In Cross-Hairs of Terrorists, Sderot May Soon Get an Armored Mobile Synagogue
SDEROT, Israel — As the Israeli government ponders what exactly to do to stem the almost daily onslaught of Palestinian-fired Kassam rockets on the southern Israeli town of Sderot, a local Jewish synagogue and community center there has come up with a way to at least offer spiritual protection to the frightened residents.
Rabbi Moshe Ze’ev Pisem, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Sderot, hopes to bring a little physical protection as well in the form of a bullet-proof roaming synagogue.
According to Pisem, after seven years of terror from Palestinian rocket crews just kilometers away in the Gaza Strip, the men, women and children of Sderot will hardly walk out of doors anymore. The Chabad House, which used to host celebrations for life-cycle events, day camps and after-school activities, now only offers a children’s gym for the town’s youngest residents.
“People live in fear,” related Pisem, who has lived in Sderot with his wife Sima for 20 years. “People don’t send their children to activities, movies or parties. People just won’t show up.”
