The blaring alarm sounds! You have only 15 seconds to find cover.

14… How far are you from a bomb shelter? Will you be safe here if a rocket falls next to you?

13… This is the sad reality that 15 percent of Israeli citizens have to live with everyday. Fifteen percent of a nation – that is equal to roughly 45 million Americans.

12… For the past eight years, rockets launched from inside Gaza by the terrorist group Hamas have fallen on the southern cities of Israel. This has dramatically increased since Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005.

11… Whole cities live in fear, including Sderot, Be’er Sheva, Ashkelon, Ashdod. The civilians dread the sound of the next alarm warning them of incoming terror. Children in kindergarten are not exempt from this terror, as evidenced by the rockets that hit kindergartens on December 31 and January 6. Is this how 5-year-olds should be forced to celebrate the new year?

10… 10,000 plus rockets from Hamas, launched with immunity over the past few years. What would it have taken for you to reach your breaking point?

9… When would you demand that the U.S. government take action to protect its citizens? Could you live your life in constant fear, afraid to send your children off to school? Could you manage being forced to stop what you’re doing at any given point and run?

8… Sitting in lecture, the alarms goes off once again, everyone gets up and barrels into the shelter, because you never know if this time it will hit you.

7… For all these reasons, I call on the students of UCSB and all Americans to stand with Israel in her time of need. Condemn the terrorist organization Hamas, who constantly targets the innocent and continually uses Palestinian civilians as human shields in order to launch rockets into Israel with immunity.

6… Be patient with Israel and let her defend herself. Help free the Palestinians who want peace and freedom from the brutal oppression of Hamas.

5… Can you imagine living your life everyday with the knowledge that you might have just 15 seconds to prepare for a rocket attack?

4… This is a fight for survival, one that was forced on Israel when they started being bombarded by Qassam rockets eight years ago.

3… It will be a long struggle to rid the world of Hamas and like-minded terrorist groups dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state.

2… Only then, will Israelis and Palestinians be able to establish a lasting peace and not just a compulsory ceasefire that allows the terrorists to re-arm and regroup.

1… Peace is Israel’s true goal, and hopefully future generations of both Palestinian and Israeli children will be able to enjoy it before time runs out.

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