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June 29, 2007
Shields up for Sderot
Rocket-proof mobile shelters offer protection.
MICHAEL BERKOWITZ ISRAEL PRESS SERVICE
It's a perfect, sunny day in May in Israel, lovely in every way
but for the Qassam rocket warnings that come sporadically, sending
the residents of Sderot, on the Gaza border, dashing madly for cover.
There is no such thing as business as usual here – once the
alarm sounds, there are between 15-30 seconds before the rocket
hits – so passers-by head for the nearest building entrance,
cower under cars or give up and stay indoors.
The same happened last summer on Israel's northern border, when
43 civilians were killed and 4,262 were wounded in less than 30
days, as thousands of missiles rained downed on populated areas.
The 293 rocket attacks on Sderot in May of this year left two dead
and hundreds wounded.
"The Qassam is every [bit as] much an instrument of terror
as an explosive or a suicide bomber's belt," said Josh Adler,
co-founder of Operation LifeShield, a nongovernmental organization
facilitating the donation of pre-fabricated, transportable, rocket-proof
shelters, called LifeShields, to Israel's home front.
Operation LifeShield was founded by Israeli-Americans Adler and
Shep Alster after the two became aware that municipalities were
suffering a lack of readily available shelter at schools, play areas,
hospitals, shopping districts and bus stops.
The situation is an unrecognized emergency, Adler insisted. "We're
looking at a new paradigm of warfare, in which battles are conducted
not in the field, but in any city or town within missile range.
Today it's Sderot, tomorrow it's Tel-Aviv. More shelters are needed
– and fast."
The sentiment was echoed by Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal in May, upon
the delivery of a LifeShield to a local kindergarten. "Just
days ago, a rocket struck a home near the Kalanit school, where
children play every day with no shelters nearby," said Moyal.
"Seven people in Sderot – including three children –
were killed as a result of missile attacks, and we fear for the
lives of many more, due to the lack of shelters."
The LifeShield solution allows life to go on during wartime, providing
quickly available shelter in open spaces. The shelters weigh 42
tons and measure 3.8-by-3.4 metres – small, but able to fit
30 adults standing upright comfortably and more in a pinch –
and the 30-centimetre thick, steel reinforced concrete walls are
built according to Israel Defence Forces Home Front Command specifications.
Five shelters have already been donated to different locations in
Israel, with 20 more manufactured and ready for immediate deployment.
Once a donation for a shelter is received and an order placed, it
takes only a few days for delivery to the desired location. The
shelters can be also moved from one location to another within a
municipality, as security needs change.
Also last month, a shelter was delivered to the helicopter landing
pad at Safed's Rebecca Sieff Medical Centre. The site is located
only about 100 metres away from the hospital, but this short distance
seemed interminable under last year's Katyusha shelling.
"The need for shelter was critical," said Safed city council
member Ilan Shochat, citing the bravery of hospital emergency staffers
who transported the wounded up the hill to the main building. "Only
after the war did we start hearing stories – shocking ones,
like the air raid siren that went off just as a helicopter landed
on the hospital's helipad. The whole crew jumped out and ran for
cover, leaving the helicopter's engine running."
An external shelter wasn't part of the hospital budget, but an anonymous
donor stepped in and a LifeShield shelter was delivered.
"These shelters represent three principles," said Shochat,
"physical security, psychological security and multi-functionality
– that is, they can be used by municipalities as extra rooms,
like clinics or offices, during peace time and shelters during emergencies."
In Carmiel, for example, a LifeShield currently serves a dual purpose
as a safe room and mini-office for the Ministry of the Environment's
hazardous materials unit. To avoid the problem of shelter space
being abused, Operation LifeShield requires a contract to be signed
in which local authorities commit to proper upkeep.
This month, a new model of shelter was launched – the first
of its kind. The LifeShield bus stop is designed for deployment
along bus and pedestrian routes and is also intended to help people
lead a normal life by being able to go out, shop, walk to school
or work and commute as needed, knowing that shelter is close at
hand.
Also built to IDF Home Front Command specifications, the bus shelter
can fit up to 10 people and protects against shrapnel, bullets and
even direct overhead Qassam hits. It includes an inner room that
is closed on all sides, an outer waiting area protected from above
and on three sides, and a bench made of galvanized steel and fibreglass.
The new shelters, like their safe room counterparts, are also immediately
deployable.
The project has enlisted the aid not only of Jewish donors, but
Christians as well. Last month, Operation LifeShield received the
wholehearted backing (and a pledge to raise funds for shelters)
from Earl Cox, an American Christian broadcaster known as the "Voice
of Israel to the World" and founder of the Israel Always movement.
"During the Second Lebanon War, I personally experienced how
difficult it was for Israelis to live in hot, musty bomb shelters,
sometimes for weeks on end," said Cox. "These new portable
bomb shelters will make it a little more bearable when Israelis
come under attack and need safe shelter. Until Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah
and other radical Muslim terrorist groups recognize Israel's right
to exist, the worldwide Evangelical Christian community will stand
beside Israel."
Under the growing threat of war, the mayors of Acco, Haifa, Carmiel,
Safed, Tiberias, Nahariya and many other towns across Israel have
written letters requesting to be part of the Operation LifeShield
program.
"We hope we can fulfil this need in time," said Adler.
"We're completely Internet-ready and are trying to get the
word out to friends of Israel everywhere."
For more information, visit www.operationlifeshield.com.
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