Commotion in Eilat: Sderot residents want to stay
Gaydamak's representatives claim that Sderot residents who arrived in Eilat on Thursday are supposed to leave Saturday night. Sderot vacationers claim they were promised they could stay until Wednesday. Despite mess, they have only good words to say about Gaydamak: He is like Moses
While Gaydamak's organizers claim that those in Eilat for the weekend must pack their bags and leave by Sunday for a new round of Sderot residents to come through, the residents are insisting that they were promised they would stay until Wednesday.
The guests from Sderot said Saturday night that the vacation guides told them upon their arrival to the hotels that they could stay in the hotel until Wednesday. In addition, the vacationers were given the option of signing up for one of three rounds of transportation back to Sderot – Saturday night, Monday, or Wednesday.
The hotels themselves are still in the dark. In any case, the hospitality crews have been instructed to prepare for the Sderot residents to stay until Wednesday.
Though some of the residents already returned to Sderot Saturday, there is still a problem with the rooms in the hotels. Sivan Shlomov, 24, arrived with her two children to the Holiday Inn Express.
"Today, asked us to give back our room keys and to switch to Magic Sunrays, but when I got there, it turned out they didn't have any rooms," Shlomov recounted. "If I had known it would be this way, I would have preferred not to come at all. But now I don't intend on returning to Sderot. I will take advantage of the vacation to the very end because I deserve it. I won't move from here until I get a room."
Sderot residents vacationing in Eilat (Photo: Yossi Dos Santos)
To the question of why she wasn't satisfied with Holiday Inn Express, Sivan responded: "I am a single parent and I can't pay for the meals. There is no coffee or water. Until we shouted, we didn't receive anything. I prefer to be here and not to return to Sderot because my children are afraid. But if I had a different place, I'd go to it."
Deganit Cohen Levi, 36, arrived with her daughter Linoy, 12, and her son Jack, 13. "We are planning on staying until Wednesday," said Deganit. "We finally have freedom. Despite this, I would give up everything in order for there to be security for my children."
Linoy talked about the fear: "Four months ago a Qassam fell in our yard. There was a big 'boom,' and I was afraid and I cried. I was treated by a psychologist. I don't take a shower by myself or go out by myself. I go straight home after school. This vacation let me relax a little."
'Gaydamak is like Moses'
Whether residents are leaving Saturday night or Wednesday, there is a consensus on one thing – appreciate and thanks for Arcady Gaydamak.
Zehava Dahan, 36, announced Saturday that she would stay in the hotel until Wednesday. "Yesterday, I was taking a shower in the hotel when someone in the room above slammed a door and I panicked. For a moment, I forgot I forgot I was in the hotel and the fear returned.
"I intend to announce in the dining hall tomorrow that I am collected NIS 10 from each resident in order to publish an official thank you in the newspaper in honor of Gaydamak and everything he has done for us. He is larger than life," Dahan explained.
Ron and Or Avikazar, 9-and-a-half-year-old twins, have also become big fans of the businessman: "Gaydamak is like Moses. He helps the nation of Israel and we want him to be prime minister. We are staying here until Wednesday because we are afraid to return to Sderot after a Qassam fell in our neighborhood and at our school. We really want Gaydamak to lengthen our vacation until the Qassams stop," they said.
Other residents said that though they are enjoying their vacation, "it would be best for Gaydamak to invest his money in fortification to provide security for the residents."
Alongside praise for Gaydamak, some of the residents made harsh statements against Defense Minister Amir Peretz and his criticism of Gaydamak's initiative.
"Peretz is powerless," they said. "He doesn't know how to take it that a good Jew has come along who helps, and that he, as a minister with authority, isn’t helping his fellow Sderot residents."
