The students of the Yesodei HaTorah and Chinuch Atzmai
schools in Sederot are exposed to increasing danger. The 350
students and 30 staff members learn in classrooms without
protection against the Kassam rockets that fall on the city,
sometimes on an everyday basis, and their fear is
mounting.
Yesodei HaTorah was started 17 years ago. During the first
few years only 20 students were enrolled, but through
siyata deShmaya and hard work the school earned a
sterling reputation and today it is the city's largest
primary school.
During the summer break, protective work was done at the
school but serious faults were later discovered, leaving the
entire school population vulnerable to attack. "Fear and
panic cry out from every corner of the school," says one of
the teachers. "The student's faces are filled with worry and
every unusual movement causes alarm. The teachers feel
totally drained and coping becomes harder from day to
day."
Staff members say girls sometimes burst out crying and shout,
"I don't want to die," as they recite Tehillim during
the 15 seconds from the time the detection system sounds
until the rocket falls. Some girls go into a state of shock
that leaves them immobile during emergencies and one girl
confined to a wheelchair cannot make her way to the sheltered
areas on time. Meanwhile the students' motivation to learn is
gradually decreasing.
"It's not possible to go on functioning as a teacher when
your eyes are brimming with tears and in your arms you hold a
girl trembling with fear," said one of the teachers on the
staff, most of which commutes from Netivot for the sake of
the tinokos shel beis rabbon despite palpable fears
for their own safety.
The possibility of rockets landing without warning has turned
into everyone's nightmare. Two weeks ago around 17 Cheshvan
the nightmare became a reality when one morning, with all the
classrooms full, an earsplitting boom sounded as a Kassam
rocket landed a short distance from the school. Bechasdei
Shomayim no one suffered injuries.
Following the incident chaos broke out. Teachers and students
refused to return to the classrooms and, based on Home Front
Command orders, the classes were moved to an improvised
protected site. Parents claim the fortification is
inadequate. The students now study in impossibly crowded
conditions in an atmosphere of fear and confusion.
The school administration has already contacted numerous
officials to alert them to the plight of the school. Their
requests drew much good will, but no concrete assistance. The
school administration, which operates with the help and full
guidance of gedolei Yisroel, is demanding that the
school be provided an alternative site in a nearby city
pending the completion of fortification work that meets
stringent standards.
In addition to a vacation day for the students during the
summer break fully funded by the Chinuch Atzmai Center, the
teaching staff is asking the public to help arrange more
excursions to provide the students and staff a short reprieve
from the trying experiences that have become a part of their
daily routine. To offer ideas, donations or other assistance,
send a fax to 08-6890933.
