Israel Matzav

The Wandering Jews - Summer 2006

I have cousins in Haifa and in Carmiel. In particular, the cousin in Haifa has a large family, bli ayin hara.

But both families have parents in Jerusalem (and in the case of the cousin with the large family, all of his siblings are grown), so they have been staying with their respective parents since the war started.

Not everyone is so lucky. This article from HaAretz looks at some of the families who don't have relatives with whom they can stay in the center of the country. There's no Red Cross, no FEMA (for those of you who know that agency from the States) - no one to help. These people are on their own.

Hat Tip: Harvey in Efrat

For the last three weeks now, Meir Yanko has struggled to find a place for his family. The family fled Safed on the third day of the war, after the first volley of Katyushas to fall on the city hit their grandparents home. Yesterday Yanko recounted their journeys:

"At first we arrived at the King Solomon hotel in Jerusalem, from there we moved to the Jerusalem Pearl hotel, which offered us a free night, the next day we went to a hotel in the Dead Sea for a discount price, after that we continued to Eilat.

"From there to a hotel in the center, and on to a host family in Petah Tikva, after which we spent a night sleeping in our car at the Masmia (Re'em) junction, with me guarding outside. On Friday we arrived at my sister's in Hadera, but then rockets fell in Hadera, and the kids had flashbacks, so we fled again to the center. Since yesterday we're in Jerusalem again, at the Ariel hotel. It's safest here, but I still don't know what we'll do tonight".

So far the Yankos have spent NIS 18,000 [a little more than $4100. CiJ] on their enforced vacation. The father says he cannot afford it any longer, but returning to Safed is not an option.

"The kids are crying, they will not return. I don't want to sound like a poor beggar, but we're mentally exhausted," says Yanko.

The Yankos are only one of tens of thousands of families who left their northern homes following the start of the Katyusha firings. What started as a vacation from the war, funded by donations, is increasingly turning into the sad plight of families who keep relocating.

The troubles of the refugees could be seen as an exemplary case study of a welfare system that relies on donations rather than on regulated government funding. Those who financed the exodus themselves have fallen into financial difficulties. Others, who were supported by donations, are being asked to leave the hotels and return to their homes despite the ongoing bombing.

Read the whole thing.

Michael in the Pisgat Zev section of Jerusalem reports that today - TODAY - the government is finally doing something:

About time: Now that 29 days have passed since the outbreak of the war in the North, the government has decided to set up a tent city for northern residents feeling the constant rocket attacks.

The tent city will be built east of Tel Aviv, at the Afek Park near Rosh Ha'Ain, and will house an estimated 3,000 families.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister's Office Director General Ra'anan Dinur said that as of Thursday the IDF will open the doors of its accommodation facilities to residents of the North.

"We cannot compare the current situation to any other war, because this is the first time that 89 communities are forced to sustain rocket hits," he said.

According to official data, the rocket barrages killed 39 civilians so far. A total of 29 civilians were seriously hurt, another 58 sustained moderate wounds, and 1,187 were lightly injured. At this time, 10 seriously wounded civilians are still in hospitals, along with 13 moderately wounded Israelis and 32 lightly injured civilians.

160 direct hits

However, despite the casualty figures, most northern residents remain undeterred and many continue their lives as usual. Meanwhile, figures regarding presence at work are increasing. Overall, about 75 percent of employees at industrial plants in the north are reporting to work, while 78 percent of government workers in the region are also showing up at the office.

Elsewhere, IDF Home Front Chief Yitzhak Gershon said Wednesday that a total of 160 rockets directly hit civilian homes in northern Israel. The figure amounts to about 5 percent of the 3,204 rockets fired by Hizbullah so far.

Read the whole thing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:21 AM