Day 28 - Netzach - Tzofia Isacowitz

After four days of waking up with a sore back it was nice to wake up at 6:45 in the Neve Ilan hotel, still buzzing with the excitement from meeting all the new people at y2i day. We went downstairs for breakfast wishing Kovi a happy birthday, whilst those around me devoured the variety of delicious breakfast options.

Following breakfast we had a relaxing Tefillah session consisting of Modeh Ani, Ashrei and Shema. For meditation Monday we listened to Rabbi Gourarie’s Chanukah meditation, where we had five minutes to just sit and relax while listening to the video.

We then prepared ourselves for the 1 hour and 15 minute bus ride from the Neve Ilan hotel in Jerusalem to Sderot. On the bus we passed the time by playing a fun game of guessing the baby photos, which had been sent in by participants on the bus.

After the long bus ride we finally arrived in Sderot, a town on Israel’s border with Gaza, where we were introduced to our tour guides for the day, Charlotte and Noach who work for the organization Stand With Us.

On arrival we were briefed on the the safety precautions if, in the rare case, a red alert siren were to go off. We were told that if we were in a place with a bomb shelter the doors will automatically open and we are to run in there. If there are no bomb shelters around we are to lie down flat on the ground and put our hands over our head. These precautions are something that is a part of this community’s everyday life, yet completely foreign for us.

We made our way to the play ground, where I noticed that there were numerous bomb shelters in the playground as well as around the neighborhoods, that were beautifully painted. Some shelters were designed to be a part of the play equipment (such as a large snake shaped bomb shelter). We soon discovered the reason these bomb shelters are are designed to look exciting for the kids, so that they won’t be scared by these dull shelters.

Once we were all sat down in the playground Charlotte provided us with a detailed summary on the history and geography of the Gaza Strip and the Gaza envelope. We learnt that before Hamas came into power over Gaza, an extremist Islamic terrorist organisation called Islamic Jihad were in power over Gaza. Islamic Jihad didn’t only attack Israeli militants they also attacked innocent Israeli civilians whilst Hamas’ main focus is to attack Israeli militants. Of course this does not mean civilians are free from the attacks.

We were taught that Israel allows Qatar to send money over to Gaza for Hamas through Israel. The reason Israel permits this is because if Hamas doesn’t have enough money to pay the Gaza civilians’ salaries, this will lead to the protesting against Hamas, Islamic Jihad will rise back into power, leading to worse situations.

We headed back onto the bus for the short bus ride to the lookout over Gaza. We noticed a large cement wall right next to the train tracks - the wall is there to protect the train tracks from rockets being fired from Gaza. Further past the wall is the Gaza fence which separates Israel from Gaza.

For lunch we had numerous options on our Yumishuk voucher: Pasta, Shwarma, pizza, or burger. I got pasta with rose sauce from Pasta V’zehu which was insane.

After lunch we drove to the Chabad centre of Sderot where we saw a Menorah which was decorated with parts of rockets that had landed in Sderot. Many members of the community had come together to make beautiful sculptures and art pieces out of the awful rockets, showing how Israelis, despite the constant danger around them, always have a positive outlook on life.

We were then fortunate to swap tour guides with the other group. While Bus 4 started with Charlotte, we now had Noach to guide us to the blockade wall seperating Israel and Gaza, as well as to the city of Ashkelon.

As a part of our tour we visited the agricultural town of Netiv Hasara, which is one of the closest towns to the wall and in direct line of Gaza. This meant they were not only subject to rockets but also mass shootings. Ashkelon is the most attacked city in Israel.

Netzach was fortunate enough to hear the story of one of the first members of this community, Roni. As a guest speaker she was absolutely inspirational. She told us about the village she used to live in called נתיב העשרה which means ten soldiers, in the Sinai peninsula. She told us how it was like a normal village, that her and her Palestinian neighbours were like normal neighbours, and they were all friends. In 1979 Anwar Sadat who was the president at the time in Egypt offered a peace treaty but the only condition was that Roni and anyone living in Netiva Asara had to leave the village and return to the land to Egypt. A group of people were sent to find a new place for them to live, which landed up being right next to Gaza on the border. They chose this area because they wanted to be closest to their original village and for the agricultural benefits. After moving there they set up a normal village including benefits such as a communal swimming pool and soccer field for the children.

Despite all the positive aspects of living there, there was obviously still extreme danger risks, including the limited time to reach bomb shelters, the suicide bombings which had occurred and all the threats they deal with living right next to the Gaza Strip.

Going on this tour today we questioned why people would choose to put themselves and their families in direct risk of Gaza’s attacks. But while we may still not fully understand, we see that these people are brave. Choosing to be there to protect their land and claim it as theirs, standing up to Hamas and showing that we still stand strong, was eye opening.

When we finally got back to the hotel we came together to light all our decorated chanukiot and then went straight to dinner where we were served an abundance of chicken, fish, meat, pasta, rice and salad as well as some delicious dessert.

We ended off the day with a fun Zumba class for the girls and an exciting Krav Maga class for the boys.

Overall, today was such a knowledgeable day and it was a roller coaster of emotions. At the beginning I was feeling pretty nervous knowing I was right by Gaza but I soon realised that this is what the citizens of Sderot have to go through and if they can get past this fear so can I.

Tzofia Isacowitz