A New Dawn for Israel Public Diplomacy

#Israel Diplomacy, #Media Advocacy, #Hasbara, #Gaza, #Iran, #Hamas, #Sderot Media Center, #Public Affairs, #Minister of Public affairs and Diaspora, #Yuli Edelstein #Operation Cast Lead, #terrorism, #Jihad,


By; Anav Silverman
Sderot Media Center
www.SderotMedia.org.il

18.11.09, Sderot, Israel: For the first time since Operation Cast Lead, senior government officials and Minister of Public Affairs and Diaspora, Yuli Edelstein, gathered together in Sderot to discuss the efficacy of Israel's current public diplomacy in a media forum organized by Sderot Media
Center.



Noam Bedein opened the conference by stating that the primary weak point during Operation Cast Lead was the lack of coordination between advocacy bodies to present the Israeli perspective with on-ground information at an official level.

International Media Advisor to the Deputy Foreign Minister, Ashley Perry, commented that advocacy bodies must think not only of tactics in the public diplomacy battle.

"Having a unified strategy in presenting Israel's case is critical. The other side has been working on delegitimizing the Jewish state of Israel for years with a well-thought out strategy especially in terms of the Internet," Perry said.


"When prominent people from all over the world believe that Sderot is a settlement somewhere and has no idea of the context of the Gaza conflict, we cannot assume that people outside of Israel know the basics," Perry added.





Minister of Foreign Affairs Deputy Spokesman, Andy David commented on the positive effect of Sderot Media Center as a grassroots organization. "SMC has the power to communicate the voices of Sderot residents in a way that the Foreign Ministry, a formal government body, cannot. Sderot Media Center's work in social networking, cultural projects and presentations to student groups are like diamonds in this advocacy field that need to be advanced further."



Government Press Office Director, Danny Seaman, agreed. Seaman stated that Sderot Media Center's Community Treatment Theater project "has been the best piece of hasbara that Israel has seen in a long time."

"Only girls who have actually grown up under rocket fire can perform a play about Qassam rockets as realistically as these high school actresses do.”

Sderot Mayor, David Buskila and and Director of the IDF Public Relations Branch, Lieutenant, Asaf Liberty also participated in the panel discussion.


Knesset Minister, Yuli Edelstein, thanked Sderot Media Center for organizing the media forum and for their advocacy work on behalf of Sderot residents. "SMC does a great job portraying the human side of Sderot and getting basic facts out to the world."

Bedein gave an overall summary of Sderot Media Center’s work during and since Operation Cast Lead.






"Our work here, as a grassroots media organization, is unique because of our close interaction with the residents here. Most of the SMC staff live in Sderot and have experienced the rocket attacks and alarms, as well as the relative ceasefires, along with the rest of the community. We are the only information source available here in the western Negev dealing directly with the rocket reality and its impact on Israeli civilians."

"During Operation Cast Lead and after, SMC has worked with hundreds of foreign journalists, political figures and college student groups, to communicate the situation of Sderot residents. When we visit the UN, Capitol Hill, the Australian Parliament and other governments and international organizations, we directly represent the people of Sderot,” said Bedein.


"The goal of this forum tonight is to find a way to utilize our work, our documentation of Sderot and Negev life under this rocket reality, in preparation for the next rocket war and media battle," Bedein concluded to the press.
“Tonight is a stepping point for public advocacy bodies to meet and find ways to cooperate towards a new dawn for Israel public diplomacy.”

Photos: Roy Borovski
Video: Tal Avitan

Support Sderot Treatment Theater, Therapy Balancing Gaza Story

#Theater, #Therapy, #Rockets, #Hamas, #Gaza, #Sderot Media Center, #Jihad, #Trauma, #PTSD,#terroism, #War crimes, #Goldstone report, #Iran,




"The positive impact of the theater therapy process clearly showed in the way these girls performed tonight--full of confidence and assurance."
Dalia Yosef, Former Director of the Sderot Resiliency Center for Sderot children and parents (Sderot performance, October 16, 2009)


In order for Sderot Media Center to continue the operation of the Sderot Community Treatment Theater, the project is in need of immediate financial assistance to advance its therapy services for traumatized Sderot girls.
We welcome you to view this short documentary of the year long drama-therapy process that has helped revitalize Sderot high school girls.

Watch the video from the show in Sderot

value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mE3S1BmnTr8&hl=en&fs=1&">

"Once the girls began to express their feelings of the fear and loneliness, they began to realize that they were not alone--there were others like them who were experienced the same trauma and panic induced by constant strain of living in a rocket environment."
Debbie Gross, Jerusalem psychologist who worked with the Sderot theater girls. (Sderot performance, October 14, 2009)


"It was fantastic. The girls' ability to weave humor within their personal stories, and then deliver the punch lines was amazing. No government official could tell the story of Sderot the way these actresses did tonight."
Danny Seaman, Director of the Israel Government Press Office (Jerusalem performance, October 26, 2009)


Over the next six months, Sderot Media Center plans to have 12 performances in different cities and communities across Israel and the Knesset.

In this project the Sderot Media Center's goal is to promote the concept of providing residents with self-expressing media tools that work to treat the traumatized population, while using the product to advocate the Israeli prospective through the human story of Sderot.



With the diverse audience members and plethora of media coverage, this theater project will impact public opinion not only on the Israel-Gaza conflict but also on how the world views the broader Arab-Israeli conflict.
Theater Project Media Coverage:
YNetNews , Jpost Video, The Jerusalem Post, Israeli Channel 1+2, weekend edition of H'aaretz, Frontpage magazine, Jewish policy Center


*Articles about the performances:

"SMC Theater therapy program changes lives of Sderot's traumatized girls"

"Jerusalem Audience Awed by Sderot Girls' Treatment Theater Performance"




Recognized by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Israel Government Press Office, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the Israel Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (IICC), SMC represents the daily threat of missile attack that now 1 million Israelis live under.

THE THEATER THERAPY PROJECT IS FUNDED SOLELY BY PRIVATE DONATIONS
Your contributions help continue our work

MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO BANK TRANSFER INFORMATION
Sderot Media Center
POB 472
1 Ha'histadrut St.
Sderot, Israel 80100

Tax Deductible avenues
available in UK, Canada, & the USA

Contact SMC for information

Bank Mizrachi
Swift code: mizbilit
Branch: 054
Account: 165342

Mizrachi Bank
Alon Shvut Commercial Center
Alon Shvut 90433 Israel
Contact Us - www.sderotmedia.org.il , info@sderotmedia.com

As Goldstone sleeps, Sderot dreams of a safe, new year!

#Goldstone report, #UN, #Israel, #Gaza, #Hamas, #Sderot, #Sderot Media Center
www.SderotMedia.org.il


Dear Friends of Sderot Media Center,

Sderot Media Center Impacts Global Media with Response to Goldstone Report

Sderot Media Center’s director, Noam Bedein, who testified before the Goldstone Commission in Geneva this past July, blasted the UN Commision's report , calling it a ‘sham’ which served to legitimize acts of terror committed against Israel by terror-organizations like Hamas. International news outlets that carried Sderot Media Center’s press release in response to the UN report included China , India , Japan , Ireland , Thailand and South Africa . Israel's Jerusalem Post, Israel National News, Israel Radio, YNet News and Ha'aretz also carried Bedein's response.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


As Sderot and Negev residents enter their ninth year of life under the threat and fire of Gaza rockets, Sderot Media Center is preparing to meet those upcoming challenges. The financial struggles of the past year have not deterred SMC from conducting an intense awareness campaign successfully placing Sderot on the international map.

The information services of Sderot Media Center were internationally recognized when the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict requested that the center provide a full-length report explaining the impact of rockets on Israelis in Sderot and the south. I had the opportunity to speak before the UN commission in Geneva on behalf of Sderot this past June.

SMC representatives have toured Capitol Hill, Australia, Manitoba, Norway, England, and the US college campuses, Jewish and Christian communities, providing world audiences with accounts and media documentation of Sderot life. In the past year, SMC has hosted the British Ambassador to Israel, US governors and congressmen, parliamentarians, diplomats and other official policy-makers as well as an array of international media.

This begs the question: When most of the world knows about the situation in Sderot, what makes Sderot Media Center's work so important at this time?

The recent 'Gaza War' has affected the entire world, with multi-million dollar media campaigns and PR invested in portraying the scenes in Gaza. Almost every Jewish community in the world saw massive demonstrations against Israel during and after Operation Cast Lead.
This imbalance of media coverage has naturally given more legitimacy for Hamas, which has become a ‘household’ word internationally. This sort of legitimacy for terrorism and terrorist leaders poses a dangerous threat to regional peace and to the Jewish state’s existence.

Sderot Media Center is the only information source daily counterbalancing the Gaza narrative with the human story of Sderot and southern Israel. During the relative calm of the ceasefire, thousands of Sderot residents are still reeling from the post-traumatic effects and economic devastation brought on by years of rocket attacks.

SMC has developed a model to share the voices of local residents and expose the psychological impact of rocket terror on civilians. Two SMC projects for the coming year were conceived to more effectively present the Israeli perspective of the Gaza conflict.

Sderot Community Treatment Theater

Sderot Media’s Information Center

At Sderot Media Center, we would like to thank you for your generous support and your continuing belief in our work.

May this New Year bring peace and security to the residents of Sderot and all of Israel.


Shana Tova,



Noam Bedein, SMC Director

Sderot Children Featured in First-Ever International Feature Film

#film, #feature documentary,#PTSD, #missile, #kids, #children, #post trauma, #global #terrorism, #Sderot, #Sderot Media Center, # Noam Bedein, #liane thompson

Sderot Media Center to make feature documentary with acclaimed US television executive
By: Anav Sliverman

The first-ever feature length film about Sderot’s trauma children is currently underway. Sderot Media Center’s Noam Bedein has teamed up with acclaimed US Producer and Director Liane Thompson to create Missile City Kids, a film featuring the trauma-stricken children of Sderot following years of rocket fire.

Missile City Kids http://www.missilecitykids.com is a non-political project about children suffering from the terror-related post traumatic stress disorder that has engulfed the civilian population of Sderot, Israel. Sderot, an Israeli city located less than a mile away from Gaza, has been subject to 10,000 missile attacks in the past eight years.





Studies have revealed that 70-94% of Sderot's children suffer from PTSD. Many Sderot children find support at the local resilience center but due to budget cuts, the center will soon shut down.

“We want to use the power of a good film to create global awareness about terror-related PTSD in children worldwide,” Liane Thompson told Sderot Media Center.

Thompson has received three-time Prime Time Emmy nominations and a public awareness award from the American Medical Association for her work as an executive producer on the #1 television program Trauma: Life in the ER. As an executive with New York Times Television, the TV unit of The New York Times, Thompson has delivered over 130 hours of programming to US broadcasters such as Viacom’s Showtime Network, The National Geographic Channel, Discovery Communication, Inc., Discover Health, The Food Network and more.











Photos:Noam Bedein

Independently, Thompson created the anti-terror technology program, Outsmarting Terror, which aired to millions worldwide on National Geographic Television. "Outsmarting Terror was about how we fight terrorism, but as terrorism becomes a part of our daily psyche, Missile City Kids will focus on the psychological ramifications of living in a terror stricken world," said Thompson.

Many Sderot children find support at the local resilience center but due to budget cuts, the center will soon shut down. “We want to use the power of a good film to create global awareness about terror-related PTSD in children worldwide”


Missile City Kids will follow the lives of several children, portraying their day to day struggle with psychological trauma and the impact of rocket fire on their families. However, primary filming has yet to begin. The project is in the development stage seeking an executive producer or financial backing from an angel investor or donator. The producers have secured some company sponsorships including Phone.com who has given the filmmakers a US toll free number to help with fund-raising (1-877-801-6099) and PLYmedia who has offered various language subtitling and other products once the film is complete.

Film completion is still a long ways off as raising money for a documentary is proving difficult in these hard economic times. But Thompson remains optimistic that potential investors will see the film's value as a product that not only creates worldwide awareness but also generates an economic return.






http://www.missilecitykids.com

SMC’s director Noam Bedein said that it was a pleasure to work with a professional like Thompson. “We just launched fund-raising efforts last month at the social media Twitter 140 Conference and at the US-Israeli Executive Summit held in New York City.”

The Sderot Media Center (SMC)( http://sderotmedia.org.il/ ) is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising worldwide awareness to the plight of Sderot residents. SMC’s mission is to convey the “human face behind the headlines” via the arts and media.

“We hope that Missile City Kids will bring the Sderot reality a little closer to home and shed some light to the devastating impact that rocket terror has had on the children of Sderot and the Negev,” said Bedein.

Thompson plans to expand the project to other countries where children suffer from war related post trauma.

“While we are focusing on Sderot at the moment, we hope to get the budget to ultimately take the project global to include children suffering from PTSD from other countries such as Afghanistan, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and more,” Thompson added. "This is a worldwide problem."

Bearing Witness to the UN in Geneva: Sderot Media Center Director Noam Bedein Presents Sderot’s Case to UN Judges

#Geneva, #United Nations, #UN, #War crimes, #Gaza conflict, #Hamas, #Israel, #Noam Bedein, #Noam Shalit, #Sderot Media Center, #Judge Richard Goldstone, #rockets, #terror, #Palestinians

By: Noam Bedein

Director Sderot Media Center

http://www.sderotmedia.org.il/

On July 6th, I traveled to Geneva to testify before the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. Participating in the delegations were Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin, Dr Alan Marcus the director strategic planning branch in Ashkelon, Ophir Shinhar of Sapir College, and Dr. Mirelda Sidrer who was injured during a rocket attack on a medical facility at the Ashkelon mall.

*From left to right: Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin, Dr. Mirelda Sidrer, Hillel Neuer and Dr. Alan Marcus.

The Israeli delegation also included Noam Shalit, who impassionedly spoke on behalf of his son, Gilad, who was abducted three years ago by Palestinian terrorists and has since been held by Hamas.

The Israeli government officially refused to cooperate with the UN mission, since the UN investigation had already formulated conclusions asserting that Israel had committed war crimes during the December-January war.
At the same time, however, the head of the UN fact finding mission, South African Judge Richard Goldstone, told the Israeli media that he would like to hear both sides of the conflict. "The aim of the public hearings was to let the face of human suffering be seen and to let the voices of the victims be heard."

In preparation for the Geneva hearing, the UN mission invited the Sderot Media Center , a Sderot NGO, to prepare material, footage and information regarding the impact of the Gaza bombardment of the Israeli civilian population in the Negev during the Gaza war. The UN Mission aimed to at obtain an unofficial Israeli perspective.

Before the UN hearing in Geneva, the Israeli delegation received a briefing from Hillel Neuer, head of NGO 'UN Watch.' Neuer provided background on the UN fact finding mission and the agenda of each judge on the UN investigating board.

During the days leading up to the testimony, it was not easy to sleep - as the only resident of Sderot and the western Negev in this delegation, knowing that there would be only 30 minutes to convey how aerial terror has devastatingly impacted the civilian population of Sderot.

At the same time, the UN afforded an opportunity for Sderot Media Center, which specializes in communicating the human story of Sderot and life under continuous rocket terror to decision makers around the world , to finally reach the UN.

While the delegation got ready to testify in the “lion’s den,” it was less than sobering to know that one of the UN judges included Professor Christine Chinkin from London. In a Sunday Times article published on January 11th , Judge Chinkin supported the allegation that “Israel’s bombardment of Gaza is not self defense, it’s a war crime.”

Israeli reporters in Geneva asked hard questions:

"Why testify before a such a ‘neutral’ judge who claims that Israel does not have the right to defend her citizens and whose actions “ amount to aggression violating international law and human rights law?"

"Why testify when the government of Israel itself has boycotted the investigation which already formulated it allegations against Israel before the investigation commenced?"

However, the presence of a UN invited delegation from Israel created a precedent.

Hillel Neuer of Human Rights Watch noted that never in the 16 years of operating in Geneva had there ever been a time when the UN invited and even sponsored a delegation from Israel to give testimony - until now.

This time, the UN provided an opportunity for ordinary people from Israel to make their voices heard across the world. It was an honor as a resident of Sderot to partake in such an event.

Yet the long road to peace and justice for Sderot and Negev residents does not end before a panel of UN judges or a commissioned report.
Residents of Israel who act as witnesses to terror against the Jewish people, are obligated to speak up and convey the experience of what it is like to live under sustained rocket attacks-defined as a terror act and crime against humanity.

*Noam Bedein in the main hall of the UN Headquarters before testifying.

After screening two short videos in front of the panel of UN judges, which depicted the 15 seconds that Sderot residents and their children have to run for their lives when the rocket alarm is activated by impending Gaza rockets, I concluded my presentation with the following thoughts and questions.

“I do not have enough fingers, to count on my hands the amount of times rockets exploded just a few meters from a kindergarten--would any other western democracy in the world tolerate even one rocket being fired towards their territory? Why is it that we must wait, until a kindergarten or classroom packed with children, is struck directly by a rocket in order for Israel to gain international support, to protect and do what is right for our own people?"

US President Barack Obama put it best when he visited a devastated home in Sderot during the 2008 campaign:
"If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that, and would expect Israel to do the same thing."

There were no questions or reactions from the UN judges. We will all have to wait, along with all the residents of southern Israel, to peruse the Geneva verdict on the war when the UN Mission report will be released in September

Director's update on SMC's activities during ceasefire

#Sderot Media Center, #Cease fire, #British Ambassador Tom Phillips, #US Congressmen Brian Baird Keith Ellison, #Israel advocacy, #Operation Cast Lead, #Noam Bedein

June 9, 2009
www.SderotMedia.org.il

Greetings from Sderot,

This letter serves to update Sderot Media Center's supporters on the current activities of the center during the ceasefire and SMC’s present and future place in Sderot/Israel advocacy.


Noam with Canadian Embassy Political Officer, Gregory Galligan in May.

Current SMC Activities: In the past six months, since the military operation in Gaza, over 212 rockets have been fired at Israel during this ‘ceasefire’ period, the third ceasefire in the past two years. It is in these days of relative ‘quiet’ that material and information from Sderot Media Center becomes even more in demand. The number of groups and officials who have visited Sderot with SMC in the recent lull has increased dramatically since the war ended in January.


British Ambassador, Tom Phillips visits Sderot Media Center in June.


On June 4, the British Ambassador to Israel, Tom Phillips visited Sderot Media Center to learn more about our organizations’ activities and the impact of the recent rocket fire on the community-specifically the post-trauma symptoms affecting both children and adults. Check out the British Embassy's coverage of the the visit here: http://ukinisrael.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/?view=PressR&id=18889861.

During recent months, Sderot Media Center's Meital Ohayon has been working with top international film producer, Liane Thompson, on the first feature-length documentary on Sderot. Thompson has produced for the National Geographic Channel and Discovery Communications Inc. Visit the project's website for more information on the Sderot documentary: http://www.childrenofmissilecity.com/. The calm has also given us the opportunity to refocus our organization’s goals. On our website’s homepage you will see the three areas in which we work to generate global awareness to the Sderot story: media outreach, education, and social media projects.

With rockets and without rockets, Sderot Media Center is active in all three of these areas. More detailed information is provided below.

Media Outreach: Although SMC engages more intensively in media outreach during rocket escalations, we continue to provide regular updates and articles to Israeli and international news websites, newspapers and magazines. Jerusalem Post, YNet News, Front Page Magazine, Bangor Daily News of Maine, The Jewish Advocate of Boston, and are a few examples of news journals and websites that have carried SMC articles
during the lull.

SMC has also conducted media outreach on behalf of the Sderot trauma facilities, which are facing potential closure due to financial budget cuts. Sderot Media Center has been pressuring and corresponding with Knesset members to secure further funding for the trauma facilities , alongside Dr. Katz and Dalia Yosef, directors of the trauma facilities. Out of the NIS 6 million needed to keep five trauma centers in Sderot and the western Negev open, the Knesset has thus far provided NIS 1.5 million which will keep the centers going until December.

Education: Sderot Media Center has increased its education activities during this period of quiet. Because of the decrease in rocket attacks, the number of student groups and organizations visiting Sderot has dramatically risen, and have included visits from US and Canadian college students participating in Aish Hasbara, Young Judea, and Israel Experience programs. Since Operation Cast Lead, over 500 visitors have come through Sderot Media Center including diplomats, foreign press, governments officials and student groups.

During the quiet period, the following officials have visited Sderot with Sderot Media Center:


Noam with US Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) at the Sderot Police Station in February.

*Canadian Embassy Political Officer, Greg Galligan

*US Congressmen Brian Baird and Keith Ellison


*British Member of Parliament, Jeffrey Donaldson


*British Ambassador, Tom Phillips

Social Media Projects: Sderot Media Center has continued in full swing with the Sderot Community Treatment Theater project. A script based on rocket life in Sderot has been completed and the Sderot high school girls participating in the project will be reay to perform the play this August 2009 across Israel and eventually in the US, Canada and the U.K.

Advisory Board: As we are now officially a non-profit organization, we have established a respected board of directors and advisors who include the president of the ZOA, the head of the Israel Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, a former Israeli foreign ministry envoy to the US, a Boston University history professor, and a Hillel campus director in Vancouver, among many other respected individuals.

SMC at the Present

In the past three years of its existence, Sderot Media Center has built trusted relationships and connections with Israeli Knesset members, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Jewish Agency, the Israel Government Press Office, and top correspondents from the New York Times and the UK’s Sunday Times, among others. These bodies rely on our center to provide reliable and up-to-date information on the security situation and the lasting traumatic impact of the rocket attacks on the Sderot and western Negev region.

SMC in the Future

With the Sderot Community Treatment Theater, SMC has developed a new concept in social media-combining therapy, self-expression, and documentation/presentation of Sderot life. The fact that it will take years to rehabilitate the traumatized population of

Sderot means that the human story of Sderot will continue. The social media tools which SMC provides to the Sderot community (which helps residents cope and express their traumatic experiences) will continue to serve as a vital source for Israel advocacy. Through the media art like drama, Sderot residents have the opportunity to present the Israel perspective to the world, which in the long term will balance the Gaza narrative.

In other words, the Sderot-Gaza conflict is not over yet.

We appreciate the financial support and feedback that our supporters have provided Sderot Media Center thus far. Your support has enabled Sderot Media Center to implement Sderot global awareness in the ways mentioned above. Your continued support will enable the center to continue operating and providing the residents of Sderot and the western Negev with a voice in the global media and in international policy making.
Sincerely,

Noam Bedein,
Sderot Media Center Director

British Ambassador Visits SMC and Sderot Trauma Facilities

#British Ambassador, #Tom Phillips, #trauma center, #sderot media center, #Gaza, #humanitarian crises, #Hamas, #Sderot, #rockets, #qassam

By: Anav Silverman
Sderot Media Center
www.SderotMedia.org.il

Ambassador Tom Phillips visits Sderot trauma facilities on verge of financial collapse

In light of the financial collapse facing Sderot’s trauma facilities, Sderot Media Center invited British Ambassador Tom Phillips to visit with Sderot psychologists on Thursday, June 4 to receive an in-depth overview of the crisis.

The Ambassador first visited Sderot Media Center to learn more of the organization’s ‘citizen journalism’ and its social media activities on behalf of the Sderot community. Following the visit to the media center, Ambassador Phillips met with the heads of the Sderot Trauma Center and the Shock Treatment Center where he learned of the vital role that the trauma facilities play in rehabilitating the residents of the rocket-torn community.



As much of the world tuned into US Barack Obama’s monumental speech in Cairo, Ambassador Phillips heard the impassioned speeches of Sderot Trauma Center’s director, Dalia Yosef and the head of Shock Treatment Center, Dr. Adrianna Katz.
The directors of the trauma facilities reported that lack of funding will force both trauma centers to close down by December 2009.

Dr. Katz explained that the Shock Treatment Center was opened three years ago to provide immediate treatment to Sderot victims who experience shock after a Qassam attack. Inside the shock center, the Ambassador viewed the small room where shock patients are treated, which must cram as many as fifty patients at a time.

When told of the recent rocket that struck a Sderot residential neighborhood and sent eight people into shock, the Ambassador asked how PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) victims could be treated in an environment where there was no post to the rocket attacks.

"It is a big problem and a question that we have yet to answer," responded Dr. Katz. "Following the recent rocket attack in May, there have been over 60 new requests for treatment at the Sderot Mental Health Center." Dr. Katz, who also directs the Sderot Mental Health Center, said that out of the 6,000 patient files, over half involve post trauma cases.

"The closing of the shock center will mean that Sderot shock victims will have to be transported 20 minutes away to Ashkelon’s Barzilai, which was the standard procedure before the Sderot center was opened three years ago," Dr. Katz added.


At the Sderot Trauma Center, Ambassador Phillips met with the director, Dalia Yosef, who explained that the trauma center, also known as the Merkaz Hosen is the only facility in Sderot which offers treatment for children. "We have 1,000 patient files, and over 80 percent of our cases our children suffering from symptoms of PTSD. Eight years of Qassam rocket fire has produced a generation of ‘Qassam children’ who have no concept of normal life," said Yosef.

"We try to offer Sderot children and their parents the tools needed to deal with stress and shock." "Only this week, I had a mother break down, when she told me that the new bomb shelter in her home was complete. Although most Sderot parents have been reassured by the new bomb shelters, it was an unpleasant reality check for this particular mom. "




Yosef has a staff of 18 psychologists and social workers, all of whom she will be forced to fire once the funding for center runs out at the end of the year. Yosef explained that 50 percent of the center’s funding comes from NGOs, while Knesset ministries provide the other half.

"Until recently, The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews had provided 50 percent of the funding to the trauma and shock center. Now the organization can no longer provide that funding," said Yosef.

Sderot Media Center has been pressuring Knesset members to secure further funding for the trauma facilities, alongside Dr. Katz and Dalia Yosef. Out of the NIS 6 million needed to keep five trauma centers in Sderot and the western Negev open, the Knesset has thus far provided NIS 1.5 million which will keep the centers going until December.

Ambassador Phillips, noticeably moved by his visit, stated to Yosef that he was impressed with the dedication that she and other Sderot psychologists have shown to the community even under the intensity of the rocket attacks. Later the Ambassador spoke at Sapir College outside of Sderot, where he stated to students:
"I am conscious that I stand here today to meet with you students, just a few kilometres from the Gaza Strip, just a few kilometres from where Gilad Shalit was kidnapped almost three years ago. Thousands of rockets and mortars have rained down on Sderot and the surrounding areas since 2001, taking innocent lives and causing thousands of Israelis to live daily with fear, panic and dread."



The Ambassador’s visit to Sderot was spurred by a letter correspondence with SMC’s Anav Silverman. Silverman had written a letter to European Union ambassadors, pointing out that although the EU nations had graciously allocated funds for Palestinians who suffered the humanitarian consequences in the Gaza war, those living on the Israeli side and impacted by the war had received nothing. Silverman pointed out that both sides of the border deserved humanitarian aid.

Three embassies including Spain, the Netherlands and Britain responded to the letter, with the British Embassy following up in an on-site visit to Sderot. British Ambassador Phillips indicated at the end of the visit that he would bring the Sderot trauma facilities funding crisis to the attention of relevant international NGOs coordinating humanitarian aid.

The letter sent by Anav, to the EU-

To read Anav Silverman's letter to the European Union member countries: click here:
http://sderotmedia.org.il/bin/content.cgi?ID=428&q=3

To read the British Embassy's coverage of Ambassador Phillips' visit to Sderot, click here:
http://ukinisrael.fco.gov.uk/en/newsroom/?view=PressR&id=18889861

Knesset Ministers Respond to SMC's Call to Fund Trauma Centers

#sderot media center, #Israeli knesset members, #trauma centers, #knesset ministers,




By; Anav Silverman
Sderot Media Center
www.SderotMedia.com

SMC's Noam Bedein corresponds with Knesset ministers to alleviate financial crisis for Sderot trauma facilities

In light of the closing of the Sderot trauma facilities, SMC has called on Israeli Knesset ministries to step up funding or find a financial solution that will enable trauma services to continue operating in Sderot.

Sderot Media Center director, Noam Bedein, notified members of Knesset, who he had been in touch with previously in regard to the Israeli Tax Authority's treatment of Sderot residents' whose homes and properties were damaged in rocket attacks. Read more.

Members of Knesset, Dr. Marina Solodkin, Deputy Health Minister, Minister of Social Welfare Services, Yitzchak Hertzog, MK Ori Orbach, and MK Uri Ariel all responded to Sderot Media Center's notification. The four Knesset members contacted Deputy Health Minister, Rabbi Yakov Litzman to personally ask him what actions the Ministry of Health was taking to prevent the closures of the trauma facilities.

Minister of Social Welfare, Yitzchak Hertzog personally sent a letter to Mr. Bedein, highlighting the actions and meetings that are to stop the collapse of the Sderot treatment therapy centers.

The following is an excerpt from the Minister Hertzog's letter (May 21, 2009):

"There is no doubt that the trauma centers proved their effectiveness during Operation cast Lead. Therefore the Government of Israel must take it up on herself to continue to fund these centers. The Ministry of Social Welfare Services, the office of the Prime Minister, and the Health Ministry are taking every possible measures to maintain the operations of the centers.


In addition, the director of the Social Welfare Office, Mr. Nahum Itzkovitch has decided to initiate an immediate meeting, which representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister and the director of the Healthy Ministry will be part of, in order to find a solution to this critical problem."

The Sderot Trauma Center also known as Merkaz Hosen had its budget cut down by 50% when the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews notified the facility that it could no longer provide funding to the center. The other half of the center's funding-- provided by the Israeli government-is not nearly enough to keep the center open.

The Shock Treatment Center, which also runs under the Sderot Trauma Center is also on the verge of closing because of budget cuts. The Shock Treatment Center, which provides immediate treatment to Sderot victims of rocket terror, is vital to the Sderot community.

Sderot Media Center is awaiting an invitation to the meeting.

Sderot residents left to battle rockets and PTSD alone

#Sderot, #Mental health center, #PTSD, #Qassam rockets, #Trauma center, #shock center, #Gaza, #Hamas, #Sderot Media Center

By; Anav Silverman
Sderot Media Center
http://www.sderotmedia.com/

Sderot trauma facilities in danger of closing due to budget cuts.

Imagine that you are 18-years-old. You have just completed high school and in a few months you will enter the army. In the meantime, you spend your time going out with friends and working to save some money-- like any other typical teenager in Israel.

One afternoon, you come home exhausted from work and collapse into bed for a nap. Suddenly, in the middle of your nap you find yourself waking up to the sound of your window exploding above your bed. Shards of glass lie everywhere. It takes you a moment to realize that a rocket has slammed a few feet away from your home.
Welcome to a moment in the life of Ilan Dahan, a Sderot 18-year-old who slept through the Color Red siren-- only to wake up to a Gaza rocket exploding in his backyard last Tuesday evening, May 19.
“It’s a miracle that all I got was this scratch,” Ilan says, dazedly pointing to a red mark on his back, where a piece of glass cut through.
Ilan’s family stands around in shock. His mother Shula looks at her son tearfully. “I never expected this to happen to us during the ceasefire,” she says.

The back of the Dahan’s home is covered in debris and glass, while rocket shrapnel marks the walls and ceiling of the home. An evening breeze blows through the windowless windows. Ilan’s father, Avi, stands by his son. “I was terrified that something had happened to him,” Avi says in a quiet voice.
Now imagine that after such a rocket attack, the kind of therapy needed to get shock victims back on track, is no longer available. Due to significant budget cuts, trauma therapy facilities in Sderot, which have played a valuable role in rehabilitating residents of the rocket-torn community, are now in danger of closing down.

Those who will be affected most by this recent development are Sderot‘s children, as the Sderot Trauma Center, which caters mostly to Sderot children and teenagers - ages 17 and below - is on its way out.
Fifty percent of the center’s funding comes from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, or Keren LeYedidut. The organization can no longer provide the funds to keep the center going.



The trauma center treats 620 trauma patients, of whom 80% are children, says Daliah Yosef, the trauma center’s director.



“I’ve already handed out dismissal letters to the staff at the center,” Yosef told Sderot Media Center last Thursday, May 21 two days after the rocket attack.
The other 50% of the trauma center‘s funding is provided by the Israeli Government Ministries of Health, Revenue, and Seniors - not nearly enough to keep the center open.
“The harshest part of this reality is that hundreds of Sderot children will be left with no place to go for treatment,” says Yosef.

Ilan is fortunate that he is 18 and can therefore receive treatment at the Sderot Mental Health Center, which ministers to adult victims from ages 18 and up. However, Sderot's Mental Health Center’s director, Dr. Adrianna Katz, says that although her center is in no danger of closing, she does not have enough staff to deal with over 6,000 trauma victim files --which continue to grow every day. In fact, since the recent rocket attack on Sderot, over 60 people from the residential neighborhood where the rocket landed, have sought treatment at the Sderot Mental Health Center.

In addition to Yosef’s Trauma Center, the Sderot Shock Treatment Center which operates under the trauma center, is also in danger of shutting down.
Photo: Anav SilvermanThe Shock Treatment Center opened three years ago, alongside the trauma center, to provide immediate treatment to shock victims after rocket attacks. Before then, Sderot residents had to be transported 20 minutes away to Ashkelon’s Barzilai Hospital or to Be’er Sheva’s Soroka Hospital.

“When the Shock Treatment Center opened in Sderot, it made treatment for Sderot residents much more efficient and easier, as they received help on the spot” said Dr. Katz, who also heads the shock center. “Sderot residents feel more at home being treated at the center.”
“Going back to the original way--transporting Sderot trauma victims by ambulance to hospitals outside the area is absolutely ridiculous,” Dr. Katz told Sderot Media Center. “The cost of transporting patients is more expensive and many times there are not enough ambulances to transport all victims, especially during episodes when there are a series of rocket attacks on the city.”

Indeed in the recent rocket attack, the Sderot Shock Treatment Center treated all eight victims of shock including a woman injured by rocket shrapnel.
Sderot’s trauma facilities remain a vital part of the Sderot community, which for eight years has been under Gaza rocket attack. As the city’s residents continue to live under the range of Qassam fire, it is the therapy and care that Dr. Katz and Dalia Yosef provide which helps residents return to a semblance of normal life.
In the meantime, Ilan Dahan continues to hope that someday he can wake up to a rocket-free sky.

To the Three Clowns that Showed Us the Durban Circus: SMC Invites you to Sderot

#Durban conference, #Ahmadinejad, #Iran, #Grad missiles, #Sderot Media Center, #United Nations, #Israel,

http://www.sderotmedia.com/
By • Jacob Shrybman

Dear Rafael, Jonathan, and Jeremy, I would like to thank you and extend an open invitation for you to come visit Sderot, Israel so we can thank you in person for opposing the United Nations’ institutionalized anti-Semitism and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s diabolical diatribes.

We here in Sderot and southern Israel are living under the execution of the ideas Iranian President Ahmadinejad professes.

It is no secret that Iran supplies and largely finances the terror that the world has been witnessing in southern Israel for over eight years now but Iranian President is still invited to promote his beliefs on America’s university campuses and United Nations conferences on human rights. Dressed as clowns to object to Ahmadinejad and the Durban conference itself you demonstrated exactly what countless objectors around the world believe- it’s a joke and a circus.

Yesterday I took a group around Sderot to give them a sense of what it is like to live under the daily threat of missile attacks from the Gaza Strip. I took them to see the remnants of grad missiles that Iran directly supplies and qassam rockets that Iran finances to help plague the city. We then went atop a hill next to Kibbutz Nir Am, right outside Sderot, to a viewpoint of the Gaza Strip less than a mile away.

In clear view of the Gaza Strip cities of Beit Hanun and Jabalya from which missiles are fired, one can see how southern Israelis are not living hundreds of miles away from Iran but living with Iran right in our backyard.

After work yesterday evening I rode to the coastal city of Ashqelon, about 20 minutes northwest of Sderot, to sit on the beach and enjoy the sunset. As my buddies from the Sderot Media Center and I sat on the sand watching the peaceful sun lower over the calm water, we couldn’t help but discuss where we would run for shelter if the Tzeva Adom (Color Red) alarm sounded warning us of an incoming missile attack.

The grad missiles that have a capability of over 40 km and have tormented the city of Ashqelon which sits just over 20 km from the Gaza Strip have been and are still provided directly from Iran. You three were kicked out of the United Nations conference on Human Rights for what UN human rights spokesperson Rupert Colville described as “unacceptable behavior.”

The UN seems to be quite confused and mistaken on what is unacceptable. What is unacceptable when discussing human rights is that Israeli civilians have been targeted for over eight years by this terrorizing missile fire.

What is unacceptable is that the President of the country which funds and supplies the over 10,000 missiles that have been fired at Israel is continually invited by the United Nations to promote the beliefs that we in southern Israel witness him carrying out.

What is unacceptable is an entire generation of Jewish youth like you growing up having 15 seconds to run for their lives in this daily reality, not knowing life other than with these missiles. What is unacceptable is that the UN did not invite anyone from cities in southern Israel like Sderot and Ashqelon to speak about the over eight years of human rights abuses involved in the firing of these missiles at innocent civilians.

This past week we honored Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, believing in the slogan “Never Again.” In Sderot I watched online as Ahmadinejad made his case to the world against this popular slogan. By depicting how this UN Human Rights Conference is a circus giving the floor to someone who works to wipe the Jewish people off any map, you three truly stood up and said “Never Again.”

I would be overjoyed if you would visit Sderot so you can see how more of your Jewish people live day-to-day with human rights abuses that the United Nations ignores. I thank you again and am sure if you were to visit Sderot more people here would love to personally thank you.

Never Again,

Jacob Shrybman

Has Life in Sderot Changed?

#Sderot Media Center, #Gaza, #Hamas, #qassam, #Israel, #rockets

A Personal Reflection on Current Life in Sderot

Sderot Media Center

www.SderotMedia.com

By: Anav Silverman

"All the world's a stage," says a famous Shakespeare phrase. I recall this expression from Shakespeare's As You Like It as I travel down to Sderot, to begin another week working at our Sderot Media Center office. Sderot, a small Israeli city located less than a mile away from Gaza, is in its own right--a stage--for weekly rocket attacks, post trauma victims and visiting politicians. And the recent ceasefire, which began on January 18, 2009 has not changed anything. Sderot residents are still entering bomb shelters weekly, with the siren alert known as Tzeva Adom or Color Red going off, and rockets exploding across the western Negev. The unilateral ceasefire with Hamas has brought thus far, over 120 rockets raining against Israel-- and not a peep of condemnation from any international actor or the UN. As I sit on the bus, thinking of everything that has come to pass in the recent months, I overhear a Sderot mother speaking to her babysitter back home. It's 10:30 at night and a rocket has apparently been fired at Sderot. "There was a siren??" the mom anxiously exclaims. "Are the kids ok? Are they in bed?" She speaks nervously. "I'm so afraid to leave the house with the kids home, and finally when I do, this has to happen," says the mom despondently almost to herself. It's a Tuesday night in March and the rockets are continuing to strike the hearts of Sderot parents and children. The possibility of a Qassam rocket landing anywhere, destroying any home or building, is just as probable now as it was during the war two months ago. WHEN I first began working in Sderot almost two years ago, I was innocent to the meaning of terror. I had never personally experienced a suicide attack or a bus bombing in Jerusalem. When the media center director interviewed me for the job, he asked me how I deal with terrorist attacks. I told him I had no idea. I can write that I now have unfortunately a very firm idea of what terror is and what it can do to you both physically and psychologically. In the past few months, I have witnessed rocket terror attacks that remain imprinted in my mind. Back in December 2008, the Color Red alarm had gone off one day during work, part of the routine day warning of an impending rocket. Our center had no available bomb shelter at that time, so the staff and I would simply leave the computer stations and crowd in the center of the office, away from the windows. This time around, I didn't feel like getting up, for whatever reason, but Eliran, our technician forced me to and I joined everyone else. And then we all heard it together--the shriek of the rocket as it sailed over our center and slammed with a tremendous explosion about 50 meters away. I felt the air stir as the rocket landed, and heard people crying out. We were all in shock. I remember just standing there, my mind blank. Inside I was shaking, but then I began working in media mode. The only thing that we can do when this happens is snap photos, film and document the attack. Miraculously, the rocket did not slam into a building or physically injure anyone. It had found itself an isolated corner, and was buried deep in the ground. However, the impact of the explosion had caused all the office windows in the area to completely shatter. I entered a barbershop, a travel agency, a computer repair shop--crude pieces of broken glass and debris littered the desks and floors. The barber stood in shock. A woman outside was convulsing--trembling to the point that she had no control of her body. Ambulances arrived. Everyone had made it in time to the shelter within the 15 seconds of the siren sounding and the rocket exploding. Had anyone remained standing near a window, the exploding glass would have caused some very serious injuries. I lost my appetite that day. After that attack, it was very difficult for me to return to work. Each time I entered Sderot, I did so, only by pushing my rational thoughts aside. I began to think that rockets would fall anywhere and that I could very well be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I remember waking up one morning to the sound of the siren and then realizing that I was sleeping in Jerusalem. There was no alarm-- it was just in my head. I call this abnormal. It is abnormal that I have to be afraid. It is abnormal that I find myself racing to a bomb shelter several times a week when I'm in Sderot. It is abnormal that today close to 1 million Israelis in the southern area of the country are now threatened by Hamas rockets. TWO weeks ago, two US congressmen came to visit Sderot for an hour, after spending an entire day in Gaza. Representatives Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) and Brian Baird (D-Washington) toured the city, visiting area bomb shelters, protected schools and the Amar family, whom President Obama also visited during his campaign last year after their home was destroyed by a direct rocket hit. At the police station, against the backdrop of Qassam rockets stored away, the Congressmen asked many questions. As I was the translator, I had the opportunity to get a first hand impression of the visitors. At one point, Congressman Ellison, picked up a Qassam rocket and pointed out how heavy it was. "I could work out with this," he joked. On the surface, I wondered if the Congressmen truly understood the kind of impact that eight years of Gaza rocket fire has on a civilian population. After all, it took me two years to completely understand the meaning behind rocket terror. In any case, in their press release on their visit to the Middle East, Rep. Baird and Ellison spoke primarily on Gaza, barely mentioning Sderot or southern Israel. I only hope that the world does not ignore the major role that Hamas continues to play on this stage of Middle East Conflict. As rocket fire continues, and Hamas once again rebuilds its military infrastructure and rocket supply, Sderot and Palestinian civilians can only wonder if peace will ever make a permanent appearance in this region.

--
Anav Silverman
Sderot Media Center
International Correspondent
Cell: 0528607696
e-mail: anav.sderot@gmail.com
http://www.sderotmedia.com/

Gilad Shalit Supporters Wait for Hillary Clinton's Reply

#Gilad Shalit, #Hillary Clinton, #900 million, #Hamas, #Gaza, #Sderot Media Center, #Capitol Hill

Published By: Sderot Media Center March 16, 2009

www.SderotMedia.com

Photo: Anav Silverman

By ANAV SILVERMAN

Sderot Media Center

In their final effort to pressure the Olmert government to secure the release of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, the Shalit family has stationed itself in a protest tent across the Prime Minister's Residence for more than a week now. Rain or shine, the family gathers together each day as reporters, cameramen and thousands of supporters mill around, amid the sad faces of Gilad's parents, Noam and Aviva, and older brother, Yoel.

"We are cautiously waiting to see what will happen," said Noam Shalit on a rainy Sunday standing outside the tent and speaking with Sderot Media Center and press. The family believes that these last few days are critical during the final attempts to negotiate a release deal with Hamas but continue to remain wary. "I am not at all optimistic. If I were optimistic, I wouldn't be here. I would be at home," Noam Shalit said.

A sign at the protest tent lists the number of days that Gilad has been held captive by Hamas–this Saturday it will be 1,000 days. Palestinian terrorists captured Gilad at the Erez border crossing almost three years ago, when Hamas won control of the Gaza Strip. He has since been denied Red Cross visitations or communication with his family and the outside world.

In a country where the military plays a pivotal role and everyone knows someone in service, the Gilad Shalit capture has touched the hearts of Israelis across the nation, making him a national symbol. Posters, photos and flags of Gilad, a typical looking nineteen year-old in glasses, can be found plastered on cars, malls, and homes throughout the country.

Recently, however, the continuing storm in Israel surrounding Gilad's capture made some small waves in the U.S. Congress.

Following a briefing by Sderot Media Center director, Noam Bedein to U.S. congressmen and staffers on Capitol Hill, in an EMET sponsored Policy Forum at Capitol Hill, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev) drafted a letter to Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. In the letter, Congresswoman Berkley, who is a member of the Middle East Subcommittee of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, asked that conditions be placed on the $900 million that the U.S. recently pledged to Gaza.

Berkley stated that she is concerned that the $900 million recently pledged by the United States to the Palestinian people in Gaza will end up in the hands of Hamas, and asked that the money be withheld until the following conditions are met: 1) Hamas recognizes Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, 2) the launching of Qassam rocket missiles on Israel stops, 3) captured soldier Galid Shalit is returned (http://www.emetonline.org ).

On Sunday, March 15, Noam Bedein visited the Shalit family at the Jerusalem protest tent to personally hand a copy of the Berkley letter to Noam Shalit and explain the significance of the petition. Family spokesperson, Shimshon Libman told Sderot Media Center, that every effort including U.S. pressure, would contribute to the family's efforts to bring Gilad home.

The Organization for the Release of Gilad Shalit, released an official statement warmly welcoming the initiative. "For many days, we have demanded that elements that can be used to influence some kind of deal–from transfer of money and goods to prisoners, will make Hamas understand that this is a mutual affair. Our true friends in the U.S. again reveal their understanding of the game rules played in this region. This is the language of action needed. We hope that representatives of other contributing nations (to Gaza) will act in a similar fashion."

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley is still awaiting a response from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to her letter.

Noam Bedein and Noam Shalit, Photo: Anav Silverman

The Shalit family will unfortunately also continue to wait for Gilad's release–indirect talks between Israel and Hamas in Cairo failed to advance Gilad's release in exchange for hundreds of freed Palestinian prisoners. Knesset Minister, Eli Yishai stated on Tuesday that Gilad's release will be up to the next government. During the negotiations, Hamas demanded the release of up to 1,400 prisoners. Of that number, 450 were Palestinian terrorists known to have been involved in terror attacks that killed Israelis.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Ayman Taha, a Hamas spokesman stated that the two sides had yet to resolve a number of differences regarding the proposed deal.

"It will take a few days before we know if there is an agreement," Taha stated. "Hamas has presented its demands to the Egyptian mediators, who relayed them to the Israelis. We hope that the Zionist enemy will accept our demands in the coming days."

At any rate, rocket fire continued against Israel again this week, as a Palestinian rocket fired at the western Negev on Monday struck an open area across a kibbutz in the Eshkol Regional Council. Over 160 Palestinian rockets and mortars have slammed into Israel since the unilateral ceasefire began on January 18.

Anav Silverman is a journalist at Sderot Media Center, www.sderotmedia.com, which is on the front lines Palestinian rocket fire.

Link to the video - http://www.sderotmedia.com/bin/videos.cgi?q=watch&id=2389

--
Anav Silverman
Sderot Media Center
International Correspondent
Cell: 0528607696
e-mail: anav.sderot@gmail.com
www.SderotMedia.com