This is the first part of a New Voices series on Sderot. . The chapel at my Episcopalian boarding school was shaped like a crucifix. I always tried to find a seat in the back corner so no one would see me when the reverend asked us to bow our heads. Instead, when the prayers mentioned Jesus, I would look at the ceiling and say the she'hecheyanu. It was the only blessing I remembered. One summer in college, I again found myself looking at the ceiling. This time, instead of being the only Jew...

After over 100 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israeli civilians over the course of just a few days, Israel struck back with an iron fist. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) blew up the Mercedes of Ahmed al-Jabaari, leader of the Hamas military wing (do they have a NON-military wing?), and mastermind behind the now infamous kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. The IAF also assassinated Yahiya Abiya, head of the Hamas rocket program, and the evil man responsible for most of the...

I’ve been to the Western Negev town of Sderot more times than I can count. For nearly three years from 2008-2010, I was in the beleaguered city regularly, as many as 2-3 times a week, doing PR work for the town's Hesder Yeshiva. Therefore I am hardly a stranger to the Tzeva Adom (code red) early warning system and having to literally run for my life . But my visit to Sderot yesterday was like no other. In short, Sderot is a real life warzone. Along with Ashkelon, Ashdod, Be’er...

Photo: Louisa saved her owner's life in Ashkelon, Noam Bedein, Sderot Media Center The coastal city of Ashkelon, population 130,000, was hit particularly hard on Sunday. In one attack, a rocket slammed into a four-story building, penetrating through the roof of the stairwell, and continuing on, leaving a large gaping hole in the floor of one apartment, and in the ceiling of the apartment below. Two people sustained injuries from the attack and five suffered shock. The rundown apartment...

Exclusive for Sderot Media Center Dawn breaks on the city of Sderot; it's a Shabbat, the day of rest. But as they say, there's no rest for the wicked. Some found that it would be fun to play "alarm clock" with the people of Sderot. It's six o'clock AM when “Tseva Adom” alarm echoes across the city. Getting out of bed is an afterthought for most. Yet the head does not quite stay on the pillow when a sound, as loud as a clap of thunder, rips through the air. It is a...