For 10 years the men, women and children of Sderot and the Western Negev have lived with almost daily rocket fire from Gaza. Yet if you watch or read the
The truth is the opposite.
Noam Bedein, Director of The Sderot Media Center, has issued a call to mainstream media from the citizens of Sderot.
This is his letter:
Sderot Call on the Mainstream Media:
We ask you respectfully to change the way you report the continued rocket fire on Israel from Gaza.
The latest statistics from Natal, the organization dealing with post-traumatic stress, show that 70% of the children of Sderot suffer from symptoms of post-traumatic stress two and a half years after the Cast Lead Operation and a full third of Sderot’s residents feel constant post-traumatic anxiety.
Seven rockets, missiles and mortars have been launched from Gaza towards the western Negev’s communities over the last few days.
The disproportional coverage of these rocket launchings and explosions is found in a dry, terse report on mainstream media that takes a few seconds of news time. The issue is barely mentioned by the msm, who state (luckily so far) only that there were no injuries and no damage to property. That is not really the case, as anyone who lives in constant dread of the next missile knows well.
We at the Sderot Media Center urge you to emphasize these strikes more emphatically, to describe them as illegitimate and criminal examples of warfare against innocent civilians. Otherwise, what the media are aiding unintentionally is tacit acceptance of Islamic extremist terror against innocent civilians.
We ask that you change your reports to the following:
1.If there are no injuries, it is important to stress that there were no physical injuries reported.There surely are mental injuries, even though we will not let the terrorists change our lives.
2. It is crucial to mention each time how many rockets have been launched against Israel since the last ceasefire of January 18, 2009.
As of today July 15th 2011, there have been 788 rocket launchings from Gaza aimed at the southern residents of Israel. This has to be brought home again and again so the world will know.
We have decided to write this open letter to all the mainstream media and ask for a change in awareness of the significance and after-effects of this constant bombardment of people trying to live normal lives in an area that has never been disputed even by the UN, that is, unless the very existence of the State of Israel is in dispute.
Noam Bedein
This is the terror that the citizens of Sderot live under.
Rockets specifically targeting Israeli civilians. The world buries its head in the sand while Israeli Children are maimed and die. They don't care. They only care, they only scream, they only act when Israel strikes back in retaliation. The people of Sderot know the world doesn't care. They know that the Media has a decidedly anti-Israel, anti-Semitic viewpoint.
This has to change. It is time that we inform the Media of the truth. When the Media reports on an "unprovoked" Israeli attack, we must put their feet to the fire and demand they report the truth. It was bloggers who put NBC's feet to the fire when they decided they didn't like G-d in the Pledge of Allegiance.
And although times are tough, if you can find a few extra dollars would you send them to the Sderot Media Center? The few dollars you send go a long way. They go to help the children of Sderot with a bombproof, indoor playground, psychiatric counseling, and is the lone voice for the people of Sderot. It only takes a few minutes, just click here.
Tell the Children of Sderot you care!
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