I am a mother of three and a grandmother of two and all of us live in Kibbutz Magen in southern Israel. I am happy and proud to live in this wonderful part of the country, but I am also sad and pained by the government's criminal negligence in the protection of residents of the region near the Gaza Strip. The feeling I share with other residents here is one of extreme frustration. We receive warnings from the military to enter protected spaces or to remain within 15 seconds of these spaces. But this is a meaningless warning, because we do not have any such protected spaces. Kibbutz Magen is 4.7 kilometers (2.9 miles) from the border with the Gaza Strip and the government has provided protected spaces only for those living within 4.5 kilometers (2.7 miles) of the border. That is 200 meters (656 feet) between life and death. The absurdity of this makes me want to cry. The houses in the kibbutz are not reinforced and we do not have any shelters. When there is rocket fire, there is nothing we can rely on. The only thing we can do is find a strong door post. And what about the children? I simply put them on the floor and cover them with my body. A home is supposed to be the safest place, but for us it is not. We harbor a great deal of anger toward the government, which has given protection only to those within 4.5 kilometers of the border, and the Iron Dome anti-rocket system, which is not effective for us because it doesn't protect against short-range fire. We have no way to protect ourselves. Residents of the region have become ballistic experts, because we need to recognize when they are firing at us, when we are firing at them and when it's a fighter jet. In any case, it is very scary, because wherever you go there is a feeling that your life is dependent on other people. I'm not even talking quality of life, because your life is in the hands of others and you are dependent on miracles. It is unfortunate and infuriating that until now the government did not think we were important enough to be given funds for protected spaces. The government was proud of our agricultural and industrial activities, which it expects us to maintain, but when it came to defending our lives, its ears fell deaf and its heart numb. No one will wake up until after a disaster happens. Anger and injustice scream to high heavens like an Iron Dome missile. I hope that the announcement about the expansion of the range for construction of protected spaces will be implemented on the ground as quickly as possible. Dina Bernstein is the secretary-general of Kibbutz Magen in southern Israel.
Exposed on the Gaza front
מערכת ישראל היום
מערכת "ישראל היום“ מפיקה ומעדכנת תכנים חדשותיים, מבזקים ופרשנויות לאורך כל שעות היממה. התוכן נערך בקפדנות, נבדק עובדתית ומוגש לציבור מתוך האמונה שהקוראים ראויים לעיתונות טובה יותר - אמינה, אובייקטיבית ועניינית.
