This website was created in 2008 and taken offline in 2018.
Because of the recent Hamas atrocities I am putting this back online for historical purposes.
Israelis have suffered attacks from Hamas for many years.
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Painting by Yohai Begayev, aged 10, 4th grade,
Haroeh Elementary School, Sderot, Israel
"God, we love You."
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Between 2000 and 2008, over 7,000 rockets have been launched from the town of Beit Hanun, in Gaza, toward Sderot, in Israel.
"We have decided to make Sderot a ghost town," said a spokesman for Hamas in a recent article. "We are not going to stop launching our rockets until they leave." But in spite of this barrage of iron from the sky,
the majority of the population has stayed, living in their homes and going about their daily lives.
Most of the press coverage has shown the panic that can take place when the rockets begin to fall. This is dramatic and has frequently been tragic, with thirteen people killed in the past seven years. But it is not the whole story. Although some of the residents have fled, many more have stayed and have become stronger. Instead of becoming a "ghost town," Sderot is a vibrant and energetic city which will not be defeated. This is an accounting of one month spent near Sderot in early 2008.
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 Students from Sderot display kassam missiles
in a Jerusalem demonstration |
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The perception I had of the Sderot, Israel, area before I visited was that of a population living in fear,
constantly in a state of panic as seen in the photos left and right above. But the reality I found was far
different, with a tough and resilient people able to live under difficult conditions.
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"The Qassam's speed in the air is 200 meters per second. The distance from the edge of Beit Hanun to the outskirts
of Sderot is 1,800 meters. Therefore, a rocket launched from Beit Hanun takes about nine seconds to hit Sderot. "Haaretz article. |
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"There is no more Jewish act than living in Sderot," said Los Angeles Councilman Jack Weiss,
who visited this area in the summer of 2007. "They are truly on the front lines of our entire people." |
Observations and opinions from a one-month stay near Sderot
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This is a personal website, created to help recognize the daily acts of bravery
by residents of
Sderot and the other communities near Israel's border with Gaza. Throughout this website I have included my personal observations. All photos are by me unless otherwise indicated.
Richard Smith, Kibbutz Nir-Am, March 2008
Rocket launch, from a Hamas film |
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