[New York Times] Isabel Kershner - At Moshav Yated in southern Israel, metal sculptor Yaron Bob fashions roses out of pieces of Kassam rockets fired out of Gaza at residents in the area. He chose to make roses, he said, because he was "looking for a new symbol of peace, and an answer to death." Last winter's war in Gaza has brought some quiet to Israeli communities along the border like this one, which lived under the constant threat of rocket fire from Gaza for much of the last eight years. But in some respects for the people here, the war is not over. Occasional rockets and mortar shells still puncture the calm, causing the population to relive the moments of panic. The international outcry over Israel's military conduct, meanwhile, has left many here feeling that the world is out of touch with their plight. Israelis in southern Israel have little patience for the international condemnation, and there is not much soul-searching underway. "People scoffed" at the Goldstone report, said Sasson Sara, the owner of a newspaper store in Sderot, the border town hit by thousands of rockets. Yafa Malka, a Sderot hairdresser, said, "I am very sorry for all those who were killed in Gaza, but I expect my country to defend me no matter how."
2009-10-09 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive