Compassion has no Borders

By Mandy Cohen

Loud, forceful rockets fire meters away from your home. You’re petrified to move in case you become one of the unfortunate victims. At least one person you know has been murdered or severely injured due to the incessant attacks. Unfortunately this was/is the reality for both the citizens of Southern Israel and Gaza.

However, during the Israel – Gaza war, the media mainly focused on all the negative doings of Israel, which were acts of defense, and ignored the many positive and innovative actions carried out by individuals and communities to assist the citizens of Gaza. One of the leading groups who activated this motion was the Hillel House at The Sapir College near Sderot – one of the main parts of Israel under constant rocket attack. Despite living under constant terror, Sapir Hillel remains actively involved in social justice and community activism.

Eyal Mazliah, 32, the Sapir Hillel founder and director said: “We started gathering supplies while the war was still going on, but surprisingly, or not so, the replies were very good. We received many many phone calls from people who wanted to donate everything from money to diapers to sugar to baby supplies. We had one woman drive all the way to the border, near Kfar Azza, and donate more than $1000 worth of baby food to Gaza, and also donated many children CDs for the Gaza Enveloped children that were cooped up in the bomb-shelters during the entire war. We also received a lot of help from the Israeli-Arab community and from The Peres Centre for Peace.”

Sderot has undergone massive trauma over the past eight years with over 8000 rockets and mortar attacks on hospitals, homes, schools and day care centers. As a result a staggering 94% of children in Sderot suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.  It seems highly implausible that a Jewish group living near Sderot would want to facilitate citizens in Gaza, so what exactly made the members of Sapir Hillel want to help? “As residents of this area, and of Israel, we understand that our fates are interwoven with those of the Palestinians” Mazliah answered, “They are our neighbors, and we theirs. We have no other option but to eventually live alongside peacefully. Our action was not a statement against the war, nor does it stem from guilt. It’s exactly the opposite. We felt, and still feel that our qualm is with Hamas, and not with the citizens of Gaza, especially not with the children. It was a citizen helping citizens; both sides have suffered from the war. However there is no comparison between the humanitarian situation in Gaza and that in Sderot and other Gaza Envelope Areas.”

The whole process was carried out via a third party; however, through their sources the people of Gaza voiced their great appreciation towards Sapir Hillel and what they did in order to assist them during the war. Mazliah said: “We know for sure that it crossed the border and reached good hands. There were a lot of logistics involved in getting the shipment through and it involved a lot of cooperation to make sure it reached the right hands, for example children that were hiding in schools during the war. The few feedbacks that we received indirectly, were very positive and we were told that the supplies were truly needed.”

Unsurprisingly, after their countless efforts to assist everyone in need, Sapir Hillel was awarded the Joseph Meyerhoff Award for Meaningful Jewish Experience.

Sapir Hillel was only founded a year and a half ago, and has already achieved an immense amount. “We have a large community second hand store that helped furnish a lot of bomb shelters, as well as filling them with toys and things of that sort.” Mazliah told 70 Faces. “Also, with cooperation of the Sderot Cinemathueq we operated a Floating Cinemathueq with the help of a few student volunteers. It included a projector, a big white screen, a mobile sound system and a few good DVDs. We managed to do over 40 screening to children stuck in different bomb shelters all over Gaza Enveloped Areas.”

The Sapir Hillel runs many programmes for all types of students of different backgrounds and beliefs.  All the programmes are divided into four sections: Jewish Renewal - Learning and Celebration (Pluralism), Community Service (Tzedek), Arts and Culture, and Student Engagement and Leadership.

One of the most recent projects of Sapir Hillel is the “Hevra B’Am” scheme. The “Hevra B’Am Sharing G’mach” project is based on the values of communal and environmental responsibility – things that you consider to be old will be new for somebody else. Residents are encouraged to donate items which are no longer of any use to them, but are still in good condition, to the projects head quarters in the South of Israel. Recently they’ve also asked people to donate old electronic equipment such as computer keyboards. Once Sapir Hillel students have sorted through the donated articles they are resold to local resident. In reference to this recent scheme Mazliah added: “This is a unique pilot project that fuses the Jewish values of Chesed (kindness) and Tzedaka (charity), with ecological awareness and community volunteerism to benefit the residents of S’derot and the Western Negev. The G’mach offers donated items like books, household items, and clothes that any resident can purchase for a token fee. The project combines student volunteer work in the G’mach with community – building activities undertaken with other students, with youth from the nearby high school and with the elderly.”

“Although our original goal was not to deal with humanitarian issues, we see today that Hillel Sapir Sharing G’mach is a growing mechanism based on volunteering and community values that can help not only our local community but many humanitarian needs around us.”

If you want to keep up to date with Sapir Hillel’s activities log on to www.hillelsapir.org.il