TORONTO — In a show of solidarity with the Israeli community of Sderot, hundreds gathered here to raise money for better bomb shelters at daycare centres to protect children from Hamas rocket attacks.

Israeli singer Doron Mazar. [Jack Beker photo]

Israeli singer Doron Mazar is joined on stage by the Na’amat Canada volunteers during his performance. [Jack Beker photo]

TORONTO — In a show of solidarity with the Israeli community
of Sderot, hundreds gathered here to raise money for better bomb
shelters at daycare centres to protect children from Hamas rocket
attacks.

Na’amat Canada, a chapter of a worldwide progressive women’s organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for families in Israel and abroad, organized a benefit concert titled Stand Strong With Israel, Jan. 25 at Beth David B’nai Israel Beth Am Congregation.

The goal of the campaign was to help the 2,000 children who attend 27 Na’amat daycare centres within Hamas rocket range by building bigger safe rooms, purchasing more emergency equipment and providing psychological counselling for traumatized children.

The event included performances by actor, writer and comedian Deb Filler, Israeli singer Doron Mazar and Beth David’s Cantor Marshall Loomer.

Speaking to an audience of about 400 people, the shul’s Rabbi Philip Scheim voiced his concerns about Israel’s security, which many in the community share.

“When will there be an end to terror? When will Israeli children be able to attend school without fear of having to run to a shelter, without having to spend day and night at times in shelters?” Rabbi Scheim asked.

Thornhill MPP Peter Shurman spoke about the fear young families in Sderot live with everyday.

“Here in Canada, daycare is about playtime, practical and elementary learning, and socialization. In Israel, daycare is about that, plus post-traumatic stress disorder, psychological treatment of children and special workshops to help children deal with what they faced and continue to face,” said Shurman, a former CFRB talk radio host.

“Living here in Canada, we often take for granted our freedom to enjoy the simplest things, like walking to a park or watching our children play in a playground. It is easy to forget that there are places in the world like Sderot where those very simple things are a luxury, where parents crave for a time when they will be able to walk their children to school, or take them to a park, without watching the sky for incoming rockets or wondering where the nearest bomb shelter is.”

Israeli ambassador to Canada Miriam Ziv, who made her first Toronto public appearance at the event, gave her thoughts about what led to Operation Cast Lead, the recent war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

“For eight years, Israeli civilians have been under ongoing attacks from Gaza on a daily basis,” Ziv said.

She added that over the years, the primitive Qassam rockets used at first were upgraded to Grad missiles, which are more accurate and can travel farther into Israel, and Hamas has obtained more sophisticated weapons from Iran, which are smuggled through underground tunnels.

“The result was that the lives of almost a million citizens of Israel were disrupted. Children could not go to schools and businesses had to be closed down,” Ziv said.

“The feeling in Israel, across the whole country, was that ‘enough is enough. We cannot take any more. This cannot continue.’”

Ziv said the goal of the war was to bring normalcy back to the lives of Israelis and to make sure that the illegal smuggling of weapons into Gaza would end.

“This cannot be achieved by Israel alone. It has to be achieved through the work of the international community.”

She conceded that while Israeli citizens have suffered, so too have Gazans.

“Hamas, in their blatant disregard for human life, have used the citizens of Gaza as human shields. We have tried to avoid harming civilians and there are many examples where the Israeli air force dumped leaflets into the villages to tell the citizens to leave their houses” from which Hamas militants were firing rockets.

“Israel is entitled to defend itself from a terrorist organization, the goal of which is to destroy Israel,” she said, adding that Israel continues to work for the release of Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier who has been held captive by Hamas since 2006.