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Noam Bedein is 24. After a year of seminary study, three years of Israel Army service on the Lebanese border and a year's trek around Asia, moved to Sderot to study at the business school at the Sapir College Branch of Ben Gurion University and has started work at the new Sderot Media Information Center for the Western Negev region of Israel.
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By Noam Bedein
July 7, 2007
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This "music video" shows the reality that Sderot is at the front lines of facing, but Israel and the whole world has yet to truly confront. For more information, and to donate to help the people of Sderot, visit SderotMedia.
Since the 26 of November 2006, the day of the "cease fire" until now, the number of missiles fired from Gaza towards Sderot and the Western Negev has reached 270, according to the IDF spokesman.
On Monday, May 7th, 2007, I was walking around Sderot, visiting the latest families whose home was hit by a Kassam rocket.
First I arrived at Hana Ben Yaaiesh's home. The grandmother of six grandchildren, Hana had moved from Morocco to Sderot together with her 3 brothers and 4 sisters in April 1956.
Hanna and two of her daughters sit in the kitchen, where she is welcoming a stream of visitors who come to express their concern.
Hanna says that she was glad that she was the only one in the house at the time of the attack, because her grandchildren often sleep by her to keep her company.
On Sunday night she had feeling that something wrong might happen, and she told her grandchildren that wanted to be alone.
The second thing Hanna was thankful for was that the rocket fell before 7:30 AM in the morning, when over 80 children go to Gan Kalanit, the kindergarten that is located exactly 10 meters away from her home.
The only complaint that Hanna had was that she has no "secure room| where she can take cover from the threat of the Rockets.
Hana's situation is the same as over 1,000 resident families in Sderot who have no "secure room", or "secure area" they can run to in 15 seconds after they hear the siren.
So what do you do when you hear the Tseva Adom [The siren alert]? I asked Hana.
"I cover my ears with my pillow, because the siren itself is horrifying."
Meanwhile, there are still six kindergartens in Sderot that are still unprotected and have no "secure area" in addition to 31 kindergartens in all of the Western Negev that also remain unprotected.
Another family whose house was hit is the Etgar Family. Their house was attacked on Saturday morning. Three and a half days later, there is still no change in the home. It is as if the missile has just fallen moments ago. You can see the garden on the side of the house with the children's bicycles ripped apart, the roof is shattered with shrapnel.
The police has taped off the garden, warning the four families living in this apartment building, that the edge of the roof, is very shaky and about to fall, since the kassam rocket hit the roof and tore the whole side of the roof off, there is still a piece of roof on the edge."
Neither the Mayor's office nor the tax authority assessment division is responding to this family.
While writing this I wonder which home I am going to visit tomorrow.
What are the chances that a missile will hit a classroom?
Walking down the streets of Sderot, looking at children running around, trying to figure out how old they are, trying to notice if there's a difference between 7 and 8 year olds.
Why is that important?
The government has decided that 7 year olds will have protected classrooms and 8 year olds will be required to run to a "secure area" in 15 seconds with dozens of other children.
Yet according to the experiments that the Israel Home Front Command conducted in the educational institutions of Sderot, 57% of the children in non protected classrooms in Sderot and the Western Negev, can reach the secured area in 15 seconds and less. 23% can reach the secured area in 16-19 seconds while 20% can reach secure areas in 20 seconds and above.
These are the results of the exercises involving various classes' speed rate in reaching the "secure area":
- Grades first-third- 75% of the classrooms can reach the secured area in 15 seconds and less, 17%- 16-19 seconds, 8%- 20 seconds and above
- Grades Fourth- sixth: 71%- 15 seconds and less, 24%- 16-19 seconds, 6%- 20 seconds and above.
- Grades seventh- Ninth: 45%- 15 seconds and less, 27%- 16-19, 27%- 20 seconds and above
- Grades tenth- twelfth: 39%- 15 seconds and less, 23%- 16-19, 39%- 20 seconds and above
So there you have it. A sentence of death on a high percentage of children in Sderot who will not be able to reach "secure areas" in time, if a Gaza missile hits a school
How is the government of Israel responding to this? The Prime Minister's office issued a statement that Machmud Abbas should stop the missile attacks. The Defense Minister's office issued a statement that anyone seen launching a missile will be dealt with.
The Israeli government will not answer the question about killing those who give the orders to fire the missiles.
The leaders of the Palestinian Authority were presented on Israeli television giving the orders to fire these missiles. Why does Israel not kill these leaders like it killed Sheikh Yassin and Dr. Rantissi who endorsed similar attacks two years ago?
The government of Israel offers no explanation and no answer to these questions.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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