Illusions

Cross posted by Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

From the Sderot Media Center

Sderot Student, 23, Addresses UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Liraz Madmony, 23 of Sderot, grew up under Palestinian rocket fire for eight years of her life. Although a rocket has never directly hit her home, Liraz has experienced the terror of rocket explosions countless times. "We don't have a bomb shelter in our house," she recently told SMC. "Every time, the Tzeva Adom is set off, our family races to the shower, the only room that is most 'secure' from a rocket attack."

Liraz Madmony with Israeli representative to the UN.

Liraz is a law student in a Ramat Gan college in central Israel and is heavily involved with student organizations such as WUJS (World Union of Jewish Students). "Many times I've missed my law classes and student activities because of the rocket attacks. It's almost impossible to lead a normal life when you are forced to live under with warning alerts and raining rockets." While Liraz admits that balancing life as a college student and a resident in a war-zone can at times be very difficult, she recently found the time to share her story with the world community. Thanks to a trip coordinated by UN Watch two weeks ago, Liraz Madmony addressed the UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Gaza in Geneva, on behalf of the European Union of Jewish Students (EUJS) on January 12, 2009.

View at YouTube

"It was a very moving moment for me," says Liraz. "Here I was standing in front of all these people--in Geneva, Switzerland--representing the people of Sderot and all our years of suffering and terror."

Read the rest here.

Liraz is just a normal person, leading a normal life, wanting only the rockets to stop. In the last 8 years dozens of UN resolutions were passed condemning Israel. Not one has ever been passed condemning Hamas. And yet Israel is suppose to accept all the resolutions passed by the UN.

From 90210 to Sderot: Get the Story Right! I just returned from a two week visit to Israel. I spent my last weekend in Sderot and the Western Negev. One year out from volunteering in Sderot, I have written this piece on the international media's lack of context in covering the current conflict between Israel and Hamas. Hundreds of journalists from all over the world just left Sderot and the surrounding areas covering the current conflict between Israel and Hamas. Where were they one year ago? Where were they four years ago, eight years ago? I spent six weeks volunteering in Sderot exactly one year ago, and I can tell you, the journalists were no where to be found. Unfortunately for Israel, it took eight years for the international community to understand that innocent civilians in a western democracy live daily under the current threat of rocket fire. During this time, the range of the threat expanded from a tens of thousands to over one million innocent Jewish and Muslim Israeli citizens. In these eight years, has the UN Security Council ever condemned nearly a decade of rocket fire on innocent civilians of one of its member states, Hamas’ use of human shields, and its use of schools, hospitals, and mosques to store and launch rockets at Israel? Are you laughing at me for even thinking to ask such a question? Well you should be, because why would anyone assume the international community to be, um, sensible? Maybe they could be just a little rational? Nah, that’s just too silly! Furthermore, has any news organization mentioned the fact Israel is the only western democracy in the entire world that has a significant - let alone any - part of its population living under the threat of daily rocket fire? “Oh it’s just Israel, who cares right?” “They can take it?” Or rather, “Maybe they deserve it, right?” Well you know what I have to say that... I’d also like to thank the international media for providing ZERO context for the humanitarian issues of the Palestinian people. Let me describe to you a little bit of Israel’s commitment to helping the Palestinians suffering from the wrath of their authoritarian, fanatical terrorist rulers, Hamas. From the beginning of Operation Cast Lead, December 27, 2008, until January 12, 2009: - 926 truckloads (22,046 tons) of humanitarian aid were delivered to Gaza - 449 dual nationals were evacuated from Gaza - 3000 units of blood were donated by Jordan and transferred into Gaza - 5 ambulances were donated by Turkey and transferred into Gaza - 5 ambulances were transferred from the West Bank to Gaza on behalf of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society - 34 people were evacuated to Israel for medical needs On Jan. 7, 2009, the IDF decided it would ceasefire for three hours each day in order to let humanitarian aid reach civilians in the Gaza Strip. I love when this gets mentioned, and they say three hours is simply not enough. So, Israel should stop defending its civilians all together, fully commit itself to giving aid to the other side, and allow terrorists to fire rockets at it and threaten one million of its population? Do you find it a tad bit odd that Israel is forced not only to defend its own citizens, but those of its enemies as well? Well I don’t...I mean, isn’t every western democracy supposed to do that during wars? Duh! I got a question for you Mr. and Mrs. International Media. Israel is the bad guy? Are you kidding me! What does Hamas do for Israeli civilians? Oh yeah, they’ve been terrorizing them with rockets for the last eight years! What other country, when immersed in a full scale war, commits itself to providing humanitarian aid to their enemy? Oh yeah, Russia! Read the rest here.

I am suppose to accept that the world media isn’t biased against Israel. And then I am suppose to acknowledge the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny too. Right. If it was not so tragic, I would laugh.

An Illusion of Normalcy? An uncertain calm rests upon Sderot at the moment. The sounds of war have disappeared, replaced by the sounds of a city slowly coming back to life. The click of the intercom followed by the voice that repeatedly stated Tzeva Adom, followed by the rocket explosion a few seconds later seems to be something of the past. But daily news reports on Palestinian terror activity from Gaza are constant reminders to Israelis in Sderot and the western Negev that the calm remains seemingly temporarily. Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire on Saturday night, January 17 at 2:00 am, which ended Operation Cast Lead, a 3-week offensive against Hamas. It was Israel's longest offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, following two brief military offenses in the Gaza Strip in 2004 and 2006 in response to Qassam attacks that killed two Israeli girls, and wounded several other civilians.

Sderot children play around protected shelters.

Two day after the ceasefire was declared; Palestinian terrorists fired 8 mortar rockets at Israel on Tuesday morning, January 20. Palestinian militants also opened fire on IDF soldiers in Gaza. On Tuesday evening, the last of the IDF troops had pulled out of Gaza before the inauguration of US President Barack Obama at 6 PM. Israel time. On Tuesday, January 27, Palestinian terrorists carried out the first deadly attack on Israel since the ceasefire concluded. An Israeli soldier was killed on Tuesday morning when an explosive device set at the Kissufim crossing along the Gaza Strip border exploded as an IDF force patrolled the area. Another officer was seriously injured, with one leg amputated and another severely damage. Two other soldiers suffered from extensive shrapnel wounds, but were categorized as lightly hurt. They remain hospitalized.

Read the rest here.

And on Wednesday, rockets again flew into Israel from Gaza.

IAF jets struck a weapon manufacturing site in the Rafah area late on Wednesday night, in response to a Kassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel several hours earlier. t was the IDF's first attack on a building inside the Strip since the end of Operation Cast Lead. The Kassam was fired at southern Israel a day after Gaza operatives breached the cease-fire with a deadly bomb attack along the border. The rocket hit an open area in the Eshkol region, causing no casualties or damage.

Hamas can violation a cease-fire and the world says nothing. Israel strikes back and there are riots in the streets. Can anyone see a double standard here? I do.

Like always, Israel will do what it has to do to survive. And like always I once again send out a plea for donations for the Sderot Media Center. The donation you give goes directly to the victims of the terror. To donate either click the logos on the top or bottom of the page or go here. The people of Sderot will be very grateful.