UWI Delivers Bomb Shelter within 24 Hours of New Campaign

United with Israel delivered a desperately needed bomb shelter to the city of Netivot in the south within a day of receiving the funds from UWI supporters.

While the IDF fights to stop, once and for all, the unrelenting terror aimed at civilians in southern Israel from Gaza, United with Israel supporters have been donating generously to help protect innocent men, women and children.

On Wednesday, within 24 hours of receiving sufficient donations towards a new bomb shelter, United with Israel delivered one to the city of Netivot in southern Israel.

To date, UWI has purchased thirteen bomb shelters – three to Netivot – through Operation Lifeshield, which was launched seven years ago by grassroots Israelis following the Second Lebanon War, when northern residents were suffering rocket attacks from Lebanon.

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A Sewer Pipe is No Substitute for a Bomb Shelter

Most buildings in Netivot are older and have no indoor shelters, David Zeit, UWI executive director, said upon returning from a visit to the south on Wednesday to deliver the new shelter and meet with some of the residents.

“The number of shelters on the streets is insufficient to protect the entire city,” Zeit said, noting that sewer pipes had been converted into makeshift shelters due to the crisis, “which are cheaper and easier to come by, but by no means adequate. We hope to replace all of those.”

In fact, another new bomb shelter donated by UWI contributors is scheduled for delivery at the beginning of the coming week.

“People do not realize just how difficult things are,” Zeit stressed, pointing to what he terms “Holocaust decisions.”

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With only 15 seconds to find shelter at the sound of the emergency siren, parents are often forced to make quick and excruciating life-and-death decisions, he explained. For instance, there could be two young children in opposite directions and it would be impossible to grab both and make it to safety on time.

‘Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die’

Which child do you choose? This is exactly the cruel dilemma faced by parents under Nazi subjugation when ordered to decide – on the spot – “who shall live and who shall die.”

Assuming everything goes well and both children survive the missile attack from Gaza, Zeit continued, the parents are then faced with the ramifications of their decision that could last a lifetime. The child that was not chosen could suffer severe emotional damage. Indeed, it could destroy a family.

“It’s real,” Zeit asserts. “It happens.”

This is besides the physical danger, the emotional trauma and the everyday challenges of living in a region where schools, summer camps and recreational activities are canceled, and sleeping through the night is wishful thinking.

Yet despite the trauma, the people in the South, although under duress, are maintaining an overall positive attitude, Zeit observed.

“They still have resolve” and they overwhelmingly support the IDF in its mission to protect the people of Israel and destroy the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza through Operation Protective Edge.

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For the time being, however, we must all do our part to make the lives of our citizens in the South safer and easier, Zeit said, adding that donating towards a much-needed bomb shelter would be the most logical way to help in the current situation.

Author: Atara Beck
Senior Writer/Editor, United with Israel