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Sderot Flourishing under Constant Threat of Rocket Attacks from Gaza

(JNS) Judy Lash Balint - Sderot is an idyllic, well-maintained small town of 30,000 located less than a mile from Gaza. It's also a place where almost everyone suffers from PTSD due to thousands of Palestinian rocket attacks launched from Gaza since 2001. Nevertheless, the town is expanding, building new neighborhoods, creating high-tech jobs, hosting large institutes of higher learning, and opening new museums. "Terror helps you understand your purpose here," says Mayor Alon Davidi. "We understand what it is to be a Zionist. Hamas has not beaten us." Rockets fell twice in the yard of the Davidi home, and in their neighborhood, one house was hit three times over the years. Therapist Ephraim Rosenfeld notes, "We have a lot of experience with PTSD, but we never get to the 'post' of post-trauma, it's constant trauma." He says Sderot is the center for teaching resilience and trauma response to others, and recently therapists from the Resilience Center traveled to Ukraine to help the Jewish community there.
2022-06-30 00:00:00
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