Be’er Sheva, Israel – Originally written - March 9, 2008
I’ve heard it said that when one is on a mission of tzeddakah*, the malachim* guard you on your path. This must be the reason that when I went to Sderot* on Monday, to carry out my mission to purchase and distribute food to this beleaguered city*, no rockets were fired by the terrorists on the other side of the fence…
What I did find however, included things both expected and unexpected.
As I approached Sderot from Be’er Sheva*, I found myself in absolutely beautiful farmland. Although I had been in the Negev before, I only remembered the dry dusty town that was Be’er Sheva thirty-six years ago! For the first time, after many trips to Israel, I finally understood the reality behind what we’ve all been taught: That early Jewish pioneers in pre-Israel Palestine drained the swamps in the north and made the desert bloom…
Sderot itself, which has been battered by nearly constant rocket attacks for the last eight years, was the next surprise. I expected a broken, de-populated town with a few souls left who cannot leave because of economic reasons. I found instead, a bustling small city, with a nearby university and far more truck and car traffic than I expected.
However, although people move through the city as you might find them moving through most cities, doing the things that must be done on a day to day basis, if you scratch beneath the surface you will see the difference. Whether they are remaining for economic or for patriotic reasons, the people show the emotional scars. The smiles I received were stoic. I saw little glee in the residents. The only happy smiles I saw were on the faces of some of the many “solidarity” people: People who come for a few hours, days or weeks, to give aid and solace to these residents.
I had the good fortune to be connected to Shaul Biton, a private businessman who has lived in Sderot for the last forty years and who spends a great deal of his time helping the people in his town. I met him through the help of a relief organization called Table to Table which along with many other organizations serves the neediest in Israel. I arranged to meet Shaul in Sderot on Monday morning, and called to let him know as I was approaching the city. A man in his sixties, I would assume, with a neatly trimmed beard and a warm smile greeted me from his car, telling me to follow him. We drove to what appeared to be a series of small warehouses in the business district and parked.
After introductions and a discussion of how to proceed, Shaul took me into a small open fronted shop. Inside was an immaculately clean space filled with open bins and bowls of a huge variety of grains, beans, spices and fruit. Shaul explained our plan to the shop owner. We would take the money that I had brought with me and create sacks of food for as many households as possible. He explained that we were trying to support the local businesses that have been devastated financially by the constant attacks, rather than bringing in food from outside of the city… With the money I brought, we could create twenty sacks of food: a kilo each of rice and beans, some rice noodles, some spread for bread, a chicken, a bottle of oil, and a few other items. This would create some business for this and two other shops and the food would be distributed through two organizations: the Sderot branch of ENOSH, the Israel Mental Health Association and the local senior center. Depending on the number of people in the household the food might last from one to two weeks.
We placed our order for the food in the various shops and then Shaul took me around the city to show me both the town as well as the organizations we were supporting. ENOSH supports the residents of Sderot who are mentally ill but are still living in society, rather than in hospitals. As one can imagine, the stress caused by the constant attacks and fear of attacks, while difficult enough for emotionally secure and stable people is particularly devastating for those whose emotional health is already impaired. ENOSH does not provide direct money aid to its clients. Rather, it provides programming including art therapy, counseling services and other social services.
We did not go to visit the Senior Recreation Center ourselves, as it was closed during my visit. Shaul informed me that while our twenty packages of food would be a huge boon to the recipients, in fact there are over a thousand families who are in poverty and for whom a chicken is a luxury, not a staple.
I expected that people might feel frustrated and perhaps even annoyed at the paucity of this small relief effort, but I was surprised by the genuine gratitude that I saw and heard. Over the last eight years and until only very recently, the people of this “border” town have felt that they have carried a huge burden with very little support from the government and little attention from the rest of the world. Until recently the rocket attacks have produced “relatively few” direct physical, human casualties. As a result, the attention of the media has been drawn elsewhere. But tragically, the rockets are getting bigger and more accurate. Recent direct hits have killed and maimed in higher numbers and frequency. Within Israel, attention has been drawn to Sderot. Convoys of cars come to Sderot from Tel Aviv and elsewhere to shop in Sderot, supporting local businesses and jobs and in general, supporting the people.
It helps… a lot… People talk about how much they appreciate that they are at last seen and heard…. That the world is watching…
Wherever I went, people expressed their thanks… for both the money and for the knowledge that the Jewish people and the world at large is watching. But I told them how much we appreciate them.. They are on the front line in a seemingly endless war. They are soldiers without uniforms, fighting for their people and their country; not with weapons and bullets, but with their very lives…. Their presence there in Sderot IS the fight… We, the Jewish people will not allow others to force us from our homes ever again….
Please support the people of Sderot….
Glossary:
• tzeddakah -- loosely: charity
• malachim -- angels
• Negev – Arid region comprising most of southern Israel.
• City of ~20,000 in the western part of the Negev bordering the Gaza strip. Has been under missile attack for at least eight years
• Be’er Sheva – Fifth largest city in Israel – aka “Capital of the Negev”
The people of Sderot are living in an unimaginably precarious situation with perpetual fear of terror and constant disruption of their daily routine. Many children in Sderot suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; many adults have lost all sense of economic security. (In fact, 7,000 of the town’s 24,000 residents have fled permanently). The people of Sderot have felt completely abandoned by the government and by the “outside world.” It’s important that world hears what is going on there and figure out ways we can help.
Many thanks to the many members of Congregation Kesser Israel and other friends who, when they heard of my plans, practically threw money at me for the people of Sderot! Yashar koach to all of them and to all that can help in the future.
I’ve heard it said that when one is on a mission of tzeddakah*, the malachim* guard you on your path. This must be the reason that when I went to Sderot* on Monday, to carry out my mission to purchase and distribute food to this beleaguered city*, no rockets were fired by the terrorists on the other side of the fence…
What I did find however, included things both expected and unexpected.
As I approached Sderot from Be’er Sheva*, I found myself in absolutely beautiful farmland. Although I had been in the Negev before, I only remembered the dry dusty town that was Be’er Sheva thirty-six years ago! For the first time, after many trips to Israel, I finally understood the reality behind what we’ve all been taught: That early Jewish pioneers in pre-Israel Palestine drained the swamps in the north and made the desert bloom…
Sderot itself, which has been battered by nearly constant rocket attacks for the last eight years, was the next surprise. I expected a broken, de-populated town with a few souls left who cannot leave because of economic reasons. I found instead, a bustling small city, with a nearby university and far more truck and car traffic than I expected.
However, although people move through the city as you might find them moving through most cities, doing the things that must be done on a day to day basis, if you scratch beneath the surface you will see the difference. Whether they are remaining for economic or for patriotic reasons, the people show the emotional scars. The smiles I received were stoic. I saw little glee in the residents. The only happy smiles I saw were on the faces of some of the many “solidarity” people: People who come for a few hours, days or weeks, to give aid and solace to these residents.
I had the good fortune to be connected to Shaul Biton, a private businessman who has lived in Sderot for the last forty years and who spends a great deal of his time helping the people in his town. I met him through the help of a relief organization called Table to Table which along with many other organizations serves the neediest in Israel. I arranged to meet Shaul in Sderot on Monday morning, and called to let him know as I was approaching the city. A man in his sixties, I would assume, with a neatly trimmed beard and a warm smile greeted me from his car, telling me to follow him. We drove to what appeared to be a series of small warehouses in the business district and parked.
After introductions and a discussion of how to proceed, Shaul took me into a small open fronted shop. Inside was an immaculately clean space filled with open bins and bowls of a huge variety of grains, beans, spices and fruit. Shaul explained our plan to the shop owner. We would take the money that I had brought with me and create sacks of food for as many households as possible. He explained that we were trying to support the local businesses that have been devastated financially by the constant attacks, rather than bringing in food from outside of the city… With the money I brought, we could create twenty sacks of food: a kilo each of rice and beans, some rice noodles, some spread for bread, a chicken, a bottle of oil, and a few other items. This would create some business for this and two other shops and the food would be distributed through two organizations: the Sderot branch of ENOSH, the Israel Mental Health Association and the local senior center. Depending on the number of people in the household the food might last from one to two weeks.
We placed our order for the food in the various shops and then Shaul took me around the city to show me both the town as well as the organizations we were supporting. ENOSH supports the residents of Sderot who are mentally ill but are still living in society, rather than in hospitals. As one can imagine, the stress caused by the constant attacks and fear of attacks, while difficult enough for emotionally secure and stable people is particularly devastating for those whose emotional health is already impaired. ENOSH does not provide direct money aid to its clients. Rather, it provides programming including art therapy, counseling services and other social services.
We did not go to visit the Senior Recreation Center ourselves, as it was closed during my visit. Shaul informed me that while our twenty packages of food would be a huge boon to the recipients, in fact there are over a thousand families who are in poverty and for whom a chicken is a luxury, not a staple.
I expected that people might feel frustrated and perhaps even annoyed at the paucity of this small relief effort, but I was surprised by the genuine gratitude that I saw and heard. Over the last eight years and until only very recently, the people of this “border” town have felt that they have carried a huge burden with very little support from the government and little attention from the rest of the world. Until recently the rocket attacks have produced “relatively few” direct physical, human casualties. As a result, the attention of the media has been drawn elsewhere. But tragically, the rockets are getting bigger and more accurate. Recent direct hits have killed and maimed in higher numbers and frequency. Within Israel, attention has been drawn to Sderot. Convoys of cars come to Sderot from Tel Aviv and elsewhere to shop in Sderot, supporting local businesses and jobs and in general, supporting the people.
It helps… a lot… People talk about how much they appreciate that they are at last seen and heard…. That the world is watching…
Wherever I went, people expressed their thanks… for both the money and for the knowledge that the Jewish people and the world at large is watching. But I told them how much we appreciate them.. They are on the front line in a seemingly endless war. They are soldiers without uniforms, fighting for their people and their country; not with weapons and bullets, but with their very lives…. Their presence there in Sderot IS the fight… We, the Jewish people will not allow others to force us from our homes ever again….
Please support the people of Sderot….
Glossary:
• tzeddakah -- loosely: charity
• malachim -- angels
• Negev – Arid region comprising most of southern Israel.
• City of ~20,000 in the western part of the Negev bordering the Gaza strip. Has been under missile attack for at least eight years
• Be’er Sheva – Fifth largest city in Israel – aka “Capital of the Negev”
The people of Sderot are living in an unimaginably precarious situation with perpetual fear of terror and constant disruption of their daily routine. Many children in Sderot suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; many adults have lost all sense of economic security. (In fact, 7,000 of the town’s 24,000 residents have fled permanently). The people of Sderot have felt completely abandoned by the government and by the “outside world.” It’s important that world hears what is going on there and figure out ways we can help.
Many thanks to the many members of Congregation Kesser Israel and other friends who, when they heard of my plans, practically threw money at me for the people of Sderot! Yashar koach to all of them and to all that can help in the future.
posted by Shaul Gedalyah | 2:21 PM
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