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BGU-Negev Emergency Fund Update 6

February 13, 2009

Last week I visited the University for the first time since the implementation of the cease-fire that followed Operation Cast Lead. The city of Beer-Sheva absorbed in excess of 40 Grad missile strikes. While security reasons do not allow me to be more specific, it is clear that BGU and the adjacent Soroka University Medical Center became strategic targets of Hamas.

Thankfully, owing to the advanced warning system, bomb shelters and safe rooms, the cancellation of classes for three weeks, solid citizen attack-education, and good fortune, damage was kept to a minimum.

Walking around the campus it was virtually impossible to tell that the University had been under attack as recently as two weeks before. In fact, the Marcus Family Campus looked like that of almost any other university with students milling about or rushing to their next class, lying out in the sun, drinking coffee at the campus café, or engaging in lively debate about the pending national elections.

But, in spite of the seeming normalcy, when I scratched the surface just a little, I found that the impact and resonance of the war were and remain substantial. One graduate student, a new olah (immigrant) from the U.S., told me that the scariest part was figuring out how to get from her apartment to the University, never knowing when the red alert would sound and wondering whether she would have time to get to safety if she were in her car, or on a bus, or simply walking down the street.

In fact, it was while on her way home from the campus that BGU Professor Rachel Barkan was wounded in a missile strike. I’m happy to report that she has since been released from the hospital and has transferred to a rehabilitation center. Her abdominal wounds have healed sufficiently to allow her to focus on the damage caused by shrapnel wounds to her leg. There was a pervasive sense of disquiet lurking beneath the surface among almost all of the people with whom I spoke. Now that such attacks had reached Beer-Sheva, there seemed little doubt that it could happen again and, as a result, the former sense of insulation that Beer-Sheva had enjoyed was shattered.

One afternoon, a moment after I entered the main administration building, the warning siren sounded. I began to walk quickly to the nearest stairwell, as I was unaware of the location of a shelter or safe room. Before I got there, a colleague emerged from a nearby hallway and told me that it was just a drill.

I had missed the announcement which must have been made a moment or two before I arrived. Still, for a second, my heart had leapt into my throat a momentary glimpse into the world of our students, colleagues and friends.

In spite of it all, the spirit of Ben-Gurion University is strong and unbowed. Additional class hours have been scheduled and the semester will be extended to make up for the lost weeks. Hundreds of student soldiers have been released from their units and are returning to the routine of student life, though hundreds more have yet to return.

Physical safeguards have been added and emergency communications systems have been expanded and updated. Additional security personnel have been hired to manage the speedy movement of people following each siren or in the event of a missile strike. On-site shelters and underground tunnels have been enhanced to provide better protection and comfort—all to insure that the University will be as ready as it can be if needed.

So much of this has been made possible through your generosity and through your tireless dedication to BGU. To date, we have raised more than $4 million, which has enabled BGU to respond so promptly. Many of these funds will support the costs of extending the semester and providing financial assistance to students who were unable to work during the weeks of the attacks.

As we wrap up our BGU-Negev Emergency Fund efforts, we return our focus to pushing the boundaries of science, unlocking the mysteries of life and building a brighter future for Beer-Sheva, the Negev and the State of Israel. May we all know better days.

Shalom,

Doron Krakow
Executive Vice President

P.S. - You can read more about the efforts to safeguard BGU on our BGU-Negev Emergency Fund page. Posted on this page is an extremely moving video presentation and song performed by Anthony Chapman, a master's student in BGU's Biblical Studies program, and his wife Irene, made while Beer-Sheva was under attack.