World Media War Sderot tries to show the world its side of the conflict. Jake Sharfman Special to the Jewish News Sderot, Israel N early three years ago, Noam Bedein was forced to flee his Sderot synagogue in the middle of a Shabbat service when the dreaded tzevah adorn (red alert) siren bellowed a warning. An incoming Kassam rocket was rapidly on its way, approaching the Western Negev city from the Gaza Strip. Within 15 seconds, a huge explosion ripped an area no more than 50 meters from the synagogue. "There really wasn't much you could do at the time besides pray' Bedein recalled. "When the rocket hit, everyone that was covering for safety jumped up, grabbed their children and rushed outside to see if their own home had been hit. This was a normal way of life for us and that particular moment was a very emotional and life-changing experience for me' Bedein knew at that time he needed to act for the people of Sderot. And act he did. Bedein founded the Sderot Media Center, a nonprofit out- reach center designed to present the Israeli perspective of a community living in constant threat and terror of Kassam rockets launched from Gaza. Starting as a grassroots movement with nothing more than a borrowed laptop, the Sderot Media Center outsources information and personal stories of the citizens of Sderot and the Western Negev to media outlets, diplomats and students from inside Israel and around the world. "We're trying to present this side of the conflict, the stories of what it is like to live in a rocket reality like no other place in the world and we're doing it from the source, which is very important' Bedein said. "The media coverage from around the world is not balanced in this part of the region and we are trying to counter that dis-balance of information and the Gaza narrative' What proves so challenging for Bedein and the six other employees of the organization is, in fact, that counter-balanc- ing. There is a massive discrepancy of destruction between Sderot and Gaza, along with the disproportionate death tolls. The SMC is also going up against millions of dollars in media campaigns by Hamas in Gaza, which use the ruins to add fuel to their media campaign. The Sderot community takes priority in rebuilding the Kassam devastation. However, through testimonials, documentaries, short stories and hard evidence, the SMC continues to make the citizens of Sderot heard. Student groups make up half the visitors to the SMC. Other visitors are mostly foreign press, diplomats from abroad and humanitarian groups. Bedein has traveled to Europe and Washington, even pre- senting the U.N.'s Goldstone Committee with an unofficial Israeli perspective of material and video footage of the rocket reality in Sderot during its investigation of the conflict. 20 February 4 2010 A boy holds shrapnel from a rocket that just missed a kindergarten. "It's very easy for the Palestinians in Gaza to gain sympathy picture-wise because of the severe devastation from Operation Cast Lead': Bedein said. "On the other hand, over here,you have such a huge psychological impact and trauma these rockets and constant sirens have created on the people, in addition to injuring over 1,000 in the process. "There have been 12,000 rockets in the past nine years and 8,000 since Israel's disengagement from Gaza in 2005. This has an enormous impact and what we are trying to do is express and present this psychological impact through differ- ent media outlets. We just want to be heard:' Another aspect of the Sderot Media Center is a creative approach to help deal with the trauma. A few months ago, the SMC helped 40 teenage girls from two high schools in Sderot go through drama sessions, along with therapy from psychologists and social workers, to teach the girls how to express themselves about growing up amid the threat. Coined the Community Treatment Theatre, the perfor- mance had its first event outside of Sderot when the girls traveled to Merkaz Hamagshimim Hadassah in Jerusalem last month. "It's no doubt that the youth have been most affected by the rockets, actually being raised and going through their Top: The morning after, a Sderot woman passes a damaged building on the way to the store. Middle: The Sderot Media Center shows diplomats a damaged home. Bottom: A house damaged by a Kassam rocket. childhood in this rocket reality without knowing any other:' Bedein said. An estimated 70-94 percent of Sderofs children have post traumatic stress disorder. The SMC is proud that it receives no funding from the Israeli government, but is facing a financial crisis. "The next month is very crucial for us',' Bedein said."We're going to have to decide if we can keep the center open or not; it is just too much financial pressure to shoulder. The British ambas- sador who recently visited us has written to the European Union about all the money going to rebuild Gaza, but what about the Western Negev? What about us?" ❑ Jake Sharfman from West Bloomfield is spending six months in Tel Aviv as a media intern for Haaretz, particularly working and writing for the English edition of their Web site.