How is Gilo holding up after the long-expected mortar shell was fired upon it yesterday? The shell fell on Havush St., the most southeastern street in Jerusalem\'s southern-most neighborhood. One resident told Arutz-7\'s Benny Toker that she will leave when the contract on her rented apartment runs out, while another said that she would not leave even if she could, \"because this would be too easy for the Arabs. If we all leave, they can just come in and take over.\" A third man said, \"It\'s a difficult situation, but there\'s no need to panic. We will hold on even for another year if we have to; if the residents in Hevron can deal with what\'s happening to them, then we can also. \"
Meir Turjeman, head of the Gilo neighborhood administration, told Arutz-7 today that officials of the Home Front Command are scheduled to brief the residents tonight on how to act during mortar attacks. \"We have also met with city psychologists,\" he said, \"for help in dealing with our children\'s fears and the like...\" Asked to evaluate his fellow residents\' staying power, Turjeman said,
\"Look, we have come through a lot. There have been many shooting attacks over the past few months, and we have stood fast and strong, but the truth is that this strength can\'t last forever. Somewhere along the line, you just lose it. How many times can we tell our children, \'Don\'t worry, soon there will be an agreement,\' or, \'Soon the army will take care of it,\' and then it turns out that the shooting starts again? It\'s impossible to live like this for an extended time. We tried to explain this to the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister, but it\'s hard to understand for someone who has not experienced it.\"
Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane then said, \"Allow me, then, to include in our conversation someone who has experienced the threat of mortar attacks for many months: Yigal Kirzenshaft of N\'vei Dekalim in Gush Katif. Yigal, I understand that the threat of mortar shells is somewhat different than that of shooting, am I correct?\" Kirzenshaft:
\"The thing is that with mortars you just cannot know when or where they could fall... Not long ago, we were having dinner when suddenly a shell was launched not far away. Another time, in the middle of the night, a shell landed close to my car and damaged the windshield. The uncertainty is very difficult.\"
Kahane: \"How do you deal with it, then?\"
Kirzenshaft: \"First of all, we rely on G-d, and thus we simply cannot fall - just like a storm cannot uproot a tree that has strong roots, so too the residents of Gush Katif are people of strong faith, and they don\'t give up. We live with the situation. We sleep under concrete roofs, even though the Arabs are beginning to fire larger shells that can even penetrate them... We take precautions, but we make sure not to cancel any events, trips, or the like; we recently had a wedding in Atzmonah that we moved to a safer location here in Gush Katif... We have to be careful, but we do not give in to the terrorists... We have cultural events, Hassidic gatherings, and even the annual two-day Hassidic Music Festival will be held festively, as always, to which we invite all of Israel to come and take part... I would advise my friend Meir [from Gilo] to fulfill the meaning of his name and \"illuminate\" his neighborhood of Gilo, and to hold special events, and to do things that will increase the unity among the residents, and to bring happiness, such as the Music Festival that we\'ll be having - they can invite all of Israel to come to Gilo for such an event and thus strengthen each other. I think this is very important. In general it is important to project an image of Am Yisrael\'s national strength, and show that their bombs will not scare us...\"
Kahane: \"Meir Turjeman, how do these ideas sound to you?\"
MT: \"Listen, this is encouraging to hear, without a doubt. It is encouraging to hear those who have been suffering much more than us. I definitely accept that which my friend from Gush Katif has said. \'Each man helps his friend, and to his brother says, Be of good courage\' (Isaiah 41,6). We will help each other, and we will hope for better times for all of Israel.\"
Kirzenshaft: \"Maybe you\'ll pop over for a visit to Gush Katif, Meir?\"
MT: \"Very happily... I would be very, very happy to come there, together with my friends...\"
Meir Turjeman, head of the Gilo neighborhood administration, told Arutz-7 today that officials of the Home Front Command are scheduled to brief the residents tonight on how to act during mortar attacks. \"We have also met with city psychologists,\" he said, \"for help in dealing with our children\'s fears and the like...\" Asked to evaluate his fellow residents\' staying power, Turjeman said,
\"Look, we have come through a lot. There have been many shooting attacks over the past few months, and we have stood fast and strong, but the truth is that this strength can\'t last forever. Somewhere along the line, you just lose it. How many times can we tell our children, \'Don\'t worry, soon there will be an agreement,\' or, \'Soon the army will take care of it,\' and then it turns out that the shooting starts again? It\'s impossible to live like this for an extended time. We tried to explain this to the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister, but it\'s hard to understand for someone who has not experienced it.\"
Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane then said, \"Allow me, then, to include in our conversation someone who has experienced the threat of mortar attacks for many months: Yigal Kirzenshaft of N\'vei Dekalim in Gush Katif. Yigal, I understand that the threat of mortar shells is somewhat different than that of shooting, am I correct?\" Kirzenshaft:
\"The thing is that with mortars you just cannot know when or where they could fall... Not long ago, we were having dinner when suddenly a shell was launched not far away. Another time, in the middle of the night, a shell landed close to my car and damaged the windshield. The uncertainty is very difficult.\"
Kahane: \"How do you deal with it, then?\"
Kirzenshaft: \"First of all, we rely on G-d, and thus we simply cannot fall - just like a storm cannot uproot a tree that has strong roots, so too the residents of Gush Katif are people of strong faith, and they don\'t give up. We live with the situation. We sleep under concrete roofs, even though the Arabs are beginning to fire larger shells that can even penetrate them... We take precautions, but we make sure not to cancel any events, trips, or the like; we recently had a wedding in Atzmonah that we moved to a safer location here in Gush Katif... We have to be careful, but we do not give in to the terrorists... We have cultural events, Hassidic gatherings, and even the annual two-day Hassidic Music Festival will be held festively, as always, to which we invite all of Israel to come and take part... I would advise my friend Meir [from Gilo] to fulfill the meaning of his name and \"illuminate\" his neighborhood of Gilo, and to hold special events, and to do things that will increase the unity among the residents, and to bring happiness, such as the Music Festival that we\'ll be having - they can invite all of Israel to come to Gilo for such an event and thus strengthen each other. I think this is very important. In general it is important to project an image of Am Yisrael\'s national strength, and show that their bombs will not scare us...\"
Kahane: \"Meir Turjeman, how do these ideas sound to you?\"
MT: \"Listen, this is encouraging to hear, without a doubt. It is encouraging to hear those who have been suffering much more than us. I definitely accept that which my friend from Gush Katif has said. \'Each man helps his friend, and to his brother says, Be of good courage\' (Isaiah 41,6). We will help each other, and we will hope for better times for all of Israel.\"
Kirzenshaft: \"Maybe you\'ll pop over for a visit to Gush Katif, Meir?\"
MT: \"Very happily... I would be very, very happy to come there, together with my friends...\"