MK (Yahadut HaTorah) R’ Yisrael Eichler spent Shabbos in Ashdod and was one of the tens of thousands of area residents who heard the air raid sirens around seudas shlishis time.
Eichler explains that since the rocket was fired last Wednesday after the release of terrorists in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal, a rocket which the media called “an isolated incident by the Islamic Jihad”, Eichler knew this was anything but that, realizing what was coming our way.
The first siren was heard while he was davening in Beis Pinchas, a local Belz shul which is now located in a new building that Baruch Hashem has a shelter, a safe room.
He explains that during the drasha of seudas shlishis another siren was heard, while they were in the shul’s old caravan, instilling a bit of panic in all present. He spoke of the miracles that were witnessed in Yerushalayim during the past decades, reminding the tzibur how we are simply in HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s hands of every moment of every day.
Still dressed in his Shabbos clothes, Eichler hurriedly made his way to the impact site for a firsthand look at the situation. He is calling for fortified shelters, the portable prefabricated kind that are delivered by truck and dropped around the city. He stated these shelters must be placed in areas being targeted since the homes simply lack safe rooms which are commonplace in Sderot and in other border communities.
He reminds the media that when he called for fortification for Ashdod some time ago, the prime minister explained that Ashdod was out of the line of fire, not among the communities being considered for national government spending to protect against missile attacks.
Now, seeing today’s reality, Eichler is demanding the portable shelters immediately, explaining they are only 30,000 NIS each, a realistic sum that should prompt the government to begin ordering today.
“In Ashdod, there are schools, shteibelach, shuls, many in caravans, and they simply all lack a safe area in the event of an attack. The students and the mispallalim are simply exposed with no solution. We must take action today towards providing security for residents. Without the shelters, thousands of children are simply exposed to the life-threatening situation, learning in caravan buildings. Despite it all, the secular media continues speaking about social justice” stated Eichler.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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One Response
What are these “caravans” the article keeps referring to??
While the government should consider paying for these shelters for places of public gathering like schools and synagogues, its not clear that the government should pay for private shelters, especially for those who can or should be able to afford to pay for their own needs.