By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Most mornings, after I’ve had a cup of coffee and a chocolate Hobnob as I read the paper, I descend to our basement, where a treadmill and exercise bike along with other exercise apparatus await me. As I exercise for about an hour I watch the news on TV, from stations such as Sky, CNN, Fox and Bloomberg, so that I’m up to date with what’s happening in the world and not focused solely on the news from Israel.
Just now all the news channels are focusing on what’s happening in Lebanon. The British government has urged all British citizens in Lebanon to leave immediately and is even sending troops to Cyprus to help with their evacuation. The screen is full of scenes of cars, trucks and other vehicles stuck bumper to bumper and packed to the brim with families fleeing southern Lebanon to get away from the region being bombarded by Israel. As is the case in Gaza, the UN is concerned about the fate of the children. Funnily enough, the UN showed little concern for the fate of Israeli children and there was no similar call to British citizens living in Israel after the attacks on the country launched by Hamas in the south and Hezbollah in the north last October.
Even stranger is the fact that scarcely any mention is made of the reason for Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon – the location in private houses of rockets and other weapons by Hezbollah. That terrorist organization has succeeded in establishing itself throughout southern Lebanon, from where it has been firing persistently on northern Israel. Since the assault on homes and civilians in the south of Israel by Hamas terrorists on 7th October 2023 Hezbollah has intensified its attacks on homes and civilians in the north of Israel. Those attacks by rockets, drones and artillery that began immediately after the Hamas attack in southern Israel killed and injured civilians, including children, and forced many thousands of Israelis to leave their homes. Ever since that date the bombardment by Hezbollah has continued, causing destruction and devastation to the towns and villages in northern Israel.
That situation has prevailed for the past year, so that entire Israeli communities have been displaced, with families living as refugees in crowded conditions in other parts of Israel. The suffering is acute and ongoing, but not as photogenic as the vehicles standing bumper-to-bumper on roads leading out of southern Lebanon.
When the dire situation of so many Israeli families first became apparent, Talya Tomer wrote A Family Without A Home, illustrated by my daughter-in-law Daniella Koffler. The booklet is aimed at helping children forced to leave their homes to understand and cope with the situation.
In rhyming Hebrew couplets, the book offers children such observations as “The army said we have to go, so I took Fido and Dad made me a sandwich,” and “The lobby (of the hotel) is a strange place; it’s as big as a soccer field, with plastic plants, sofas, and plenty of potential.”
It is now over six months since the booklet was published. The demand for it was so great that it is now out of print. It has been able to help many children – and their families – come to terms with the situation.
Whether anyone believed that the situation would last as long as it has – it is now almost a year since the assault by Hamas – is open to question. It is up to the military and the politicians who manage these matters to decide how and when all this will come to an end. We can only hope and pray that it is soon.
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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is an author and freelance writer based in the Jerusalem suburb of Mevasseret Zion, Israel.
Interesting, Here in New Zealand it is a double whamy of bad coverage. Tv news coverage never come from Fox only from the anti Israel channels from such as CNN NBC MSMBC CBS and the ABC,USA The AABC (Australia). The BBC is not much better. Radio in New Zealand is a little different, private Stations and networks allow their dj’s some freedom to interview who they want to. Radio New Zealand. (the same as the BBC) is a bit different to private stations. They have their deal connections with CBS and others including the BBC and AABC. They got caught with a staff member using Russian propaganda about Ukraine on the web sites and broadcasts. So they are more careful now than they were. But often they are quite hostile to Israel. Our biggest newspaper group has a deal with The NYTimes and Washington Post. The NY Post is never quoted here. So, you people who live in the USA and Uk must keep the pressure on your news sources. That is your responsibility to do that and ensure they publish honest reports. It does not matter if you don’t like Trump or Bibi. The friendship group I run has the Policy of supporting the Government of the day in Israel. The Times of London Newspaper has the same policy concerning the British Government. Support Israel.