I Spotlight Heeding Israel Fs Call Rachel Gottlieb Kalmowitz Special to the Jewish News able to stop crying since the attack. He described himself as a Hollywood actor — trying to be strong for his family, but unable to sleep at night, filled with nightmares about bombs. When asked why he doesn't move, Yossi explained, "This is my home and motioned to his recently rebuilt walls and gate and the tattered Israeli flag still flying. Mark Regev, the spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office, explained to us, "Hamas has no motivation to reform if they get legitimacy before they change' They refuse to apply the United Nations benchmarks, namely acknowledg- ing Israel's right to exist, renouncing violence and recognizing prior treaties between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. While the IDF sends leaflets and makes calls to the areas where they will bomb, giving residents the chance to evacuate, Hamas tries to maximize civilian casualties on both sides, using human shields and launching rockets from residential neighborhoods. As their charter dictates, Hamas' goal is to anni- hilate Israel. As a result, it is inevitable that while Hamas reigns in Gaza, mis- siles will rain on southern Israel. A para- phrased quote by Benjamin Netanyahu is starkly clear: If the Palestinians lay down their arms, there will be peace. If the Israelis lay down their arms, there will be no Israel. M y husband, Carey, and I had planned to volunteer for the Israel Defense Forces through the Sar-El program this summer. I still think that this will be a worthwhile and rewarding way to give to Israel, and my husband, who volunteered with Sar-El in 2003, agrees. However, when we received an e-mail in mid-January inviting us to be a part of a 48-hour solidarity mission the first week in February, we realized that it was imperative to show Israel our support now Now, with the world refusing to see why Israel's resolve to restore security to the southern communities is not mor- ally equivalent to the brazen terrorism of Hamas. Now, with her enemies united and ready to destroy her, rocket-by- rocket, news report by news report. Now, with even many Jews afraid to affirm their commitment to Israel, concerned that Israel's actions, when viewed with- out context, seem disproportionate, as though we in the safety of the Midwest can begin to imagine what it is like to live in the Middle East. Having just returned from our whirl- wind trip, sponsored by the United Jewish Communities (UJC), the New York-based umbrella organization of Jewish federations across the U.S., and attended by 14 UJC young leaders, I am still overwhelmed by the power of what we saw in southern Israel. "Tzeva adorn (Color Red) is always there, right here ... In your head." So says Avi Vaknin, a musician in Sderot, Israel, in Sderot: Rock in the Red Zone, a remarkable documentary by filmmaker Laura Bialis (www.sderotmovie.com ). Imagine a life guided by knowledge that at any moment, you could hear the tzeva adorn alarm and have 15 seconds before an explosion. Are you afraid to go to sleep, shower or even listen to your iPod? Are you willing to take a walk or let your children go to school? Some New Yorkers suffered post traumatic stress disorder from the trauma of 9-11; but in Sderot, many have ongoing traumatic stress disorder. The rockets have been falling in Sderot for eight years, lead- ing to a sense of isolation and constant anxiety. Though we saw a remarkable resiliency among the people, a psychia- A40 February 26 • 2009 Helping Hand Rachel and Carey Kalmowitz with Israeli children in Nitzan, where former residents of the Israeli settlement of Gush Katif in southern Gaza now live. This playground moved with the kids and, for some, is the only remnant of their former home. trist who works at the trauma center in Sderot compared this trait to a rubber ball, which bounces lower and lower each time it bounces back. Dalia, the woman who runs the trauma center, said, "The children are the story" She explained that experienc- ing constant fear while growing up, they would be less capable as adults. The impact can also exhibit itself with early developmental difficulties, such as not wanting to sleep alone. At a daycare facil- ity that had recently sustained a direct hit from a Kassam rocket, the director told us that when the alarm sounds, the children know to put their arms up to be carried to a shelter. Imagine, instead of signaling a simple desire to be held, these young children of Sderot think of this as the way to respond in a missile attack. Power Of Missiles Before we arrived in Ashkelon on the second day of our mission, a Grad mis- sile struck the central bus station. While there, we met with Yossi Ben-Dayan, whose house sustained a direct hit a few weeks before in a similar attack. His three children had been home alone; and though all made it to the shelter safely, he told us that his wife had not been If you are now wondering what you can do to help, increase your pledge to Federation, which supports the pro- grams that do so much in affected areas, and to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which brings elect- ed officials to Israel, so that they under- stand the situation more fully. Visit Israel, including the areas cur- rently vulnerable to rockets from Gaza, remembering that as Hamas acquires longer-range weapons, all of Israel could be vulnerable. Thank the IDF soldiers and the resi- dents in southern Israel for their cour- age, and most of all, as the psychiatrist in Sderot asked of us, think about them every once in a while, and tell their stories. ❑ Rachel Gottlieb Kalmowitz is cantonal soloist at Temple Beth El, Bloomfield Township.