From S'derot

Posted by: "judybalint" JudyB14868@aol.com judybalint
Mon May 21, 2007 1:41 pm (PST)

From Masha Rifkin,Sderot, courtesy of www.shorashim. comHow can I begin to describe the experience I went through yesterday?How can you capture the shaking ground, the unbearable noise of theimpact, the tears, the screaming, the mothers in hysterics -- how canyou, the reader, feel what I felt, see what I saw -- just by readingthese words? I ask you, leave your homes, your offices, yourclassrooms -- and step into this world for a moment, into Sderot.It was a type of scream I couldn't recognize, half laughter, halfterror, complete madness.

The first 'TSEVA ADOM'(Red Alert) alarm went off as I was across thestreet from my office, borrowing a friend's computer on the fourthfloor of an apartment building. Like usual, we stepped into thecorridor -- the safest place in the house -- and waited. 15? 14? 13? Ihad gotten to twelve when I heard the screaming. A type of scream Icouldn't recognize, half laughter, half terror, complete madness. 11?10? it fell. Maybe a block away at most. Everyone in the apartmentraced outside, and it wasn't until 30 seconds later -- when I wokefrom my daze - that I realized the screaming hadn't stopped. I wasabout to step outside to join the rest when, 'TSEVA ADOM'. Again. 15?14? I had barely reached 13 when it crashed, shaking my entire body --half a block away.How often have you read about Sderot's 'anxiety victims'? What do youpicture -- heightened blood pressure, breathing at a faster pace? No-- it is this woman's body, convulsing, flailing. It is her inabilityto think or move rationally -- to protect her child.

My phone rang: it was my boss Natasha, telling me to immediately comeback to the office, as the fourth floor of any building was not safe.I grabbed my roommate Jackie who had come with me for the day, curiousabout my work in Sderot, and together we ran back across the street,as quickly as we could -- into the office. Natasha looked us over,then asked if we had heard the scream. She explained that a youngmother was pushing her child in a stroller, when the first 'tsevaadom' alarm went off. Rationally speaking, she would have had enoughtime to pick up her child and rush with him into a nearby basement.But instead, she toppled over the stroller, child inside, and herselffell to the ground -- screaming. She did not cease until Natasha andthe others who ran out of the apartment lifted her and her child, andcarried her into a neighbor's apartment. How often have you read aboutSderot's 'anxiety victims'? What do you picture -- heightened bloodpressure, breathing at a faster pace? No -- it is this woman's body,convulsing, flailing. It is her inability to think or move rationally-- to protect her child. She was only able to collapse, hitting theground, as if the tremor of her beating fists would keep away the Qassam.

Natasha, Jackie, and I sat in the office -- trying to keep working.That's what you do in Sderot. Stop. Go. Stop. Go. We didn't getthrough much as every few minutes we would get phone calls fromhysterical parents. It was 7 o'clock, parents were still at work --their children alone at home. All I could hear was Natasha screaming,"Calm down? CALM DOWN. LISTEN TO ME, BREATHE! I WON'T TALK TO YOU UNTIL YOU BREATHE. Listen, your children are fine. No, I don't knowwhy they're not picking up the phone. They probably ran downstairs. I SAID CALM DOWN." Every few minutes another parent would call, havingheard that a Qassam fell by their home -- unable to reach their children. She was reliving it at that very moment -- the sound that killed herhusbandIt was at this moment that Purim Yakobov walked in -- a mother of oneof my children. I will be taking her son to a summer camp in thestates this June, and we had set up this meeting the previous week sothat she would be able to ask all of her questions. She walked, amidstthe rainfall of Qassams, to keep the meeting. There she was, stilldressed in black -- still mourning her husband -- who died 6 monthsago from a qassam attack. She lowered herself slowly onto a chair, herface absolutely white. She was reliving it at that very moment -- thesound that killed her husband. She took my hands, and pleaded with me,"Please," she said, "I have nothing. I have no one. My sons are everything. Promise me he will be happy. I need to hear it from you,please, they are all I have". Tears rolled down her cheeks, and Jackie-- even amidst the stress of dealing with her first Qassams, threw her arms around her. Purim left, and shortly after, 'TSEVA ADOM'.

We raninto the corridor, there were many of us now -- as the studentvolunteers were holding a meeting. I tried to count down from 15again, but was interrupted by one of the students. She was laughing."Hamas and Fatah finally made up, and in celebration, they're firing anice salute to us!" she said. We all burst out into fits of painfullaughter? BOOM. The laughter abruptly stopped, and someone spoke whatwas on all of our minds, "That one was really close".Hyperventilating, choking on her tears, her screams, yelling for hermotherAgain I heard screaming; I looked around quickly and realized thatNatasha was not there. Suddenly I heard her voice, "MASHA, WATER! HURRY!" I ran outside and found a circle of women, Natasha at thecenter, trying to console a young girl. Another 'anxiety victim'.Hyperventilating, choking on her tears, her screams, yelling for hermother over and over again. Natasha quickly poured cold water on thegirls face, and put her arms around her. The girl buried her face in Natasha's neck, clawing her fingers into her back, her shoulders,leaving deep scratches all across body. Eventually her breathing returned to normal; we seemed to be all breathing together, getting lost in the few moments of calm, when 'TSEVA ADOM, TSEVA ADOM'. The girl fell to the ground screaming, 'NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!

'I had to hold my breath to keep from gasping when I saw his bleeding eyesA half hour later, two reporters from Tel Aviv arrived. They askedNatasha if she could take them to the places that were hit by Qassams.I asked to go along, and we shortly arrived to the first location -- ahouse which was hit directly. I followed the gaze of the crowds ofpeople outside, and saw that the qassam had completely demolished oneside of the house. A man emerged from inside, and we all rushed overto him. I was surprised by how calm he was, until someone shown alight over his face. I had to hold my breath to keep from gasping whenI saw his bleeding eyes. Or, what I thought was bleeding -- red weltshad formed across them, he seemed unable to focus on anything. Hestared at nothing for a few moments, and then said seemingly to no one-- "If you hear tseva adom, you can go here" and pointed, withoutaverting his blank gaze, to a small cement wall behind him. We were eventually able to gently coax some answers out of him. It was not his house, it was his sister's. "She was standing in the kitchen" he paused "her body was completely torn by shrapnels? I don't know how she is." Natasha probed further about the children. "Three of them were in the basement -- baruch hashem -- but the fourth, I think hemay have been with her. The ambulance took them both away - I don'tknow how they are," he repeated. Another man pulled me aside to showme where a woman had been standing, only a few meters from the house. She had witnessed the entire scene, and had collapsed in shock. He then pointed to a truck parked nearby, with a large hole in the backwindshield where a shrapnel had flown through. The shrapnel had missedthe woman's face by mere centimeters.

The next location was in an apartment complex which houses mostly invalids, senior citizens, and single mothers. The qassam felldirectly into the center of the complex. We came across a manstanding, staring at the damage. He showed how a shrapnel had flownthrough his window and into his apartment. "My neighbor? she was justwatching T.V? a shrapnel went through her wall and into her eye."Location after location, gruesome story after gruesome story, 'tsevaadom' after 'tseva adom', boom after boom. It felt endless.

Later that night, Jackie and I drove back to Tel Aviv with the two reporters, amidst 'TSEVA ADOMS' and the sound of qassams crashingnearby. In the car, we wondered what our friends were doing back inthe States -- studying for finals, or perhaps celebrating theircompletion. We were trying to avoid missiles - funny. Back in TelAviv, we were unable to go up to our room. We were too heavy withguilt knowing that merely an hour away, people were suffering withouthelp. We decided to take a walk, and soon after, a nearby constructionsite made a noise all too similar to the qassams.

Jackie ran to a busstop nearby, and screamed, crying, pounding her fists against the walls:"I'M JUST SO ANGRY! PEOPLE ARE DYING, SUFFERING, AND EVERYONE IS SOSILENT! WE'RE AN HOUR AWAY, AND NO ONE CARES! WHY ISN'T ANYONE DOINGANYTHING, WHEN THEY CAN DO SO MUCH?"

As I write this, Qassams are falling in Sderot. Children are screaming, mothers are collapsing in despair, doctors are pulling pieces of shrapnel out of the bodies of Jewish people, and you arer eading this article out of the comfort of your home. From Masha Rifkin, Sderot

Gaza Trickles Down to Chaos

It is unfortunate that the two parties of what was the short lived Palestinian Unity Government created in Mecca are engaged in the beginning of a civil war in Gaza and that one, Hamas, is also fully engaged in forcibly inviting in its Israel enemy. As Israel continues to fire missiles into Gaza at Hamas strongholds it inches closer to the full out ground offensive that Hamas and its Iranian backers so desperately want. Meanwhile a women driving a car in S'derot is killed by a qassam rocket with more coming each day. Israeli soldiers will be executed in the streets of Gaza in a guerrilla war and will be forced to take large and ugly measures to regain military control of the territory that it unilaterally disengaged from. All of this seems increasingly inevitable unless someone acts to stop the madness. I pray the US, EU, Arab League and UN can create a peacekeeping mission that will be strong enough, (including Egyptians and other neighbors), to be respected by Palestinians and Israelis alike.

Larry Snider

Death Inside & Outside Gaza

Hamas and Fatah are fighting for control of Gaza. The number of dead and wounded is mounting. And the number of Quasam rockets fired into the Negev is mounting too and with it Israeli injuries. In response, Israel is firing air strikes at Hamas strongholds in Gaza and considering a major ground offensive. As an alternative Foreign Minister Livni told the EU that Israel would support the utilization of an international peacekeeping force if it had the authority to go after Hamas. Something better happen before a bloodbath ensues.

Larry Snider

Gaza is Even More Toxic

Back in the fall I wrote an article about the deteriorating situation in Gaza in the aftermath of the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit, Operation Summer Rain, the destruction of the electric transformer, weapons smuggling from Egypt and the continued firing of rockets into southern Israel and particularly into S'derot and even Ashkelon. Since that time a Palestinian Unity government was formed. However, fighting in Gaza has intensified between Hamas and Fatah factions. Rockets are launched with increasing frequency from Gaza and caused twenty injuries on Tuesday. The people of Gaza have little food, limited mobility and very high unemployment. It is likely that a much greater disaster will follow unless there is some action to eliminate the fighting in Gaza, to eliminate the rocket fire from Gaza, and to enable the feuding Palestinians to look beyond the parties directly at the grave needs of their people. As for Israel, it is bathing in scandal and charges of gross ineptitude affixed firmly to the Prime Minister and his Defense Minister for the disastrous conduct of the Lebanon War by Olmert's own hand picked Winograd Commission. It is a very dangerous time!

Larry Snider

Just a Note

So many things happening in Israel/Palestine. Movement towards the next Israeli government. Rockets still flying from Gaza into the Negev and the city of S'derot. Terrible conflict in Gaza with Gilad Shalit still held prisoner and and Alan Johnson the British journalist still being held. Hezbollah is rearming in southern Lebanon. Iran is hell bent on developing a nuclear weapon to blackmail the entire Middle East. The US is still losing in Iraq. And a bad impersonation of Mickey Mouse is still appearing on Hamas TV telling all the children to be ready to eliminate Israel. Not a good report

Larry

A Destructive Policy of Chicken and Egg

Right now Israel is in the grip of political turmoil. The Winograd Commission says the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister were directly and overwhelmingly at fault for the bungled Lebanon campaign. The public has responded by expressing its outrage with 200,000 calling for the resignations of Olmert and Peretz loudly in Rabin Square. Liberal MK Paz-Pines is setting up a tent in front of the Prime Ministers residence that he will live in until the PM resigns. Foreign Ministr Tzipi Livni, a leading candidate to replace Olmert has called for his resignation. While Olmert may be accused of military naivety he is a professional politician fighting hard in the trenches for his political life. Rockets flew again yesterday from Gaza to S'derot, this time damaging a house. The US government suggests that if the Palestinians stop firing rockets the Israelis will eliminate a number of their hundreds of checkpoints and make travel by Palestinians easier. Hamas military chief, Khaled Mashaal told Al Jazeera TV; "I swear it's a joke ... the equation has now become: dismantling the checkpoints, in exchange for (giving up) resistance," he said. "This has become the Palestinian cause." And the IDF killed three members of the Islamic Jihad group in Jenin. A Palestinian government spokesman called the killings an escalation while Islamic Jihad vowed revenge. You would think that somebody would learn that this unending game of hit and be hit only promises more death and less peace.

Shalom-Salaam-Peace,
Larry

Winograd

Tonight close to 200,000 Israelis from the left, right and center showed up in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv to demand the resignations of Prime Minister Olmert and Defense Minister Peretz over their conduct of last summers War in Lebanon. The interum Winograd Commission report, (remember the Commission was set up by Ehud Olmert, not independantly), on Monday was a scathing indictment of Olmert, Peretz and Halutz's conduct of the war. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called for the Prime Minister's resignation yesterday. And yesterday 26 0f the 29 members of Olmerts Kadima Party came out in favor of Olmert's continuance. I don't believe Olmert will last until the final report is issued in July. Peretz will be confronted in a Labor Party election by Barak and Aylon later this month. And former Chief of Staff Halutz is already long gone. The Kadima party members are so scared that Netanyahu may sneak back into power that they are all supporting Olmert. Go to www.harretz.com to get the full story.

Peace,

Larry Snider

Welcome

It's May 2, 2007 and I'm writing my first post on SHALOMSALAAMPEACE.
I've been busy for the past 10 years studying the Israeli/Palestinian War of Attrition. I've traveled to Israel and the West Bank three times and spoken with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, peace activists, rabbis, imams, priests and one very special nun who's living right now in the Old City. I've spoken to lots of people too. People in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and here in the States. I've put together programs to bring together an Israeli Consul General and the Deputy Director of the PLO, to initiate interfaith dialogue and to help raise money for a school for peace, the Hope Flowers School, and an organization to rebuild homes that have been destroyed, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. My travels included participation as a member of a Compassionate Listening Delegation and as Lay Leader of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation's 2002 Mission to Israel. Before this intro becomes too long to bear I'd like to welcome you to my blog, where you will find articles and other documents of interest related to the cause of Middle East Peace. I hope you find SHALOMSALAAMPEACE to be interesting, informative and important enough to send me your comments. At this point I've written more than twenty articles and presented about twenty speeches on components of the conflict and the path to understanding and lasting peace. So I'm just warming up!

Blessings to you.