Sderot: Iran and A Cinemateque

by Findalis



Just 2 separate articles on the occurring violence that is happening in Sderot from Gaza:

Iran too close for Israel's Comfort

by Noam Bedein

While the world follows Iranian developments from the grandstands of YouTube, the people of southern Israel have had front row seats for some time now.

When Iran's protege, Hamas, staged a coup in Gaza that placed 1.4 million Palestinians under 'Hamastan' military rule, no one thought of how southern Israelis would be affected. Located less than one mile away from Sderot, Gaza's dramatic developments would come to affect everyone in the region.

Before Israel disengaged the Jewish communities from Gaza in August 2005, the Palestinian Authority had promised vast properties of some of these communities to Hamas. Four months later, in January 2006, Hamas won a stunning victory in the Palestinian Authority legislative elections, which resulted in the Mecca Accord of March 2007, which obligated the PA to share all foreign assistance with the Hamas organization.

All this placed Hamas in a strategic position from where it could launch attacks on Israel, even before the Hamas military coup.

Iranian Hamas terror tactics have dominated the lives of the people of Sderot. A town battered by sustained attacks for eight years, Sderot has become the only city to remain under continuous siege in the 21st century.

Sderot woman overlooks her home, damaged in a Qassam attack during the recent Gaza war.

Photo: Noam Bedein

In 2008 alone, the Hamas-controlled Gaza regime fired over 3,300 rockets, mortars and Grads towards the Western Negev and southern Israel, 50 percent more than the previous year.

Five months after Operation Cast Lead, Hamas has fired over 215 rockets during the Hamas-Israel 'ceasefire.' Is anyone even keeping track of the number of failed ceasefires that Israel has held with Hamas in the past two years?

For Sderot residents, the knowledge that this has been Israel's third failed ceasefire with Hamas is not surprising.

In a June 17 appearance at the Knesset, Israel Security Agency director Yuval Diskin warned that "Hamas is continuing to increase its strength, manufacture longer-range rockets and smuggle rockets of a far superior quality,". In that light,every citizen of southern Israel knows that a massive escalation is around the corner, which will force more than one million Israelis in southern Israel into the seeming safety of protected rooms and bomb shelters.

Shoshana Swissa, a kindergarten teacher in Sderot recently told Sderot Media Center that ”Even today, in these relatively quiet days in Sderot, every single morning we exercise a drill for the 3-year-old children in our kindergarten. The staff teaches them how to run in 15 seconds towards the safe room when the Color Red alert siren sounds. ”

Turning the Gaza Strip into an Iranian military buffer zone

During Israel's second ‘ceasefire’ with Hamas, between June 2008- December 2008, Hamas did not waste any time building up its military capabilities. Israeli intelligence sources confirm that Hamas dug between 400 and 600 smuggling tunnels that connected Sinai and Gaza in order to “import” guns, missiles, explosives, money,and terrorists, along with oil, fuel, metal, cloths, electronics and even a lion for Gazan's zoo - earning the Hamas regime between 30-50 million dollars a month from the digging of the tunnels and the goods smuggled through.

The Iranian influence and involvement with the Gaza Strip peaked during the summer of 2008, when hundreds of Iranian missiles were smuggled in, to be fired massively only a few months later at southern Israelis during Israel's last military operation in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Hamas regime trained tens of thousands of children and woman in Gaza during summer 2008, in anticipation of an Israeli counterattack to the Hamas reign of missiles.

Accepting Iran, accepting Hamas

Hamas today has become more acceptable as a resistance organization among political sectors worldwide. The most recent acceptance overture was made by the former US president Jimmy Carter, who visited Gaza this June and asked the European Union to take Hamas off the charts as a terrorist organization.

It should come as no surprise that a terrorist organization like Hamas, which has killed and wounded thousands of Israeli by suicide bombings and rocket fire, is now accepted as a legitmate governing body. If Iranian President, Ahmedinejad is invited to open a UN Conference on Human Rights and is then invited to meet with the Swiss President, then Western embrace of Hamas is just around the corner.

In the meantime, Sderot and southern Israel can only gear up for another round of rocket fire in the near future.

If Iranians really want to know where all their money from the sale of oil is going to they only have to look at 3 places: Their nuclear program which IS attempting to build an Nuclear bomb, Hamas and Hezbollah. With poverty in their own land, food prices soaring and violent crackdown on dissent, Iran is more concerned with providing weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah, then anything else. If you ever wondered where the Kassams that Hamas still fires into Sderot and the rest of Israel come from, look no further than Iran.

Bringing Israeli and Arab Worlds Together at the Sderot Cinemateque

by Anav Silverman

In a region where rockets have hammered civilian residents for the past eight years, the local Sderot Cinemateque remains a popular pastime for residents looking to enjoy a film. As the only rocket-proof cinema in Israel, the Sderot Cinemateque was built eight years ago, right around the time when the first Qassam slammed into Sderot.

The rocket-proof cinema allows local residents to enjoy a film uninterrupted when the rocket alarm, or Tzeva Adom sounds to warn residents of impending Qassams from Gaza. It remains a popular hangout regardless of rocket fire.

A week ago, I had the opportunity to watch a film at the Cinemateque during the eighth annual Cinema South Festival which was held from June 7-12. The festival features the films of graduate students studying in the Department of Film & TV at the local Sapir College. The festival also screened Israeli films that were awarded top prizes abroad as well as international films from Mexico, Hong Kong, and France.

International festival guests included filmmakers Carlos Reygadas from Mexico, Thierry Michel from Belgium, Osvalde Lewat-Hallade of Cameroon and Abi Feijo from Portugal among many others.

I had the opportunity to watch Ajami, one of the featured films of the festival,along with the hundreds of other area residents and international guests. Ajami, named after the largest Arab neighborhood in Jaffa, was co-directed by Israeli Yaron Shani and Jaffa-born Arab, Scandar Copti. The film tells the story of two Muslim Arab brothers and is set against the background of a revenge murder, gangs, Bedouin revenge squads, a Christian Arab godfather and Israeli police.

Ajami was filmed in Arabic -and most of the actors were from the Ajami neighborhood. The mostly Israeli audience at the Sderot cinemateque, myself included, followed along by reading the Hebrew subtitles below.

The film has won international acclaim and was shown in France’s prestigious Cannes Film Festival this past May.

In an interview with the New York Times, the directors of the film, Copti and Shani described their relationship outside of directing of the film, to which both wrote the script. When Shani’s city, Ashdod, was targeted by Gaza rockets in the recent war, Copti called him and said “Take your daughter and your wife and leave.” According to the NYT article, Shani does the same for Copti. Both the directors and the cast where present at the screening in Sderot.

There was something quite unique about watching Ajami in an Israeli rocket-proof theater on the Gaza border. In area that has been devastated by rockets and trauma, it is cultural events like the Cinema South Festival which brings hope for a normal reality that citizens on both sides of the Gaza border continue to seek.

Strange that a movie theater has to be bomb-proof, isn't it? But that is the reality of life in Sderot. Sderot is a small town that has faced the brunt of rocket attacks for 9 years now. Israel was guaranteed that if they "ethnically cleansed" Gaza of all Jews the rockets attacks would cease. The Israelis did just that in 2005, and the attacks got worse.

Now President Obama is singing the same song: "If you "ethically clean" Judea and Sameria of all Jews, there will be peace!"

Right, and I have a bridge in Brooklyn for those who believe this lie to buy.

Unless the PA is willing to be demilitarilized, there can never be peace. Strange as that sounds, it is not Israel who is anti-peace (regardless of what the Useful Idiots of Free Gaza keep saying), but it is the thugs and murderers of Hamas and the PA who will never accept a Jewish nation, never accept Israel and never stop their attacks.

Yet the world loves Hamas. It cries make peace with Hamas. How can one make peace with them when they have openly stated that their goal is the total destruction of Israel and the death to all Jews world-wide?

Again I ask you, my reader to pray for the people of Sderot, to pray for an permanent end to the rocket attacks, and if you are able to, to donate a few coins to the Sderot Media Center. They do such good work in the city of Sderot. Just click here and follow the instructions. All the funds collected go directly to helping the people of Sderot.

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Before pressing Israel, world must address continued rocket attacks

By Findalis



From the Sderot Media Center

Rockets Have Not Stopped

by Jacob Shrybman

A few days ago I was relaxing in my first-floor apartment in Sderot when there was a loud knock on my door. The government contractor tasked with building private bomb shelters attached to each unit in the building came to check my apartment. All across the city, private bomb shelters are popping up like spring flowers and are being utilized as the Color Red alarms continue to sound.

As Netanyahu gears up for his monumental visit to discuss the Middle East peace process with US President Barack Obama, are international leaders aware that terrorist rocket fire against Israeli civilians has not stopped?

As southern Israel prepares for the next barrage of rockets, the international media and leaders hype this visit to be of vital importance to a peace agreement. On May 4th The New York Times ran an article titled “Addressing US, Hamas Says it Grounded Rockets,” noting that only six rockets were fired at Israel in April. On May 5th Ynetnews ran an article titled “Dramatic Drop in Qassam Fire,” reporting that only 8 rockets were fired in April.

However, with a simple phone call to the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson, the only in-the-field source, I was given the official military count of 23 rockets and 3 mortar shells for the month of April, significantly more than what was reported in the media. The world is being led to believe that the rockets have stopped when in fact there have been over 200 rockets since the ceasefire began on January 18th.

Working in Sderot for the Sderot Media Center, I knew that there were more than eight rockets last month. I began to track down the statistics and their sources. The reporter at Ynetnews cited the Shin Bet as its source.



So why is there is such a discrepancy between what I and the army see on the ground and report day-to-day, and what some Israeli officials and the news media are reporting to the world? Are Israeli and international politicians suggesting that Operation Cast Lead completely thwarted the threat from Hamas and Iran in the Gaza Strip?

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the so-called moderate Fatah, which proudly paint their rockets yellow to distinguish them from Hamas’ red and green, announced in the last week of April that he would never recognize Israel as a Jewish State. With such a definitive proclamation against a peaceful solution, with whom are Israeli and international leaders pushing the Jewish State to come to an agreement?

The rockets fired at Israeli citizens from the Gaza Strip by the Iranian-funded terrorist organization Hamas have not stopped. International leaders and the news media need to stop presenting statistics that foment this fallacy in the effort to force an agreement that will not bring shalom or salaam, but rather, be a mere piece of paper. All one needs to do is come to my first floor apartment in Sderot to be awakened to this continued reality of rockets.

Only a few rockets, as if that makes it better. Perhaps the editors of the New York Times, Huffington Post or Daily Kos wouldn't mind a few rockets being fired into their homes on a daily basis. How long would it be before they raised their voices in protest against such action? A day? A week? A month? A year? 5 years? 8 years? Especially if the local authorities did nothing to stop the rocket attacks. Then they would understand the fustration that the citizens of Sderot feel.

Following Netanyahu’s meeting with Obama, Qassam Strikes Sderot Homes

by Anav Silverman

A Qassam rocket fired from Gaza slammed between two Sderot homes around 5:30 pm on Tuesday, May 19. The Tzeva Adom, Color Red siren blared twice in the city sending residents fleeing to area bomb shelters. After the second Color Red siren, an unusually loud explosion sounded throughout the city.

The sound of the rocket explosion shocked no one more than Ilan Dahan. Ilan was sleeping when the Qassam rocket crashed into his backyard right outside his bedroom.

Shula Dahan, owner of damaged home, on the phone.
Photo: Noam Bedein

“I slept right through the Color Red siren,” said Ilan. Ilan, dazed and shocked, guides us to his bedroom. His bed is full of broken glass, from a window right above the bed, which had shattered all over his back. "I felt the glass implode all over me," he said.

“It’s a miracle that all I got was this small scratch,” Ilan told Sderot Media Center. A piece of broken glass struck Ilan’s back, leaving behind a red mark.

Both Ilan’s parents were home when the rocket struck. His father raced into Ilan’s bedroom after the rocket struck, picked his son up and carried him outside to safety. “At that point, I didn’t even realize that the rocket hit right outside our home,” said Ilan, who is 18 and getting ready to enter the army.

View the video here.

Shula, Ilan’s mother, looks at her son tearfully. “I never expected this to happen to us during a ceasefire,” she said. The family was sitting outside in the front of the home to cool off from the heat of the evening when the siren sounded.

“We didn’t react quickly enough to the siren,” said Shula. “If we had reacted, we would have raced to the back of the home where our new shelter is located. Most likely one of us would have been injured because the rocket exploded right outside the shelter.”

The back of the Dahan’s home suffered severe damage from the rocket blast. Broken glass and debris litters the floor, while holes from rocket shrapnel rocket mark the ceiling and walls. Outside, the Dahan’s shelter is also covered with shrapnel marks.

Sderot home damaged in Qassam attack on Tuesday, May 19.
Photo: Noam Bedein

The rocket explosion also damaged the home next to the Dahans.

Family members from both sides suffered shock, as did neighbors further along the street. Several people were treated for trauma on the scene.

The rocket attack comes around the same time that the Sderot Mental Health Center is shutting down. Dr. Adrianne Katz, the head of Sderot Mental Health told Sderot Media Center that the mental health center is closing due to budget cuts. The Sderot Mental Health Center has provided therapy treatments to thousands of Sderot trauma victims and has 5, 500 patients on file.

The Gaza rocket attacks on Sderot come after the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama in the White House on Monday.

During a White House press conference after the meeting, President Obama stated, that "there is a recognition that the Palestinians are going to have to do a better job providing the kinds of security assurances that Israelis would need to achieve a two-state solution, [and] gain additional legitimacy and credibility with their own people, and delivering services."

Obama also added “that the situation in Sderot was unacceptable, and that he'd seen the situation there himself.”

Indeed, when Obama visited Sderot last year, he stated in a Sderot press conference "I will work from the moment that I return to America, to tell the story of Sderot and to make sure that the good people who live here are enjoying a future of peace and security and hope."

He also stated that, "The first job of any nation state is to protect its citizens. If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing."

Tuesday marked the fifth month since the Hamas-Israel ceasefire in mid-January. During that time, over 210 rockets have been fired from Hamas-controlled Gaza at Israel.

Security officer digging for the Qassam with Sderot mayor, David Bouskilla upfront.
Photo: Noam Bedein

Promises from then candidate Obama. Promises to secure the Jewish vote. But in reality Obama is anything but sympathetic to the plight of the people of Sderot and Israel. He is more concerned with his image and prestige in the Muslim world than any thing else. It is accepted in the Muslim world that there is only one solution to the problem, the total destruction of Israel, Western civilization, and the death to each Jew worldwide. That is the true goal of the OIC, Arab League, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and Hizbollah.

Yet President Obama ignores these facts and is committed to the fiction of a 2-State Solution. To achieve this aim President Obama has been pressuring Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu into making more concessions to the Arabs. Including giving away control of the most holiest sites in Judaism, The Temple Mount and The Kotel:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem Thursday night that the Israeli flag will continue to fly over the Western Wall (Kotel). The first prime minister in years to appear at the venerable yeshiva on Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), he ignored U.S. President Barack Obama’s apparent trial balloon that he wants to see the United Nations flag fly over the Old City holy sites.

This is a proposal that will never be accepted by the Jewish Nation! Either President Obama is a dim-witted idiot or he is stupidly naive. You choose.

Don't be silent on this. Do something. Write a letter to your local paper, call Congress in protest, call the President in disgust, or sign up for SMS Alerts. And please find it in your heart to donate to the Sderot Media Center. Without them, the people of Sderot would have no voice. Just click on the logo at the top or bottom of this post.

And remember to keep the people of Sderot and Israel in your prayers.

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100 Days, 199 Rockets

by Findalis

From the Sderot Media Center:

199 Missiles Fired at Israel Since Operation Cast Lead

by Jacob Shrybman

The weekly Jewish Sabbath intended for rest and rejuvenation was nothing of the sort this Friday and Saturday as more rockets and mortars struck southern Israel. One qassam and two mortars were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel prompting the Israeli Air Force to target 5 smuggling tunnels between Egypt and the Hamas controlled territory. The Israeli Defense Forces said that this targeting of tunnels was a clear message that there would be a response to every rocket fire.

In the 105 days since the end of the 21 day Operation Cast Lead on January 18th there has been 199 missiles fired at Israeli civilians. More specifically there have been 128 qassam rockets, 66 mortar shells, and 5 grad missiles. These most recent attacks only add to the well over 10,000 missiles that have been fired at Israeli civilians since January 2001.

Archive Photo

Head of Shaar Hanegev Regional Council Alon Shuster commented on the weekend’s rocket fire, “We have no reason to assume that the rocket fire will stop. We did not come to any agreement with or defeat our enemies. The rocket fire is a strategic threat that will follow us in the coming years.”

In a cease-fire both sides must stop all attacks. The Israelis stopped Operation Cast Lead as a favor to Barack Obama, yet they have gotten nothing in return. How much longer does Israel have to endure before they finally finish the job that they started last December?

War not over for PTSD victims in Sderot

by Anav Silverman

Much of the international community and even Israelis living outside the western Negev periphery, are under the impression that rocket fire against Sderot and southern Israel has completely ceased. Israeli news websites and radio stations have carried reports asserting that the number of rockets fired against Israelis in the south has reached all time lows.

While it is true that rocket fire has significantly decreased, Sderot and western Negev residents are still reeling from the impact of the war. The director of the Sderot Mental Health Center, Dr. Adrianna Katz told Sderot Media Center yesterday that area residents are streaming into her clinic, seeking therapy for developing ‘post-war’ trauma symptoms.

Dr. Adriana Katz

“Many new Sderot patients are coming in for help, even though they have lived with the rocket terror for eight years now,” says Dr. Katz. “PTSD symptoms among area residents emerge during periods of ‘quiet’ like now. Many seeking therapy had tried unsuccessfully on their own to suppress these symptoms of trauma during the past rocket escalations.”

PTSD or post-traumatic-stress-disorder is an anxiety disorder which develops after exposure to a terrifying event ordeal which physical harm occurred or was threatened. People suffering from PTSD have a severe an ongoing emotional reaction to extreme psychological trauma. Symptoms include flashbacks and nightmares, difficulty falling asleep, numbness and detachment-all of which impair social and familial relationships as well as performance at work.

Victims of PTSD often avoid stimuli associated with their trauma. In Sderot, it is often impossible for residents to escape the reality that has brought on the trauma symptoms because of the fragile quiet. Dr. Katz explained that recovering patients who hear the Color Red siren just once-the alarm that sends civilians fleeing to shelters-- will go back to experiencing PTSD symptoms.

Indeed, since the ceasefire in mid-January, the Color Red siren has been set off almost weekly in Sderot.

“During the war, my staff discovered a new type of anxiety that developed among Sderot residents, which we termed ‘optimistic anxiety,’“ said Dr. Katz. “Although residents were fearful of the rocket fire, they also experienced for the first time in years-- a sense of optimism that the operation would completely end the rocket terror.”

“However, Sderot residents do not believe that the operation brought about a complete nor lasting change as it was finished halfway. In fact, because the rocket attacks have spread as far as Netivot, Ashdod, and Be’er Sheba, Sderot residents feel even less secure,” Dr. Katz related.

“Many families left Sderot during the war and traveled to nearby cities which they believed were safe from rocket attacks, only to find out they were not. This fact, which was revealed during the war, has spurred on further anxiety among patients.”

Over 5, 500 patient files have opened in the Sderot Mental Health, who has a staff of four counselors, since Palestinian rocket fire on the city began in 2002. Out of those files, 2,500 are active, with many patients seeking treatment for the long term, said Dr. Katz. She did not have an exact number on how many new patients have come in for treatment since the war.

Dr. Katz believes that there are many more PTSD victims in Sderot who are not seeking help. Most residents who do come to Dr. Katz are referred to by a doctor or medical expert, while few arrive by their own initiative.

Dr. Katz offers a small smile when I ask her if she has any hope for a lasting peace in the region. “Not at this moment,” she says as she gets ready to greet her next patient.

PTSD is the most common mental disorder in Sderot. It affects men and women, young and old alike. Any where else in the world, levels of PTSD in a city's population would be considered epidemic with the Main Stream Media jumping over themselves to carry the story. Yet the media is silent about this. The media in the US is silent until Israel tries to stop the rockets, and then they condemn Israel. But you do not have to be silent. You have a voice. Make yourself heard! Contact your local paper, television station, CNN, Fox News, NBC, etc... Let them know that you don't accept that the perpetrators of these acts are NOT the victims! The true victims are the people of Sderot. Especially the children. Little ones who suffer from PTSD and have no voice in America.

And if you are able, please donate a few dollars to the Sderot Media Center. Just click on the logo at the top or bottom of this article. It will take you to their donation site.

The Children of Sderot have no voice. Will you be that voice for them?

Lets Play Pretend



View at YouTube

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Sderot: Remembering the fallen and the terror continues

By Findalis

From the Sderot Media Center:

Sderot elementary school students remember Israel’s fallen

By Anav Silverman

At Madaim Alon Elementary School, principal Leora Fima stands before her students, marking the beginning of Memorial Day for Israel’s Fallen service held at the school on Tuesday morning.

The 160 students, from first grade to sixth grade, sit quietly in the school hall-- one of the last areas of the school that remains unprotected by rocket attacks.

When Principal Fima tells the students that the siren will go off at any moment in remembrance of Israel’s fallen, a first grader in the crowd asks if she means the Tzeva Adom, or Color Red siren warning of impending rockets. “No, a different siren,” responds Principal Fima.

“The students were badly affected by the impact of the Gaza war,” Principal Fima later tells Sderot Media Center. “It was very difficult to get the students back on track in terms of studying. It was impossible to get them to concentrate and their motivation was completely gone.”

During the Gaza war, many schools in southern Israel including Sderot remained closed.

However, through outside financial contributions, Madaim Alon was able to establish an intensive psychological therapy program for the students. “Once a week, each child in our school undergoes an hour of psychological therapy,” says Fima. “This has helped the students tremendously. Since Passover vacation there has been a significant change in their behavior. The kids are noticeably more relaxed.”

Madim Alon Elementary School is the only school in the western Negev which offers such counseling for students-- many of whom suffer from PTSD symptoms that result from sirens and rocket attacks.

“The kids here understand, perhaps better than anyone else, the meaning behind Remembrance Day for the Fallen of Israel’s Wars,” says Fima.

” One student even told me earlier in the week that from war, can we can strive for peace. The kids know that these young soldiers gave up their lives for us to live here today.”

Indeed, the hall was completely quiet as a Madaim Alon student read off the names of Sderot’s fallen soldiers during the ceremony. When the names of the Sderot residents killed by rocket attacks were called out loud, the silence among the children was almost deafening.

“These kids have had to sacrifice so much already at such a young age. And yet they are not consumed by hatred or anger,” said Fima.

Last week Madaim Alon held a Peace Day for its students in light of Operation Cast Lead. The elementary school students organized sessions exploring how the recent Gaza war affected everyone including Palestinian children, Fima explained.

“There is a time for building bridges,” she says.

April Recap: Palestinian terror activities continue in Gaza Strip

By Anav Silverman

Color Red Siren Sounds in Sderot on Israel's Remembrance Day for Fallen of Israel's Wars

While those living outside of Sderot may be under the impression that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is going well, Sderot and western Negev residents continued to experience rocket fire during the recent Passover holiday and Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers earlier this week.

On Tuesday afternoon, April 28, the Tzeva Adom or Color Red siren blared throughout Sderot, sending residents racing to shelters.

On Wednesday April 16, a Qassam rocket slammed into the western Negev, with another rocket following 24 hours later. The second rocket was fired hours after the Israel Air Force struck a booby-trapped building in central Gaza.

Both rockets landed in the Eshkol region of the western Negev, in an open an area, causing no reported injuries or damages.

Since the ceasefire began on January 19, over 180 rockets including five grad rockets supplied by Iran, were fired at southern Israel according to the IDF spokesperson's office. There has been a marked decrease in the number of rockets fired at Israeli civilians since Operation Cast Lead. According to the IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, Hamas has been deterred from firing Qassam rockets into Israel since the operation.

"It is not coincidental that there is no [Kassam] rocket fire from Gaza, but we know that terrorism or attacks along the border fence, by sea or from the Gaza Strip into the Sinai Peninsula, are still on the agenda and we are therefore preparing with all the necessary measures," Ashkenazi stated on Monday, April 16, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.

Other terrorist activities have continued in Gaza. On Thursday April 13, Egyptian officials arrested nine Sinai Beduin near the Gaza border on the suspicion of smuggling weapons, merchandise and money to Hamas. Two of the suspects were caught at the Rafah border crossing in possession of more than $90,000.

Egyptian police had discovered the day before 900 kilograms of TNT hidden in 18 sacks near the Gaza border. Egyptian authorities also arrested three Palestinians on suspicion of infiltrating into the country.

On April 13, the Israeli Navy spotted an unmanned Palestinian fishing boat off the coast of the Gaza Strip. The boat was loaded with hundred of kilograms of explosives and remotely detonated as it approached an Israeli Navy ship, which distanced itself away from it. The fishing boat exploded seconds later, injuring no one.

In the past, Palestinian have tried to detonate explosives-laden ships next to Israel Navy vessels.

According to the Jerusalem Post, four Israeli sailors were wounded in 2002 when Palestinian detonated a fishing boat next to a navy patrol off northern Gaza.

In October 2000, a small ship exploded next to the USS Cole in Yemen, which killed 17 American sailors.

Also last week, Egyptian authorities cracked a Hezbollah-run terrorist ring based in Egypt. Thanks to intelligence information provided by Israel's Mossad and other foreign intelligence services including the CIA, the crackdown led Egyptian authorities to arrest dozens of suspects on Thursday April 16.

According to Ha'aretz, the head of the ring was Lebanese citizen Sami Shihab who was in touch with a special branch of Hezbollah for some time. Egyptian security sources said that the Hezbollah agents had planned a series of terrorist attacks against tourist sites in Sinai where western and Israeli tourists frequent. Egptian sources also noted that the Suez Canal was a target of the ring.

Egypt had been hunting for 13 members of the 49 member Hezbollah ring which included Lebanese and Sudanese citizens for some time. The men had taken shelter in the central Sinal town of al-Nakhl and authorities had feared that the men might escape north into Gaza located 120 miles away through secret tunnels or head further south.

A senior Egyptian source told Haaretz that "Egypt will take active measures against anyone who threatens its national security. We will not allow anyone to do this: Hezbollah, Iran or others. They sought to strike at the national security of Egypt, but luckily we stopped them and uncovered their plot."

The world does not care that over a million people live under the daily threat of rocket attacks from an entity that has sworn to kill each and every one of them. Instead it applauds and rewards the purveyors of the terror with massive amounts of financing in the guise of aid. The Obama administration alone has pledged to give $1.1 billion to help Gaza. US taxpayer funds that will go straight into the hands of Hamas. Obama is even orchestrating the means to put it directly into Hamas' hands. Funds that will not go to the people of Gaza, but to purchase the weapons of terror.

If you feel that funding terror is against the principles that this nation was founded on, then write Congress and let them know that. Let them know that you stand tall with the people of Sderot. That you do not want your tax dollars given to a known terrorist group. That $1.1 billion could be spent better here at home. Just don't be silent!


And like always, I ask you to donate to the Sderot Media Center. Just click on the logo at the top or bottom of this post.

It is time that the sirens fall silent over Sderot!

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Sderot: Remembering the Holocaust. and Durban II

by Findalis


From the Sderot Media Center

Holocaust Remembrance Day: The Tragedy of Silence

by Anav Silverman

Today Israel marked Holocaust Remembrance Day. Standing on a street in Sderot, I listened quietly to the siren sound, remembering the tragedy of 6 million Jews killed in Nazi Europe, my great grandparents, uncles and aunts from Poland among them.

I’ve become used to sirens sounding in Sderot during my past two years here-the click of the intercom, followed by a female voice that calmly repeats Tzeva Adom, Tzeva Adom, or Color Red. The scenes that unfold usually entail people dashing into shelters-racing for 15 seconds that may mean the difference between life and death.

But now at this moment, the Holocaust siren gives me a moment to reflect. I watch passerby’s stop, Ethiopians, Russians, Uzbekistanis, Moroccans, Persians and the like; Israeli Jews from countries around the world who make up Sderot’s colorful cultural tapestry. We stand together to remember the tragedy of silence that cost the lives of so many innocent people in our nation.

It is this tragedy of silence which probably strikes hardest here in Sderot.

Eight years of Qassam attacks have wounded over 1,000 Israelis, destroyed hundreds of Jewish homes, and have left thousands of children psychologically traumatized. Today close to one million Israelis in southern Israel live under the threat of Palestinian rocket attack thanks to the financial aid and embedment from Iran.

Who will speak up for these Israelis who continue to be the targets of radical Islam in the form of Hamas rocket terror?

Sderot is targeted not because it is a city outside the 1967 green lines, nor because of an army base located in the city. Sderot is part of the UN Partition Plan of 1948 with a civilian population of 19,000, where over 5,000 residents have been forced to flee since Palestinian rocket fire began on the city in 2001.

Sderot is targeted simply because it is a Jewish city on the frontlines of Israel-an easy target for Palestinian terrorists who seek Israel’s destruction.

THE greatest testimony that the world is once again returning to its apathetic state of silence that defined the era of Nazi Germany was revealed no less ironically today at the Durban II conference when Iranian President Ahmadinejad was invited as a guest speaker. Moreover, Hans-Rudolf Merz, the president of Switzerland, a country that declared its “neutrality” during the Holocaust, agreed to meet with Ahmadinejad, who is a fervent Holocaust denier and has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel.

According to an Associated Press report, the Swiss president defended his meeting with Ahmadinejad and said that the criticism of the meeting was unjustified, stating that “Switzerland is neutral and not part of any alliance.”

Ahmadinejad’s presence at Durban II is symbolic in that there has been no overwhelming international outcry against his views or the fact that he was invited to speak at the UN conference on racism.

Iran is considered the greatest threat to Israel’s survival. Although Iran, an oil-rich country, continues to claim that its nuclear program is meant to produce electricity, it remains clear to Israel that Tehran is intent on building nuclear weapons that could potentially cause massive destruction to the state.

SDEROT residents have been the silent targets of Islamic terror for too long. Last year on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, 13 rockets fell upon Sderot. Although rocket fire has significantly decreased since Operation Cast Lead, close to 200 rockets have still been fired at the western Negev region. If Israel does not effectively stand up for her citizens at home, who will stand up for Israel in the world?

As countries across the world show alarming acceptance of a blatantly anti-Semitic figure like Ahmadinejad, demonstrated in Durban II, the state of Israel and the Jewish people cannot allow silence to become a national policy in the face of anti-Semitic terror, be it rockets or rhetoric, at home or abroad.

In 1938 the world did nothing, said nothing while Hitler and his thugs accelerated Germany's slide into the madness that was the 'Final Solution'. We witnessed on Monday 100 nation rise and applaud Ahmadinejad in Geneva. There is only one nation that speaks for Israel and Jews around the world. It is Israel. It is a shame that the world has decided to turn its back and closed its ears to the cries of pain and anguish from Israelis. It is only Palestinian tears that matter to the world.

But I pray not to you, truth seeker. I once again ask you to remember the people of Sderot, and Israel in your prayers. To sign up for Code Red Alerts. To contact you Congress Representatives, Senators and President Obama. Contact your newspapers, radio, and other media outlits. And if you are able to, donate a few coins to the Sderot Media Center. Just click on the logo at the top or bottom of this post and follow the directions from there. It is time that the people of Sderot and Israel start having a loud voice screaming out their story too.

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European Union and Weapons

by Findalis


From the Sderot Media Center

Weapons smuggling continues into the Gaza Strip

By Sderot Media Center

Over 70 tons of bombmaking supplies have entered Gaza according to Shin Bet head

Hamas is continuing to rearm itself two-and-a-half months after Operation Cast Lead, said Yuval Diskin, head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet). More than 22 tons of explosives, hundreds of mortar shells, dozens of rockets and anti-tank missiles and 45 tons of raw material to manufacture arms, have been smuggled into the Gaza Strip.

Diskin added that Egypt is doing its part prevent the smuggling, but that the smuggling under the Philadelphi Corridor between Egypt and the Gaza Strip continued unabated.

Hamas is concerned about an escalation in its confrontation with Israel, especially in light of the freeze in talks for a prisoner exchange and the failure so far of its reconciliation talks with Fatah, Diskin said.

An additional round of Hamas-Fatah reconciliation talks was expected to be held Tuesday and Wednesday in Cairo, but nothing was expected to come of it, he said.

"The difference between the two sides is great," Diskin said.

Diskin, in his last briefing to the current government, said there had been a marked decrease in the number of rocket attacks on the western Negev.

"Hamas's military wing is constantly on watch for fear of an escalation, especially in light of the deadlock reached around the prisoner exchange deal and Hamas-Fatah relations."

"There is indeed a drop in rockets, only one rocket from a small organization was fired in recent days. There are two reasons for this: Hamas is not interested in an escalation or another confrontation with Israel, and as a result, Hamas is carrying out arrests before attacks,” said Diskin.

Diskin also stated that Hamas was taking measures to stop small organizations from firing rockets and had signed an agreement with Islamic Jihad to prevent rocket fire for the short term.

Nevertheless, Diskin warned that the small terrorist organizations were plotting to kidnap soldiers, and were also planning attacks inside Israel - either via Sinai, or with the aid of terrorist organizations in Judea and Samaria.

Read the full story here.

Red Color



View at YouTube

No child should have to live in fear on a daily basis. Every child should have a chance to grow up in a happy, healthy environment.

But the world is all to ready to allow the Jews of Israel, especially those living in Sderot, to suffer these attacks on a daily basis.

Letter to European Union on behalf of Sderot Residents

Dear EU Ambassador,

The EU is to be commended for the mandate that it has undertaken to help civilians whose lives have been affected by the recent Gaza war. EU member states remain well aware of the suffering and economic challenges that exist on the Palestinian side of the Gaza conflict.

The EU remains the most significant financial donor to the Palestinian civilians affected by the war.

In 2008 alone, the EU provided almost 500 million Euros for the health and welfare services to the Palestinian population in Gaza.Yet on the other side of the Gaza war, EU humanitarian aid workers may not be aware of the devastating toll that the Gaza war has taken on the lives of thousands of Israeli civilians who have endured eight years of daily rocket explosions and siren warnings.

Writing from the perspective of an NGO in Sderot where I have worked and lived for the past 2 years, I have witnessed and written about countless homes destroyed, children maimed, and families torn apart by the impact of these lethal attacks.

This is a reality where bomb shelters, which dot the entire city, are used almost daily. Life in Sderot is measured by 15 seconds--the time one has to race to bomb shelter when the siren goes off to warn of impending rockets. A recent study found that more than 80% of Sderot children suffer from PTSD symptoms-post traumatic stress disorder. The long term psychological damage inflicted by the constant rocket fire on both adults and children alike has not yet been fully comprehended or addressed.

Given the mandate of the EU to help civilians in the Gaza war zone rebuild their lives, the time has come for the EU to help fund agencies in Sderot that seek to strengthen the mental heath and social functionality of ordinary Sderot civilians who need psychological aid in order to continue life under rocket terror. Two appropriate services come to mind:

1) THE SDEROT MENTAL HEALTH CENTER

Although Sderot has no medical center (residents who are wounded by rockets must be transferred to the Barzeli hospital in Ashkelon located 20 min. away) a Sderot Mental Health Center, under the auspices of Barzeli hospital does exist, and is run by Dr. Adrianna Katz. The Mental Health Center has become a vital service for the Sderot community, providing psychological treatment to those suffering from PTSD and those who enter shock after experiencing a rocket explosion. The center has only four full time workers to help provide mental health services to almost 5,000 people in Sderot who have been diagnosed with severe mental health stress that has resulted from the anxiety of life under rocket attacks.

The Sderot Mental Health Center needs immediate financial aid to ad staff and to service such a large community of patients.

2) THE SDEROT COMMUNITY THEATER THERAPY PROGRAM

Providing psychological therapy for Sderot high school students by the avenue of the arts and theater, Sderot Community Theater Therapy reaches out to young people in Sderot to help them express their fears and anxieties of life under rocket fire. The high school students creatively produce dramatic presentations, under the guidance of a theater director and psychologist.

With the understanding that the EU will address the humanitarian needs of all sides of a war zone, it would be a welcome gesture if the EU would help provide funds to the mental health services of Sderot and the Western Negev. Such financial assistance is vital to the restoration of normal life for future generations of southern Israelis.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully,

Anav Silverman, Sderot Information Correspondent

I fear that Anav Silverman's words will be falling on deaf ears. For many of us in the US have witnessed these last few years is Europe's embracing of the Palestinian cause and ignoring the suffering that the Palestians are doing to innocent Israeli children.

You don't have to be silent though. You can help.

Remember Sderot and the people of Southern Israel in your prayers.
Sign up for Code Red alerts here.
Contact your congressman and Senators, reminding them of the United State's commitment to Israel.
And if you are able to, donate a few dollars to the Sderot Media Center. Just click on the logo at the top or bottom of this post.

Every child deserves a happy and safe childhood!

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UNRWA, Rockets and DePaul University

by Findalis


From the Sderot Media Center

3 stories, 3 different tales.

UNRWA, where is the money going?

by Anav Silverman

In recent years, billions of dollars have poured into Gaza from hundreds of countries and international organizations. How much of that money has actually reached Palestinian civilians, effectively improving their quality of life and economy, has yet to be completely determined thanks to vague audits and on-line information.

Only recently, with a relatively silent international press, have there been questions from top political leaders, primarily from US, about the way in which the donor money will be transferred into Gaza.

At an Egyptian donor’s conference organized by Norway and Egypt in early March, more than 75 international donors and organizations met to announce their financial support of the reconstruction in Gaza. Over $5.2 billion were pledged at the conference, surprising the Palestinian Authority who originally called for $2.8 billion needed to build-up Gaza.

In light of the US pledge of $900 million, the second largest following Saudi Arabia‘s $1 billion at the conference, US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton stated that no US funds earmarked for Gaza would end up in the “wrong hands.”

By wrong hands, Clinton meant Hamas, the militant Islamist Palestinian party in complete control of the Gaza Strip. Over $300 million dollars of the US pledge money will be going to Gaza reconstruction, while the rest of the $600 million has been earmarked to Palestinian Authority‘s Mahmoud Abbas.

However, there is another set of “wrong hands” in this scenario through which the transfer of funds may very well pass through, hands that are not considered a neutral player in the Arab-Israeli conflict. US State department spokesman, Gordon Duguid stated that Gaza support would be provided through USAID, in coordination with UN agencies that will most likely include UNRWA.

UNRWA, the United Nations Relief Works Agency, established in 1949 to aid Palestinian refugees, has shown dangerous partiality to Hamas terrorists.

In 2004, former UNRWA commissioner-General Peter Hansen revealed to the Canadian Broadcasting Company that UNRWA may very well employ Hamas members. “I am sure that there are Hamas members on the UNRWA payroll and I don’t see that as crime,” Hansen infamously stated. He further added, that “We do not do political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion as against another.”

UNRWA has employed several high profile terrorists which include top Islamic Jihad rocket maker, Awad Al-Qiq who was killed in an Israeli air strike last May 2008. Al-Qiq was the headmaster and science instructor at an UNRWA school in Rafah, Gaza. Another terrorist, Hamas’s interior minister and head of the Executive Force, Said Siyam, was a teacher for over two decades in UNRWA schools.

Fox News recently reported that UNRWA does not ask its employees whether they are members of, or affiliated with, a terrorist organization such as Hamas or Islamic Jihad. UNRWA also offers no formal screening to ensure that its employees are not affiliated with terrorist organizations.

During Operation Cast Lead, UNRWA officials accused Israel of firing into an UNRWA school, killing dozens of Palestinian civilians seeking refuge. Israel maintained that Palestinian rocket launchers locate next to the school had fired mortars on IDF soldiers, which prompted the army's response. Later, UN official Maxwell Gaylord, reversed the UN’s stance stating that the shelling and fatalities had actually taken place outside of the school. But the media damage to Israel had already been done.

Mortar Bombs Shot from UN School in Gaza 29 Oct. 2007




View at YouTube

Continue reading here.

Have you ever wondered where all the money is ending up? Billions of dollars and Euros. Some
of it from US taxpayers. The United Nations is to be supporting peace not war.

Over 180 Palestinian rockets strike Israel since ceasefire

by Anav Silverman

Over 180 Palestinian rockets have been fired at Israel since the unilateral ceasefire began on January 18, according to the IDF Spokeperson's Unit. The latest Qassam rocket attack targeted Ashkelon on Tuesday, March 24 after a 10 day lull. A Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit the Ashkelon are on Tuesday afternoon. No injuries or damage were reported.

Between March 17-24, three Palestinian mortar shells were fired at IDF forces operating along the border security fence. Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the mortar shells fired on March 22.

The last rocket attacks on Israel took place a week ago, on March 14, when Palestinian rockets slammed into the western Negev. The last rocket attack on Sderot took place on March 5, when a Qassam slammed into an open area in Sderot.



Although Hamas recently condemned the Qassam rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, the rocket attacks have continued throughout March. Hamas stated that although it has fired thousands of rockets in the past, its military wing was not behind recent attacks. The militant Islamic group in control of Gaza also stated that it was actively investigating who was responsible for the rocket fire.

On the day on which Israeli PM Ehud Olmert declared the ceasefire effective, January 18, Palestinian terror networks fired a total of 19 rockets at Israeli civilians in the south. Three of the rockets were fired after Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian networks declared a truce on the afternoon of January 18.

A week into the ceasefire, one IDF soldier was killed and three wounded in a roadside bombing on January 27.

Qassams, mortar shells, and Grad rockets have continued slam into Israel sporadically since the truce, with Sderot and western Negev residents entering bomb shelters between one to two times a week.

On February 1, the first grad-Katyusha was fired at Israel since Operation Cast Lead, following two more Grad rockets fired at southern Israel on February 13 and February 21 respectively.

On February 28, nine rockets including two newly advanced Grad-type rockets slammed into Ashkelon. In what was the worst attack since the ceasefire, a Grad rocket slammed into an Ashkelon school, causing heavy damages. The Grad rocket tore through the school, after the air raid siren sounded in the morning, with shrapnel destroying several classrooms. Seven people living nearby the school suffered from stress-related trauma.

The Ashkelon municipality was forced to shut down the school for sometime until repairs could be made. The Grad rocket that hit the school had a range of about 14 km or 8.6 miles, and was designed to cause massive damage.

*Ha'aretz.com, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and YNet News contributed to this report.

For the people of Southern Israel, there is no cease-fire, no truce. Yet the liberals moonbats cry that Israel must honor the cease-fire, the truce. Why aren't they screaming for Hamas to do the same?

Attacking Sderot at DePaul University

by Jacob Shrybman

One week ago I shared the human side of the conflict in southern Israel and told my personal stories from Sderot in a presentation at Depaul University in Chicago sponsored by StandWithUs, Hillel, and the university’s Political Science department. As a representative of Sderot Media Center, I traveled from Israel to explain the daily reality of rocket fire that has been plaguing the country for the past eight years. Still one week after I told personal stories of having 15 seconds to run for my life, because of the overshadowing anti-Semitic harassment and disruption caused by pro-Hamas student and non-student organizations my message of understanding and empathy for the people of southern Israel has not yet permeated peoples’ minds.

Tolerating Intolerance - Trailer



View at YouTube

I wasn’t 30 hours off the plane from Israel before I was greeted with more direct anti-Semitism than qassam rockets fired at Sderot. Several anti-Israel posters draped the entrance to the building in which I was to tell my personal stories. I began my presentation with a small audience of around 20 people and as my presentation went on the room began filling with people not merely against Israel’s political policies and action but people in clear support of the terrorist organization Hamas.

When I welcomed the custom of a question and answer period following my presentation the very right of free speech that I welcomed to the audience of now over 100 people was thrown in my face and denied to me. To start the question and answer period, an audience member verbally attacked me, stated his support for the firing of rockets into Israel, and ended his anti-Semitic rhetoric filled rant with a question irrelevant to anything in my presentation. I then pointed out to the audience the same fact I want to point out in this article, that this person was not simply criticizing Israel but was clearly expressing his support for the terrorist organization Hamas. Before I could finish answering the question that was underneath all the threatening hate filled propaganda in this audience member’s statement I was interrupted and silenced by the overwhelming Hamas supporters. Next another audience member rose up in the front of the room and screamed out calling me a “dirty whore” in Arabic and proceeded to grab his crotch and scream “Here’s your qassam!” in Arabic.

Continue reading here.

I am not surprised at the reaction from DePaul University. It is an established fact that the majority of US Collages and Universities openly support anti-Semitism and this rhetoric. In fact a student who is Jewish will get lower grades by the majority of their professors if it is brought to the professor' s attention that the student is a Jew. It is chic to be an anti-Semite now on 99% of the campuses today.

Documentation of this has become a goal of Gary Fouse of Fousequawk.

I ask you, my reader to remember the people of Sderot and Southern Israel in your prayers. I am going to ask you to consider carefully what school you are planning to attend (or your child) and whether that school allows hate speech such as is seen in the video above and others that can be found on the internet. Do you want your child indoctrinated into Nazi rhetoric? Do you want your hard earned dollars supporting Nazi ideology disguised as sympathy for Palastinians? If you are an allumni of such a school and a supporter of Israel, why are you sending the school money to continue these activities?

And like I always do, I will ask you to donate to the Sderot Media Center. Just click on the logo at the top or bottom of this post. It will take you right to the donation page.

Now is not the time for people to be silence.

Evil flourishes when good men do nothing!

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Gilad Shalit Supporters Wait for Hillary Clinton’s Reply

By Findalis


On March 13, 2009 I asked the following question:

Why are we giving money to terrorists, Secretary Clinton?

A simple question and yet there has been no reply to it.

Now the Sderot Media Center awaits the answers to its questions to Secretary Clinton.

View the video here.

By Anav Silverman

In their final effort to pressure the Olmert government to secure the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, the Shalit family have stationed themselves in a protest tent across the Prime Minister’s Residence for more than a week now. Rain or shine, the family gathers together each day as reporters, cameramen and thousands of supporters mill around, amid the sad faces of Gilad‘s parents, Noam and Aviva, and older brother, Yoel.

“We are cautiously waiting to see what will happen,” said Noam Shalit on a rainy Sunday standing outside the tent and speaking with Sderot Media Center and press. The family believes that these last few days are critical during the final attempts to negotiate a release deal with Hamas but continue to remain wary. “I am not at all optimistic. If I were optimistic, I wouldn't be here. I would be at home,” Noam Shalit said.

A sign at the protest tent lists the number of days that Gilad has been held captive by Hamas--this Saturday it will be 1,000 days. Palestinian terrorists captured Gilad at the Erez border crossing almost three years ago, when Hamas won control of the Gaza Strip. He has since been denied Red Cross visitations or communication with his family and the outside world.

In a country where the military plays a pivotal role and everyone knows someone in service, the Gilad Shalit capture has touched the hearts of Israelis across the nation, making him a national symbol. Posters, photos and flags of Gilad, a typical looking nineteen year-old in glasses, can be found plastered on cars, malls, and homes throughout the country.

Recently, however, the continuing storm in Israel surrounding Gilad’s capture made some small waves in the US Congress.

Following a briefing by Sderot Media Center director, Noam Bedein to US congressmen and staffers on Capitol Hill, in an EMET sponsored Policy Forum at Capitol Hill, US Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev) drafted a letter to Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. In the letter, Congresswoman Berkley, who is a member of the Middle East Subcommittee of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, asked that conditions be placed on the $900 million that the US recently pledged to Gaza.

Berkley stated that she is concerned that the $900 million recently pledged by the United States to the Palestinian people in Gaza will end up in the hands of Hamas, and asked that the money be withhel until the following conditions are met: 1) Hamas recognizes Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, 2) the launching of Qassam rocket missiles on Israel stops, 3) captured soldier Galid Shalit is returned (http://www.emetonline.org ).

On Sunday, March 15, Noam Bedein visited the Shalit family at the Jerusalem protest tent to personally hand a copy of the Berkley letter to Noam Shalit and explain the significance of the petition. Family spokesperson, Shimshon Libman told Sderot Media Center, that every effort including US pressure, would contribute to the family‘s efforts to bring Gilad home.

The Organization for the Release of Gilad Shalit, released an official statement warmly welcoming the initiative. "For many days, we have demanded that elements that can be used to influence some kind of deal--from transfer of money and goods to prisoners, will make Hamas understand that this is a mutual affair. Our true friends in the US again reveal their understanding of the game rules played in this region. This is the language of action needed. We hope that representatives of other contributing nations (to Gaza) will act in a similar fashion."

Meanwhile, US Rep. Shelley Berkley is still awaiting a response from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to her letter.

The Shalit family will unfortunately also continue to wait for Gilad‘s release--indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Cairo failed to advance Gilad’s release in exchange for hundreds of freed Palestinian prisoners. Knesset Minister, Eli Yishai stated on Tuesday that Gilad's release will be up to the next government. During the negotiations, Hamas demanded the release of up to 1,400 prisoners. Of that number, 450 were Palestinian terrorists known to have been involved in terror attacks that killed Israelis.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Ayman Taha, a Hamas spokesman stated that the two sides had yet to resolve a number of differences regarding the proposed deal.

"It will take a few days before we know if there is an agreement," Taha stated. "Hamas has presented its demands to the Egyptian mediators, who relayed them to the Israelis. We hope that the Zionist enemy will accept our demands in the coming days."

At any rate, rocket fire continued against Israel again this week, as a Palestinian rocket fired at the western Negev on Monday struck an open area across a kibbutz in the Eshkol Regional Council. Over 160 Palestinian rockets and mortars have slammed into Israel since the unilateral ceasefire began on January 18.

To refresh the memory of those who forgot the case, Gilad Schalit was kidnapped on June 25, 2006 by Hamas. Hamas has refused to allow the International Red Cross to visit him, to allow anyone to determine whether he is alive or dead. For over 999 days he has been held captive. Yet the world says nothing, does nothing. But let some asshole reporter get kidnapped by the same group, and there is outrage from every sector.

Normally at this time I ask you to pray for Sderot and the people of the South of Israel. This time I ask you to do something more. Watch the video below, then sign the Petition to Congress.
Make any money given to Hamas conditional on the release of Gilad Schalit. Bring Schalit home before Passover, the Festival of Freedom. And spread the word.

Freedom for Gilad Shalit



View at YouTube


Sign the petition here.

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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!

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