With Israel’s North on Edge, ICEJ Providing Bomb Shelters for Shlomi

With tensions rising on Israel’s border with Lebanon due to recent Hizbullah provocations, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem is mobilizing to help protect vulnerable towns and villages in northern Israel. This includes placing six new portable bomb shelters and refurbishing 53 existing shelters in the Israeli border town of Shlomi, which took a direct hit from the rocket barrage launched from Lebanon during Passover in April.

Hizbullah leaders view Israel as weakened by the sharp national divide over judicial reforms, leading them to stage a series of open provocations along the Lebanese border that were met with limited responses by Jerusalem. With northern Israel on edge from a potential escalation, local officials are rushing to upgrade existing bomb shelters and add new ones.

A recent government study found that the North sorely lacks adequate shelters for its growing population, especially given Hizbullah’s vast arsenal of over 200,000 missiles, rockets and mortars.
The ICEJ has worked with its partner Operation LifeShield for more than a decade now to supply some 200 bomb shelters so far to vulnerable Israel communities. Most have gone to towns and villages along the Gaza border which face frequent Hamas rocket attacks, but the Christian Embassy also has placed 50 portable shelters in northern Israel already.

Thanks to the generosity of a Swiss Christian family, the ICEJ delivered over recent days six new bomb shelters to the town of Shlomi, which was struck by a rocket on the first day of Passover that landed in a busy intersection next to a synagogue and bank. These newest shelters are being placed in public areas to serve the whole community, such as synagogues, playgrounds and kindergartens.
In addition, the ICEJ-USA branch is providing funds to refurbish 53 existing underground shelters in Shlomi. The work will involve sealing water leaks, fixing faulty electrical networks, installing new lighting, water pumps, drainage systems, and fans for improved ventilation, applying fresh coats of paint, and much more.

A town of 9,000 residents which abuts Lebanon, Shlomi has suffered its share of rocket attacks over recent decades. But city officials say the town is not prepared for what is likely to come in a future war with Hizbullah. Rocket alarms in Shlomi give only seconds of warning of incoming short-range mortars. Half the residents still live in apartments in the older part of Shlomi which have no shelters. And while the Israeli government has promised significant funding for more shelters in the North, local officials say little has come so far.

“We sense an urgency to help bolster the civilian defenses of Israel’s northern communities due to the growing threat from Hizbullah and Iran,” said ICEJ President Dr. Jürgen Bühler. “The Christian Embassy has donated portable bomb shelters to dozens of towns and villages along the Gaza border over the years, and now our focus must turn to the North and all the vulnerable Jewish and Arab towns bracing for what may lay ahead.”

“The response by Christian supporters to the call for help by the mayor of Shlomi immediately following the Passover rocket attack was swift and generous,” added Shmuel Bowman, executive director of Operation LifeShield. “Later, when planning the delivery of the ICEJ donated shelters, municipal officials in Shlomi described their utter disbelief at the speed and fulfillment of these shelters.”
“We're simply not accustomed to asking for something, and then getting it,” explained Asaf Gaveh, Chief of Security for Shlomi.

Photo Credits: Operation LifeShieldo

隨著以色列北部的邊緣，ICEJ為什洛米提供防空洞

由於真主黨最近的挑釁，以色列與黎巴嫩邊境的緊張局勢不斷升級，耶路撒冷國際基督徒大使館正在動員起來，幫助保護以色列北部脆弱的城鎮和村莊。其中包括在以色列邊境城鎮什洛米安置 6 個新的便攜式防空洞，並翻新53個現有避難所，該城鎮在 4 月逾越節期間遭受了黎巴嫩發射的火箭彈的直接襲擊。

真主黨領導人認為，以色列因司法改革方面的嚴重民族分歧而被削弱，導致他們沿著黎巴嫩邊境發動一系列公開挑釁，但耶路撒冷方面的反應有限。由於以色列北部局勢可能升級，當地官員正忙於升級現有的防空洞並增建新的防空洞。

最近的一項政府研究發現，以色列北部嚴重缺乏足夠的住所來容納不斷增長的人口，特別是考慮到真主黨擁有超過20萬枚導彈、火箭和迫擊砲彈。

ICEJ 與其合作夥伴 LifeShield 行動已合作十多年，迄今為止已為脆弱的以色列社區提供了約 200 個防空洞。 大多數人都去了加沙邊境沿線的城鎮和村莊，那裡經常遭受哈馬斯火箭襲擊，但基督徒大使館也已經在以色列北部安置了 50 個便攜式避難所。

感謝一個瑞士基督徒家庭的慷慨解囊，ICEJ 最近幾天向什洛米鎮交付了6 個新的防空洞，該鎮在逾越節第一天被一枚火箭擊中，落在猶太教堂和銀行旁邊的一個繁忙十字路口。 這些最新的避難所被放置在公共區域，為整個社區提供服務，例如猶太教堂、遊樂場和幼兒園。

此外，ICEJ美國分會還提供資金翻新 Shlomi 現有的 53 個地下避難所。 這項工作將包括密封漏水、修復有故障的電網、安裝新的照明、水泵、排水系統和風扇以改善通風、塗上新的油漆等等。

什洛米是一個毗鄰黎巴嫩、擁有 9,000 名居民的小鎮，近幾十年來一直遭受火箭彈襲擊。但市政府官員表示，該鎮還沒有為未來與真主黨的戰爭做好準備。什洛米的火箭警報只對來襲的短程迫擊砲發出幾秒鐘的警告。 一半的居民仍然住在什洛米老城區的公寓裡，那裡沒有避難所。 儘管以色列政府承諾為北部地區建造更多避難所提供大量資金，但當地官員表示，到目前為止，進展甚微。

ICEJ總裁尤根·布勒 (Jürgen Bühler) 博士表示：「由於真主黨和伊朗的威脅日益嚴重，我們感到迫切需要幫助加強以色列北部社區的民事防禦。」「多年來，基督徒大使館已向加沙邊境沿線的數十個城鎮和村莊捐贈了便攜式防空洞，現在我們的重點必須轉向北方以及所有脆弱的猶太和阿拉伯城鎮，為未來可能發生的情況做好準備。」

「生命之盾行動」執行董事施穆埃爾·鮑曼補充道：「基督徒支持者對什洛米市長在逾越節火箭襲擊後立即發出的求助呼籲做出了迅速而慷慨的回應。」 「後來，在計劃交付 ICEJ 捐贈的避難所時，什洛米市政府官員表示，他們對這些避難所的速度和落實情況感到完全難以置信。」
「我們根本不習慣提出要求，然後得到它，」什洛米的安全主管阿薩夫·加維 (Asaf Gaveh) 解釋道。

照片來源：生命之盾行動