Sderot

Jerusalem Streets Emotional Roller Coaster of Prayer and Unity

Sharon A

Another week of rollercoaster emotions and war on the Jerusalem streets.

Sunday morning September 1, 2024, was the first day of school after long summer break.

You may have seen photos of protesters that the media loves to share.

But did you also see the tens of thousands of people each night after midnight for Selihot? The Sephardi tradition is to start late-night prayers from Rosh Chodesh Elul.

You can see how many people came to the Kotel, the Western Wall.

At night, the Prime Minister took to English social media to show a map of Israel in the Middle East.

As the night before in a Hebrew version, he highlighted the Gaza Strip and Philadelphi Corridor.

While Sunday morning was the first day of school, the usual excitement and photos were overshadowed by the dreadful news of the murder of six Israeli hostages in Gaza by Hamas terrorists.

Then on Monday afternoon, tens of thousands lined the Jerusalem streets with Israeli flags.

Flags large and small, on both sides of the road, along the route,

arriving from afar to line the way,

as the funeral procession for Hersh Goldberg-Polin went to Har Hamenuhot Cemetery.

Red shirts of his favorite sports team, many with his profile were seen along the way and at the cemetery.

Oh, what a contrast to the red flowers and bridal photoshoot minutes away.

Three brides dressed in white with families and photographers were in the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens.

Going for some quiet beauty in nature, and seeing wedding parties was a bonus on a dark day.

At night, the signs seliha asked for forgiveness for the hostages that were not brought back alive.

Interesting timing, I noticed also a poster for Avraham “Avera” Mengistu an Ethiopian-born Israeli crossed into Gaza on September 7, 2014. Ten years a hostage in Gaza!

With the start of Elul and the Sephardi Selihot, the Kesher Yehudi organization held an opening event.

Sivan Rahav Meir was on hand to support families of hostages still in Gaza.

Musicians Akiva and Yonatan Razel performed for the event before proceeding to the Kotel for selihot.

Rabbanit Yaffa Deri was also there to inspire and encourage the participants.

On Wednesday I took some time off the Jerusalem streets with the constant construction and noise and went south. The old Shmita signs are still up on some fields.

However, this pile of dried hay was interestingly piled up.

It was a quiet day when we were in Sderot with its decorated shelters, but in the north, there were 100 missiles/rockets at the same time. Without shelters, tens of thousands of Israelis are still forced from their homes and schools since October 8.

After decades under attack from Gaza, Sderot has new construction to keep up with the demand.

People arrive in Israel to volunteer and immigrate during a war, and people want to live in Sderot.

I finally got a better photo of the watermelon in front of the library.

Ironic, that the watermelon was there long before its use in a social media campaign against Israel began.

There are bomb shelters by the bus stops along the road to Sderot.

But also, kilometers lined with the Sabra Cactus plants.

On leaving Sderot is the AMDOCS building with a large blue and white banner.

Under the blue and white flag in Hebrew is – “Strong together.”

The week past saw Israelis united in mourning, now to maintain that unity to victory.

100 Days from Jerusalem – See South and North

Sharon A

100 Days

Shabbat Simhat Torah morning when Hamas started a war that they called the Al-Quds Flood.

Thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel, murdering and rampaging while raining rockets down on us in Jerusalem and throughout much of Israel.

This 100 Days photo essay is a brief review to give you a glimpse into Israel today.

The sun has risen every day since October 7. Those who were awake at 7:10 am today caught sight of a rainbow stretched over the Jerusalem streets.

The Israeli flags and banners “united we will win,” large and small, abound on the Jerusalem streets.

The graves of fallen soldiers in the Har Herzl Military Cemetery, near the new memorial hall, used to be all the same, row after row of identical graves.

But not now. On one of the too many new gravesites of the hundreds of fallen soldiers since October 7, there is a birthday balloon, Yehonatan died on November 10, 2023, days before his 22nd birthday. Photos, candles, flags, and other momentoes also cover many of the new graves.

Workers are clearing new areas for more graves.

At the same time, we were at Har Herzl, there was a 30-day memorial service for one soldier and a funeral for another, which drew a large crowd. As with most people in Israel, we knew friends and families at both of the sad events.

On one positive note, two women were giving out bottles of water to support the mourners as they left.

One way of supporting the families from the south who survived October 7 and cannot go home is through therapy performances for their children. This one was at the Ramada Hotel where hundreds of evacuees have been staying.

A few days, a few weeks, but months in a hotel unable to go home?

Will those murdered on October 7 be forgotten? Jacqui Vital, mother of Adi Vital Kaploun hy”d, is one of many parents who are speaking to solidarity groups to share and keep their memories alive.

So after almost 100 days, it was time to leave the Jerusalem streets, and head south to see, along with so many other groups to witness the destruction denied by so many outside of Israel.

The entrance to Kfar Aza is testimony to what was a beautiful agricultural kibbutz.

Until Hamas terrorists broke through the fences on the morning of October 7.

Murdering, burning, and destroying not only buildings but hundreds, thousands, of lives.

Especially hard hit were the young members of the community, only in their 20s, who were tortured and murdered in their homes.

If you look through the trees, you can see Gaza, only a short distance away.

Yes, it is hard to imagine the destruction by Hamas that morning.

No matter what the UN or IJC say, this was a genocidal attack.

Today we have not only Holocaust deniers, but October 7 deniers.

The next stop was the site of the Re’im Nova Festival where a “Bring Them Home Now” display was at the entrance. Notice that all the signs are in English to try and wake up world’s attention to the very real humanitarian crisis and war crimes.

Pictures have been posted of those murdered on the morning of October 7 at the music festival.

With special attention to those people still missing and held as hostages in Gaza.

Their fate is unknown, as they are held in the deepest terror tunnels as human shields for Hamas leaders.

We also visited Sderot where a new mural has risen over the site of the destroyed police station. I had visited several times on previous media trips south, but that is another story.

Members of our group helped the owner of this sukkah take it down, 96 days after the holiday.

Sderot is a beautiful city with a population of 30,000 people.

It has grown over the years, even under rocket fire from Gaza less than a mile away.

The Sderot Yeshiva roof was reinforced to make the entire study hall a sheltered safe room, so the young men not on active army service came back recently to study, plus former students have come back to support their Yeshiva. But first, they began by finishing up their interrupted Simhat Torah dancing.

On Wednesday night in Jerusalem at the Kotel, Western Wall, 50,000 people gathered to pray for the safety of the hostages and soldiers.

We however were near the Gaza border where volunteers prepared a BBQ, one of thousands in support soldiers in the field.

On Thursday morning we left the Jerusalem streets for Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv is where many of the hostage families have come to organize and support each other.

One initiative was writing a new Torah Scroll for the return of hostages.

The public square renamed Kikar Hachatufim, Hostage Square – is filled with projects.

And nearby, one can find almost anything needed by the families and their supporters.

On the Jerusalem streets, the new garbage trucks

or the rain might have been a topic for this past week.

However, after 100 Days, the fate of the hostages is on everyone’s mind.

Sderot: More than Missiles

Sharon A

This week I am taking you way off the Jerusalem streets.

The first time, I wrote about Sderot was over ten years ago. Then I wrote again over and over to stop the rockets. In 2012, on the way home from the south we saw the Iron Dome at work in its early days.

Hamas has persisted in firing tens of thousands of missiles and rockets at Israeli civilians and trips to Sderot over the years to see the damage had become a sad but routine event.

However, this past week was different.

Oh, there were the bales of hay along the road as we traveled to the Negev,

along with the signs for fields not planted for the Shemita year.

As we got close to Sderot I was not sure if these were stones or sheep?

Sderot is filled with new traffic circles, sculptures, and vegetation.

And of course, a bomb shelter in the old shopping area parking lot. The cement shelters are located every few meters along the Sderot streets, but most are uniquely decorated on the outside.

Having been to Sderot in the past, it was interesting the display of Hamas rockets and missiles had been removed from outside the police station.

But this trip was to see what was new in Sderot!

Jewish National Fund and private donors have helped to fund a new center for the people of Sderot and the surrounding area to receive support in various therapies in a new protected building. Sad to imagine a child getting trauma counseling in the old venue and having to run to a safe location away from an incoming rocket from Gaza.

When this opens soon, a new level of support will be available.

Also, we saw the Animal Therapy Resilience Center, where the cement shelters were left undecorated, in natural color on the campus.

Animals include the usual dogs and birds, and also a therapy snake,

and a cute little black goat.

One of my favorite signs was “Please touch!” for this mural.

So I asked Avi to oblige and pose for a photo.

Sderot wants tourists to come and see there’s more to the city than rockets.

The new Founder’s Museum is still under construction but hopes to open this summer with a history of the town.

Music – as you enter – a number of Israeli musicians came from Sderot.

Costumes for families to create their own video before leaving in a special theater recording setting. And it’s air-conditioned, important for the summer season in the Middle East.

The next stop required an ID and tags and is not on the usual tourist itinerary. But AMDOCS in the Negev, I thought important for you to know.

AMDOCS I knew was an impressive Israeli startup gone global. But learned that they had been in Sderot for 14 years, 30% of employees are women, and many of the AMDOC workers live locally.

This is one interesting slide from this communication software company that started this branch in the south with four employees in a room at Sapir College.

The variety of painted murals on the shelters is too large to share. All homes have protected rooms now.

And the new large park in Sderot has shelters, along the path.

This play area is a feature, with protection from the sun, and hopefully, time to get to a protected shelter if necessary.

This drawing of Ilan Ramon was on one of the dozens of shelters. They are all locked. If there is a red alert emergency, they all open automatically. Then, only locked again after they are checked by a person to make sure no one remains inside.

There is a toy soldier on guard at the Sderot park 24/7.

And there’s a lake! They have not only made the desert bloom but flourish.

Sderot has over 30,000 residents now, but this park should be popular with tourists as well. One more photo of the painted shelters on the way out.

Next to the Mayor’s office was a display of a few remains of Hamas’s tens of thousands of missiles and rockets. No photos from the “war room” where the city is monitored closely for any signs of trouble on multiple cameras.

Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi is pleased with the new neighborhoods and growth during his 10 years in office. Would cities anywhere else in the world not become a “ghost town” he asked after Sderot’s years under fire?

On a trip in 2018, the Sderot Hesder Yeshiva dormitories were under construction. I remember when the Yeshiva was starting and in the late 1990s, Rabbi David Fendel wanted to send a taxi to Jerusalem for us to come and see the new yeshiva in Sderot.

Now there are hundreds of students learning Torah, serving in the army, and building a growing community with their resilient families.

From the Yeshiva roof, built with layers of cement to protect from Hamas attacks, the view is impressive. Here in one direction, you can see Jerusalem is not the only skyline lined with construction cranes.

Sderot is more than missiles and rockets.

I was glad to be able to see what is new and happening and look forward to going again. Thanks to the host of the day Rabbi Ari Katz, Director of PR Yeshivat Hesder Sderot, Director of the Sderot Media Center, and Joshua Hasten for organizing a meaningful day.