Hello From Jerusalem From Yossi's desk
Feb. 14, 2008

Hello from Jerusalem.

When you ask kids around the world what they associate with the color red, they probably answer strawberries, apples, or balloons.  But not the children of Sderot, who have been under attack for the last seven years; for these innocent children, “red” means “alert” and “run for cover.”  It means danger.

Fortunately, despite seven years of continuing attacks, the number of casualties has remained relatively low -- until the last couple of weeks.  For the last several weeks, the situation in Sderot – and in the communities in the surrounding area – has been a burning issue, with horrifying consequences.  Just last week, 8 year-old Oshri Tuito lost his leg as a result of a Kassam missile attack in which his brother was also injured.  This child – who was welcomed into the world with the name “happiness” – is now permanently crippled as a result of these ruthless, never ending attacks against innocent civilians.  Speaking this week, President Shimon Peres pointed out that Oshri’s lost leg is symbolic of an attempt to maim a whole generation.

As a father of three who frequently visits Sderot these days, I can't ignore the scared look of every young child as they try to come to terms with the fact that no one – least of all their mothers and fathers – can keep them safe.  As our country anticipates its upcoming 60th birthday, these children are living in panic and fear, unable to leave their homes for even a short walk to the corner park or basketball court.

Sderot is the Jericho of modern times.  Terrorist organizations are shooting hundreds of rockets a week because they believe this will scare the people of Sderot and make them run away.  But once Sderot is abandon, the next targets will be Ashkelon, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  We have a tremendous responsibility – we have to make sure that Sderot does not fall.

Many friends in Canada often ask me what they can do and how they can help. We must encourage idealistic young people who are willing to move to the region during the course of their studies – and, to our surprise, there are many! – to do so. We should encourage families that understand the importance of Sderot and its strategic value and are willing to move there to do so – and we must create the circumstances to make them successful by offering quality educational programs, comprehensive support services in order to make sure that they can live comfortably and with as normal a lifestyle as possible. This is the only way we will be able to ensure that our enemies are never able to fulfill their dream of making the Jewish people run away our only home.

A few hours ago, I got a call from my good friend Ted Sokolsky, the CEO and president of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, who is dedicated to standing behind the people of Sderot, both financially and morally.  Ted announced his decision to run a rally for Sderot on February 25^th, with a live-feed from Israel to thousands of supporters Toronto.  The message: we are united with the people of Sderot, and, together, we will win. 

I encourage all of you in the Greater Toronto area to attend the rally and make a personal demonstration of support - do not stay home saying others will go.

I encourage you all over the world to do whatever you can so that the people and the city of Sderot know that they are not alone…..you are behind them !!!!

Yossi

MIA Countdown (as of February 14th):
Gilad Shalit: 1 year, 234 days
Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev: 1 year, 217 days