שתיל - שירותי תמיכה וייעוץ לקידום שינוי חברתי

SHATIL works hard to reach disempowered populations in Israel's periphery and that is in large part the rationale for our regional branches - including Be'er Sheva. The staff in SHATIL's southern office lives in Be'er Sheva as well as in Kiryat Gat, Rahat, Sderot and other communities - all within the range of rocket fire from Gaza. Several staff members live close enough to the border to hear every bomb that is dropped. Others, such as Bedouin in Rahat, while themselves under fire, are consumed with worry about relatives in Gaza. With the stresses of balancing family needs in a time of emergency with work and great worry about the situation, the atmosphere in the Be'er Sheva branch is difficult. And, throughout SHATIL, staff are concerned about their sons, brothers, husbands and boyfriends who have been called to the front-lines.

"The heart of the Be'er Sheva staff goes out to all civilians," said Yarona Ben Shalom, co-director of the Be'er Sheva office of SHATIL. Yarona has two small children and a husband who is a pediatrician at Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva - the hospital to which seriously wounded soldiers and civilians have been evacuated. He has been working around the clock as the regional hospital is on alert.

Dvora Dasta, a SHATIL organizational consultant (mainly for the Ethiopian community), has been working from home in Kiryat Gat, where her three young children are spending their days. School and day care have been cancelled since the Hanukah vacation. The older ones receive school assignments by email. Dvora has had many offers from friends, family and colleagues outside the danger area who want to host her but she prefers to remain at home. "My children and I prefer to stay in a familiar environment, despite the danger," says Dvora. "Familiarity, and the fact that everyone else is here and we are with them in this, brings comfort and solidarity in a time of crisis."

For Warda Elkrenawi, coordinator of SHATIL's Empowerment of Bedouin Women Project, this period has been particularly challenging. "I have friends and relatives in Gaza, so this situation is very difficult for me," said Warda. At the same time, Warda's hometown of Rahat is subjected to rocket attacks. Since there are no sirens or shelters in Rahat, Israel's largest Bedouin city, SHATIL enlisted the help of Mubadara (Initiative) - a coalition of eleven Arab organizations initiated by SHATIL following the Second Lebanon War and the disproportionate harm it inflicted on the North's Arab population. Relying on lessons from that war, Mubadara is engaged in communicating with the authorities and helping the Bedouin population cope with the current threats in a safer and more effective manner.

As ever in situations of war and escalation, SHATIL reaches out, networks and gives a voice to those moderate, restrained voices that are not necessarily part of the mainstream consensus -- even in times of crisis. The Be'er Sheva office and SHATIL's media staff is working closely with A Different Voice, a grass roots group of residents of Sderot and the surrounding kibbutzim consisting of young and old, Ashkenazim and Sephardim, who are calling for an end to the hostilities and a cease fire that will respect the rights of both sides. In addition, SHATIL provides consultation to a group of Arab and Jewish students who got together to call for an end to the violence, as well as to established organizations promoting co-existence in the Negev - a mission that is all the more critical in such tense times.

We are all hoping for a speedy resolution to the crisis.