10,000 shoppers descend on Sderot

Hundreds of cars travel to rocket-hit town for solidarity mission; rally planned for Tel Aviv.

sderot ayalon protest 22 (photo credit: AP)
sderot ayalon protest 22
(photo credit: AP)
Some 10,000 people from all over Israel traveled to Sderot on Friday to do their Shabbat shopping and show their solidarity for the residents of the beleaguered town. Hundreds of cars headed to the city from meeting points in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and Ra'anana. Modi'in resident Ilan Cohen, who organized the initiative, told Army Radio of his excitement at seeing so many people head to Sderot. Numerous organizations participated in the solidarity mission, and several municipalities even provided buses for the journey to the Gaza-belt community. Among the participants were activists from dozens of social movements, as well as members of student organizations, secular and religious communities and sports clubs. Ra'anana Mayor Nahum Hofree and former Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball star Doron Jamchee were spotted among the shoppers. Police and representatives of the IDF Home Front Command briefed the shoppers on emergency procedures in the event of a Kassam attack, and on Friday morning, as the convoy made its way to Sderot, two Kassam rockets fired from Gaza landed in open areas near the city. No one was wounded and no damage was reported.