healthier condition.
As for Israelis, on another day when rockets fall, one wonders why we even bother. And, before others condemn me...let me say that we bother because, as Hizbullah's Nasrallah points out, Jews love life.
"We have discovered how to hit the Jews where they are the most vulnerable.
The Jews love life, so that is what we shall take away from them. We are
going to win, because they love life and we love death."
-- Hizbullah General Secretary, Hassan Nasrallah
Israelis helping Israelis
In times of stress and war, Israelis reach out to each other. This is the way it was last summer in the north, and this is the way it is again as Israel's southern cities continue to take the brunt of hundreds of Kassem rockets fired from Gaza.
Here's one news story showing how students are reaching out to the people in Sderot:
June 1, 2007
Over 1,000 students from the national religious-Zionist sector are planning to arrive in Sderot today along with their rabbis. Before sundown, the students plan to visit as many homes as possible in Sderot, where they will hand out flowers and sweets. Once the Sabbath begins, the students plan to dance and meet in the town's synagogues.
The initiative for the "Sderot Shabbat" belongs to Rabbi Chanan Porath, Chairman of the Orot Chesed organization.
Here's one news story showing how students are reaching out to the people in Sderot:
June 1, 2007
Over 1,000 students from the national religious-Zionist sector are planning to arrive in Sderot today along with their rabbis. Before sundown, the students plan to visit as many homes as possible in Sderot, where they will hand out flowers and sweets. Once the Sabbath begins, the students plan to dance and meet in the town's synagogues.
The initiative for the "Sderot Shabbat" belongs to Rabbi Chanan Porath, Chairman of the Orot Chesed organization.
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