The government is making every possible blunder in evacuating
Sderot residents. Only in response to businessman Arcadi
Gaydamak's program to pay for hotel stays did the government
make a move, evacuating hundreds of residents to army-run
facilities in the Central Region. Meanwhile the city's
chareidi population is being neglected and severely harmed by
the evacuations.
Today Sderot is home to 200-300 chareidi families, including
a considerable number of chozrim betshuvoh. With their
children the kehilloh numbers nearly 2,000. As part of
the Defense Ministry's evacuation program, dozens of chareidi
families were bused to Netanya and placed at Beit Feldman,
which is run by the Defense Ministry.
There they were lodged in dorm rooms together with secular
Sderot residents. The chareidi residents report that
televisions were on in the corridors on Shabbos, the meals
were not kosher lemehadrin but only regular army
supervision and after the meals the chareidi guests were
forced to hear mixed singing.
On Shabbos afternoon the chareidim from Sderot and their
children were exposed to an abominable performance on the
grounds of the army guest house with speakers blaring.
Several of the residents spoke with army officials asking to
be sent to the military guest house at Givat Olga, where the
guest rooms are not connected to the dining rooms and placed
where performances are held, but they were told they were
free to return to the Kassam rockets in Sderot. Their request
for glatt food was also received with total disdain on the
part of Defense Ministry officials.
Based on the Defense Ministry's serious failure many Sderot
residents said they would rather forego the government's
gesture to allow them to leave the city until the danger has
subsided, instead saying with relatives in various parts of
the country.
These families do not want their children exposed to the lack
of modesty in the lodging facilities the army provided. "I
don't want to receive anything from the government if it
doesn't know how to accommodate our modest needs — a
place to sleep and food that's kosher lemehadrin,"
said one Sderot resident.
"If the government does not know how to handle theses
elementary needs the situation is even worse," she said.
