Sheltered lives

Our group of EAs just passed its mid-term mark. At the end of last week, the EAPPI staff took all 24 of us on a trip to Israel. During our journey we visited two Kibbutzim and met with Israeli pacifists. First stop, Wednesday morning, the small town of Sderot right at the Eastern border of Gaza. Between 2001 and 2008 (except for a 5-month cease fire in 2008), Sderot was the main target of rockets fired from Gaza. We are told that for several years, Sderot would have had between 5 and 60 rockets a day falling from their sky. Our guest, Nomika Zion, a member and founder of the urban Kibbutz Migvan in Sderot tells us the stress and the fear of those years; it is impossible to imagine!

How does one respond to this level of fear and stress? Unexpectedly, in the case of this community, the creation of The Other Voice was their response, a small organization that promotes peace and dialogue between the people of Gaza and the people of Sderot (http://www.othervoice.org/). Instead of encouraging an escalation of violence, The Other Voice has been attempting to heal wounds on both sides of the border by sharing experiences of war and terror, of humanity and hope. On January 8, 2009, Nomika published a very powerful article, "Not in my Name," that publicly expressed this other voice during Operation Cast Lead: "The current blood bath in Gaza is not in my name and not for my security. Destroyed homes, bombed schools, thousands of new refugees–are not in my name and not for my security." Nomika received support from everywhere and another voice was heard! Nomika's full article can be accessed at the following address: http://villagesgroup.wordpress.com/2009/01/11/a-sderot-woman-speaks-out-against-gaza-war/.

We continued our trip to Kibbutz Zikim, this time on the Northern border of Gaza. There too, the stress and fear was part of people's daily life for years during the second Intifada. Like in Sderot, the entire town is equipped with anti-rockets shelters: shelters attached to each single house, shelters at bus stops, shelters built over houses (like in the case of the school buildings at Zikim), shelters on playgrounds, etc.

This certainly gives a new meaning to the expression, "sheltered life;" here, it has nothing to do with a protected and comfortable life, but rather indicates the need for more security. However, Zikim has also found some alternative means to deal with fear and stress: at one end of the Kibbutz stands a surprising Hanukkah Menorah made of Qassam rockets. As it is written in the Prophet Isaiah:

"He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore." (2:4 NRV)
And the Menorah will be lit every Hanukkah!