Another Day, Another Hundred Rockets

As a friend so astutely put it, “When the number of rockets climbs beyond 140, it’s no longer adequate to say ‘100+.’”

Once again, the residents of southern Israel are under rocket attack from Gaza. I know I have written about this before, but it is worth repeating. It’s worth repeating, because once again, one million residents of Israel are in danger, living within the rocket range. It is our duty to stay informed as to what is happening in Israel, and unfortunately, the mainstream news outlets often prefer to document the “aggressive Israeli response” rather than the reason for the response. (My favorite headline this time around comes from CNN: “Israel strikes rocket sites after Hamas ‘escalation.’” I just love the use of quotation marks around “escalation.” It reeks of “so-called.”)

To review:

The latest violence began when Gaza fired an anti-tank missile, hitting an IDF jeep near the Gaza border and injuring four soldiers. The IDF responded with airstrikes, Palestinians fired more rockets. A nascent ceasefire, brokered by Egypt, was immediately broken last night when three rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel.

This latest round of rocket attacks actually hit a house in Sderot. Family members inside were thankfully unharmed, though the house sustained severe damage. Most schools in the south were closed Sunday; in the city of Netivot, schools that were not reinforced against rocket attacks remained shuttered Monday as well.

Sometimes I think, “Well, luckily, most of the rockets hit open areas, not really causing injury.” But that is misguided. It doesn’t matter that the Iron Dome is working or that the Palestinians have terrible aim. We shouldn’t live in fear of rockets, ever, at all. Even if physical injuries are kept to a minimum, the shock and trauma of constantly living under fire takes an emotional toll, on adults and children alike. It is not an acceptable way to live.

A taste of what it’s like in the south: Residents are scared to use the bathroom, take a shower, run errands, even go to sleep, because at any moment, a siren might strike and they will have anywhere from 15 seconds to a minute or two to make it into their safe room. Even getting into pajamas is a fraught decision, since they may have to run out at a moment’s notice. They wake up, get ready for school and work, only to hear that schools are canceled. Again. Routines are disrupted; children are scared, crying every time the alarm sounds. The safe room gets small and boring really, really fast. Israeli news sites publish articles like this, which give practical tips on how to deal with children’s fear of the rockets and sirens. (Even if you don’t read Hebrew, it’s worth taking a look at the article just for the picture of children on the floor, hands covering their heads.)

It’s real, and it’s happening to more than one million Israelis.

If you want to help, there are many organizations dedicated to aiding residents of southern Israel, like Hope for Sderot and  the American Zionist Movement/World Zionist Organization.

But there’s something else you can do, for free—inform yourself, know what’s going on, and spread the word. In addition to Israeli English-language news sites, follow/like the IDF on Twitter and Facebook (the IDF has both Hebrew and English pages; check out the IDF online).

So please, JVO-niverse, I implore you: Stay informed and tell all your people, too (whether they are real or virtual, Facebook friends or Twitter followers, blog readers or the guy next door). Every “share” counts.