Danger of death

The "danger of death" sign on an electric pole in Sderot could well be the city's motto, because residents never know when rockets from nearby Gaza could kill them. Local resident Nomika Zion says about 20 people have been killed and hundreds injured since the rockets started falling in Sderot a dozen years ago, during the first Intifada. For the first six months of 2008, Nomika says they were struck with between 10 and 60 rockets per day, and in February one hit the house across the street from her. A mother and her two daughters got to shelter just in time. Many people gave up and moved away.

Bomb shelter attached to house

Every house is required  by law to have a bomb shelter that occupants can reach in less than 15 seconds, and Nomika says most of them have been built at government expense.

The bus stops double as bomb shelters.

Bus stop

Bomb-proof schools have reinforced roofs and small windows, with bomb shelters in the playground.

A community playground has large, colorful "caterpillars" that are in reality bomb shelters.

Nomika Zion

Nomika Zion says Sderot has 25,000 inhabitants, including immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, and Morocco, as well as ultra-orthodox Jews, young national religious Zionists, and some Palestinians. "There are many voices and many agendas, brought together by the external threat of the rockets," she says. But they disagree how to respond to it. Most favor military action.

Not Nomika  Five years ago she was one of the founders of a peace movement called Other Voice. It was launched to promote direct dialogue with people in Gaza, and not to regard all Palestinians as terrorists. "When you stop seeing others as humans, eventually you stop being human yourself," she says.

Other Voice has a core group of about 20 activists who use the telephone and social media to keep in contact with friends in Gaza when rockets are raining on Israel or Israeli forces are bombing Gaza. As Nomika puts it, "We reach out to people who are supposed to be our enemies." She has been labeled a "traitor" for an article she wrote criticizing the war against Gaza. The group has written to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging negotiations with Hamas, but has not received a response.

At the moment, the situation is mercifully calm. Nomika says there has been only one siren since the rocket barrage of last November, and that was a false alarm. But the shelters are there if they need them. And we saw several new homes being built, a sign of public confidence that Sderot will be a safe place to live.