Why Israelis Continue to Live Next to Gaza Despite the Danger

By Debbie Kornberg

SAN DIEGO — Over these last two weeks, we have watched as over 4,000 rockets from Gaza have rained on Israeli communities including San Diego’s Sister Community, Sha’ar HaNegev. While we here in San Diego are not new to our sister community and the surrounding areas getting hit hard, we have come to understand that these residents stand firm and remain resilient to live on the front lines.

For most people, it may be difficult to understand why residents sitting on the border to Gaza choose to live there. How could someone put themselves and their family at risk? It’s hard to imagine, especially when you have only 15 seconds to get into a “safe room,” a bomb shelter from the time a tzeva adom, red alert, is sounded, but there is a reason.

If you were to ask anyone living in the Gaza Envelope, the answer is simple, this is our home and we can’t be bullied into leaving by terrorists. A friend of mine, Yael, who lives on Kibbutz Nachal Oz, less than a mile from Gaza, once told me that if they leave, Hamas will then just try to bully the next strong hold and get those communities to leave too. We must stay, this is our home.

Don’t be fooled, just because these Israelis choose to stay doesn’t mean there isn’t a cost to pay. These horrible attacks have interrupted a sense of normalcy for Israelis living on the front line with many residents, including children, suffering from PTSD and other emotional traumas.

In places like Sha’ar HaNegev, there are days on end when children are not able to go outside and play due to the rocket fire.

Jewish National Fund-USA (JNF-USA) has invested in these communities to offer resources to make life a little easier in the region. For example, there are Resilience Centers throughout the region on the border to Gaza offering counseling to deal with the trauma from the ongoing rocket attacks. There are Animal Therapy Centers to help children deal with the trauma. In the city of S’derot, JNF-USA built an indoor playground that also functions as a bomb shelter so children have a place to play that is safe and secure from rocket fire. JNF-USA has also built outdoor bomb shelters that are painted with pleasant images so when residents have to take cover, it feels easier to run inside and feel safe.

These resources did not happen overnight, but from years of commitment to supporting the residents who live in this region. Jewish National Fund-USA has been a part of Israel’s history for over a century, supporting the needs of the land and people. We do not shy away from difficult times, but rather we build strong infrastructures so when times are tough, there are solutions already in place.

Last week in the region of Eshkol, also in close proximity to Gaza, there have been over 60 fires. Because JNF-USA had its Fire & Rescue centers already in place, they were prepared and ready to handle the situation.

With a ceasefire having gone into effect, the Israeli residents on the border to Gaza may be able to breathe a little easier and sleep a little more restfully at night, but unfortunately we know that this problem is not going away until the terrorists have been eradicated.  So for now we have to accept that rockets from Gaza will continue to rain onto Israel’s border if not today or tomorrow but in the days ahead. What gives me peace of mind is to know that Jewish National Fund-USA will be there to support the region’s residents just as we have been there yesterday, last month, and for the last 100 years.

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Debbie Kornberg is San Diego Board President of Jewish National Fund-USA.