Sderot- The bomb shelter capital of the world

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

For the last week rockets fired from Gaza have been a daily occurrence.  Although they have caused limited damage to property and no one has been hurt or killed. (Frayed nerves and a couple of neurotic cats.)  It is only a matter of time before someone is killed.

A Grad rocket fired by Gaza terrorists hit an open area near a residential neighborhood in Ashkelon on Friday morning. No physical injuries were reported, although several people suffered shock and required medical attention. A vehicle was also damaged.

Ashkelon had experienced relative quiet following the Cast Lead counterterror operation in Gaza in early 2009.

The attack follows an attack last week that was carried out using an imported rocket more sophisticated than the short-range “Kassam” rockets produced in Gaza. In that case, the rocket failed to explode, and no injuries were reported.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has followed a policy of quick response to attacks from Gaza. Air Force planes have demolished smuggling tunnels and weapons factories in the region following previous rocket attacks.

Sderot is the only town and the Western Negav is the only region in the world, where missiles are fired towards civilian population in the 21st Century.--Sderot Media Center

If you are planning a visit to Israel, plan a side visit to Sderot.  You can contact the Sderot Media Center for a tour.

No child should have to endure this.  Please help!

Sometimes Purim Means More

by Findalis

Cartoon from Jewlarious. Click to enlarge.

The joy of the Purim Holiday means that even the threat of rockets fired daily from Gaza is not sacred. In fact, Purim becomes more joyous in their face. Take this story of Purim fun from Sderot.

Purim is a favorite holiday among Jewish children, teenagers and even adults. It is a holiday where we dress up in costumes, eat sweets and make merry. We do all this to remember the salvation that the Jews of Iran experienced thousands of years ago, when they were saved from a nation-wide death sentence. Since then, every Jewish home celebrates this holiday by giving gifts to the poor, reading the Book of Esther which tells the story of Purim and holding a celebratory feast with family and guests to commemorate the miracle. The girls of the Sderot Media theater group, "Youth of the Kassam Way" celebrated Purim in their respective Sderot high schools on Sunday. SMC staff paid a special visit to the schools to join in the celebrations. The girls, who were all very excited for the holiday, were dressed up in sparkling and ravishing costumes. Many of the girls were dressed up as fairytale characters. Cinderella, Hansel & Gretel, queens and fairies were seen walking around. Some also dressed up as different animals such as bees or butterflies, and of course there were many clowns. The teachers also dressed up, adding to the festivities and excitement. We will not forget to mention the feast we had with the girls, with the tables full of different delicious foods. View the video by Jacob Shrybman here. Sadly, as usual, the everyday routine of the people of Sderot began with a morning barrage of rockets. In the course of the weekend, five Qassam rockets struck the Western Negev area, and two rockets fell in the Ashkelon region. Today four rockets were fired at the Eshkol region. There were no injuries or damage. Purim is a holiday characterized by a monumental miracle--an entire nation survived a harsh death sentence designed to obliterate every last man, woman and child. According to the Book of Esther, Haman, a royal vizier to King Ahasuerus set a decree to kill all the Jews in the Persian kingdom. His plans were foiled by Esther, the Jewish Queen and wife to the Persian King Ahasuerus. We remember this miracle with much gratitude. So too, here in Sderot, we hope for the end of the rockets, so that we can return to normal life and celebrate the Festival of Purim in happiness, joy, and peace.

I pray that the people of Sderot can celebrate the next Purim in peace and joy. I pray that next Purim the only worries that any child of Sderot will have is what costume to wear. I pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and the other holy places. I know you, my reader have prayed this prayer too. I know many of you have signed up for the Code Red Alerts, if you haven't you can sign up here. And like always I ask that if you can spare the extra cash to donate to the Sderot Media Center. Just click on the grogger at the bottom of the post and follow the instructions from there. They do great work in Sderot for the people of Sderot.

Have A Happy And Joyous Purim!

Operation Cast Lead!

Cross posted by Findalis of Monkey in the Middle I woke up this morning to a wonderful Chanukah gift. The IAF attacking Gaza. I know I shouldn't be ecstatic, that I shouldn't be joyful at the death of my fellow human, but I feel like dancing and singing this day. It is only fitting that at this time of the year when Jews all over the world are celebrating the Maccabees's victory over the Greeks (a war in which military expert would have said they couldn't win) that the murderers of Gaza start feeling the flames of war themselves. This just didn't happen overnight. It has been 8 years in the making. 8 years of Sderot and the Western Negev being attacked on a daily basis. 8 years of death and destruction. Yet Hamas is screaming that they are being attacked without cause.

Over 80 rockets and mortar shells struck areas throughout the western Negev. In Netivot, 58-year-old Beber Vaknin was killed, one person was seriously wounded, and four others sustained light to moderate injuries when their house was hit by a rocket. All the wounded were evacuated to Soroka hospital in Beersheva. Later, a rocket hit a house in the community of Mivtahim, seriously wounding one person and lightly wounding another. A Magen David Adom team treated the wounded at the scene. In Ashkelon, at least 10 rocket strikes were reported, with one hitting an apartment building. For the first time ever, a Kassam rocket struck Kiryat Gat. The "Color Red" warning siren also sounded in Ashdod, although the location of a rocket strike had yet to be reported. Full Story

Beber Vaknin had a right to live in his nation in peace and safety. His only crime was being a citizen of Israel and a Jew. To Hamas that is the greatest crime in the world. While Hamas indiscriminately attacks civilian targets while calling everywhere in Israel a military target. The IAF is selecting true military targets and wiping them out.

The wide-scale offensive on Hamas installations in the Gaza Strip was codenamed 'Operation Cast Lead,' after a Hanukkah poem by H.N. Bialik referring to a "dreidel cast from solid lead." At least 200 people were reported killed - the majority of them Hamas operatives - and nearly 400 wounded in the attacks. It was not clear if the aerial offensive would be coupled with a ground offensive. Asked if Hamas political leaders might be targeted next, military spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich said, "Any Hamas target is a target." Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a press conference that the IAF had succeeded in eliminating senior Hamas commanders during the offensive. According to witnesses, among the dead was Hamas police chief Maj.-Gen. Tawfik Jaber. Despite the massive casualties, Hamas remained defiant, vowing revenge and calling on all other Palestinian factions to join in the fight. "Today we are stronger then we've ever been," one spokesperson for the group said at a press conference. "We won't raise the white flag, we won't give anything up, we won't retreat." Minutes after the first wave of air strikes hit areas in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinians reported a second wave which targeted installations in the center and the north of the Strip. Channel 2 reported that 60 planes were involved in the attack, and nearly 100 targets were hit. Military officials said more than 100 tons of bombs were dropped on Gaza by mid-afternoon. Full Story

If Hamas thinks this is a limited operation like other times, they are in for a rude awakening. For the IDF is amassing on the border, just itching to go.

The IDF was beefing up forces around the Gaza Strip on Saturday evening in preparation of a possible ground operation following a massive air assault earlier in the day. Defense officials estimated that Hamas was capable of firing 150-200 rockets a day, adding that the operation could last for weeks. Israel's goals, officials added, was to end Hamas rocket fire, end smuggling of arms into Gaza and severely disrupt any Hamas military activity. In a press conference held earlier in Tel Aviv, Barak said the IDF would deepen and widen its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip as much as needed. "There is a time for cease-fires and a time to fight, and now is the time to fight," Barak said. "For months the IDF and security forces have been preparing for the operation that began today." Barak stated that Israel had not intended to allow Hamas to continue to fire rockets into Israel without responding. The defense minister warned that tough times lay ahead. "I don't want to deceive anyone," he said. "It won't be easy and won't be quick. We must be resolute." Rocket attacks were expected to continue and to increase during the operation, he added. "For weeks Hamas and its satellite groups have rained [Israel] with rockets…and mortar shells. We did not intend to let this situation continue," he said. Full Story

Happy Chanukah Sderot! You and your children are getting the best Chanukah gift possible. And maybe this time the IDF will be able to stop those horrible rockets once and for all. View at YouTube

AM YISRAEL CHAI!

Qassam lands 50 meters outside of Sderot Media Center

Cross posted by Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

By Anav Silverman - Sderot Media Center Palestinian rocket explosions marked by the wail of the Tzeva Adom siren alert sounded throughout the day in Sderot and the western Negev. Beginning on Tuesday night, 60 Palestinian rockets have slammed Sderot, the western Negev, and Ashkelon. One Grad-Katyusha hit outside a home in Ashkelon, sending several people into shock, while destroying a storage shed and shattering the windows of the Ashkelon home. Another Grad-Katyusha slammed into an Ashkelon factory, causing extensive damage. In all, seven Grad-Katyusha rockets hit Ashkelon today.

Photo: Roy Edan

Barzilai Medical Center reported that of the 24 people hospitalized for shock on Wednesday, 12 were children. In the Sdot Negev Regional Council, a Palestinian rocket directly hit a home, causing extensive damage as well. No one was wounded in the attack. During the early morning, a barrage of Palestinian rockets were fired at Netivot, with one landing in the industrial zone of the city and several more in the agricultural fields outside the city. Another Palestinian rocket landed outside a Netivot Youth Center. Two Netivot residents were treated for trauma. Among the rockets fired from the Gaza Strip in the morning, one Palestinian rocket failed to clear the border and landed in the Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, lightly wounding two Palestinian civilians. Several Qassams were fired at Sderot with one falling 50 meters outside Sderot Media Center in an industrial center, shattering the windows of several offices in the area and sending a number of people into shock. Sderot Media Center staff were in the office at the time the office at the time the rocket hit. "We heard the shriek of the Qassam zooming over and the office literally shook from the impact of the rocket explosion," said Itzik Yarkoni.

Photo: Roy Edan

On Tuesday, five Qassam rockets were fired at Sderot and the western Negev. One Palestinian rocket landed 30 meters away from the Sderot home that was directly hit by a Qassam rocket this past Sunday. In all, 37 Palestinian rockets, and 23 mortar shells were fired at Israel in the past 24hours. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the morning rocket terror. View at YouTube

What a lovely Chanukah gift Hamas is giving the people of Israel. Over 50 rockets shattering lives in Sderot and Ashkelon. It has only been a small miracle that no body has been seriously hurt or killed yet. But it will happen. You can give the people of the area a better Christmas/Chanukah gift. By clicking on the logo at the top or bottom of this post, you can give a donation to the Sderot Media Center. A little bit goes a long way. I ask all to remember these men, women and children in your prayers. Remind others of the risks and horror that they live with each and every day.

Sderot: November Update

Crossposted by Findalis at Monkey in the Middle By Anav Silverman - Sderot Media Center More than 126 Qassam and 71 mortar rockets were fired at Sderot and the Negev from northern Gaza since November 4 according to the Intelligence and Terrorism and Information Center. November 4-5, 2008: Over 60 Palestinian Qassam rockets were fired on Sderot and the western Negev. Hamas renewed Qassam rocket fire against Israeli civilians living in the Negev throughout Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, in light of. The rockets damaged several green houses in the western Negev. Two rockets landed in Ashkelon, one which hit a quiet neighborhood, and sent three people into shock and trauma. The massive rocket attack came about when IDF Special Forces entered Gaza to blow up a tunnel dug by Hamas terrorists that was created in order to abduct Israeli soldiers.

Photo courtesy of Sderot Media Center

November 7, 2008: Southern Israelis woke up to another day of rocket attacks Friday as Palestinian terrorists fired five Kassams at western Negev neighborhoods. The rockets landed in the Sderot, Eshkol and Sha'ar Hanegev regions. No one was wounded and no damage was reported. One of the Kassams landed near a kibbutz reservoir, while a second hit the fence surrounding another western Negev kibbutz. The other rockets hit open areas. The Islamic Jihad's armed wing claimed responsibility for the attacks. (Jerusalem Post) November 14, 2008: A Qassam rocket launched from the northern Gaza Strip hit an electric pole near a house in Sderot on Friday, injuring an 80-year-old woman with shrapnel and seven people suffered from shock from the attack. Four more rockets hit the Ashkelon area later Friday. One landed inside the city, another fell just outside, and two more landed in nearby open fields shortly after an alarm was sounded. Defense establishment officials said at least two of the rockets were Grad missiles. Three people suffered from shock. All victims were evacuated to Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon. A total of 14 rockets were fired on the Western Negev on Friday. (YNET News) November 20, 2008: The port city of Ashdod, 24 km north of the Gaza border, was this week connected to the rocket alert system already in use in Ashkelon and Sderot. It is an acknowledgement that threats by Palestinian militants to bring it within range are being taken seriously. (Jewish Chronicle) November 27, 2008: Gaza terrorists continued their attacks on southern Israel Thursday evening, firing a Kassam rocket that hit a home in the Eshkol region, damaging the structure wounding no one. Earlier Thursday, two rockets landed in open areas in the western Negev. The exact impact sites of the other two rockets could not initially be ascertained due to heavy fog in the area, however there were no reports of wounded or further damage. November 29, 2008: Eight Israel Defense Forces soldiers were wounded Friday evening, two seriously, after mortars fired by Gaza Strip militants hit a military base near Kibbutz Nahal Oz in the western Negev. The soldiers were evacuated to Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva and to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. Six soldiers were still hospitalized Saturday morning. Doctors had to amputate the leg of one of the soldiers who was brought to the hospital in serious condition. (Haaretz.com) From Monkey in the Middle: Just imagine you are sitting down to your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and a rocket lands in your home, or your neighbors, or your child's school. Imagine the stress and trauma that the people of the Western Negev have lived with these 8 years. No nation on Earth would put up with it for this long, and yet Israel has to. Why? Because the world would condemn them if they truly struck back. This holiday season please give a small donation to the Sderot Media Center. Help make a traumatized child's Hanukkah a little more joyful. It has been said by many that only Jews can make light of a tragedy. That when things are bad they turn to comedy. And so it is in Israel with the situation in the Western Negev. And only Yaakov Kirschen can do it best. From Dry Bones

And Still The Rockets Fall

Cross posted from Monkey in the Middle While for the last few days the world has been riveted to the news coming out of Mumbai, the Western Negev has been under rocket fire from Gaza. While rocket fire isn't as a glamorous news story as terrorist attacks, they are just another form of violence from the Religion of Peace.

Eight IDF soldiers were injured Friday when a barrage of mortar shells was fired from Gaza towards an army base near the southern town of Nahal Oz.

Two of the soldiers were seriously wounded, and one of them suffered a head injury. The other six were lightly to moderately injured. All eight were evacuated to hospitals in Ashkelon and Beersheba.

Two of the mortars landed inside the base. One fell on the officers' quarters and another fell on the female soldiers' quarters. According to international reports, the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Two others landed in nearby open spaces, in Shaar Ha Negev Regional Council. Another two landed in the vicinity of Netiv Haasara, but no injuries or damage were reported.

The security coordinator in Nahal Oz, Benny Sela, told Ynet that the barrage could be heard throughout the area. "I immediately ordered the kibbutz members to take cover in their shelters," he said. "We searched for fallen shells, but luckily for us they didn't fall in the kibbutz but rather in the nearby base. The army told us to stay near the bomb shelters."

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the mortar fire came in response to an earlier clash between IDF soldiers and gunmen attempting to plant an explosive device near the border fence. "We have said from the beginning that any Israeli breach will be met with a response, and this was a response," Barhoum said.

Full Story

The Israelis wouldn't be closing the border crossing and firing into Gaza if Hamas would just stop the rocket attacks. It is that simple. But Hamas won't stop. It will continue to attack Israel then cry to the world that the Israelis are firing back. And the world believes Hamas. For PalArabs are to be treated as if they are an oppressed people. Yet they are causing damage to Israel, both physically and mentally.

Psychological Trauma Increasing in Sderot

By Anav Silverman - Sderot Media center In a recent study conducted by NATAL (Israel Trauma Center for Victims of Terror and War), researchers discovered that close to 56% of Sderot residents have suffered in some way from Palestinian rocket attacks. According to report, presented by Natal Community Staff Director, Dr. Roni Berger in Beersheva on November 24, nearly half of Sderot's population has been either physically or emotionally damaged by Palestinian rocket fire. Over 4, 000 Sderot residents are suffering from symptoms of post-traumatic-stress disorder (PTSD) while one third of Sderot children, ages 13 to 18, have trauma-related learning disorders. PTSD is a severe and ongoing reaction to a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm to the person, according to the National Institute for Mental Health. People who develop PTSD may have witnessed a loved one who was harmed in a traumatic event or were victims themselves. Symptoms of PTSD usually begin three months after the ordeal but can also emerge years afterward. Some people can recover within 6 months while others have symptoms that last for much longer. For some people, the condition becomes chronic. "The initial symptoms of shock include an accelerated heart rate, dry mouth, limbs 'falling asleep,' a sense of fainting, or seeming paralyzed or emotionally detached," says Gabi Schreiber chief of psychiatry at Ashkelon's Barzilia hospital. Dr. Adrianne Katz, head of the Sderot Mental Health Center says that the shock impacts the victim's ability to function for months after the experiencing a Palestinian rocket explosion. "Many rocket terror victims suffer from depression, sleepless nights, severe anxiety, and have trouble going back to a regular routine," she says. The NATAL study showed that almost 50% of Sderot residents know someone who has been killed in a Palestinian rocket attack, while 65% personally know someone wounded in an attack. Over 90% of Sderot residents have experienced a Palestinian Qassam explosion at some point-whether it be in a neighborhood, home, school, business or other residential setting. Dr. Mina Zemach and the Dahaf Polling Institute conducted the research in order to compare Sderot to other communities outside of Palestinian missile range. Sderot residents made up the test group, while residents of Ofakim, a town of similar socio-economic makeup to Sderot but not under rocket attack, served as the control group.

Photo by Noam Bedein

The study revealed that three times as many Sderot residents had gone to a spiritual counselor (such as a rabbi), and a family doctor than did Ofakim residents. Dr. Roni Berger explained that there were several reasons why Sderot residents suffered from higher degrees of trauma than residents other Israeli communities within rocket range. "The fortifications in Sderot are poorer, and the population is weaker as well. The social unity is smaller. It's a population who felt, and still feels, abandoned." In addition, 45% of the Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip target Sderot according to IDF intelligence. Although adults in Sderot showed significantly higher levels of trauma and stress in the study than adults living in other Gaza vicinity communities, children of Gaza vicinity communities did not fair so differently from Sderot children. Close to 75% of children living in Gaza vicinity communities, ages 12-14 suffer from symptoms of PTSD compared to 86.6% of Sderot children. "Only a minority of those suffering from PTSD actually seek help," Dr. Roni Berger told Sderot Media Center. NATAL, a non-government organization seeks to reach out those Sderot residents who otherwise would receive help. "NATAL's staff has been going door to door for the past two years in our mobile units, visiting Sderot families and offering them social support," says Dr. Berger. "We teach these families how to cope with the stress and panic that result with each rocket attack." "In a way, this is much more effective then simply providing residents with a psychological diagnosis," adds Dr. Berger. "NATAL health professionals give Sderot residents the skills to relax. One of the most important things is for the residents to learn to talk about their experiences [with rocket attacks]." "Unfortunately those residents who don't know how to cope, become worse," says Dr. Berger. "Those who do cope 'well' are also not immune to trauma symptoms-they also pay some sort of psychological price for living under Palestinian rockets and it may manifest itself in strained family relationships or tension at work." The constant downplay of the psychological impact of Palestinian rocket fire in the international and Israeli media has unfortunately shifted important focus from the reality on the ground--Sderot residents after eight years of Qassam fire are gradually becoming psychologically crippled by the constant trauma of Palestinan rocket attacks. One of the most ironic phenomenas is that the concept, post trauma is not even relevant to Sderot residents. The constant renewal of rocket attacks has not allowed Sderot children and families to recover from past Qassam barrages. This constant state panic and stress that plagues Sderot residents is a continuing ordeal that remains theirs alone.

Again I ask my reader to donate to the Sderot Media Center. The funds go directly to those effected by the daily attacks by Hamas.

The Rocket Fire Continues: Sderot Resident Wounded

From the Sderot Media Center

Throughout Monday morning, the Tzeva Adom (Code Red) sounded in communities in the western Negev, as Palestinian terrorists fired a barrage of Qassam rockets at Eshkol from Gaza. Approximately seven Qassam missiles landed in the Eshkol region, causing damage to several houses on a western Negev kibbutz. An additional five Qassam missiles were fired at the western Negev in the afternoon and evening, causing no reported damage or injury. On Sunday evening, November 16, a Sderot man was injured in a rocket attack, and sent another two Israelis into shock. The rocket shrapnel caused injuries to the man's hands and head. Two other Qassam missiles were fired earlier, landing in the Eshkol region. View Video and Read the Report here

From Monkey in the Middle: The so-called truce is over and again rockets are raining down over the Western Negev. The West does nothing except to condemn Israel for closing the border with Gaza. Olmert does nothing but appease the terrorists. The people of the region live with the knowledge that their lives are in danger on a daily basis. You, my gentle truthseeker, can do something to help. If you have a blog, please cross post this. Let your voice be heard against the daily violence that the media is covering up against the poeple of Israel. Call or write your Congressman and Senator. Let them know you support the people of the Western Negev and not Hamas. And please, click on the logo below and give generously to the Sderot Media Center. The funds you donate are used to help the people of the Western Negev cope with the stress of living under the threat of daily rocket attacks. Cross posted at Monkey in the Middle