about the Western news media's cover-
age of the situation in Sderot. If Detroit
was being bombed daily froin Canada, or
homemade Mexican explosives paralyzed
the citizens of San Diego and El Paso, the
U.S. would not hesitate to respond. And yet
every time Israel strikes back at the people
who cause its citizens so much pain and
hardship, it never does so without signifi-
cant condemnation.
The silence of the world is taken for
acquiescence by the terrorists. Granted, the
residents of Gaza are living in troubling
conditions, caused in no small part by
the failure of their leadership to priori-
tize improving economic conditions over
attacking Israeli civilians. Not only is Israel
feeding and supplying electricity and water
to a population intent on her destruc-
tion, but when that aid is decreased, the
world quickly jumps to blame Israel, not
those responsible. In a cruel trap, Israel is
essentially financing the attack on her own
civilians.
Only three alternatives exist beyond
the policy of collective punishment, and
none is particularly appealing. One is air
strikes against the people responsible for
these attacks. Israel already carries out
such attacks in Gaza, but only against
people who are about to or have just fired
a Kassam missile or a mortar. Yet they are
located in civilian buildings. llamas uses
Palestinian residents as human shields (a
war crime) to prevent Israel from attacking
its militants and weapon supplies. Many
Gazans go to sleep in houses that contain
bombs, missiles or militants who know
that if they surround themselves with
enough women and children, Israel won't
attack.
The second option is a ground invasion
of Gaza. Unofficial intelligence estimates
a ground invasion of Gaza could result in
more than 500 Israeli soldiers killed and
more than 1,000 wounded. Additionally,
hundreds of Palestinians would be
wounded and killed. This is not an attrac-
tive option, and it would be used only as a
last resort. However, if rocket fire increases
and more and more civilians are injured
or killed, it is only a matter of time before
Israeli public opinion demands an invasion
to stop the targeting of innocent civilians.
The third and final option is to uphold
the status quo; to continue to hope that the
rockets will miss and to ignore the fact that
the missiles are getting larger, stronger and
more accurate. This is not a tenable option
for the people living in Sderot, something
must be done, the world cannot, must not
remain silent.
Ben Freed, 19, is from Ann Arbor
You Can Help
Here are some practical suggestions
for you can help the people of Sderot:
• Go to www.sderotmedia.com and
learn more about what is going on;
pass the link to friends. The site has
photographs, videos and articles in
English to help you better understand
the situation.
• See if your local Jewish
Federation has a special fund for
Sderot; if not, set one up.
• Lobby your congressperson and
senators and alert them as to what
is going on in Sderot. If they already
know about it, ask why nothing is
being done.
• Visit connectionsisrael.com/
donate/sderot-holiday-gift-basket and
buy a gift basket for a Sderot family
to help make their Passover a little bit
happier.
• Raise awareness about the
terrible living situation for those in
Sderot. They are people like us who
get up in the morning, go to school or
have jobs, except they don't sleep as
well at night because they know that
if that siren goes off, they only have
15 seconds to reach safety.
Take your family to the MAX!
W
e saw Noa last year and it was one of the most compelling musical
performances we had ever seen. Our only regret was that we didn't bring
our children to see her. When we found out that she would be performing at the Max,
we knew that it would be an extraordinary evening, one that we would want our
whole family to experience together"
Jennifer & Brian D. Siegel
Please join us as we celebrate Israel's 60th Anniversary.
INCLUDING THE DEBUT OF A SHORT FILM BY SUE MARX FILMS
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Max M. Fisher Music Center • 371 1 Woodward Avenue • Detroit
.
Tickets from $18.00
$500 Patron Ticket includes: Valet Parking and Pre-Glow
To purchase tickets contact the Max M. Fisher Music Center Box Office (313) 576-5111
or online at www.detroitsymphony.com
Celebrate at a post concert party in The Music Box sponsored by Federation's Young Adult Division
Questions? Contact Dale Alpert Rubin at (248) 203-1520 or rubin@jfmd.org
All IsraelSixty events and programs are funded by ticket sales, corporate and private donations.
ISRAELI SINGING SENSATION
NOA
WITH THE DSO
Israel sixty
1948 — 2008
With support from
MscMfisher
Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation
powered by
Jewish
Federation
of Motropolitan Detroit
April 17 • 2008
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