March 5, 2008 / 28 Adar I 5768

The home of Geut and Shlomi Argon, and their two children, was struck by a Kassam rocket on January 15, 2008. The rocket landed only a few meters away from the children’s bedroom - totally destroying the room and its contents. Geut was playing with her children on the computer at the time of the attack. Despite the shrapnel that was lodged in her head and knee, Geut managed to crawl out of the rubble and rescue herself and her children. Geut underwent surgery that removed three pieces of shrapnel; one was deemed too dangerous to remove. Geut, a nurse in the local Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon and Shlomi, the owner of a local coffee shop in Sderot, received NIS 4,000 from the S.O.S Emergency Fund - finances that were used to repair the Argon home and augment the family’s resources while Geut is in therapy.

S.O.S. Emergency Fund Donor Ron Hirsch with Geut and Shlomi Argon.

In January 2008, the advisory committee of the Fund for Victims of Terror, underwritten by the United Jewish Communities (UJC) and Keren Hayesod, earmarked $300,000 for emergency assistance to Sderot residents. The goal was to provide initial relief of up to $1,000 to victims of Kassam attacks; finances that would alleviate their immediate plight before assistance from the government. The lengthy process of gaining government recognition as a victim of terror, and the bureaucratic measures involved, make it extremely difficult for these vulnerable citizens to get back on their feet after an attack. The people who are eligible for immediate assistance are those who are physically injured by a Kassam or whose house suffered a direct hit.

To date, 206 victims of terror have received assistance totaling $120,000 from the S.O.S. Fund. The allocations were made to 201 people in Sderot, four people in Dimona after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the town's main shopping area, and one family in Kfar Silver, next to Ashkelon.

Jewish Agency field representatives, themselves residents of Sderot and the surrounding communities, work around-the-clock to reach the victims of terror and help them through the days immediately following the attack. The individuals and families who receive this support continue to express how much these funds have eased their plight.