Media Central Fact Sheet

Sderot: Economic and Humanitarian Crisis

While most observers measure the effect of the Kassams in fatalities, the true effect of the Kassam onslaught is in the economic, psychological and social damage it has caused to the residents of Sderot and the South.

History:

Established in 1953 by newcomers from Iran, Iraq and northern Africa, Sderot achieved notoriety over the past decade mostly for its cultivation of a variety of pop music band like Tipex (who represented Israel in last year's Eurovision).

Sderot saw great economic and demographical growth in the early 90's, mainly due to the influx of immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia who settled in the town.

Barrage of Kassams:

After the eruption of the Palestinian violence in 2000, Sderot began to suffer a constant barrage of Kassam missiles launched at the town and surrounding area from the nearby Gaza Strip, which intensified following Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in August 2005 (the “Disengagement”). Some 7,737 rockets have been fired on Sderot since the beginning of the Palestinian violence in 2000. The number of Kassam, mortar (and now Katyusha) attacks since 2003 is summarized in the table below.

Year	Sderot
2003	257
2004	414
2005	285
2006	1337
2007	1069
2008	3187
2009 (thur Sept)	341

Although Kassam missiles have limited lethality, these attacks have disrupted normal life in the town, forcing the population to take cover with 15 seconds notice at random – during the day, at night, on weekdays, weekends, festivals and holidays. The psychological impact of these strikes is difficult to measure; one indication is reflected in the fact that upwards of 80% of the town’s residents have sought counseling over the past three years. At least one elementary school has closed, in a city which has seen only an increase in school-age children over the past two decades.

Economic Effects:

Sderot was never strong on the socio-economic scale; this ongoing reality of life under fire is bringing the Sderot economy to virtual paralysis. While many residents have already left town (estimates range up to 20% of the population), others have altered their shopping habits, attempting to spend as little time in unprotected areas as possible or doing their shopping further away, outside Kassam range. The result is a sharp decline in the annual revenue of the small businesses in the area. Official figures indicate the following:

From year	Until year	% of decline
2003	2004	30%
2004	2005	15%
2005	2006	39%
2006	2007	25%
2007	2008	24%

During these years, Israel was of course enjoying world-leading economic growth. It is worthy to note that many of the families who left Sderot in recent years were those better-off; thus these figures for revenue decline probably don’t reflect the much more significant fall in profits for Sderot businesses serving those – from the lower stratas of society – who remained behind. Based on the numbers above, a business with 2003 revenues of NIS300,000 which generated about NIS100,000 profit would support a family (NIS8500/month income); that same business would have declined by 2006 to NIS100,000 in revenue, earning perhaps NIS35,000 in profit or only NIS3,000/month for the family – below minimum-wage for a single employee in Israel.

An actual example of note is the main Sderot banquet hall, which in the high season of 2004 booked an average of 20 events per month; by 2007 they were serving an average of only 2 per month.