When the Sderot municipality spokesman stood next to a house that was damaged on Shabbat Marquette and spoke of many who left the city, he did not know to what extent he was reflecting a history of change when it comes to evacuation.
Many rockets have flown in Sderot since the late Shlomo Lahat (Cheech), the mayor of Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in 1991, called Tel Avivians leaving the city "deserters".
Only in 2006 did the Israeli government receive the token.
The Second Lebanon War was fought on two fronts: the campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah, and the civil front of the cities and towns of the north, which suffered from deadly barrages.
The lack of preparation on the home front revealed complete negligence on the part of heads of authorities and senior officials.
Those who could afford it, moved south.
Those who had difficulty - for economic or health reasons - were left behind in a non-functioning authority.
Since then, Israel has been struggling and improving, more or less, the evacuation of the citizens.
We live in the only country in the world that evacuates its citizens every year or two, in an era where the emptying of the Otaf and Sderot settlements of their residents is something that the authorities encourage, perhaps out of lack of choice.
Everyone who lives in the area knows the picture.
As soon as tensions are suspected, families with small children begin to evacuate.
In the first hours of the fighting, when it is clear that we are in the never-ending story of bloody rounds, the settlements are emptied, mainly on the basis of proximity to the border.
The closer the settlement is to the fence between Israel and Gaza, the faster and more sweeping the departure will be.
Left behind are those in essential positions, the elderly and those with physical disabilities.
Today, in most localities, this is about a quarter of the residents, or even less.
If in previous rounds it was mainly about kibbutzim and moshavim on the border, today most of the residents of Sderot are leaving the area, as part of a state-sponsored evacuation or independently, for family and private solutions.
This vacancy, every year or two, can testify to our resilience.
This is the only way to survive mentally.
This is the only way to take care of the mind and body of our children and allow them some kind of normality, in the midst of the great holiday, in the heart of the absolute madness called war.
In this respect, it is good that the state realized this.
Where there are no strategic solutions for order and peace, the fragile peace of mind of the citizens is the only thing left.
This evacuation can also indicate the desperation and danger with the situation.
Many residents hope that the current operation will bring a year of peace.
no more.
Even the fantasies of long-term silence have faded.
it's dangerous.
This is a phenomenon that deepens the lack of trust in the political and military leadership;
This is a phenomenon that weakens the communities and families that have come to plant their roots in such an important area of the State of Israel;
It's a mindset that prevents long-term planning that is so necessary for families, communities and also local businesses.
In the state of our and our children's accelerated mental burnout, we may find that this routine we have built is far from working in the long term.
Like the long-covid, even the removal of our sweeper, a few weeks a year, can have long-term costs.
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