Operation Pillar Of Defense: Three Killed, Infants and Children Wounded UPDATED

By Findalis

Monkey in the Middle


WARNING:  GRAPHIC PICTURES

It was bound to happen, but the news is no less upsetting to everyone.  3 people have been killed, a married couple in their 30's and a single man in his 20's.  Their names are being withheld until the families are notified.  And 7 others have been wounded, including 2 infants.  (One is 8 months old.)

Three people were killed as a result of the Grad rocket attack on Kiryat Malachi Thursday morning. The three were killed during or within minutes of the attack, after efforts to save them failed.

Six others were injured, including two infants, one of them eight months old. An additional victim, a four year old boy, was taken to Tel Hashomer hospital in central Israel for treatment. along with his father. The boy was in serious condition, and the father in moderate condition. Altogether, seven people were injured in the Kiryat Malachi attack. Six others were treated for shock in the attack.

The three killed were a married couple in their 30s, and an individual in his 20s.

The victims were killed and injured when a Grad rocket hit an apartment building in Kiryat Malachi. The dead were among a large group that had taken refuge in an old building that suffered a direct hit from a Grad rocket. Rescue teams were trying to remove victims of the attack from the rubble, and were preparing for the possibility of more casualties, Magen David Adom officials said.

At around noon, several rockets were fired at Sderot, with one scoring a direct hit on a home. Miraculously, no one was injured in that attack, but that house sustained heavy danger. At least one rocket fell near a large gas installation. Rockets hit homes in Kiryat Gat and Ashdod. One person was lightly injured in the Ashdod attack. Also in Ashdod, a rocket destroyed two containers at Ashdod Port.

Another Grad rocket was fired at Kiryat Malachi at about 10:30 AM Israel time. Reports said that an Iron Dome missile blasted the rocket in the air above the city, before it could land and explode. Police urged residents to remain indoors and under cover, even in the event that an Iron Dome missile prevents an attack, because shrapnel from the destroyed missile falling to the ground could still injure people. At least one person in Ashdod was injured when they were struck by shrapnel from a rocket that was destroyed by an Iron Dome missile.

A heavy barrage of Grad and Katyusha rockets was fired at the main population centers in southern Israel Thursday morning. Red Alert warnings were heard in Ashdod, Ashkelon, Kiryat Malachi, Beersheva, and Ofakim. Speaking live from Beersheva at around 8:00 AM Israel time, Israel Radio's correspondent counted at least a dozen missiles hitting in the area of the city. The IDF said that several of the rockets fired at Ashdod and Ashkelon were intercepted by the Iron Dome rocket interception system.

IDF officials expected the barrage to continue throughout Thursday morning, as Gazans prepare to bury Ahmed Jaabari, commander of Hamas's "military" terror wing, who was eliminated Wednesday night, takes place. The IDF was on alert throughout the country, saying that terror activity was likely to increase, with possible rioting by Arabs in PA controlled areas of Judea and Samaria, and a strong likelihood that terrorists would attempt to kidnap IDF soldiers or Israeli civilians. Speaking to Israel Radio, Public Security Minister Yitzchak Aharonovich said that the rocket fire would most likely get worse as the day went on, as the funeral for Jaabari progressed.

There was a very strong likelihood that Hamas would try to fire a missile at Tel Aviv or another city in the center of the country, security officials said, in order to score a decisive blow against Israel in revenge for the elimination of Jaabari.

The IDF eliminated three Hamas terrorists early Thursday, Israel Radio said, as Gaza Arab terrorists continued to hammer Israeli towns and villages with rockets. Several rockets were fired at the Be'ersheva and Ofakim areas on Thursday morning. The three were members of Hamas' military wing, the IDF said. Since midnight Wednesday, about 30 rockets were fired at Israeli targets, for a total of over 110 since the beginning of the Pillar of Defense operation Wednesday night.

Source

View video here.

3 people couldn't make it to the shelter in time.  They only had 20 seconds and it was not enough time.  Many people are living in their shelters.  Why bother even trying to run to the shelter.

The people of Israel stand behind the IDF.  The men and women who serve are their sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters.  They are their family members.  Yet the world claims that they are murderers, Nazis.  That is because their targets hide behind civilians.  And by using fake videos of so-called injured victims, the world cries for the fake victims while Jews bleed and die.

Barely one day into the fighting in Hamas-run Gaza, the locals are hard at work playing the victim for the world's press.

Footage from the BBC captured by watchdog group Honest Reporting shows a heavy man lying on the ground and being carried away by residents, apparently after being injured by an Israeli attack.

Moments later, that same man again fills the frame, except he is walking about and obviously unhurt.

The widespread staging of such victim situations is a favored tactic of Arabs fighting Israel and has come to be known as "Pallywood." Because Israel is stronger militarily, the Arabs cling to the underdog image of poor refugees under occupation and siege by evil Israelis, thus eliciting sympathy.


View video here.

Source

Notice the lack of Blood or Bleeding.  And why do the Fakistinians need to fake an injured man?  That is because the IAF, who is leading the fight right now, has taken great care NOT to hurt civilians.  Even though Hamas fires rockets from civilian homes, schools, mosques and hospitals.

Pray for the IDF and the people of Israel.

UPDATE:  The names of the dead have been released.  They are:

Ahron Smalga (In his 40s) Father of the 8 month old baby girl who was wounded.
Mirah Scharf (25) and unborn child.
Yitzchak Amselam (22)

May G-d Avenge Their Blood!

Operation Pillar Of Defense UPDATED

By Findalis

Is the name of the latest operation against Hamas in Gaza.  This last weekend saw over 150 rockets fired at cities and towns in Southern Israel.  Many of them fired at the time that children were leaving school for the day.  It was a miracle that nobody was killed.  Add to the rocket attack an attack on a military vehicle that has left a soldier in critical condition, it was no wonder that Israel has lost her patience and has gone on the attack.

The IAF fired a missile at a car in Gaza Wednesday, killing the commander of Hamas's "military" terror wing, Ahmed Jaabari. Israel's TV Channel 2 says his son was also killed.

There are reports that Raed al-Atar, Commander of Hamas's southern division, has also been killed.

Hamas responded by saying that it was now in a state of "open war" with Israel with no date set for its end.

The IAF reportedly also struck targets in Khan Younes and Rafiah. Channel 2 said that the IAF has been striking launch silos for Hamas's longer-range Fajr rockets, which can hit central Israel, in order to preclude their use. About 20 reinforced silos holding Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 silos were reportedly hit.

Nine people have been killed in Gaza, according to reports.

The IDF has begun a wide scale operation, which has been named "Amud Anan," a phrase that refers to the column-shaped cloud that led the Israelites in Sinai during the Exodus from Egypt. The official English name is Pillar of Defense.

Terror missiles have reportedly been fired at Sderot and Ashkelon. There have been no reports of casualties.

Egypt's response to the events is not yet known. Hamas is saying that the "new Egypt" under Mohammed Morsi must withdraw from the Camp David accords with Israel and expel Israel's ambassador in Cairo.

Among other exploits, Ahmed Jaabari, 52, was personally responsible for the abduction and holding of IDF Sgt. Gilad Shalit. Raed al-Atar was in charge of Hamas's smuggling tunnels. He was released from jail in Israeli in 1995.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak appear to have purposely diverted attention away from Gaza by visiting northern Israel and publicly discussing the Syrian threat Wednesday, in order to make it easier to catch the Hamas off guard.

The IDF Spokesman, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, announced on his Facebook page that "A harsh blow has landed upon Hamas's command and control array, as the IDF hit Ahmed Jaabari, the head of the military wing of Hamas in Gaza, who headed the organization and dealt directly with carrying out terror attacks against Israel.

"We are at the beginning of a wide scale attack, in view of the unbearable situation of the residents of the South," he added.

"While we are not talking about conquering all of Gaza," Mordechai told Channel 2, "there is preparation for a ground operation as well, which will be undertaken if it is necessary. The required military units that need to be diverted for such an operation are at the ready," he said.

"The occupation has opened the gates of hell on itself," said a statement from Hamas's Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, which vowed its terrorists would "continue the path of resistance."

The United States is closely watching developments in Gaza following the killing Wednesday of Hamas' military chief in an Israeli air strike, a Pentagon spokesman said.

"We're monitoring the situation closely. We stand by our Israeli partners in their right to defend themselves against terrorism," Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Warren said.

President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Tom Donilon, met Monday with his Israeli counterpart, Yaakov Amidror, at the White House.

Source

I just hope that this time they are not stopped by Obama's inaugural in order to give him a peaceful day and will do what it takes to secure the South.

UPDATED: Video of the actual hit from the IDF

80 Rockets, Shells Fired From Gaza And The World Is Silent On The Barrage!

By Findalis

Why not?  After all the victims are Jews not Arabs.  After all to the UN, the Lame Stream Media, the State Department, only Arabs can be victims.  Jews are never to be considered victims no matter how many rockets are fired, how many babies are murdered.

New salvos hit the south Wednesday afternoon; school canceled for the day; residents ordered to stay close to ‘secure rooms’; three foreign workers hurt in morning hit on chicken coop.

Palestinian terrorists in Gaza continued their rocket assault on Israel Wednesday afternoon after a three-hour pause in the attacks, which have seen dozens of missiles target the south in the past two days. More than 80 rockets and shells had been fired into Israel Wednesday by late afternoon.

Israeli leaders warned of a much intensified military response if the attacks continued. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of “a more extensive” response. Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the army was ready for “a far, far greater and wider response.” Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Israel would not maintain its restraint for many more days, and that Israel was “facing a serious escalation.”

A salvo of eight rockets fell on Hof Ashkelon just after midday, shattering the quiet that had descended for a few hours after a series of rocket attacks in the morning. Another two projectiles were fired at the Hevel Eshkol area. In late afternoon, another missile strike was recorded. There were no reports of injury or damage in the latest attacks.

Three foreign workers were injured, two of them seriously, in Wednesday morning attacks when a rocket hit the chicken coop they were working in, and several houses were damaged by other missiles. At least two other people were reported lightly injured in the strikes. Some of those hurt in the attacks were flown by helicopter to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

School was cancelled in areas close to Gaza on Wednesday, and residents were told to remain within 15 seconds of “secure rooms” in case of further attacks.

Netanyahu, on a tour of the Iron Dome missile defense facility near the coastal town of Ashkelon, said, “It was not Israel that initiated this escalation, but if it goes on we are prepared to take far more extensive action.” Those who fire on Israel, he said, should know that “they have sealed their own fate.”

He also promised to fortify every building in communities 4.5 to 7 kilometers from the Strip, where until now only educational facilities had been protected.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, speaking to Army Radio, said, “There are about 1,700 households that need fortification, but that said, the situation was a lot more difficult in the past because there was no Iron Dome.”

On Wednesday morning, Iron Dome intercepted seven Grads fired at Ashkelon. In the afternoon the system stopped another missile fired at the city.

France sharply condemned the rocket fire on Israel, urging restraint from both sides.

Since Tuesday afternoon Palestinian terror groups in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip have fired dozens of rockets and mortar shells at southern Israel. The incoming missiles were a mix of Gaza-produced Kassam missiles and military-grade Grad rockets that have a longer range and larger warhead.

The IDF has responded to the barrages by targeting terror cells and Hamas installations in the Gaza Strip. Three Palestinians were killed in overnight airstrikes.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz called a meeting Tuesday to assess the situation and toured some of the sites that were hit in attacks.

Barak said he could not rule out a ground invasion if fire continued. “If we need a ground operation there will be a ground operation. We will do whatever necessary to stop this wave” of violence, he told Army Radio on Wednesday.

“It’s important for the government to think before it decides. This move will bring escalation and not peace — there is no way to reconcile with the terror from Gaza. We are considering everything we need and examining everything. If there will be no choice and the fire continues, they will be struck hard, nothing is impossible,” he said.

Liberman said Israel was facing “a serious escalation” in the south. Speaking before a meeting with visiting EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, he said the situation was “unacceptable” and that Israel would “not suffer” the ongoing rocket fire for much longer.

Source

I wonder if France would be as accommodating if it were their cities being bombed, their people being killed.  Oops, I forgot, they were when Germans were doing it.

I also wonder how long will Israel go until they send in ground troops to finish the job they started in Operation Cast Lead.  An operation they stopped to be nice to Barack Hussein Obama and not have riots at his inauguration.  Bad move.

Pray for the people of Israel under constant barrage from Gaza.  And if you can, throw a few dollars, Euros, etc... to the people of the Sderot Media Center.  Serving the people of Sderot and Southern Israel for over a decade.  Just click here.

From Sderot To The Main Stream Media

 

For 10 years the men, women and children of Sderot and the Western Negev have lived with almost daily rocket fire from Gaza.  Yet if you watch or read the Lame Stream Media Main Stream Media you would believe that Israel is an aggressor nation.  Attacking Gaza without provocation, just because they are fundamentally evil.

The truth is the opposite.


Noam Bedein, Director of The Sderot Media Center, has issued a call to mainstream media from the citizens of Sderot.

This is his letter:

Sderot Call on the Mainstream Media:

We ask you respectfully to change the way you report the continued rocket fire on Israel from Gaza.

The latest statistics from Natal, the organization dealing with post-traumatic stress, show that 70% of the children of Sderot suffer from symptoms of post-traumatic stress two and a half years after the Cast Lead Operation and a full third of Sderot’s residents feel constant post-traumatic anxiety.

Seven rockets, missiles and mortars have been launched from Gaza towards the western Negev’s communities over the last few days.

The disproportional coverage of these rocket launchings and explosions is found in a dry, terse report on mainstream media that takes a few seconds of news time. The issue is barely mentioned by the msm, who state (luckily so far) only that there were no injuries and no damage to property. That is not really the case, as anyone who lives in constant dread of the next missile knows well.

We at the Sderot Media Center urge you to emphasize these strikes more emphatically, to describe them as illegitimate and criminal examples of warfare against innocent civilians. Otherwise, what the media are aiding unintentionally is tacit acceptance of Islamic extremist terror against innocent civilians.

We ask that you change your reports to the following:

1.If there are no injuries, it is important to stress that there were no physical injuries reported.There surely are mental injuries, even though we will not let the terrorists change our lives.

2. It is crucial to mention each time how many rockets have been launched against Israel since the last ceasefire of January 18, 2009.

As of today July 15th 2011, there have been 788 rocket launchings from Gaza aimed at the southern residents of Israel. This has to be brought home again and again so the world will know.

We have decided to write this open letter to all the mainstream media and ask for a change in awareness of the significance and after-effects of this constant bombardment of people trying to live normal lives in an area that has never been disputed even by the UN, that is, unless the very existence of the State of Israel is in dispute.

Noam Bedein

This is the terror that the citizens of Sderot live under.



Rockets specifically targeting Israeli civilians.  The world buries its head in the sand while Israeli Children are maimed and die.  They don't care.  They only care, they only scream, they only act when Israel strikes back in retaliation.  The people of Sderot know the world doesn't care.  They know that the Media has a decidedly anti-Israel, anti-Semitic viewpoint.

This has to change.  It is time that we inform the Media of the truth.  When the Media reports on an "unprovoked" Israeli attack, we must put their feet to the fire and demand they report the truth.  It was bloggers who put NBC's feet to the fire when they decided they didn't like G-d in the Pledge of Allegiance.

And although times are tough, if you can find a few extra dollars would you send them to the Sderot Media Center?  The few dollars you send go a long way.  They go to help the children of Sderot with a bombproof, indoor playground, psychiatric counseling, and is the lone voice for the people of Sderot.  It only takes a few minutes, just click here.

Tell the Children of Sderot you care!

Right Hook To al Jazeera!

By Findalis

This video is from 2009 but it could have been yesterday or today.

Captain Avichai Adra'i  (IDF) is not only impressive in what he says, but in how he says it.  He speaks clearly and forcefully to the Muslim world.  No PC or Diplomatic double speak.  He basically reads the Muslim world the riot act.  On al Jazeera to boot.

H/T Elder of Ziyon

The Most Shelled City In The World

A couple of articles from The Most Shelled City In The World.

1 million Israelis are asking: "Who's next?"

Last night, Wednesday the 23rd of March, was the first time since Operation Cast Lead that an Iranian Grad missile exploded in Be'er Sheba, 40km from Gaza.

Arriving at the scene of the rocket strike Thursday morning, in the Northern neighborhoods of Be'er Sheba, brought me back to the terror scenes in Sderot of the past few years. For several years, rocket attacks were part of my daily routine living and working at the Sderot Media Center. When the Tzeva Adom (Code Red) sounded, I would go to the neighborhoods where the rocket exploded and film the scene. The next day, I would return, documenting the 'the day after, listening to the stories of residents on what occurred to them the day before.



In Be'er Sheba, I saw the same scenes I'd witnessed in Sderot: shattered car windshields; the shrapnel holes making "windows" on the homes; the radius of damage from where the missile exploded; the 'cover up' of the missile hole; like nothing happened and expecting the people to go back to normal; the holes in the iron doors; the Shabbat candles standing among shattered glasses; pictures of Rabbis hanging untouched on what remained of the walls; frightened and excited residents of the damaged or destroyed homes who just want to share their personal experience with the world; hearing story, counting the amount of times I heard the words; Luck, coincidence, and miracles.

Photo: Noam Bedein, Sderot Media Center

Be'er Sheba resident Chen Saban, a Sapir College student in her early twenties whose house was hit, described how she and her family were lucky enough to reach the secured room on time, saying she never expected her home to be hit. She said it was ironic because she goes to Sapir College, which is only a few km away from Gaza. Chen, who is supposed to get married in the next 3 weeks, is no longer certain about her future in Be'er Sheba and how she ill be able to plan her life living there.

Photo: Noam Bedein, Sderot Media Center

It was amazing to hear all this because it took me 45 minutes to drive from Sderot to Be'er Sheba, which is 40km from Gaza, with residents having 60 seconds to run for the shelter once the siren goes off. And still the same reaction and comments of the frightened and traumatized people.

Today, the more than 1 million Israelis who live in the range of 40km from Gaza are not feeling as secure as they did yesterday, asking themselves "who is next?"

Yitchak Akli a resident of the Be'er Sheba neighborhood said: "We should learn from

Photo: Noam Bedein, Sderot Media Center

the experience of 'cast lead'' that this would happen, they have (missiles) and hiding them, to launch and fire them at the right time, on any target in Be'er Sheba. It's a matter of time. They've learned our capabilities and they've learned us".


Since the last "cease fire" 530 rockets and missiles have been fired towards the South Western, past of Israel.

The Iranian Grad missile exploding in Bair-Sheba is a reminder how that a few months ago the Shin-Bet reported that there's a stack of over 5,000 Iranian missiles in Gaza, all of them having a range of 40 KM.

This is especially troubling because, in November 2009, Hamas test-fired a missile test towards the Mediterranean, reaching 60 KM, which is the distance from Northern Gaza to Tel-Aviv.

In November 2010, the ITIC reported that Hamas has missiles with an 80km range.

Almost everyone in the Western Negev knows not it's not "if'" but "when"' the next missile escalation starts, leading to the next Gaza war.

After living in Sderot for the past 5 years, watching the construction of 5,000 new bomb shelters, you don’t have to be a prophet to understand that the highest authorities in Israel know there has not been a permanent end to the rocket fire. Being realistic, Israel has to be prepared for many more years of conflict on the Gaza border.

Photo: Noam Bedein, Sderot Media Center

While Iran is certainly a threat for Israel, the biggest delegitimization threat for Israel, is with no doubt Gaza. Add to this the uprisings in Egypt and North Africa, bringing to power groups that have already declared they will end the "peace treaty" with Israel.

The harsh response that Israel received from the world media and many governments during and after Cast Lead, after the Flotilla incident, and right up to today is actually a modern-day version of a very old demonization of Jews and Israel. A tremendous effort is being made to delegitimize Israel, with the goal of eliminating the Jewish state. How Israel will deal with this threat?

How should Israel deal with this threat?  Brig.-Gen. (res.) Amatzia Chen believes that the current  policy has failed.

"In all of the previous wars, starting from the 1956 Suez Operation, through the Six Day War and in the Yom Kippur War as well, the IDF took the fight into enemy territory," Chen recalled. "The security concept was that of fighting the war we choose, and seizing the initiative. But since 1982, after that rally in Rabin Square, Rabin and Peres decided, for political reasons, that the strategy needs to be changed and that we should only go to war when there is no choice - i.e., when the sword is on our neck."

Chen said that since that decision was made, Israel has lost its deterrent capability. "Our enemies understood the dramatic change in Israel's security concept as a position of weakness. In any case, they had ceased threatening us with regular armies and turned instead to the weapon of terror. They murdered hundreds of Jews inside Israel, but controlled the bloodletting so as to enable Israel's leaders to maintain the concept that one does not go to war as long as there is a choice."

"Every Israeli citizen knows that the Israel of today is not the Israel of pre-1982."

Chen said that artillery fire on Gaza is not a proper response to the missile attack on Be'er Sheva. "We are a nation that wants to live, and there is no point in fair play when it comes to terrorists. That is not how terror is defeated. The State of Israel is a sovereign state that needs to formulate a proper strategy. Unfortunately, the strategy today is that if you are fired upon you fire back. We are, in effect, signaling to the enemies that they can continue using the same method in the future, too."

There is great anger in Sderot, a city with more bomb shelters than playgrounds.

Speaking from the city of bomb shelters

By Dave Balson

Like everyone else on the planet, I have heard about the "complicated" situation in the Middle East my whole life: promises to fix it, hopeful negotiations that crumble behind closed doors, rockets, wars, treaties, stalemates, etc. Round and round it goes until, exasperated, I figure both sides are unwilling to reach the type of tough-but-straightforward agreements that brought peace to Ireland and South Africa, and I give up. "It's complicated" is a Facebook status, not a diplomatic agreement.

I spent the last two weeks in Israel. The trip was free, as it is to any Jew, through a program called "Taglit Birthright." To any students who come from a Jewish background, I suggest checking it out. It is a free trip to Israel, if nothing else.

Last Wednesday I visited Sderot, a town of about 20,000 people in the western Negev desert, less than a mile away from the Gaza strip.

Sderot has been the target of more than 10,000 rockets fired from Gaza since 2000. Gaza is controlled by the militant Islamic group Hamas. Sderot is the only town in the 21st Century where rockets are being continually fired at a civilian population.

To deal with the rocket attacks, the town has a siren that gives residents a 15-second warning to get into a bomb shelter.

Stop for a moment and consider how far you could get in 15 seconds. Could you get to the nearest bathroom? The nearest car? The nearest stairway?

Sderot is the bomb shelter capitol of the world. Every house has a bomb shelter. Apartment buildings have bomb shelters crawling up their sides. Every bus stop is a bomb shelter and others are spaced in between; there is a bomb shelter about 15 seconds away from most places.

If you are a child in Sderot, you should hope you are in school when the rockets come. Older schools have been retrofitted with huge steel shields on their outer walls and roofs. Newer schools are literally giant bomb shelters, their paltry playgrounds nothing but dust and three safe cubes awaiting the siren's call.

Other parts of town have the type of playgrounds we grew up on: ladder up, slide down, monkey bars and the wall with a clear bubble that never made sense. They have painted a castle a nice shade of purple, and made two long concrete snakes look so vibrant and fun, you could almost forget they, too, are bomb shelters. Between 70 to 95 percent of children in Sderot have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, according to Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper.

So why are people still living in this god-forsaken place? There are a few reasons. For one, housing is much cheaper there (feel free to guess why). For another, Sderot has one of the most lively and productive music scenes in the Eastern Hemisphere. The town is home to more chart-topping bands than any other in Israel and rivals any in Europe.

But the real reason people stay is because they feel they must. Sderot is internationally recognized as part of Israel. If they leave, if they give up, what happens to the next town? And the next? Rockets from Gaza can hit Israel's economic and cultural centers - Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, respectively.

I saw all this from Israel's side of the border, so I cannot speak with objective moral authority on who is right or wrong, victim or oppressor. I know everyone I talked to in Israel wants peace more than anything, and would give up land if they thought it would achieve it. I also know that people suffer in Gaza and struggle for a homeland in the West Bank.

As a commentator, I am supposed to speak in shoulds and should nots.

No one should have to live like the people of Sderot. That's all I've got.

It's complicated.

Dave Balson is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or DENopinions@gmail.com

I always allow the people of Sderot to speak for themselves.  This is their story, their struggle, their battle. What is happening in Sderot, Beer-Sheva, Ashkelon, the Negev, is the price for living in Israel.  For Sderot's residents it is the price of living on the frontier.  If they surrender their city, it will only encourage Hamas to conquer the next city, then the one after it.  Until they have conquered the whole nation.

You are not on the frontier, the front line in this battle, but you can help. The small donation that you give to the Sderot Media Center goes to help the people, especially the children of Sderot. Just a bit of your spare change will help.  To donate click here.

Children of Sderot Just Want A Little Peace

Sderot- The bomb shelter capital of the world

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

For the last week rockets fired from Gaza have been a daily occurrence.  Although they have caused limited damage to property and no one has been hurt or killed. (Frayed nerves and a couple of neurotic cats.)  It is only a matter of time before someone is killed.

A Grad rocket fired by Gaza terrorists hit an open area near a residential neighborhood in Ashkelon on Friday morning. No physical injuries were reported, although several people suffered shock and required medical attention. A vehicle was also damaged.

Ashkelon had experienced relative quiet following the Cast Lead counterterror operation in Gaza in early 2009.

The attack follows an attack last week that was carried out using an imported rocket more sophisticated than the short-range “Kassam” rockets produced in Gaza. In that case, the rocket failed to explode, and no injuries were reported.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has followed a policy of quick response to attacks from Gaza. Air Force planes have demolished smuggling tunnels and weapons factories in the region following previous rocket attacks.

Sderot is the only town and the Western Negav is the only region in the world, where missiles are fired towards civilian population in the 21st Century.--Sderot Media Center

If you are planning a visit to Israel, plan a side visit to Sderot.  You can contact the Sderot Media Center for a tour.

No child should have to endure this.  Please help!

Can it all be just a mistake?

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

For over a year I have been writing about the rockets that are fired and have been fired into the city of Sderot in Israel from Hamas in Gaza.  These rockets have no guidance system in them.  It is point, fire, hope that they kill someone.  What they really do is to instill terror into a CIVILIAN POPULATION.

For 8 long years these rockets have fallen, they are falling now even though there is suppose to be a cease-fire in effect.

I received this letter last night.  The author, Itzik Yarkoni asked me to pass this along to you, my readers.

With the result that Goldstone present to the UN Hamas’ response to the Goldstone report that the missiles sent to Israel were “by mistake”, I want to know if you would be interested in publishing my personal testimonial of life under Palestinian rocket fire, or life under the Hamas’ “mistakes.

Can it all be just a mistake?

By Itzik Yarkoni

Thursday, February 3, 2010, Jerusalem

Hamas officials said that a 52-page document has been compiled to testify that the offensive missiles fired during Operation Cast lead were “an accident” due to their weapon’s lack of aiming capabilities toward military installations.

However, section 1687 of the “Goldstone Report” presents that, “indeed, Palestinian armed groups, among them Hamas, have publicly expressed their intention to target Israel civilians…. claimed responsibility for the deaths of each of the Israeli civilians killed by rocket fired during the operations in Gaza”.

This begs the question: If Hamas weapon’s suffer from inaccuracy, maybe the information that was given to Goldstone is also off target?

I remember the first time that I heard about Sapir college was when I was traveling in the United States after the army. When I asked about the whereabouts of the college, a friend replied, “It is a nice place next to Sderot. However, the situation is a little strange. Rockets are launched towards the city daily”. I did not know what lay ahead for me at Sapir College, but I decided that I would take the risk. After all, I figured something would be done, eventually, to stop the rockets.

Eight years have passed since the first rocket was launched towards Sderot. The situation has not changed, I was wrong. More than ten thousand kassam missiles, grad, and mortar shells have been fired from Gaza, of which eighty-four fell in Sderot during Operation Cast Lead. Moreover, the “military installations” Hamas speaks of are nowhere to be found in the city. Where exactly were the rockets intended to fall?

I have witnessed firsthand the "mistakes" that have not only produced several deaths, but continue to affect hundreds, if not a thousands, of people with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PSD) as a result of the constant threat of incoming rocket attacks to the city.

What has been the result of the poor aiming capabilities of Hamas rockets?

As a student in Sderot, I awoke every morning to begin the usual routine of my day. However, my routine was not morning coffee and a newspaper. My routine, drenched with fear, caution, and preparation for the next rocket aimed towards my city, was different than the average student from other areas of the world.

Like clockwork, I was awoken at the same time, with the same target hit, and with the same color red alarm. This alarm notified me that I had only 15 seconds to take cover of my life. As I ran to the nearest bomb shelter, I passed the same children on their way to school. Once inside the crammed shelter, I heard the whistle.

That whistle of a rocket falling to my direction quickly became an all too familiar sound. Maybe this time the rocket will fall in my neighborhood? Maybe this time it will land in the home of someone that I know?

While waiting in a bomb shelter, praying for safety, the fire continued. It was not one rocket, or one “mistake”, that came to my direction. Many mistakes were fired towards me through the city. According to the Sderot Media Center, “Palestinian rockets directly hit more than 1,500 Israeli homes and buildings in the south. Three synagogues were hit, in addition to nine educational facilities, which include high schools, kindergartens, and elementary schools.

Can these cases actually be a malfunction in Hamas’ original plan?

After a day full of color red alarms, or after three weeks of 140 alarms during the Operation, the residents of Sderot and myself gathered to listen to the news. We heard about the mistakes that hit our loved one's homes, the mistakes that kept children from going to school the next day, and the mistakes that are expected to continue.

As a student and as a resident, we had to use our nights to recover from our day. There was homework to be done, relationships to build, our homes that we needed to continue to keep alive. We had to continue to live. However, our nights were full of their mistakes as well, for the nightly news had the highest Sderot ratings, and Hamas chose without fail to use that time for mistakes as well.

Maybe I shouldn't complain, for if Hamas had indeed aimed correctly, the extent of the destruction, the mental disorders, the loss of hope would be far greater. With that, I must say I have luck.

Last week Hamas issued a statement saying that the rocket attacks on Israel were not aimed at civilian centers in Israel, only military ones. (Somebody check the woods for constipated bears, and check Rome, the Pope has converted to Judaism.)

They retracted it a day later.

Make no mistake, the so-called Palestinians have a single goal:

The total destruction of the State of Israel and the death of every Jew living in the land.

To achieve this goal they will lie, cheat, steal, and murder anyone who gets in their way.

You can help in the battle against Hamas.  Become vocal.  Don't be silent on this subject.  Let others know about what is and has been happening to Sderot.  Tell your family, friends, church/synagogue,  pastor/rabbi, your Congressman or woman, your Senator, the President, your local newspaper.  But don't be silent!

Secondly, remember people like Itzik Yarkoni and the other residents of Sderot in your prayers.  You could sign up for Code Red Alerts, reminding you of the terror the men, women, and especially the children experience every day.

How long does any people have to be terrorized by the neighborhood bully before they will strike back?

The Most Dangerous Town In The World

by Findalis of Monkey in the Middle


Sderot (pronounced sderr-ROHT) is the only town and the Western Negev is the only region in the entire world in which missiles are fired towards civilian population in the 21st Century.

Yet in spite of the lie by Hamas that they will not fire rockets into Israel again, a promise to the world in fact, missiles have been fired and one exploded inside the city of Sderot.

The Israel Air Force carried out an air strike against terrorist operations in Gaza overnight in retaliation for a Kassam rocket fired at the western Negev on Saturday. The rocket exploded in the city of Sderot, according to the IDF Spokesman's Office, but caused no injuries or damage.

In response, IAF fighter jets targeted and identified hitting two weapons factories in the northern and central regions of Gaza early Sunday. They also struck one smuggling tunnel located in the area of Rafiah, along Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

The air strikes were carried out despite an announcement Saturday by Hamas "Interior Minister" Fathi Hamad that the terror organizations had cut a deal with allied groups to temporarily halt the rocket attacks. Hamad told reporters at a news conference in Gaza the decision had been made in order to give people time to "rebuild" following the IDF's counterrorist Operation Cast Lead.

"The IDF will not tolerate any attacks by terror organizations against Israel and its citizens," said the IDF in a statement.

Nearly 270 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israel since the end of last winter's counterterrorist operation on January 18. This is in comparison to more than 3,300 rockets and mortars fired in the year before the IDF carried out the operation, the IDF spokesman pointed out.

In the past month, Hamas terrorists have again slowly begun increasing the number of rocket attacks on Israel, with approximately 15 rockets and mortar shells fired to date.

While 15 is not a large number, they do help to create the atmosphere of terror to Sderot. Sderot is the only town in the world in which between 74% and 94% of children aged 4-18 exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress, says Natal, the Israel Center for Victims of Terror and War. Those numbers are not present in Gaza where according to the Lame Stream Media Anti-Semites, the children of Gaza have experienced the most vicious and inhumane attacks in the history of the world. Where is the PTSD and other psychiatric disorders in these children?

Sderot children want missile fire to stop!



View the video here.

Just imagine this is your home:



Just imagine this is your kitchen on Thanksgiving:



Just imagine this is your bathroom:


Not a pretty picture is it.

There is much you can do. Write your Congressman and Senator, write the President. Tell them that Hamas' constant attacks on civilians (they very seldom target military personal) is unacceptable under The Geneva Conventions of War and other International Agreements.

Contact your local newspaper, especially after they write a story condemning Israel for attacking Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks on Sderot.

Become informed. The people of Sderot have been on the forefront of the War on Terror for the last 8 years. They have put their families at risk, sacrificing good physical and mental health in this war. It is time their stories, their struggle comes out. The Sderot Media Center is a good place to start. Their on-line resource page is full of facts (not propaganda) for you to use, especially if you are a blogger. You can find it here.

I ask all who read this to keep the people of Sderot in their prayers. Pray that G-d will send a miracle to them. That they can live in peace and quiet.

And if you are able to, please send a little donation their way. The funds are used to help the people of Sderot. Each penny you send will bring comfort to citizen of that beleaguered town. Just click here and follow the directions. For those who wish to sponsor one of their projects, just click here. You will discover the projects that the Sderot Media Center is working on.

Just one thing, don't just do nothing.

Before pressing Israel, world must address continued rocket attacks

By Findalis



From the Sderot Media Center

Rockets Have Not Stopped

by Jacob Shrybman

A few days ago I was relaxing in my first-floor apartment in Sderot when there was a loud knock on my door. The government contractor tasked with building private bomb shelters attached to each unit in the building came to check my apartment. All across the city, private bomb shelters are popping up like spring flowers and are being utilized as the Color Red alarms continue to sound.

As Netanyahu gears up for his monumental visit to discuss the Middle East peace process with US President Barack Obama, are international leaders aware that terrorist rocket fire against Israeli civilians has not stopped?

As southern Israel prepares for the next barrage of rockets, the international media and leaders hype this visit to be of vital importance to a peace agreement. On May 4th The New York Times ran an article titled “Addressing US, Hamas Says it Grounded Rockets,” noting that only six rockets were fired at Israel in April. On May 5th Ynetnews ran an article titled “Dramatic Drop in Qassam Fire,” reporting that only 8 rockets were fired in April.

However, with a simple phone call to the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson, the only in-the-field source, I was given the official military count of 23 rockets and 3 mortar shells for the month of April, significantly more than what was reported in the media. The world is being led to believe that the rockets have stopped when in fact there have been over 200 rockets since the ceasefire began on January 18th.

Working in Sderot for the Sderot Media Center, I knew that there were more than eight rockets last month. I began to track down the statistics and their sources. The reporter at Ynetnews cited the Shin Bet as its source.



So why is there is such a discrepancy between what I and the army see on the ground and report day-to-day, and what some Israeli officials and the news media are reporting to the world? Are Israeli and international politicians suggesting that Operation Cast Lead completely thwarted the threat from Hamas and Iran in the Gaza Strip?

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the so-called moderate Fatah, which proudly paint their rockets yellow to distinguish them from Hamas’ red and green, announced in the last week of April that he would never recognize Israel as a Jewish State. With such a definitive proclamation against a peaceful solution, with whom are Israeli and international leaders pushing the Jewish State to come to an agreement?

The rockets fired at Israeli citizens from the Gaza Strip by the Iranian-funded terrorist organization Hamas have not stopped. International leaders and the news media need to stop presenting statistics that foment this fallacy in the effort to force an agreement that will not bring shalom or salaam, but rather, be a mere piece of paper. All one needs to do is come to my first floor apartment in Sderot to be awakened to this continued reality of rockets.

Only a few rockets, as if that makes it better. Perhaps the editors of the New York Times, Huffington Post or Daily Kos wouldn't mind a few rockets being fired into their homes on a daily basis. How long would it be before they raised their voices in protest against such action? A day? A week? A month? A year? 5 years? 8 years? Especially if the local authorities did nothing to stop the rocket attacks. Then they would understand the fustration that the citizens of Sderot feel.

Following Netanyahu’s meeting with Obama, Qassam Strikes Sderot Homes

by Anav Silverman

A Qassam rocket fired from Gaza slammed between two Sderot homes around 5:30 pm on Tuesday, May 19. The Tzeva Adom, Color Red siren blared twice in the city sending residents fleeing to area bomb shelters. After the second Color Red siren, an unusually loud explosion sounded throughout the city.

The sound of the rocket explosion shocked no one more than Ilan Dahan. Ilan was sleeping when the Qassam rocket crashed into his backyard right outside his bedroom.

Shula Dahan, owner of damaged home, on the phone.
Photo: Noam Bedein

“I slept right through the Color Red siren,” said Ilan. Ilan, dazed and shocked, guides us to his bedroom. His bed is full of broken glass, from a window right above the bed, which had shattered all over his back. "I felt the glass implode all over me," he said.

“It’s a miracle that all I got was this small scratch,” Ilan told Sderot Media Center. A piece of broken glass struck Ilan’s back, leaving behind a red mark.

Both Ilan’s parents were home when the rocket struck. His father raced into Ilan’s bedroom after the rocket struck, picked his son up and carried him outside to safety. “At that point, I didn’t even realize that the rocket hit right outside our home,” said Ilan, who is 18 and getting ready to enter the army.

View the video here.

Shula, Ilan’s mother, looks at her son tearfully. “I never expected this to happen to us during a ceasefire,” she said. The family was sitting outside in the front of the home to cool off from the heat of the evening when the siren sounded.

“We didn’t react quickly enough to the siren,” said Shula. “If we had reacted, we would have raced to the back of the home where our new shelter is located. Most likely one of us would have been injured because the rocket exploded right outside the shelter.”

The back of the Dahan’s home suffered severe damage from the rocket blast. Broken glass and debris litters the floor, while holes from rocket shrapnel rocket mark the ceiling and walls. Outside, the Dahan’s shelter is also covered with shrapnel marks.

Sderot home damaged in Qassam attack on Tuesday, May 19.
Photo: Noam Bedein

The rocket explosion also damaged the home next to the Dahans.

Family members from both sides suffered shock, as did neighbors further along the street. Several people were treated for trauma on the scene.

The rocket attack comes around the same time that the Sderot Mental Health Center is shutting down. Dr. Adrianne Katz, the head of Sderot Mental Health told Sderot Media Center that the mental health center is closing due to budget cuts. The Sderot Mental Health Center has provided therapy treatments to thousands of Sderot trauma victims and has 5, 500 patients on file.

The Gaza rocket attacks on Sderot come after the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama in the White House on Monday.

During a White House press conference after the meeting, President Obama stated, that "there is a recognition that the Palestinians are going to have to do a better job providing the kinds of security assurances that Israelis would need to achieve a two-state solution, [and] gain additional legitimacy and credibility with their own people, and delivering services."

Obama also added “that the situation in Sderot was unacceptable, and that he'd seen the situation there himself.”

Indeed, when Obama visited Sderot last year, he stated in a Sderot press conference "I will work from the moment that I return to America, to tell the story of Sderot and to make sure that the good people who live here are enjoying a future of peace and security and hope."

He also stated that, "The first job of any nation state is to protect its citizens. If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing."

Tuesday marked the fifth month since the Hamas-Israel ceasefire in mid-January. During that time, over 210 rockets have been fired from Hamas-controlled Gaza at Israel.

Security officer digging for the Qassam with Sderot mayor, David Bouskilla upfront.
Photo: Noam Bedein

Promises from then candidate Obama. Promises to secure the Jewish vote. But in reality Obama is anything but sympathetic to the plight of the people of Sderot and Israel. He is more concerned with his image and prestige in the Muslim world than any thing else. It is accepted in the Muslim world that there is only one solution to the problem, the total destruction of Israel, Western civilization, and the death to each Jew worldwide. That is the true goal of the OIC, Arab League, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and Hizbollah.

Yet President Obama ignores these facts and is committed to the fiction of a 2-State Solution. To achieve this aim President Obama has been pressuring Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu into making more concessions to the Arabs. Including giving away control of the most holiest sites in Judaism, The Temple Mount and The Kotel:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem Thursday night that the Israeli flag will continue to fly over the Western Wall (Kotel). The first prime minister in years to appear at the venerable yeshiva on Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), he ignored U.S. President Barack Obama’s apparent trial balloon that he wants to see the United Nations flag fly over the Old City holy sites.

This is a proposal that will never be accepted by the Jewish Nation! Either President Obama is a dim-witted idiot or he is stupidly naive. You choose.

Don't be silent on this. Do something. Write a letter to your local paper, call Congress in protest, call the President in disgust, or sign up for SMS Alerts. And please find it in your heart to donate to the Sderot Media Center. Without them, the people of Sderot would have no voice. Just click on the logo at the top or bottom of this post.

And remember to keep the people of Sderot and Israel in your prayers.

Sderot to Congress: Don't Finance Terror!

By Findalis


From the Sderot Media Center

Rockets still fall upon Sderot and Southern Israel. Even with a "cease-fire", Hamas will not stop firing rockets.

Ceasefire broken again: Qassam slams into western Negev on Sunday

By Anav Silverman

This week Kibbutz Kfar Aza mourned the death of Jimmy Kedoshim, a husband and father of three, who was killed last year in a Palestinian mortar attack on May 9, 2008. The mortar, fired from northern Gaza, struck Kedoshim, 48, in the backyard of his home. Kedoshim’s death was the first caused by mortar fire since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

A day after Kedoshim’s memorial service, the Kfar Aza community was reminded once again that Palestinian rockets still threaten the region. On Sunday, May 10, 2009 a Palestinian Qassam rocket slammed across Kibbutz Kfar Aza, this time landing in an open area in the Regional Council of Sdot Negev and Sha’ar HaNegev. No injuries or damages were reported.
Kedoshim was a well known and beloved figure in the Kfar Aza community.

“The death of Jimmy Kedoshim was devastating for the entire Kfar Aza community,” Karen, a Kfar Aza mother told Sderot Media Center last year. Jimmy, a professional sky diver, raised his three children on the Kfar Aza kibbutz with his wife Anna.

*YNET News contributed to this report.

The media cries that these are homemade rockets, they do little damage and cause very few injuries and deaths. I have a proposition for the members of the media then. Someone will go over to your house with a gun and fire randomly into your home. They will do this for the next 8 years. The media will not cover the event, the police will not stop it. No bullet fired will be aimed. What will YOU do? After all they are just bullets of a small caliber, they do little damage and cause minimum injuries.

You see how your argument is faulty?

US Representatives Continue to Petition Congress on Gaza Aid

by Anav Silverman

Back in March, Sderot Media Center director, Noam Bedein held a special briefing with US Congressmen and their advisors on Capitol Hill, where he highlighted the rocket situation in Sderot and southern Israel in a meeting initiated by the EMET organization President, Sarah Stern.

A day previously, on Monday March 2, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had pledged $900 million at a conference in Egypt set to raise billions of dollars for Gaza reconstruction after Operation Cast Lead.

Following the meeting between Bedein and the Congressmen on Capitol Hill, Democratic Representative Shelley Berkley (D-Nev) sent a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which demanded that the aid to Gaza be delayed as long as the rocket fire continues and Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian terrorists three years ago, remains captive by Hamas.

Joining Berkley in her efforts to place conditions on the $300 million in US aid for Gaza, is Representative Elliot Engel (D-N.Y.). Three weeks ago, Reps. Elliot and Berkley drafted a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Appropriations Committe; Congressmen David Obey and Jerry Lewis respectively. Reps. Eliot and Berkley stated that "we are concerned that - in the aftermath of Hamas’ unprovoked attacks on Israel - sending hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza without conditions will send precisely the wrong message at the wrong time"

In addition, the Congressmen also added that “ it is essential that we not simply write a “blank check” for the Gaza-based Palestinians to continue" its missile attacks on Israel.

“We must instead send a message that the United States will help with the needs of the Palestinians if--and only if--they meet the conditions of the international community to recognize Israel, renounce terrorism, and commit to all agreements that they have signed with Israel. Not only has Hamas failed to meet any of these conditions, it has not stopped raining rockets on Israeli territory and still holds captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. It is essential that we condition our funding for Gaza on Hamas’ complying with these basic demands.

Read the full letter below.

April 28, 2009

The Honorable David R. Obey, Chairman

The Honorable Jerry Lewis, Ranking Member

Committee on Appropriations

H-218, The Capitol

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Obey and Ranking Member Lewis:

We write to you today regarding the President’s request for supplemental funding in fiscal year 2009. It has come to our attention that within President Obama’s request is $900 million in funding for the West Bank and Gaza. We are concerned that - in the aftermath of Hamas’ unprovoked attacks on Israel - sending hundreds of millions of dollars to Gaza without conditions will send precisely the wrong message at the wrong time.

In late 2008, Hamas intensified its missile attacks on Israel, using Gaza as a launching pad to terrorize the population of Sderot and other communities in southern Israel. Even after Israel withdrew completely from Gaza in 2005, the unprovoked assault by unguided rockets of terror continued. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) finally retaliated against these attacks, after showing incredible restraint for many years, destroying a great deal of Hamas’ infrastructure within Gaza. While the IDF attempted to minimize civilian casualties, there was damage to many areas in Gaza. The blame for this, however, rests firmly on Hamas’ shoulders, as they began the unprovoked shelling on Israeli cities and were warned repeatedly that the continued shelling would bring a strong response from Israel. Further, Hamas conducted its combat operations from heavily-populated civilian areas and, thus, was responsible for the protection of the civilians in the area. Indeed, this use of unarmed men, women, and children as human shields was shocking and disgraceful.

It is, therefore, essential that we not simply write a “blank check” for the Gaza-based Palestinians to continue acting this way. We must instead send a message that the United States will help with the needs of the Palestinians if - and only if - they meet the conditions of the international community to recognize Israel, renounce terrorism, and commit to all agreements they have signed with Israel. Not only has Hamas failed to meet any of these conditions, it has not stopped raining rockets on Israeli territory and still holds captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. It is essential that we condition our funding for Gaza on Hamas’ complying with these basic demands. Without such links, Palestinians will see the U.S. as providing aid while Hamas continues to terrorize the Israeli people, with no consequences from the U.S. government.

We urge you to condition our funding on reciprocal actions from Hamas. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Shelley Berkley

Member of Congress

Eliot Engel

Member of Congress

*The JTA News Service contributed to this report.

The United States has pledged $1.1 billion to Gaza. This is effectively giving $1.1 billion to Hamas. For the only funds that are going to Gaza are going to Hamas. Do you believe for one moment that any of the allocated funding will go to rebuild homes, schools, etc...? If you do I got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. It is an antique, but in very good condition (real cheap too).

This has got to end. There should be no funds sent until:

1. Hamas recongizes Israel not only has a right to exist but is a Jewish nation.
2. The return of Gilad Schalit safe and unharmed.
3. The immediate ceasation of all attacks on Israel.

After those 3 points are met, then the $1.1 billion in aid should be sent.

It seems that the Obama administration is hell bent on the destruction of the Jewish Nation. Call or write your Representative today! Don't allow your tax dollars to be sent to a terrorist organization. Make your voice heard!