The Seventh Night of Hanukkah: Hot in Sderot

On the seventh night of Hanukkah, under smoldering candles of many colors, we find Israeli model Miri Bohadana, born in Beer Sheva, Israel but raised primarily in Sderot.

Sderot? Sound familiar? It should:

The city has been an ongoing target of Qassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. In March 2008, the mayor said the population had declined by 10%-15% as families left the city in desperation (aid organizations say the figure is closer to 25%). Many of the families that remain cannot afford to move out or are unable to sell their homes.

Sderot, less than a mile from Gaza, has been the target of Palestinian rocket attacks that have killed 13 residents, wounded hundreds, caused millions of dollars in damage, disrupted daily life and wreaked havoc on the local economy. According to MSNBC, "nearly everyone [has been] traumatized by the frequent sound of air-raid sirens and explosions of incoming projectiles". All local schools have been fortified.From mid-June 2007 to mid-February 2008, 771 rockets and 857 mortar bombs were fired at Sderot and the western Negev, an average of three or four each a day

The last rocket attack on Sderot occurred in November 2009. According to the AP, Sderot has reached a period of relative calm.

Yeah, but what the AP fails to mention, apparently, was that Israel invaded Gaza back in December....

So let's put a face on those miserable Zionists of Sderot, shall we? We'll go with...Miri's face:

No wonder the nation of Israel stood tall in her defense....