December 30, 2008

Sitting in Jerusalem I can’t hear the hundreds of rockets which have been bombarding Israel’s southern communities for days. But we Jerusalemites hear about the attacks every day on the news, and pray that Hamas will stop the attacks upon our small country of immigrants, elderly, and young families. We yearn to once and for all realize the 60 year old dream of peace in the Promised Land, yet that yearning is interrupted by ongoing rocket fire. It strikes the hearts of us all. Although there are cities in Israel which have not yet been hit by Hamas rockets, the terrorists have extended their reach to cities like Ashdod and Beersheba. There could even come a day when Tel-Aviv will be familiar with the southern residents’ heart-wrenching daily plight of taking refuge from terrorist rockets.

For seven years the city of Sderot has been under attack by rockets. In human terms, this means seven years of children waking in the middle of the night to “code red” sirens, of parents running into buildings to bring their children to school out of fear of another barrage, of college classes interrupted for the students to storm into to bomb shelters, of babies crying when their mother pulls to the side of the road hysterically looking for the safest place to hide from an approaching missile. After seven years of enduring this unspeakable trauma and fear, many southern residents of Israel feel like they are on the verge of collapse.

Each week when I travel to Fellowship sponsored projects in Israel to meet with aid recipients, I get a little taste of the hardships they endure. It pains me when I am forced to look at the map of my tiny country and be fearful to visit the southern half. These days, all Israelis are warned that Hamas may have long range rockets which are capable of reaching every inch of the Jewish homeland – and, when there are rocket attacks on cities like Ashdod and Beersheba, it makes this intelligence assessment seem even more probable. I have the choice to stay in Jerusalem, where, thank God, rockets aren’t yet falling. But the residents of these war torn cities in the south have no choice but to remain, because they have nowhere else to go. Many of these inhabitants of southern Israel would never leave, because they realize that they are fighting for the very survival of the entire Jewish state. They feel that if they leave, the terrorists would win. The residents down south are showing the terrorists and the world that nothing can break us – we are God’s people living on the land He gave to us as a most precious gift. No enemies will ever chase us out.

As I drove to Ashdod to show solidarity with their suffering and meet with some of the residents who have received lifesaving help from The Fellowship, I saw airplanes flying overhead. These were not regular airplanes, but rather Israeli Air Force aircraft armed with missiles to target Hamas rocket launching cells, just minutes away. It was a strong wake up call to the reality that we Israelis must live in every day. We know that any minute we could be, God forbid, in the middle of a war. We always search for the nearest bomb shelter and pray to God that we will make it there in time if needed. We don’t think twice when walking the same streets where scores were killed by terrorist attacks – instead, and we just say a silent prayer for those who have been lost. We know that we are protected by God’s eternal light and we trust that everything is His will. That is why we stay in this war ravaged State, knowing, at the same time, that life can be hard when you’re responsible for protecting God’s most treasured land.

Less than 24 hours after I left Ashdod, two rockets hit the small southern town and killed an innocent man, sending many others to the hospital with various injuries. This is life when your neighbors are terrorists. You thank God for His endless mercy and beg that the next victim of terror will not be you or someone you love. But it is not that easy because we Israelis have great love for each other. We are brothers and sisters standing together during the hard times, while feeling and understanding each other’s pain and suffering – because we know it easily could have been any one of us.

Now, the Israeli army has struck back against Hamas terrorists in Gaza. We feel confident in the strength of our army and proud of the standards we maintain, even when waging war, not targeting innocent civilians through terrorism like many of our neighbors do, but attacking terrorist leadership and weapons supplies while providing humanitarian aid to innocent civilians. We fight in the name of God and use the Bible as our handbook. That is why we will prevail and in that is where we find peace.

Thank you for standing together with the Israeli people during this tumultuous time and showing us that you understand our plight, and supporting us in our time of need. Your donations save lives, as do your prayers. For both of those sacrificial acts we are so grateful to you. Because of your help the border residents of Israel have safe bomb shelters which are equipped with an emergency supply of diapers, water, food, and beds – something that they didn’t have during the Second Lebanon War. Because of your generous gifts there are trauma centers centrally located in each war torn town to help the Jewish people in the moment after an attack. Many of the crucial needs of Israelis have been met with the help of The Fellowship, and yet every day new emergency scenarios arise that call for a new plan of action – action that requires funds the Israeli government simply doesn’t have. That is when we turn to you.

Because of your love, Israelis feel confident that we will never again be alone. We know we have the backing of millions of Christians worldwide who love us and care for us. All of these encouraging thoughts are said without a word – they are written on plaques all over the country. Wherever needy residents of Israel turn for help, they are warmly greeted by the comforting sign of “Donated with Love by Christians in America, The Fellowship.” What else can I say but thank you? May God bless us all in our fight for freedom and peace.

With blessings from Jerusalem,
Yael