On our last day we woke up intending to head to Ammunition Hill. However, the “NEW” cool tram system, said to be completed in 2006 now April 2011, blocked all roads to the site. Instead our tour guide, Jon Goldstein took us to a gorgeous Jerusalem lookout for final pictures. After some camel rides and Shema descriptions we were on our way to Sderot.
Sderot is a town on the boarder of Gaza that has seen thousands of bombings. The mortars occur daily and have just started to cease in 2009. The residents of Sderot have 15 seconds warning to seek cover before a mortars impact. This stressful and dangerous situation does not allow the children of the town to play outside or interact with each other except for in school. The result of the constant bombing has caused 72% of the children in Sderot to have posttraumatic stress disorder. JNF spearheaded a project to build an indoor playground/bomb shelter. A few of the “crew” were involved in the fundraising for the playground through JNFuture Philadelphia. The manager of the playground gave us a tour, brief operational description and answered all of our questions. The children pay 10 shekels a day to play inside after school and donations can be allocated for this purpose. After the tour Menachem spoke to us about donations and mitzvot as referred to in the Talmud. It was so incredible to see how American’s can physically make a difference in a small town in Israel. The playground allows children the ability to relax and be kids. The group could feel the good this playground has done for the community of Sderot and gave great satisfaction.
The manager let us experience the playground for about 30 minutes and within that 30 minutes we acted like six year olds. We had fun playing air hockey, basketball, ping pong, video games and the bouncing gym. We saw the disco, computer room and the special birthday party room. This experience meant a lot to me as well as the group. Menachem reminded us how important it is to give Tzedakah to those in need and to our community.
I feel very blessed to have been on this trip and as I am writing this while in my apartment in Tel Aviv. I was lucky to stay in Israel for Rosh Hashanah. L’Shanah Tovah to all and everyone I was able to share this amazing experience with.
- George Shotz
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So wonderful! This blog was amazing for me to read…I am so proud that my son was a part of this experience! Welcome back and Shona Tova!