War Diary from Southern Israel

January 15, 2009 / 19 Tevet 5769

Again we started our morning with two red alert sirens. In our protected room I hugged my children and said "good morning." My four-year-old son looked at me and said, "It's not a good morning, it's a morning with Kassam rockets." Sometimes our kids understand much more then we think they do.

We have been working fervently to make sure that IBIM continues to run smoothly from an administrative perspective. With the pressure and disruptions over the past few weeks, many things were put on hold, and now we need to get everything in order. I am proud of my staff that everything is running like clockwork and we have everything in order for next year's programming and budget.

I was looking at the students today and I thought to myself that these kids are true heroes. Here they are, many of them new citizens in a new country, some still learning Hebrew, and they are on the front-line of a war. Yet none have asked to leave. And no one even sleeps in the bomb shelter which is lined with mattresses. They feel safe enough to sleep in their rooms and run for cover when needed.

I attribute this feeling of relative safety to the fact that at IBIM, through the Israel Emergency Campaign, our students receive trauma counseling and psychological services. This counseling, in existence here for the past two years, not only helps the students emotionally, but trains them in how to cope with their fear and anxiety.

Whereas three years ago we needed to call in the social workers in the middle of the night when a red alert siren sounded and a rocket fell nearby, today our students know how to cope with this. One critical need fulfilled has changed our entire Village.

This Shabbat, 90 Ethiopian students will go to the Nitzana Educational Village on the Israeli Egyptian border for a weekend respite. The Kedma students will remain at IBIM with 10 student volunteers.

However, the Grad missile attack in Beersheva today sadly drove home the fact that we may see many more casualties before this war is over.

Soni Singer is the director of the San Diego-IBIM Student Village, situated one and a half miles from the Gaza border.

January 14, 2009 / 18 Tevet 5769

A UJIA Great Britain solidarity mission came to IBIM yesterday. We owe them so much. With their support our dining room was completely fortified, two bomb shelters were upgraded and our control and command room was established. We are all safer as a result.

Me with my staff in the bomb shelter.

It was such a pleasure to host the UJIA mission yesterday. They met with our students and I took them to see what an impact their support has had on IBIM. Because of their foresight, our dining room was fortified. This keeps the students safe and gives them a real sense of security. Our bomb shelters were upgraded, and now we hold classes here so that studies aren't disrupted. And our control and command room is an invaluable addition to the Village's safety.

We also received a wonderful package with gifts and games from children in Even Yehuda, in central Israel. They wanted to show their support and to let our new immigrants know that these children are thinking about them. Our students really appreciated this.

 Kedma students return to IBIM.

At 5:00 pm I spoke with the UJC and Federation marketing directors to tell them what is actually happening in the field. It was a new experience for me to be part of such a large conference call – there must have been some 40 people on the phone – but I was glad to be able to bring my message to them, so they in turn can share it with the people in their communities. I was also very impressed with the very professional and efficient way the call was run.

Yesterday, I set my alarm for 8:30. But it was not to be. At 8:15 the red alert siren sounded and almost before I could open my eyes my younger daughter, 2, was already running to our protected shelter, her older brother, 4, hot on her tail. My children seem to think this is some sort of game, and I am glad it is so. For them it is a place for the family to be together to play and sing songs. I pray that this war will be over before they are old enough to understand that this is a different game – one of life and death. 

Soni Singer is the director of the San Diego-IBIM Student Village, situated one and a half miles from the Gaza border.

January 12, 2009 / 16 Tevet 5769

Today all the students returned to IBIM and to their studies. The Village, thankfully, is returning to life. But we must always remind the students to be on guard and ready to run for cover.

For the past three weeks IBIM has been eerily quiet. Today, all the students returned and once again the sound of their voices, their blasting music and their cellular phones filled the air. It felt like a blessing. They were so happy to return.

But one of our Kedma students, a new immigrant from Ethiopia, reminded me that the situation had changed from the last time the students were here. "I didn't sleep all night," she told me. "Kassam rockets kept falling but there were no red alert sirens." I realized immediately that I needed to explain to the students that our army had been mobilized and a lot of the noise they now heard was actually the sound of our soldiers protecting us, not rockets falling. As scary as the sounds are, it is so comforting to know that finally something is being done to protect us in the future and end the futile situation we were in.

We also hosted members of a lightening UJC Solidarity Mission. They visited Sderot and then came to IBIM. We really appreciated their bravery in coming and their support during these very frightening times. The mission members told us how much they thought about us, and that they were 100% behind us. I read my first blog entry to them, and they were very moved.

On the personal side, my aerobics class has reopened. For over two weeks, due to the orders from the Home Front Command, clubs and classes have been put on hold. My aerobics class is one of the ways for me to relieve my tension and anxiety. It is held at the Sderot community center, which is completely protected. As I changed for class I thought, maybe things are really starting to return to normal.

Soni Singer is the director of the San Diego-IBIM Student Village, situated one and a half miles from the Gaza border.

January 11, 2009 / 15 Tevet 5769

The Home Front Command announced last night that schools in Sderot would open today. Sapir College will also open. All of our students are returning to IBIM. And we welcome them home.

There was a feeling of excitement today as we entered the third week of Operation Cast Lead. The excitement was due to the fact that the Home Front Command gave the okay to open schools in Sderot, including Sapir College. This morning we immediately organized transportation to bring our Kedma Bet students who are staying in the North back to IBIM. Last night our Israeli students returned with their backpacks on their backs, and it was wonderful to see them all.

Throughout the last two weeks our students called their IBIM counselors, constantly asking when they could return. They are so happy to be coming back, and we are welcoming them today and tomorrow with open arms.

The first thing we do when our students return is review all of the safety rules. Students know that they must sign out when they leave the Village and sign in when they return. This way we can keep track of where everyone is if something happens. They also need to remember to always be within 15 seconds of a protected area so they can run for cover when the red alert siren sounds. Our staff has told them not to go to Sderot unless it is absolutely necessary. We have even given them a number to order groceries from the supermarket and have them delivered if they want to stock up on food.

I held a staff meeting to make sure that everything is in place for the students to return. In the midst of all of our planning, tens of rockets fell today in Sderot. I almost had to hold the meeting in the bomb shelter.  And in addition to all this activity, one of our beloved counselors, Camilla, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Her name is Lia. The population of IBIM has grown by one. Mazal Tov to Camilla!

And in the midst of war, the miracle of life goes on.

Soni Singer is the director of the San Diego-IBIM Student Village, situated one and a half miles from the Gaza border.

January 9, 2009 / 13 Tevet 5769

All day yesterday we ran back and forth from our protected room. Our days consist of trying to work and give our 100% to this, trying to keep the children busy, running to the protected rooms and back. We are in a state of suspended nonchalance, as there is nothing we can do but wait this out.

There were two uplifting things in my day yesterday. In between the routine of running to the protected room and back, I heard that our students successfully took their tests for the Kedma Beit program, and this is a great milestone for them. I was so pleased that we were able to arrange this in the midst of a war.

I also went to Sderot for the first time in weeks to get my haircut. What a simple task that sounds like. But in these days, nothing is simple. The minute I walked into the salon, I asked where the bomb shelter was. Not only did I ask I went to check it out to make sure it was OK. After I finished, I walked outside. To my surprise people were out. It was a beautiful balmy day, and there were actually people in the coffee shops sitting outside. Sderot, for once, was not a ghost town.

Added to this, people were riding in their cars with Israeli flags blowing from the windows. It felt like Independence Day. And it brought me back again to the thought that we are an incredible people. In defiance of everything that is going on, people are riding in their cars with their flags waving and sitting outside, as if to say, we are here to stay.

I have also been working with the other Jewish Agency professionals in the region to organize a framework for our children. If the schools do not open, we need to do something, as we all need to work. Businesses and organizations are doing the same. We need to plan this so that it serves all of our children, ages 4-15. The logistics are a bit complicated, but we are all determined to bring some routine into our lives. And the administration is completely behind us. We are truly like a family, and it does not matter what department we work for we are all together, helping each other to manage in these very difficult times.

Shabbat Shalom.

Soni Singer is the director of the San Diego-IBIM Student Village, situated one and a half miles from the Gaza border.

January 7, 2009 / 11 Tevet 5769

As the saying goes, "the show must go on", and that is what we are trying to do at IBIM. Even though many of our students aren't physically at IBIM, we are making every effort that their program activities continue, no matter where they are at this time."

This is the 12th day of hostilities and our students, scattered now throughout the country, are losing the momentum of the programs they are on. Thus, in spite of the logistical difficulties, we are trying to arrange activities and keep on schedule as best we can.

Me (standing right) with my staff at IBIM.

The students who have remained at the Village will be going on a one-day respite to a hot water spring near Netanya. Our Israeli students have arranged for the newly arrived Ethiopian immigrants in the Kedma Bet program to spend this Shabbat at a Kibbutz up North so they can all be together. They have also arranged for a fun day in Tel Aviv for other Ethiopian students with falafel lunches and coffee donated by local businesses.
 
This week, Kedma Aleph students were supposed to take the entrance exams for Kedma Bet. This is very important for their advancement because they learn for their matriculation exams in Kedma Bet and can then choose to go on to higher education. We did not want the students to miss these exams. So we have arranged for the exams to be held at a college outside of missile range, and we have organized two buses to pick up all of the students at their homes in the North and the South and bring them to the exams.  At the same time, despite the incessant missiles, we continue to bring the Ethiopian students to the religious court in Kiryat Gat so they can complete their conversions. We are able to do this because our dedicated staff, like me, believes in what we are doing and will not give up, even in war.

Today was relatively quiet. Until 7:50 pm no missiles fell. My husband took the children to a volunteer performance of actors from the children's channel. When they came back they ran to see me at the office. It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining, so we sat outside while they bubbled over with excitement. It was a rare moment of simple peace between a mother and her children in otherwise turbulent times.

Soni Singer is the director of the San Diego-IBIM Student Village, situated one and a half miles from the Gaza border.

Photo Credit: Ofer Baram and Ohad Drori 

January 6, 2009 / 10 Tevet 5769

After 11 days of unrelenting rocket attacks I finally decided to take a break to visit my family, near Gedera, with my children. I left IBIM to the sound of falling rockets and unbelievably arrived to Gedera after a missile fell near the city for the first time.

I have not left IBIM since the hostilities started. I was too worried about our students and about my staff to even think about taking a break. I was a Lieutenant in the army, and staying with the troops is an ingrained reaction.

But today I decided to take a half-day break with my husband and children and visit my family in the area of Gedera. As we were driving away from Sderot, we heard on the radio that a missile had fallen near Gedera. It came as a shock. Gedera is 40 km (app. 24 miles) from the Gaza Strip. It is considered central Israel. I was so used to rockets falling in the western Negev, but I never thought it would also reach my parents and siblings.

This has made me feel even stronger that our army is doing the right thing. We must stop the missiles from falling on our civilians. Sooner or later the entire country will be on the front line if we don't stop it now. We have given two of the apartments at IBIM to soldier-teachers who are helping the Home Front Command in the area. I see their energy, their commitment to protecting vulnerable citizens and their belief in the justice of this war. I look at them and I want them, like the rest of Israel's citizens, to be able to live normal lives. To raise their families without the threat and reality of war. I wonder if it will ever be.

Soni Singer is the director of the San Diego-IBIM Student Village, situated one and a half miles from the Gaza border.

Photo Credit: Ofer Baram and Ohad Drori 

January 5, 2009 / 9 Tevet 5769

We are living in what I call a "routine emergency state" at IBIM, and in the South in general. Life goes on as normal as we can make it, while bombs explode daily and the sounds of war rage around us.

Last night was quiet. But at 6:59 am we were awakened by the red alert siren and the "boom" of Kassam rockets falling.  Shani, my two and a half year old daughter, announced the siren ("color red") for the first time and ran on her little legs to our protected room with her four-year-old brother. It tore my heart to know that these were already words in her limited vocabulary.

Our life is surrealistic. We try to function normally while the sounds of war surround us. I called a meeting of my staff, and as usual we sat to discuss and analyze the progress and challenges of each of the students in our programs. We spoke about the Kedma Bet students, new immigrant young adults from Ethiopia who are studying to complete their matriculation exams which is critical for advancing in Israeli society. As IBIM's social workers, pedagogic supervisor, counselor, house mother, and I met we were frequently interrupted by IDF fighter planes flying overhead, intermittent artillery fire and the sight of heavy smoke rising over the horizon. But the meeting went forward as planned.

This evening, we have our first steering committee conference call with our partners at the San Diego Federation. I did not cancel it. We need to crystallize our plans for next year, whether we are in a war or not. And to my bookkeeper, I laughingly told him that he must continue his end-of-the-year battle with the finances, in spite of the life and death war we see in our backyard.

So many times we complain about the little things here in Israel. But the resilience of the Israeli people is an amazing thing. Time after time we are called upon to be strong. And it is this strength, in the face of such terrible odds, that keeps this country alive.

Soni Singer is the director of the San Diego-IBIM Student Village, situated one and a half miles from the Gaza border.

Photo Credit: Ofer Baram and Ohad Drori 

January 4, 2009 / 8 Tevet 5769

Yesterday, we heard the tanks moving toward Gaza. It felt as if the ground shook under us. Today, a Kassam rocket fell 70 feet from my house. Thank G-d my children were not home.

As the director of IBIM, I live at the Village. My house is on the outskirts. After eight  years of running from Kassam rockets, today one fell 70 feet (30 meters) from my house. There was no red alert siren warning us. It was terrifying. A short while later two other rockets fell close by.

My young children were out of the area enjoying a fun day with their grandmother. They came home 20 minutes after the rocket exploded next to IBIM's fence. A miracle no one was hurt. But the boom was deafening. The feeling of being so vulnerable was horrifying.

I wonder how many more miracles we can count on. And when I think of this, I think of our brave young soldiers, some of them IBIM graduates, who came to Israel by  themselves to serve in the army, to protect their homeland. We call them "Lone Soldiers", but at IBIM they were never alone.

My thoughts go to the mothers' of the soldiers. I would never want to be in their place. My heart hurts when I think of their anguish. I wonder if it will ever be possible for our boys not to see war. A young country of 60 years, and we have never stopped fighting to defend ourselves. A people of peace, we find ourselves continually immersed in war.

Our students intermittently return to IBIM to see what is happening and to make sure that everyone is OK. They miss their life at the Village, their studies, their friends, the warmth of living at IBIM.

This Shabbat we had 27 students with us, plus our dedicated staff. Every day we have a hot lunch waiting for anyone who shows up. I believe that what we are doing is right. I trust that the ground force incursion will succeed. And like every citizen in Israel, I pray for the safety of our soldiers. May they return quickly.

Soni Singer is the director of the San Diego-IBIM Student Village, situated one and a half miles from the Gaza border.

Photo Credit: Ofer Baram and Ohad Drori 

January 2, 2009 / 6 Tevet 5769

Sometimes a split second decision can save lives. We gave orders to run to the bomb shelters at IBIM that are still being built. Only afterward, the Home Front Command gave the same orders and said that this saved a man's life.

Four months ago the government issued orders to build bomb shelters for the residents of the Gaza perimeter communities. The San Diego-IBIM Student Village was included. We are now in the process of building 18 new bomb shelters for the students' apartments.

But the shelters are not completed. Only the cement shell is standing. When the intensified violence broke out we made a split second decision to use the cement shells, not knowing if this would truly help. Shortly afterward, the Home Front Command gave orders to use unfinished bomb shelter structures. A man in Sderot did this, a rocket fell on his house, and he was unharmed.

After being on the front-line for 8 years, my staff and I have developed super-fine instincts as to what to do to protect ourselves, our families and IBIM's students. Our hearts now go out to our colleagues in Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ofakim, Netivot and Be'er Sheva who, unfortunately, have joined us in this endless cycle of terror. It is so strange that after so many years of their support, we are now calling them to tell them to be strong and offering them our hard-earned understanding of what to do.

As Shabbat approaches, I pray for quiet and for a swift and final end to the violence so we may truly live in our land in peace.

Soni Singer is the director of the San Diego-IBIM Student Village, situated one and a half miles from the Gaza border.

Photo Credit: Ofer Baram and Ohad Drori 

January 1, 2009 / 5 Tevet 5769

War is a terrible thing. But it is incredible to feel the outpouring of love and support from our graduates, from other Jewish Agency professionals, from Israelis and from Jewish people everywhere.

Sapir College is closed for now. As is Ben Gurion University. Most of our students have not returned from the Chanukah holiday. IBIM is pretty empty. But I remain here with my staff. We will be here to welcome the students as soon as they return.
This is their home.

And in an ironic twist of fate, our graduates, who once called IBIM home, are now calling to open their homes to us. A young Ethiopian woman who was on the Kedma program four years ago called me up. "Soni," she said. "I broke my leg and can't come to see you, but are you all right? How are your children? My home is open to you and your family if you want to get away."

Another graduate of Kedma called and spoke to Shlomi, one of our counselors. This boy was a serious trouble-maker while at IBIM. He's now doing well and living in the North. He asked Shlomi what he could do to help. He invited anyone who needed a place, student or staff, to come stay with him.

The same worry and concern comes from our friends in San Diego. They call daily to see if we are OK. They clearly remember their visit to IBIM last summer, when they wrote beautiful messages to our students on the inside walls of the portable bomb shelter. Now, we read those messages as we wait for another rocket to fall and pray that we will have peace sometime soon.

It is said that there is something called, 'The Jewish Soul (Haneshama Hayehudit)'. That we are all connected. And during this time of crisis it simply warms our souls to feel that so many people care. 

Soni Singer is the director of the San Diego-IBIM Student Village, situated one and a half miles from the Gaza border.

Photo Credit: Ofer Baram and Ohad Drori 

New immigrants from Ethiopia and former Soviet Union celebrate Hanukah in Ibim's fully protected dining room, made possible with the support of UJC's Israel Emergency Campaign.

When we heard explosions on Shabbat morning, the sixth day of Hanukah, at the San Diego-IBIM Student Village we thought it was thunder and lightening. But when I went outside and saw the airplanes overhead I knew that the moment had finally arrived - our army was attacking the nearby Gaza Strip…

For eight long years we have been living in the shadow of terror – running for safety whenever we hear the "red alert" signal. The new immigrant students living at IBIM learn what to do the minute they arrive at the Village. And in spite of the situation, IBIM is home for these students and they don't leave. Most of the 230 students were still on Hanukah vacation when Operation Cast Lead began. But 20 students stayed, and they don't want to leave. "This is my home," a young student told me when I asked him why he remained. "There is no reason for me to leave."

Students at the Ibim Village painted their portable shelter to blend in with the pastoral environment at Ibim. Students have 10 seconds to run for cover when a "red alert" alarm sounds warning of an incoming Kassam rocket.

As the director of IBIM I need to make sure, along with my staff, that our students are cared for. We work on a rotating schedule so there is always someone at the Village. With support from the UJC's Israel Emergency Campaign, the dining room has been completely secured, we have portable shelters around the village and we have been providing intensive counseling and trauma workshops over the past two years. As a result, there is no panic at the Village when the rockets explode around us. This is no small miracle.

I have two small children, aged two and four. On Shabbat, I thought for the first time, "What am I doing here?" But at that same moment, I knew that I would continue, together with the Village’s dedicated staff, to do what we have always done and what we all believe in – to absorb young new immigrants from all over the world, to create good citizens and to inculcate Zionist and Jewish values – despite everything.

Life goes on. We need to continue to live. This is our home, our country. We thank the people from Jewish communities abroad for their outpouring of concern and constant support. This gives us renewed strength to fulfill the important Jewish mission of strengthening the Sha'ar HaNegev region.

Soni Singer is the director of the San Diego-IBIM Student Village, situated one and a half miles from the Gaza border.