You Have 15 Seconds to Say a Psalm Before Kassam Explodes

'You Have 15 Seconds to Say a Psalm Before Kassam Explodes'
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

The National Council of Young Israel in the United States has announced a new project that simulates the pressures facing Sderot residents after a Code Red warning gives them 15 seconds to run for cover from an incoming Kassam rocket fired by Arab terrorists.

Project SMS (Solidarity Messages for Sderot) sends a text message to subscribers after the early warning system sounds in Sderot. The message reads. "A Kassam has been launched at Sderot. You have 15 seconds" to recite Psalm Chapter 130, give charity, call the United Nations, the White House, Senators and Congressmen or pause for a moment and pray for the people of Sderot.

Sderot has been under siege for more than seven years since the Oslo War broke out in September, 2000. The Committee for a Secure Sderot reports that Arab terrorists have attacked the city with 6,913 rockets. The government promised that the siege would end after carrying out the expulsion program that included the forced removal of Jews from the Gaza region and the withdrawal of all IDF personnel.

Shaul Mofaz, who was Defense Minister at the time, vowed that Israel would respond quickly "if even one rocket is fired" on Sderot. Since then, the Olmert administration has agreed to a number of ceasefires, but each one was quickly broken. More than half a dozen rockets have hit the western Negev since the latest truce began less than two weeks ago.

Young Israel executive vice president Rabbi Pesach Lerner told its members the group wants them to experience the sense of urgency Sderot residents face when the warning siren is sounded.

"The people of Sderot have been forced to live in a time warp of 15 seconds for the last seven years," he stated. "When a rocket is fired at Sderot and the alarm is sounded, they have fifteen seconds to run for cover, find their children, gather the sleeping family from the top floor to the basement and wonder if today is the last day of their life."

Young Israel President Shlomo Z. Mostofsky added, "While the citizens of Sderot use those 15 seconds to try and avoid the deadly rockets and the ensuing damage, we need to use those 15 seconds to undertake a meaningful action, such as saying a prayer or giving charity on their behalf."

Click here to sign up: Project SMS