Our teachers tell about their life under rocket attacks

This is the story of Aliza Katzman, who lives under rocket attacks since the Cast-Lead Operation had begun. She teaches Hebrew online to students all over the world.

 How are you affected by the Cast-Lead Operation?

I live in Gan Yavne (גן יבנה), located near Ashdod (אשדוד). This place is a quite place that turned into frontier during the Cast-Lead Operation. Hearing sirens, running into the shelter (מקלט), hearing rockets falling nearby turned to be our new daily routine. I feel that we have many miracles: Although the Grad rockets fall nearby, they tend to fall in open fields – someone takes care of us.

My grandchildren live next to me – we share the shelter. They are very scared. How can you explain 3 and 5-year-old children about war? They are scared from every slammed door or car alarm. We explained to them that mom and dad guard them and keep them safe. Is it true? Are the miracles going to last?

We live in fear and anxiety for few weeks now. I cannot imagine how the people from Sderot (שדרות) who had to live like that for 8 years survive. One cannot understand the way it influences people’s life until you actually go through it.

Why do you stay in the area?

I was a delegate of the Jewish Agency’s for education and culture in Ukraine in 1998-2001. As part of my assignment, I went with students to Babi-Yar – a ravine in Kiev where the Nazis murdered in the course of two days, September 29-30, 1941, 33,771 Jewish civilians. The Babi Yar massacre is considered to be the largest single massacre in the history of the Holocaust. This massacre was followed by more murders of thousands of Jews and other civilians and it is estimated that more than 100,000 people were shot and killed there.

I cannot forget what I saw in Babi-Yar. We, the Jewish people, cannot live in any other place! If we have to fight, we have to do it here, in the land of Israel, in our own country, where we have our own army to guard us. We cannot break the chain!

How do your online students abroad react to the war, knowing that you live in a dangerous zone?

The fortified room of the house used to be my study. Now we moved my grandchildren to that room and I teach in another room. I explained to my students that when they here an alarm over the internet, I have to stop teaching and run to the shelter. I promise to come back to teach when it is safe. They understand.