Sderot

Having been in Israel for over 2 years now and with my stay coming to an end I have seen a lot of the country, but one place I had never visited was Sderot. For those who are unfamiliar with the unique city, here is a brief explanation. Sderot is a town located less than 1km from the border with Gaza. For over 10 years now, Hamas and the terrorists in Gaza have been launching thousands of Kassam rockets and other deadly projectiles into Israel. Due to Sderot's proximity to Gaza, it has been an easy and popular target. Once a rocket has been launched, a siren sounds in Sderot notifying everyone that they have 15 seconds to run and seek shelter before the rocket lands. The rockets can come day or night at any time, and their targets are schools, homes, playgrounds, synagogues, day cares, etc. After thousands of rockets and years of living like this, the city and the people have been changed forever.

My sister was on an organized program and I joined them for the day when they took the day trip from Jerusalem to Sderot. The tour was provided to us by Sderot Media Center (more information on Sderot can be found at their website http://sderotmedia.org.il/). The very first thing that we did was have a security briefing. They explained that if we hear the loud tzeva adom siren we need to immediately run to a fortified shelter. If we can't make it to a shelter, lie face down on the ground and cover your head with your hands. It was hard to believe that people who live in Jerusalem - only an hour and a half drive away didn't know the harsh reality of Sderot. Some of the people on the tour had never heard of Sderot before, so with this as the first introduction to the city, they were in for quite a shock. There was a period of calm without rocket attacks, so there wasn't any expectant danger, and luckily no rockets were launched during our visit.

We took a drive through the city where we could see shelters all up and down the streets, spaced close enough where you would never be more than a 15 second run from a shelter. They explained how kids have to plan their walk to school always knowing where the closest shelter is. From the outside, we saw a school that had a fortified roof. They explained how people don't wear seatbelts in their cars because if they hear the siren it takes more time to take off the belt. They drive with the windows down and never listen to music to ensure that they will be able to hear the siren. Every house has one fortified safe room, and often this one room is where the entire family will sleep! These conditions have led to over 80% of youth suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and sleeping disorders.

The shelters found all over the city. Many of them are painted like this one.

We went to an outdoor playground which was not like any other playground. Aside from the fact that children rarely go outside to play, the playground itself had a castle that kids could play in which was also a rocket shelter. Anywhere were there could be people, there is a shelter. They took us to the edge of the town where we could see into Gaza. We could see quite clearly into Gaza and the cities of Beit Hanun and Gaza City where many of the rockets originate.

Our tour guide described how the rockets have affected the lives of the citizens of Sderot. If a rocket lands in an "open area" as defined by the mainstream media when reporting on rocket attacks, the guide told us that these "open areas" are defined as areas that are not buildings (i.e. backyards, front lawns, streets ,etc.) and that even if there are not any physical injuries from the attack there is most definitely a emotional factor that the rockets cause on the citizens.

The shelter next to the playground

Following the tour of Sderot, we were taken to a temporary settlement which was set up for one of the communities that was evacuated from Gaza in 2006 after the disengagement. For those who are unfamiliar with the disengagement plan, here is a quick summary. Then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon decided to take steps to advance the peace process by unilaterally disengaging from the Gaza Strip and remove every Israeli and Jew from the territory. The idea was to provide the Palestinians with land that they could begin to develop on their own and where they could work towards creating their own state beside that of Israel. There were major protests leading up to the disengagement as a large sector of the population believed that the disengagement would not advance peace, but lead to more terrorism. This has proven to be the case; after the disengagement the number of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip has in fact increased. In August of 2006, the IDF expelled, in some cases forcefully every last Jew living in Gaza from their homes and they were put in these temporary settlements before they were able to find permanent housing. After 6 years, many communities, like the one I visited still lives in these poorly designed and quickly built 'temporary' houses.

One woman gave us a first hand account of her story. She explained how she moved to Israel from the US and decided to settle in the Gaza Strip and farm the land. She talked about the good relations with her Arab neighbours and the normalcy of her life. She talked about her successful farming business and daily life. She discussed the beginnings of the terror - the cessation of relations with her Arab neighbours, the stabbings, murders and rockets. She talked about how the disengagement plan came about and her opposition to it. She then went on to tell us about the day that the army came to evict them from their communities and leave Gaza for good.