Resident of Israel’s South at UN: ‘Have You Ever Had to Run for Your Life?’

“Can you imagine how our children feel when they know that terrorists could come bursting through a tunnel under our community at any time?” asked southern Israeli resident Adele Raemer. 

By United with Israel Staff

At the invitation of US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft, president of the UN Security Council for December, activist Adele Raemer, a resident of Kibbutz Nirim near the Gaza border, addressed the Council on Wednesday.

This is the first time an Israeli from the south has spoken to the Security Council, noted the Israel Mission to the UN.

Raemer asked the Council: “Have you ever had to run for your life? When I hear the Red Alert early warning system for incoming rockets, I know that I have 5 to 10 seconds to get to someplace safe – regardless of where I am in my little kibbutz house. If I am out, I either throw myself down next to a wall – or just lie down wherever I am, cover my head and hope that whatever falls doesn’t fall too close.

“During the 11 rounds of escalated rocket fire that we have had in the past year and a half, there were numerous alerts every single day; 1,800 rockets were launched at our communities during this period. What would any of you do if this number of projectiles was launched over your border?”

Raemer added that during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge, a rocket destroyed her bedroom, and she was saved only because she sought refuge in her home’s protected safe room.

‘Sinister and Frightening’

She described Hamas’ tunnel network as “sinister and frightening, built with a complex infrastructure for communications and electricity that was developed solely for purposes of death. Can you imagine how our children feel when they know that terrorists could come bursting through a tunnel under our community at any time? The rate of people seeking psychological aid in our region has risen 231% in the past five years…over half have been children.”

Raemer called on the Council’s ambassadors to act against Hamas, saying “We all need to be able to raise the next generation to respect our neighbors, not fear them.”

Following her address, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon told the Council: “There is an entire generation that has never known a life where they don’t need to be aware at all times of where the closest bomb shelter is. An entire generation that suffers from trauma; from fear that the noise they hear at night is of a terror tunnel being dug under their bed.”

The ambassador also remarked on recent events in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and Syria, where civilians were tortured and some even murdered during protests. “But the Islamic Republic doesn’t care about its civilians, it only cares about its extremist ideology.”

‘Israel is a Beacon of Light,’ Says US Ambassador

US Ambassador Kelly Craft commented: “Far too often we talk about this issue without talking about the human impact from Gaza. This Council seems unwilling or unable to see the reality that Israelis live in constant fear of attack. In place, the Council tolerates an endless string of condemnations of Israel. I have said before and will say again today, Israel has no better friend than Kelly Craft.

“While condemnations have become very commonplace, what is truly remarkable is the resilience of the Israeli people,” she said. “Israel is a beacon of light to the world; is it to be condemned? No, it is to be emulated. It is their spirit of resilience that keeps alive the hope for a solution.”