Hamas terrorists did not succeed late Thursday night to prevent a Torah scroll from reaching its ark in a Sderot synagogue, but it was a close contest.
A rocket fired from Gaza slammed into a synagogue just minutes after some 300 celebrants had left after the hours-long ceremony bringing the Torah scroll to its new home.
The 3-rocket attack punctuated a day in which more than 20 Kassams were fired at the western Negev by the Hamas terrorists who rule the Palestinian Authority government.
The house of prayer was damaged and those who had remained to tidy up after the joyful dancing, left the synagogue in tears, many suffering shock.
Some pointed to the Divine protection that had shielded the hundreds of dancing and singing Jews who had left the building just moments before. “If people had not gone home,” said Moti Shitrit,” many would have been killed. G-d rescued us.” Mr. Shitrit was one of those who had stayed to clean up.
The barrage of rocket fire also missed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who had arrived with Defense Minister Amir Peretz shortly before in an unannounced visit to the town.
Bodyguards and security people hustled the surprised prime minister into one of the shelters he had ostensibly come to inspect, as the Color Red missile alert system wailed its warning.
The entourage, which included Kadima MK Otniel Schneller, visited one of the houses that sustained a direct hit by a rocket earlier in the day, met with Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal, and had coffee at Peretz’s home with his wife and two children.
"It was important for me to come here tonight, so you would know you are not alone," the prime minister told Sderot residents during the visit. "We all feel your pain and understand your anxiety. The government will do everything in its power for your and the country's security," he assured them.
One irate resident tried to gain access to the defense minister’s home as the entourage chatted inside. “The prime minister is a coward,” shouted Aryeh Cohen. “You came like a thief in the night with all your bodyguards. I want to talk to you.”
Nor did Mr. Cohen spare the defense minister in his outrage. “Peretz is a bigger coward than you are. He’s living in a fortified house, while we don’t even have shelters!”