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Tel Avivians shop for Shabbat in Sderot
Following complaint voiced by rocket-battered town's residents that 'people in Tel Aviv don't care about what happens to us,' some 200 youngsters visit southern town, cover debts and donate food to needy
Shmulik Hadad
About 200 residents of Tel Aviv and central Israel arrived
in the southern town of Sderot on Friday and purchased food for Shabbat.
Grocery store owners reported that some of the shoppers covered the debts of local residents and others donated the food they bought to the rocket-battered town's needy.
The shoppers were briefed by Sderot resident Tal Makai, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter's driver. He explained to them what to do if the rocket alert system is activated and where to take cover. He also suggested that they purchase the food products in small businesses, which suffer from lack of buyers.
Shopping in Sderot (Photo: Amir Cohen)
Uri Hayut, one of the organizers, told Ynet about the initiative.
"On Sunday we woke up to a very difficult morning, after what happened in Sderot.
We then heard residents talking about two states for to people, supposedly saying that in Tel Aviv things are being conducted peacefully while Sderot residents lead a very difficult life.
"We felt the need to do something to help the economic activity in the city, even a little bit, and to strengthen them. We began promoting this through word to mouth and the response was amazing."
And what do the business owners have to say? Yehuda Cohen, the owner of a small supermarket in Sderot, said that "what happened here today was a miracle. I haven’t seen so many customers here in over a year.
"This is heartwarming and so exciting. I know that thanks to these good people I will be able to provide for myself for this month at least, pay the salaries of my two employees and even pay the electricity bill. There are good people in this nation. I ma so happy they came here. It's almost a miracle for me."
Asher Timsit, another grocery store owner, also welcomed the initiative.
"My store once provided work for eight families. Today my brother and I can barely earn a living. This people who came here and help us should be praised. I hope many others will follow in their steps."
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