JDC Intervention Eases Terror for Family Living Under Fire in Sderot

The Friedmans were a solid, functional family of six—Amir worked as an Egged bus driver; his wife, Rinat, was a schoolteacher. Their children were healthy, happy, and well-adjusted. Both parents had been living in Sderot for 40 years. But events of the past six months have disrupted their lives and created challenges that would destroy any normal family.

Thanks to Ashalim—a partnership with JDC, the Government of Israel, and UJA-Federation of New York dedicated to helping at-risk youth and their families in Israel, with support from UJC’s Israel Emergency Campaign (IEC)—the family is learning to cope with ongoing trauma.

Half a year ago, what began with a celebration ended in destruction.

Having sponsored the dedication of a new Torah scroll to their synagogue, the family was in the midst of a celebration with their community, only to be interrupted by a kassam rocket. The rocket, which fell in the synagogue, caused Amir to sustain a back injury and devastated his 11-year-old daughter, Tamar, who witnessed the whole event.

Her trauma and fears were so intense that they caused the left side of her face to become paralyzed. To cope, for three months, Tamar was put on medication and received physiotherapy, while Ashalim’s art therapy program for preschoolers and elementary school children in distress encouraged her to use creative means to express her emotions.

Over time, the art therapy reduced her fears and the paralysis passed. Unfortunately, the rocket fire and distress didn’t.

Shortly thereafter, three more kassams fell on the family's house; one missile fell in the shower.

Today, the children are terrified of the "Color Red" siren—the national alarm which indicates the imminent landing of a rocket or missile, and haunts thousands daily. Tamar and her siblings will now only bathe if an adult is nearby.

Ashalim’s preschool-based "Red Color" song program, which helps children cope with the fear they experience when the warning sirens sound, intervened to help the family’s youngest daughter, who experienced paralysis of another sort.

"She used to become frozen and unable to move, and now we sing the song together so her anxieties are validated but also worked through with action," says Rinat.

Today, given the constant threat of attack, the family—parents and four children—all sleep in their safe room, a small room with two beds.

But thanks to Ashalim intervention with IEC funding, the Friedmans’ hope of maintaining a sense of normalcy for this family remains.

As Rinat expressed, grateful for the support she and her family are receiving, "You have literally saved our older daughter. Without Ashalim’s help, we would have fallen apart."

March 2008