michtavei jerry #1
Sderot Israel.    May, 2009
Attention: World

Open Letter To The World
from Sderot Israel

by Jerry Waxman

Dear World;

If you look at a globe of the earth, at the area of the Mediterranean Sea, you can find a mass of land that doesn’t rightly belong to any continent.  It is a crossroads between Africa and Asia, and is also quite close to Europe.  We call this area the “middle east.”.

If you focus on this area, the middle east, and perhaps use a magnifying glass, you can find a tiny country called Israel. When you see how tiny it is in comparison to many of the countries around it, you may wonder, “Why do we hear so much about this country every day in the news?  Could such a tiny country make so much difference?”

Bring your magnifying glass closer to Israel.  Closer still, and you may find a town called Sderot, right on the northeast border of the Gaza Strip. This is where I live.

About 20,000 people live in Sderot.  This town has become known by diplomats and politicians worldwide.  Sderot does not have famous restaurants, department  stores, or theaters, but politicians like to come here anyway.  Why?  Because of the rockets.

You see, in Gaza, some people – not all, but some – like to shoot rockets at Israeli targets.  Sderot is just about the closest city to Gaza, so Sderot is an easy target. Their mission, besides to harm innocent people, is to cause people to leave Sderot.

Over the past few years, the rockets have caused many families to leave Sderot.  Perhaps up to 5000 people left Sderot for their own safety.  And that is why I came here. The best way to win a battle against terrorists is to do what they don’t want you to do.

Well, World, as you probably know, Sderot is just a little fraction of a dot on the globe.  The terrorists in Gaza and in southern Lebanon and in the eastern areas of the Land of Israel known as Judeah and Samaria, don’t think about Sderot much. Their target is all of Israel, that tiny country you may see on your globe.  They want to cause all the people of Israel to leave. 

And World, there is something more that you should know.  There are many, many people in many countries who agree with the terrorists.  Even leaders of powerful countries have exerted pressure on Israel to remove its people from their land.

The policies of these powerful countries are strewn with expressions of peace and stability in the middle east.  But the outcome is always the same.  Israel must concede until . . .until you will no longer be able to find it on your globe, even with a magnifying glass.

This is why I’m writing to you today, World.  There is no good reason to lose Israel.  And many good reasons to keep Israel around.  And I know that deep down, you know that as well as I do.  Of course this is easy to forget, Israel being such a tiny little country. It looks so inconsequential, you might ask the world leaders, “What difference could Israel possibly make in the stabilization of the middle east? Why not just leave it alone?”

And your question would be right. I can tell you from first hand knowledge that the people of Israel just want to live in their own country.  They don’t want to intrude on their neighbors.  They have no ambition to acquire more land.  They just want to have peaceful, productive lives, just like you and I do. 

So I write to you from Sderot, which is right at the forefront of the battle. Whenever any country’s policies affect Israel, we feel it very strongly in Sderot.  And so, World, I ask that, before you make mistakes and  lose this tiny dot called Israel, please read these “Letters from Sderot.” At least consider the perspective of someone who lives here, before you allow the world leaders to have us erased.

Thank you,
Your friend,

Jerry

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