Israeli Jews from Sderot and Palestinian Gazans Speak Out Together

Sderot Under Rocket Attack
Sderot Under Rocket Attack

This is a message from a group of Israeli Jews from Sderot, the front lines in receipt of the rocket attacks from Gaza who have been meeting with Gazans:

For two months, our teams from Gaza and Sderot have been documenting life as it is in their two cities: hope, anger, daily hardships, dreams. In Gaza, our characters have shown us what it means to live under siege. In Sderot, we have heard our characters tell us how their lives are haunted by kassams. All of them have told us about their desire to live inspite of everything, however different their situations might be.

It so happens that nearly at the very moment we had planned to complete our web documentary series, the truce is over. Now has come the time of weapons. Watching the videos that were produced over these two months, we are trying to imagine what our characters have to go though, what they are now thinking, what they are hoping.

At this moment, we are all worried about our friends from the Palestinian crew, about their characters, about their loved ones : « Nobody is safe here », this is what our friends in Gaza told us on Sunday December 28th during the night. On the other hand, are the kassams going to go on falling in Sderot, as though life were a Russian roulette? At this point, not a single person can be serene in this whole region.

One thing we are sure of is that beyond military and political statements, shows of force, pictures of bloodshed and war, our role is to let men, women, children be heard and seen so that we can understand how they are resisting this situation and struggling for survival. Now more than ever. How can we fulfill our mission in such circumstances? We are currently seeking means to go further. Please do not hesitate to write us, communicate with our characters and our crews. Despite the big noise of weapons, our voices can be listened to.

© Marc Gopin

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