Sderot - Kassam Battered, But Still Blossoming - Photo Essay

Two Fridays ago, I spent the day in Sderot as part of a Yavneh Olami Shabbaton (our group was made up young olim and post-high school students studying in Israel for the year, and we were in Kibbutz Ein Tzurim for Shabbat - IY"H I'll post pictures from there within the next few days). We saw different parts of the city, including the police station which has remains of hundreds of Kassam rockets, the center shopping area where rocket damage can still be seen, and school buildings with special protective coverings. It seems like a Cabinet Committee should be calling what's going on now a war instead of debating last summer's war title.

But we also saw the Yeshivah, which is prospering, and even building a new Beit Medrash building, and we saw people on the street, shops and restaurants open (I had a good shwarma),and we saw some beautiful flowers and trees blossoming as Rosh Chodesh Nisan is now upon us.

Rabbi Yehoshua says in Gemara Rosh HaShanah 11A, "In Nisan we were redeemed [from Egypt], in Nisan in the future, we will be redeemed." Let's hope we see the redemption this year and can focus on the blossoming and see an end to the war!
Now here's Sderot:

The police station


The Kassam remains behind it



Life goes on - a basketball rolls by the Kassam remains


Damage around the city center




Protective covering for parts of school buildings






Trees and flowers blossoming in Sderot
















Sderot, the city:
Our Yavneh Olami Group




Smoke from Ashkelon power plant in the background






The Yeshivah, some parts under construction:





The view from the edge of Sderot:
Ashkelon's Power Plant
Ashkelon
Gaza with a security blimp flying above it
Our group enjoying the view
Panorama looking back toward Sderot from the lookout