Gaydamak to evacuate children from Sderot
Head of local parent committee turns to businesspeople, asks them to help remove kids from rocket-battered town. Gaydamak accepts request, says he will help move some of children to hotels in Eilat on Thursday afternoon
Gaydamak comes to the rescue once again: Business mogul Arcadi Gaydamak on Thursday accepted an appeal made by Sderot residents and will help in evacuating children and youth from the rocket-battered southern town.
The evacuation of babies and children to five hotels in Eilat is expected to begin at 3 p.m. Thursday, and youths will be evacuated on Friday for several days.
Gaydamak came to the rescue following an appeal made by Batia Katar, head of the local parent committee. Katar turned to businesspeople, including Arcadi Gaydamak and Nochi Dankner, and asked them to help send the Sderot children on vacation instead of sending them to the unfortified schools.
Sderot following Wednesday's attack (Photo: Albert Sadikov)
"The security tension is very high and this is affecting the children in the city. Therefore, we asked to take the children out now for a break from studies, for a holiday, and so on and I hope they will take the initiative," Katar told Ynet on Wednesday.
But even now there are those who oppose Gaydamak’s aide. MK Shlomo Breznitz (Kadima) said Thursday that it would be a mistake to evacuate the children of Sderot for only a few days. Breznitz, claimed that a temporary evacuation would only strengthen the fear felt amongst the children of Sderot.
Breznitz explained, “They should only be evacuated if the problem will be solved when they return. Since there isn’t an absolute solution for the Qassam firings at the moment, the children musn’t be evacuated for a short time.”
Sderot mayor: It's not over
In the meantime, Kiryat Ata Mayor Jacob Peretz announced Thursday morning that the northern city was prepared to absorb Sderot's children, should the state decide to evacuate them from range of Gaza's rocket threat.
"We still remember the terrified look in our own children's eyes during the last war, we will do anything we can to help the children from the south," Peretz said.
On Thursday morning, the Sderot general high school's parent committee announced that the school will be on strike in protest of the firing Qassam rockets at the city.
The parents were protesting the fact that some of the school buildings have still not been fortified and decided to close the school down for fear of a disaster.
The issue of unprotected school also reached the High Court, where Supreme Court President Justice Dorit Beinish said Wednesday: "Dozens of kindergartens are unprotected. It is unacceptable that because of Qassams schools are closed. It is a fact that people's lives are in danger."
She ordered the government to explain why schools have not been protected faster.
Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal concluded: "I say once again, also to the residents protesting – it will become more difficult. It's not over and we must prepare for it. The possibility of leaving does not exist as far as I am concerned."
Shmulik Hadad contributed to the report
