MONTREAL — The beleaguered residents of Sderot, the Negev town that is the frequent target of Qassam rocket attacks from the nearby Gaza Strip, need the support of the Diaspora, the leader of a grassroots advocacy organization said during a visit to Canada last week.
Alon Davidi, chair of the Sderot Defense Council, said the town needs financial aid, but more importantly, it needs moral support from Jews abroad in its campaign to pressure the Israeli government to take more vigorous military action against Hamas, the terrorist group that controls Gaza.
Davidi, a 37-year-old father of five, founded the council after his own home was hit by a rocket two years ago.
Over the past seven years, Sderot has been hit by close to 7,000 rockets, and the frequency has increased considerably of late. Thus far into 2008, it has been struck by more than 400, he said.
“This is a problem not just for the people who live there, but for all of the Jewish nation,” he said in an interview. “The goal of Hamas is to break the whole country, not just Sderot.”
He also urges tourists to Israel to include Sderot on their itinerary. “Only by going there can you realize what is happening. You can’t get the whole story from the television or the Internet.”
Montreal was the first stop on Davidi’s North American tour, which also includes Toronto, Miami and New York. In Montreal, his visit was under the auspices of the Mizrachi organization, and Davidi gave a public lecture at Congregation Beth Israel Beth Aaron.
Davidi described the defence council as a non-partisan group that provides social, economic, legal and psychological services to Sderot residents. The council has also in the past month staged protests in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to draw attention to what it feels is an inadequate response to their plight from those in the central part of the country and from the government. It has called for the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
While he downplayed the council’s political aims, Davidi said he cannot have confidence in Olmert until he wins the war against Hamas in Gaza.
He said he realizes it is difficult for Israel to intervene in Gaza after the Winograd report was so critical of the war in Lebanon in 2006, but the fact is that Hezbollah is no longer threatening northern Israel.
The council also wants the government to pay for the reinforcement of more homes, schools and other public buildings, and the construction of more shelters.
Davidi said residents continue to move out of Sderot, whose population has dropped from about 25,000 to 21,000. Many of those who remain are the least well off, such as Ethiopian and North African immigrants and others who do not have the financial means to easily resettle elsewhere.
Moreover, no one in Sderot can get property insurance because of the risk, he said. The council is pressing for full benefits under the National Insurance Program for those whose homes have been damaged, but coverage has not always been available.
Within Sderot, the council encourages residents to try to live as normally as possible. Davidi believes that hiding indoors gives a victory to the terrorists.