Red Alert: We Have No Spare Children

“We will only have peace when they love their children more than they hate us.” –Golda Meir


3…2…1… And the children start to sing.

In Sderot, every time the red alert siren goes off, warning the residents that they have fifteen seconds to get to a shelter before a rocket strikes, the preschool children count down and then burst into song to cover the sound of the blast. A far cry from the Mary had a little lamb that we grew up on, but effective.

The western Negev town of Sderot has been enduring rocket attacks from Gaza since 2001. So why, all of a sudden, has it become a rallying point for Jews worldwide? “Support Sderot” rallies have burgeoned across the States, and in Israel the dati leumi are screaming for the government to protect its people. American college students visit Sderot to volunteer in droves. Diaspora communities collect huge amounts of funds for ambulances, shelters, and trauma centers. Three years ago, nobody cared.


Now, Sderot has emerged as the front line in Israel’s war. Sderot residents have pushed past the Israeli government’s desire for secrecy: Olmert fears that publicity about the rocket fire will jeopardize the peace process. Which is ridiculous. The rockets themselves jeopardize the peace process. Closing our eyes and pretending they’re not there won’t solve anything.

For the many Israeli citizens who protested the hitnatkut (the disengagement from Gaza) four summers ago, the situation in Sderot is even more frustrating. Though nobody wants to be right about something like this, the “I told you so”s are resounding from the street corners. It’s even worse that the government watches what is happening in Sderot and learns nothing: Olmert is discussing expelling still more Israelis from their homes in the Shomron and the Gush Etzion bloc.

Israelis are beginning to understand that rockets in Sderot is not simply a local problem. As Iran produces ever farther-reaching rockets and sends them into Gaza to be fired at Israeli towns, Israel citizens in nearby Ashkelon also face rocket barrage. Tel Aviv residents are beginning to get nervous. The IDF is broadening its missile defense system, in conjunction with the States. Yesterday children nationwide practiced bomb shelter drills. It’s no longer a question of simply Sderot. Sderot represents the fear of all Israelis. And the fear of Jews worldwide.

What if Iran used the nuclear weapons that it keeps boasting about? What if instead of the single houses, individual people, and private rooms that are demolished in Sderot, all of Israel went up in smoke? Maybe Sderot is the canary in the mine, not only for Israel but for all of Europe. Iran’s weapons now have the capacity to reach up to half of Europe. Somebody needs to stop them. We have no spare children.