Missiles and Rockets Not Stopping the Alumim Kibbutz Wedding

Nadene Goldfoot
The worst of the latest attacks on Southern Israel was only 6 days ago on Wednesday when Hamas and other terrorists fired 69 missiles and rockets into southern Israel.  Last Tuesday 47 were shot into Israel.  36 missiles and rockets rained into Israel during the following 3 days.   What is happening with a barrage of missile attacks such as this is a follow-up of  quick but restrained IDF retaliatation.  Then there is some "relative calm" of an "un-honored ceasefire."  In larger towns that have a warning siren of incoming rockets, the population has but only 15 seconds to scurry to a shelter.

 Hamas rockets   stopped a wedding at Kibbutz Alumim located in the NW Negev desert in the Sdot Negev area. which has fields that lie next to the security fence of Gaza and is 3 miles from Gaza.  This is an agricultural  kibbutz, as many along the fence are.  You can often hear rocket fire here.  During all this rocket firing of last the 650 guests and wedding party were forced to move the wedding from the kibbutz to a wedding hall in Petach Tikvah just a few hours before the wedding, which is  only 7 miles from Tel Aviv.  The managers of the wedding hall said "This is the fastest flash wedding we have ever had here."

Caterers and guests were directed to the new address and the wedding went on as planned.  The couple took some wedding pictures in front of the Iron Dome battery, which is supposed to take out all incoming missiles aimed at Be'er Sheva and Ashkelon.  At least they couldn't hear rocket explosions from their new location.

This modern orthodox  kibbutz population has  90 families with 375 members of which 135 are children and of which 20% are from the United Kingdom.  400 people live here.  It was started in 1966 as a border settlement with Egypt by Bnei Akiva youth movement members.  The land had belonged to an orthodox Jewish group who had purchased it.  The kibbutz also has a kosher guest house located in their lovely gardens of the kibbutz and has a kosher Bed and Breakfast facility.  It also has its own synagogue, library, spacious dining hall and swimming pool.  The residents live in little stucco houses and the weather is like Palm Springs.  It's probably a lot like Kibbutz Degania Alef that I had visited in 1982.

Resource: Arutz Sheva news@israelnationalnews.com, "Ceasefire War" continues with Rocket Attack on Kibbutz , Kassam Rockets fail to Silence Wedding Bells, both by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu,
http://www.alumim.co.il/viewStaticPage.aspx?pageID=41
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alumim
http://www.innsite.com/inns/A005459.html
http://jeffinisrael.wordpress.com/2006/07/01/kibbutz-alumim/
http://www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/English/Jewish+Education/Compelling+Content/Eye+on+Israel/Places+in+Israel

More Mortars Bursting

Nadene Goldfoot

Tit for tat, and so the war goes on.  This time the Military Branch of the Islamic Jihad took responsibility for a barrage of 5 rockets that were fired into southern Israel around Ofakim Wednesday evening from Gaza.  When it's early morning here it's evening there.  One landed south of Ashkelon and three in Be'er Sheva.  Also, rockets landed in the Eshkol Regional Council. 

A rocket hit a car in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council and injured a little toddler's hand in it.  Rocket fire continued late Wednesday night.  Two rockets landed in Sderot, which is very close to the Gaza border. 

In retaliation, Israel hit  storage buildings for weapons in both north and south Gaza. and they also hit tunnels used for sneaking in weapons. 

Why the barrage this time?  The Jihad group was angry because Israel got one of the terrorists named Ismael al-Asmar, 34 years old.  This is turning into a Hatfield-McCoy situation.  X shoots at Y and Yshoots back and X shoots again because Yshot back.  The difference is that Israel can pinpoint their target and the terrorists terrorize by shooting rockets and missiles into a populated civilian area.  If they didn't have bomb shelters to run to in a matter of seconds more would be dead and injured.  As it is the hospital will be full of terrorized people.  The terrorists know they can expect retaliation after they have attacked Israel.  Israel is never sure when missiles will rain down and must stay close to bomb shelters. 

All Israelis in the southern area were told to stay indoors.  A community had to cancel a music festival.  Then two more mortar shells were fired into the Israeli territory.    The Iron Dome did stop a Grad rocket.

The terrorists reported that two of their men were dead and 20 were injured.  They have an awful lot of Muslims compared to the Jewish population, and they don't seem to mind dying when they can go out as a marytr which earns them 72 virgins.  Jews have no such reward.  They just want to live. 

Resource: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/barrage-of-rockets-hits-southern-israel-idf-kills-islamic-jihad-member-in-gaza-1.380503

http://www.jpost.com/

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=235309