May 11, 2023
 

Only two days ago Israeli citizens of the South were filled with anticipatory dread, waiting for the first shot to be fired from Gaza into Israel, following Israel’s targeting of high-ranking Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist leaders and weapons manufacturing facilities.  The unusually lengthy silence turned eerie and then deafeningly threatening.  One resident shared with us that she was up all night, out of her mind with worry. Another told Israeli radio that she took her four-year-old son who suffers from PTSD and at 2:15am (a minute after Israel’s targetting of terrorists in Gaza) left Sderot with a tent, some belongings and food to camp out next to the Kinneret in safety. Many thousands have followed since.
 

The news largely did not cover what happened in the 36 hours until rockets were fired on the south and across Israel in the early afternoon of Wednesday, the 10^th of May. One could say ‘nothing happened’ – but that would do an injustice to what Israeli citizens in the south have been going through.  All residents stayed indoors, close to bomb shelters. Schools, kindergartens, community events, celebrations and meet ups were all cancelled. Municipalities in the south were on alert and the people were trembling and on lock-down for their own physical safety.  Those evacuating needed to notify local authorities so that, in the case of an attack, they would not be searched for unnecessarily. 
 

In the ‘nothing happened twilight zone’ all day-to-day activities, including special ones like children’s birthday parties and weddings, were cancelled. Couples who were supposed to get married were left without a place for their ceremony. In Facebook posts prayer-like in nature that soon became viral, they asked for a venue to be offered to them in the centre of the country so they need not postpone their unique day. There is a cost to life stopping. And this doesn’t include the mental toll.
 

48 hours later and we are in a far different reality
 

Over the past two days, terrorists in Gaza have fired more than 500 rockets and mortars at Israel. The attacks have sent millions into bomb shelters, causing extensive trauma, dozens of injuries, and—just a short time ago—killing at least one Israeli in the city of Rehovot. This comes on the heels of a terrorist attack on the El Ghriba Synagogue in Tunisia on Tuesday, in which five people were murdered and multiple others injured.
 

Now and always, we stand with Israelis and Jews worldwide. We mourn the loss of innocent life, pray for the wounded, and support the right of Israelis to protect their children from terrorism. But solidarity also means taking action to help those who are hurting.
 

Here are just some of the ways our Canadian Jewish federations, together with Jewish Federations of Canada – UIA, are helping:
 

 Emergency aid for victims of terrorism
 

 Through the Jewish Agency’s Victims of Terror Fund, we provide immediate payments to those directly impacted by terror. Delivered within 24-48 hours, funding helps cover emergency expenses in the aftermath of an attack. This program is now being used to help the families of those murdered while attending services in Tunisia. In Israel, as in previous conflicts, the Fund will be assisting the victims of rocket strikes throughout the country.
 

Strengthening resilience and mental health In UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s partner community of Sderot
 

Sderot has suffered horrific rocket fire. When UJA Federation began supporting Sderot in 2006, one of the first things the Federation did was invest in bomb-proofing its physical infrastructure. This included building a second, reinforced storey on a local community centre—now called the Canada House Community Centre—to ensure it could be safely enjoyed by residents. Today, Canada House was directly struck by a rocket, which did not penetrate the building thanks to Toronto’s and Canadian Jewish Federation Emergency Campaign dollars investment years ago, and no one was injured.