SDEROT — A small community of about 20,000 souls is lacquered in concrete, sitting about a mile away from a densely populated open-air prison, which seen from afar — sitting on a couch perched atop a lookout point/dune — does not show what may be happening inside it. (Binoculars were not available.) Founded in 1951 as a development town for recent immigrants from Arabic countries and North Africa — who are called Mizrachim — Sderot has suffered and endured thousands of rocket attacks from the prison, whose wardens wish the inhabitants of Sderot (and all of the Hebrew republic) a speedy farewell into oblivion.

A playground with no children playing; a town center with no town life; business barely staying above water. These are just instances that illuminate the legacy of a psychological trauma that has now raised an entire generation under red alert. You have fifteen seconds; run for your life. There is suffering on both sides of this tragic, absurd conflict. No more to say right now.