Living with Rockets: McCain in Sderot

On a quiet Wednesday afternoon, a helicopter landed in Sderot with two US senators on board. Republican presidential nominee, John McCain and US senator Joseph Lieberman, who toured Israel for two days, made time to stop by this rocket-battered town in the western Negev.

They were received with the typical small-town warmth. "We are happy that they have come. They were brave to come," said one Sderot mother of the American visitors. She stops to watch the security vehicles and black sedans race by as McCain and Leiberman, accompanied by Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak rush to visit the Amar family whose home was hit by a rocket three months before. 

"I truly appreciate McCain coming to see our life here," says Shula Sasson, the next-door neighbor of the Amar family. McCain spent 20 minutes in the home of the Amars, asking questions about the wreckage and their situation. He was concerned about the children during the attack. "Where were the children when the rocket struck?" asked McCain.

Pinchas Amar, the father explains that his three children managed to take cover in the hallway. His wife, Aliza, who is wheel-chair bound was not so lucky. "She flew off her chair, slamming into the kitchen wall," explains Pinchas. "There was no time to react."

Sderot families have fifteen seconds to escape to shelter once the 'red alert' siren sounds. The Amars' home, like many homes in Sderot that were built in the 1950s, does not have a bomb shelter.

"We use our neighbors' home-made bomb shelter when we can," says Aliza.

Indeed, their neighbors, the Sassons built their own shelter two years ago out of family savings.

"Barak requested to use our bomb shelter during McCain's visit should the siren have sounded during their visit at the Amars," says Shula Sasson. The shelter was built by Shula's eldest son who was concerned for the family's safety before he entered the army. "There would have been room for all [the visitors] - the shelter fits 20 people," says Shula proudly.

McCain also expressed shock that the Amar home had not been repaired since it was hit back in December 2007. Sunlight pours through the gaping holes of the roof as wooden beams hang loose and the ceiling is about to cave into the kitchen.

Barak explains that the Israel Tax Authority has a very limited budget and therefore cannot immediately begin to repair homes damaged by Kassams. It can take up to 6 - even 8 months before the government will send workers to repair the home," says Pinchas.
 
"I'm sorry this happened to you," says McCain.

"If they were to fire at residents of a town in Arizona, the US would respond. The residents would definitely ask for a response," McCain had said at a news conference earlier.

McCain's visit was a fact-finding trip facilitated by the US Senate in order to asses the Middle East situation. Joining him were two other senators, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican. The senators are members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Although there were no rockets or sirens on the day McCain visited, the rocket fire against Sderot and the western Negev has dramatically escalated in recent months. Since December, close to 1000 rockets have been fired by Hamas and other Palestinian terror organizations at Israeli communities in the Negev.

McCain stated that it was difficult to expect Israel to "negotiate with a terror organization who is dedicated to Israel's extinction."

Indeed, a recent poll cited in the New York Times noted that 64% of Palestinians support the firing of Kassam rockets against Negev towns. In addition, the poll showed that three-fourths of the Palestinians were in favor of terminating talks between Abbas and Israeli PM Olmert.

The residents of Sderot hope that McCain's visit to their town will not be the last. "He is always welcome back for tea and cookies," says Shula, in the typical Sderot fashion.