Shalom from Jerusalem

Some things in life are all about location and timing. Last week, following the Canadian Jewish Federations' decision to invest 2 million dollars in Sderot, the staff of UIAC traveled to Sderot to observe first-hand the challenges the city is facing.

Less than 24 hours after we left, 19 Kassamim hit the city, and 10 buses hauled frightened residents to the outskirts of town.

Location, and timing: the war on the northern front may have come to a temporary halt, but in exchange, the pressure on Sderot and the surrounding area has increased tenfold. Residents of the city are afraid to leave their homes, and children are being evacuated daily to avoid the daily rain of rocket fire. The Gaza Front is becoming more and more a replica of the situation in the North. Weapons are being smuggled to our enemies through underground tunnels, and international terror organizations including Hizballah, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are securing new cells in Gaza. It is very clear to us all that decisive action must be taken to stop this escalation and protect ourselves, but the big question remaining is, when?

In the meantime the Canadian funds are assisting our colleagues at the Jewish Agency to organize overnight summer camps for youth that will operate throughout the summer vacation. We want to allow every Israeli child from the region to enjoy a safe and fun summer; we will not allow Ismail Haniyeh and his friends from Hamas to take that away from our innocent children. After such a rigorous and emotionally tense year, the least we can do is provide them some respite, and as much normalcy as possible. We must support our youth, and help them be strong and persevere.

That's the difference between the current period of attacks and previous ones: that this time, we are ready. This time, we are not abandoning Sderot, but we are standing behind them. Our staff visit to Sderot last week and the programs we are creating at this very moment are showing the people of Sderot that we care. What happens in Sderot now will determine not only the future of this threatened community, but the future security of all of Israel.

Yossi