June 15, 2007 / 29 Sivan 5767
Iran-backed Hamas Continues to Launch Qassams into Israeli Town.
Press Lunch in Washington, D.C. on Friday, June 15 at 12 p.m. Featuring Sderot Residents.
Location: The Israel Project, 2020 K St., N.W., 7th Floor
Those not able to attend can listen by phone.
Days before Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is scheduled to arrive in Washington June 19 to discuss such issues as threats to Israel by Iran-backed Palestinian terrorists and a nuclear-armed Iran, five residents from the Israeli town of Sderot will visit the United States to discuss life under constant rocket fire and other realities living just across the border from Gaza.
Iran-backed Palestinian terrorists began using Gaza as a launching pad to terrorize Israeli civilians in Sderot and the surrounding Negev region ever since Israel left all of Gaza in August 2005 and handed the area over to Palestinians in hopes that doing so would pave the way for an independent Palestinian state. But since the withdrawal - which involved uprooting 9,000 Israeli civilians who had been living for decades in Gaza - terrorists have launched at least 1,700 rockets and mortars into Israel's internationally recognized borders. [1] [2]
During the latest escalation in attacks from May 10 - June 10, 2007, 435 rockets and mortars were fired at Israel, [3] killing two civilians - a 32-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man - and injuring dozens more. The rockets have destroyed homes, classrooms and damaged city infrastructure. [4] ("Terror from the Gaza Strip" PowerPoint)
The Sderot residents visiting the United States this week range in age from 21 to 43. They include one man who was injured, a woman whose home was hit by a rocket and a man who relocated to the region after Israel's evacuation from Gaza. All live under the constant threat of rocket and mortar fire. They are available for interviews throughout the week.
The terrorist group Hamas, with financial backing from Iran, has claimed responsibility for a number of the attacks. [5] The Palestinian Authority's Hamas-led government has done nothing to stop them.
U.S. presidential candidates and would-be candidates including Sen. Hilary Clinton and former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson have spoken publicly about the plight of Sderot's residents.
Biography and Contact Information for Sderot Residents Visiting the United States
Itai Avitan, 23
Itai is a student in interactive engineering and communication at Sapir College, located in Sha'ar H'negev, next to Sderot. He was a medic during his army service and then volunteered as a medic for Magen David Adom (Israel's Red Cross). A Qassam rocket fell next to him, knocking him backwards. He suffered temporary damage to his ears and has since recovered. Itai will be present at lunch briefing in D.C. Friday at noon.
For interviews by phone, contact:
Contact: Jacob Dallal, 646-644-1205
Director of Public Relations and Marketing
Jewish Agency for Israel - North America
Mor Yehudai, 21
Mor's family home was hit by a Qassam rocket, but no one was home at the time. Mor's neighborhood has been the target of numerous Qassam attacks; at one point there were so many that the family left the city for a few days. Mor recently completed her army service and will start her B.A studies in a few months. Mor will be present at lunch briefing in D.C. Friday at noon.
For interviews by phone, contact:
Jacob Dallal, Tel: 646-644-1205
Director of Public Relations and Marketing
Jewish Agency for Israel - North America
Aharon Polat, 43
Aharon is married with two sons and lives in Kibbutz Carmi next to Sderot. He and his family were relocated there after Israel evacuated their community of Elai Sinai in Gaza almost two years ago. In Gaza, Aharon faced the perpetual threat of suicide bombings and other attacks by Palestinian terrorists; now, inside Israel, he lives with the knowledge that his life is constantly in danger by Qassam rockets fired from Gaza. Aharon is a social worker who counsels young trauma victims affected by the attacks from Gaza.
Contact: Shaya Lerner, Tel: 212-318-6111 (office); 917-364-7562 (cell)
Deputy Special Projects Coordinator
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
Stav Cohen, 21
Stav has lived in Sderot with her parents and two brothers her entire life. A Qassam rocket recently struck her house; Stav and her family survived the attack. Stav hopes to begin her college studies soon.
Contact: Shaya Lerner, Tel: 212-318-6111 (office); 917-364-7562 (cell)
Deputy Special Projects Coordinator
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
Michal Kakoon, 35
Michal, a science teacher, is married and the mother of two daughters. She has lived in Sderot for the past 15 years. Like other Sderot residents, she has had to confront the daily attacks on Sderot and worries about the constant threat to her children and her students.
Contact: Shaya Lerner, Tel: 212-318-6111 (office); 917-364-7562 (cell)
Deputy Special Projects Coordinator
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
U.S. and Israeli Contacts Available for Comment (U.S. and Israel)
The Israel Project
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, Founder and President, The Israel Project
Tel: 202-857-6644; email: jenniferm@theisraelproject.org
Marcus Sheff, Director, The Israel Project's Jerusalem Office
Tel: 972-2-6236427; email: marcuss@theisraelproject.org
Calev Ben-David, Director of Communications, The Israel Project's Jerusalem Office
Tel.: 972-2-6236427; cell: 972-54-807-9093; email: calevbd@theisraelproject.org
The Jewish Agency for Israel (sponsoring visit of two of the Sderot residents)
Jacob Dallal, Director of Public Relations and Marketing, Jewish Agency for Israel - North America; Tel: 212-339-6064 (office); 646-644-1205 (cell), email:jacobd@jafi.org
Web site: www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/Home
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (sponsoring visit of three of the Sderot residents)
Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (N.Y.); Tel: 212-318-6111 (office); Web site: www.conferenceofpresidents.org
Israeli Officials in Israel, United States
David Baker, Senior Foreign Press Coordinator, Israeli Prime Minister's Office (Jerusalem)
Tel: 972-2-677-3649; cell: 972-506-205061; email: david.baker@it.pmo.gov.il
Web site: www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng
Mark Regev, Spokesman, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Jerusalem)
Tel: 972-2-530-311; Web site: www.mfa.gov.il/mfa
David Siegel, Press Counselor, Embassy of Israel (Washington, D.C.)
Tel: 202-364-5538; Web site: www.israelemb.org
Footnotes
[1] "Terror from the Gaza Strip: Summary of Recent Events," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 10, 2007, http://mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/68BF7F57-3267-47F3-B2EA-4A41BD0ABE08/0/gazaterror2.pps
[2] "In Sderot, N.Y. Mayor expresses solidarity with town's residents," Associated Press via Haaretz, Feb. 3, 2007, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/821296.html
[3] "Terror from the Gaza Strip: Summary of Recent Events," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 10, 2007, http://mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/68BF7F57-3267-47F3-B2EA-4A41BD0ABE08/0/gazaterror2.pps
[4] "Sderot hit by Kassam barrage from Gaza," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 1, 2007, http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+since+2000/Sderot+hit+by+Kassam+barrage+from+Gaza+-+May+2007.htm
[5] "All News," Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Brigades Information Office, http://www.alqassam.ps/english/?action=news
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