Humanizing Hamas: An NYTimes objective gone wrong
The New York Times recently published an interview with Hamas's political chief, Khaled Mashal, entitled Addressing US, Hamas Says It Grounded Rockets. In the interview, the Times takes a very sympathetic approach to Hamas leader, who was just elected to his fourth term as Hamas's political bureau chief, the post he has held since 2004. The Times attempts to portray a new more "moderate" Mashal, in the hopes that Hamas is actually turning a new leaf. In the article, The Times quotes Mashal as asking Americans to disregard the Hamas charter, (steeped in anti-Semitic declarations), while also stating that Iran does "not control or affect Hamas policies." The Times also quotes Mashal saying that Hamas has no interest in bringing strict Muslim law into Gaza. Holocaust Remembrance Day: The tragedy of silence
Yesterday, Israel marked Holocaust Remembrance Day. Standing on a street in Sderot, I listened quietly to the siren sound, remembering the tragedy of 6 million Jews killed in Nazi Europe, my great grandparents, uncles and aunts from Poland among them. I've become used to sirens sounding in Sderot during my past two years here-the click of the intercom, followed by a female voice that calmly repeats Tzeva Adom, Tzeva Adom, or Color Red. The scenes that unfold usually entail people dashing into shelters-racing for 15 seconds that may mean the difference between life and death. Human Rights for Sderot residents
Liraz Madmony, 23 of Sderot, grew up under Palestinian rocket fire. Although a rocket has never directly hit her home, Liraz has experienced the terror of rocket explosions countless times over the past eight years. "We don't have a bomb shelter in our house," she says. "Every time, the Tzeva Adom is set off, our family races to the shower, the only room that is most 'secure' from a rocket attack." Liraz, a law student in a Ramat Gan college in central Israel, is heavily involved with student organizations such as WUJS (World Union of Jewish Students). "Many times I've missed my law classes and student activities because of the rocket attacks. It's almost impossible to lead a normal life when you are forced to live under with warning alerts and raining rockets." The impact of Palestinian rocket terror on Israeli children
There have been many questions bouncing around in the media this week. Why is Israel at war? Why are there so many Hamas men dead? Why are Hamas firing rockets at Israel? A war of resistance, some say. Israel is holding a siege against Gaza. Palestinians are starving and suffering. And who is to blame? Israel of course. At least that is the conclusion that emerges within the headlines of AP and Reuters news reports, European news media, and countless Internet blogs on the current fighting. For those who seek objective answers to those questions, the unfolding tragedy of Sderot and the western Negev must be taken into account. Saving a life in SderotOn Tuesday morning, as I was getting ready to leave my home, a woman's voice said "Tzeva Adom! Tzeva Adom! Tzeva Adom!" over Sderot's public speaker system. I had already heard this alarm a few times that morning, and several hundred times since I moved to Sderot. It meant that a rocket fired by Hamas in Gaza would explode somewhere in or near Sderot in about fifteen seconds. I went about my business, turning off my computer and packing my books, as I awaited the explosion. When the inevitable happened, I heard that unmistakable cracking sound at the tiny fraction of an instant, the KA of the KABOOM! It indicated that Hamas had been lucky this time and hit somebody's home, instead of their rockets landing in a field whose mud muffled the blast. One learns to pick up these subtle differences in kinds of explosion if one lives in Sderot. Less subtle was that my building shuddered, and my windows danced in their frames; I felt the slight shove of the shockwave going through my body. I knew that this Kassam rocket had landed within a few blocks of my home. No plans to leave Ashkelon
The writer came to Ashkelon from Brooklyn, NY in 1976 and teaches at Achva Academic College (students who are studying to be English teachers) and at Ashkelon College. She also freelances for the Metro section of The Jerusalem Post. She and her former paratrooper husband have three children; one who lives out of range of grads and one who lives in Ashkelon but is staying with friends in Tel Aviv. He's in his 3rd year at Sapir College in Sderot so is really getting a double whammy. Their daughter lives here in Ashkelon and works in Kiryat Malachi. December 31st. Wednesday, 11:05 It was a rather quiet night in Ashkelon but not a quiet morning. I was much calmer than the night before, maybe because my son gave me a physics lesson and I understand the projectory of one of these missiles. But then maybe not. The important thing is that I'm calmer, at least for now. We live across the street from the sea and about 3 minutes before Gaza air space. The rainy morning skies are filled with air traffic, something we haven't seen from this vantage point. Sometimes, the wind sounds like the beginning of a siren and we jump. We hear "booms" from Navy ships and sometimes don't know if it's a missile or one of ours shooting at them. This too is a bit scary. Why the ceasefire never stood a chance
Back in January 2008, the German newspaper, Der Spiegel published an article covering the Kassam rocket production in Gaza. Ulrike Putz, the author of the article interviewed several Palestinians in the midst of building rockets and stirring away explosives. One Palestinian, Abdul, explained that building rockets for the Palestinian terror network, Islamic Jihad is his night job, while during the day he studies geography. Abdul, 22 at the time of the article, began producing rockets for Palestinian Islamic Jihad when he 19. I believe that the article offers significant insight into why the recent ceasefire with Hamas which began on June 21, and has completely disintegrated since early November, never stood the chance of lasting in the first place. Psychological trauma increasing among Sderot residents
"Rockets scare me," says Niv Chen, an 8-year old elementary school student who goes to school in Sderot. As Niv gets into the car, on his way to school, he asks his older brother, Eliran, to lower the car windows, so that he can hear the Tzeva Adom. The Tzeva Adom, or Red Color alert is the siren that warns Sderot residents of impending Palestinian rockets and allows residents 15 seconds to escape to shelter. Niv and countless other children in Sderot have been living with Palestinian rocket fire for almost 8 years. Many have trouble concentrating in school and suffer from anxiety attacks. Knesset lobby group for Sderot?
On Monday morning, July 28th, a delegation of Sderot residents traveled to the Israeli Knesset to raise their concerns over the blatant misconduct of the Israel Tax Authority (ITA) in handling compensation files for property damages filed by Sderot residents. The Israeli government has delegated the ITA to handle, in accordance with Israeli law, issues of compensation for damage in times of war. Sderot residents whose property has been damaged by rocket attacks from Gaza must file their case with the ITA in order to receive compensation from the Israeli government. Sderot Media Center facilitated the delegation's trip to the Knesset, after publishing an investigative report six months earlier on Israel's leading investigative news site, www.nfc.co.il , that revealed the ITA dealt harshly and arbitrarily with cases of property damage in Sderot caused by Kassam rocket attacks by terrorists in Gaza. Who is fooling who?
The other day in Sderot, I made an astonishing observation. I was walking from the office after a long day at work to catch some sleep when I noticed I was not walking alone. Usually the city is deadly quiet once the sun sets, as parents refuse to let children play outside in the dark. Families prefer to remain at home together after a long day of siren alerts and rocket explosions. High school kids don't ride around as much with the music blasting and teenagers don't walk around listening to their Ipods in case the 'tzeva adom', red color alert sounds. There's not much to do at night except maybe watch a movie and hope that Hamas rocket launchers decide to go to sleep, so that those us living in Sderot can relax just a little bit. |
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