So Now We Have a Hudna

Our Israeli correspondent MC sends the latest from the front lines in Sderot. In the aftermath of the November 21 ceasefire with Hamas, residents of Sderot have returned to waiting mode, knowing that they haven’t seen the last of rockets from Gaza.

MC includes this brief note with his report:

I wrote this fragment on the day of the ceasefire as we sat waiting for the violations. It was a strange time, rather surreal in fact; the psychological wind-down for us all was profound. It took about two days to stop listening for the incoming missiles etc.

We have had enough contributed now for our Hanukkah celebration to go ahead. We have done this for the last five years to keep a community profile; it also enables us to ensure that some of the local children get ‘supervised’ full bellies (even if it is hotdogs and doughnuts).

We have had quite a lot of media interest as a result of the extra publicity, plus some offers of fundraising. I assume this is a result of your efforts, so a BIG THANK-YOU for all your efforts.

Readers are reminded that the Sderot badge on our sidebar leads to a page where contributions may be made to “Hope for Sderot”. The site has been experiencing problems, so if it is down when you click the link, please keep trying.

So now we have a hudna
by MC

So now we have a hudna. It allows Hamas to lick its wounds and start restocking for the next time. Here in Sderot we are waiting for the ceasefire violations.

Whilst Hamas crows about its propaganda victories in the “baby-killing wars”, aided and abetted by the likes of the liberal media and the Vatican, we have to get on with life. This time the physical damage has not been huge, but the psychological and economic damage are significant.

We have all been suffering from fatigue induced by the constant bombardment. For some the stress has been intolerable, for although Iron Dome has taken out most of the missiles, a dozen or so have got through.

Perhaps the worst effect of this episode is still to come. For ten days the economic life of our city has been at a standstill, the factories and offices (what few are left) have been shut, and the small businesses have taken the double whammy of no customers and no deliveries. The follow-through on this being loss of wages and a further twist in the general economic downwards spiral.

To my knowledge, at least two families are now intent on leaving Sderot. Each family’s decision constitutes a real victory for Islamic violence.