Sderot residents will publicly testify about their experiences living under fire over the last seven years.
The residents will gather Tuesday for a public hearing at the city’s Cinemateque during which they will demand that the government take responsibility for their lives. Following the hearing, a summary report will be prepared and distributed to Israel’s decision-makers and the media, with the aim of prompting policy change with regard to the social and economic rights of Sderot residents.
The hearing will present testimony by several residents, who will relate personal stories about their lives in Sderot and describe how they cope with the mounting social and economic distress of the past seven years. The residents will address a panel of public representatives. Other Sderot residents attending the event will be invited to share their accounts, orally and in writing.
“The continuing state of physical insecurity in Sderot reveals the ineffectiveness of government authorities in protecting Israeli citizens and fulfilling their basic rights in times of emergency and in routine periods. This public hearing is a spearheading event that will enable the community to organize and act to spur the government to take responsibility for its citizens,” said Shira Eytan, the Shatil organization’s Negev-based social justice coordinator.
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