Karmiel- a summary by Adi Eldar, mayor of Karmiel

If you would have said to me 6 weeks ago that Karmiel was to come under attack by short and long range rockets and missiles; I would have said to you that that was not very likely.

For the first time in the 42 years of Karmiel's existence, the quiet and tranquility of our city was disrupted on a clear blue day by a barrage of missiles and Karmiel is no longer the city it once was.

For more than a month city streets were deserted, not a single store was open; no one walked the streets and only a small number of cars speeded to their destination before a siren was sounded or the rockets began to fall.

For Karmiel the day of July 13, 2006 will be "a date which will live in infamy", the day that Karmiel became a Confrontation Line city, the day that the city fell under the real threat of Katyusha rockets that could be launched against it from Lebanon by the Hezbollah terrorists.
The first days of the war were days in which we had to organize literally everything "on the run", days of uncertainly and planning for what was to come.

All of us have numerous questions; however, as mayor there was no time for personal fears, I had to focus on providing answers to other people's questions.

Initially we had to focus directly on the basic needs of our residents and establish rapid response teams that would deal with the most urgent needs. A command post, managed by the city's director of public safety was established in the city's Welfare Services bomb shelter. The various teams included shelter maintenance & repair, informational services responsible for disseminating information and reinforcing the city's citizen information bureau, a press team that worked opposite the various local and foreign press organizations, family hospitality, fund-raising, cultural activities in the shelters and a team that dealt with organizing brief stints of R & R for the residents who stayed in Karmiel. We established an impressive logistics center at the Social Services Administration Building where all of the wonderful contributions were gathered and later distributed throughout the various shelters. From there the city's social workers and psychologists also coordinated the care and treatment of residents already in their care and new cases caused by the war.

From a state of caring for 35 public shelters, we "advanced" to close to 600 shelters once the city took responsibility for private shelters that were populated by four families or more. This meant dealing with the shelters' electricity, water, toilets, television, DVD, cable connection, telephone line, mattresses and practically everything or anything else that came to mind such as disposable diapers, babies' toys and books, etc.

At the same time we were able to obtain a contribution to provide a daily hot meal for the city's elderly since it was clear to us that they more than anyone else would be unable to shop for food. They had no place to do their shopping (the stores were all closed) and under current conditions they would be unable to cook for themselves. Everyday we distributed 3,100 hot meals to the city's elderly and needy families, in their homes and shelters.

Everyday we held a Crisis Management Staff meeting in order to receive reports on what was happening throughout the city and hear proposals for improving our service to the city's residents to make it easier for them, as much as possible, while they were forced to stay in the shelters or "secure rooms".

Our beautiful, quiet and pleasant city was the target of over 200 rockets and missiles that struck approximately 800 homes, of them 15 have been declared too dangerous to reside in. Damage was also inflicted on more than 100 vehicles, public buildings, schools, kindergartens and other publicly owned properties throughout the city. In addition, the ORT Braude College, located in Karmiel was hit by two rockets that caused damages estimated at over $100,000.

At the beginning of the war, I said that I was sure that there is an angel watching over the residents of Karmiel, and even now, I am even surer of this because of the fact that no one was killed during the rocket attacks. A number of residents were injured, one critically, one serious and a few dozen who were slightly injured and this is without taking into consideration the large numbers suffering from shock and anxiety. To all I want to wish a speedy and full recovery.

During the war, we lost three soldiers. Dov Stranschuss (z"l), a helicopter crewmember was killed with the Israeli Navy missile boat he was serving on was struck by an Iranian shore to sea missile. Nadav Baeloha (z"l) a sergeant in a Golani SpecOps unit and whose home was struck by a barrage of Katyusha rockets while his family was there sitting "Shiva". Gilad Balhasin (z"l), a reserve officer of the Golani Brigade served at the same time his brother Benny was also called up to fight in Lebanon. We also mourn for Eshael Damti (z"l), originally from Karmiel, who was killed by the Hezbollah during a Katyusha rocket attack on the Haifa Railroad Yards.

Immediately upon receiving the Home Front Command's orders to return to normal operations, we restored all of the city's departments and services to full-scale and regular operational status. Nonetheless, today's routine differs from what we knew a month ago. Today we know that Karmiel lives under the threat of missile attack from Lebanon.

We are working feverishly to prepare the city's school system for its September 3 opening and moving forward with preparations for the Karmiel Dance Festival as well.

The festival will take place during the Succoth holiday on October 10-12, 2006 and we will be sure to invite all those who contributed to the residents of Karmiel during the war, as a sign of our thanks and appreciation.

I salute the residents of Karmiel for their steadfastness in the face of this difficult war and pray that the city will know only days of quiet, serenity, development and growth.

During the remaining days of the children's summer vacation we want to entertain them. Therefore, we are organizing a series of day camps at five different locations throughout the city for kids 5 years and up, at no charge, with activities, performances and lots of fun. We will also hold a giant happening for children twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Galilee Park, with amusement activities, water slides and competitions with prizes, etc. For our younger children we've opened up a kindergarten playground so that they too can have fun and be happy since they've all gone through a rough time and "lost" a large part of their summer vacation.

Many difficult tasks lay before us, e.g. the opening of the school year in less than two weeks, assuring sufficient psychological support for the city's children, teachers and parents, to clear the destruction and renovate damaged structures and to prepare the Karmiel Dance Festival that will bring much joy and happiness to Karmiel and the People of Israel. 

This is also an opportunity for me to invite you, our Pittsburgh partners to come and enjoy the festival with us and to thank you for your support of Karmiel throughout the war and the 11 years of our great partnership.

Sincerely yours,
Adi Eldar
Mayor of Karmiel and Chairman of the Israel Local Authorities Union