By: Emily Green, Temple University ‘13

Of all the things we did today, being in Sderot was especially moving. In this troubled area of Israel, we partnered with two activists working for the Sderot Media Center. Without people like Noam and Tom, important information about the reality on the ground would probably not be exposed the way it should. It is horrifying to think that this small city in Israel and its civilians are consistently targeted by missile and mortar attacks by terrorists in Gaza, less than a kilometer away.

Of all the things we did today, being in Sderot was especially moving. In this troubled area of Israel, we partnered with two activists working for the Sderot Media Center. Without people like Noam and Tom, important information about the reality on the ground would probably not be exposed the way it should. It is horrifying to think that this small city in Israel and its civilians are consistently targeted by missile and mortar attacks by terrorists in Gaza, less than a kilometer away.

With Hamas at its back door, the civilians of Sderot are traumatized by the constant “tzeva adom,” or warning siren, that sounds before rockets fall. Tom, who took our group around Sderot, wanted to help us understand what it was like to run to a bomb shelter in the event of such an attack. One would think that it would not be difficult to run to the shelter in 15 short seconds before our imaginary explosion. We were proven wrong because even without the pandemonium and crowds of people, we could only make it to the shelter in 20 seconds.

While visiting a playground with bomb shelters in the shapes of caterpillars and castles, our madrichim met a resident of Sderot who volunteers at a facility that distributes food to needy residents. After a quick change of plans, our group volunteered there for 30 minutes. It was wonderful to see how happy the people were to see us help. One woman at the shelter thanked us with the biggest smile on her face. It was truly rewarding. We are currently trying to figure out a way to raise $1,000 to buy new carts for the people to use to carry food. Please contact the staff at Hasbara Fellowships to help with our fundraising efforts

We ended our day with a view that shocked many: Gaza. At the lookout spot, we discussed Israel’s current situation and what it is like to be so close to Gaza and Hamas. Seeing a place that we have read so much about and have even grown to fear was surreal. While getting ourselves seated, our speaker told us to move to the ground because he did not want us to sit with our backs toward Gaza. “Don’t be a target,” he said. It got me thinking: If this was our reality for only a few short hours, I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to have my back to Gaza every single day.