Sderot residents present a letter to UN requesting Hamas be brought to trial

Sderot residents present

By BENJAMIN SPIER
A group of 35 young Sderot residents got on a bus to Jerusalem on Wednesday night, to present a letter to the United Nations demanding that Hamas leaders be brought to trial for war crimes. The letter was signed by 90,000 people from 50 countries across the world with the help of the Take-A-Pen organization. "We wanted to present the letter today because of the urgency in which the Goldstone report is being adopted," said Batya Katar who is one of the organizers of the letter and the demonstration. "We know that the hearings in Geneva are about to end, and in just a little bit it will move to a UN committee in New York. We will also go to New York and do everything that is necessary there." No UN official came down to the gates of the United Nations headquarters in Jerusalem to receive the letter, and it was instead taken by a secretary. However, organizers of the demonstration claimed that they had received indication that they would meet with a UN representative in the near future. Youngsters held up signs and sung the national anthem meters away from the UN headquarters. The rally was purposely held at night so none of the demonstrators would miss school or work. "We are the people of Sderot and we want to say that for nine years we suffered," said Lilach Nissim who was one of the Sderot residents presenting the letter. "Enough is enough; we were the ones who suffered because of violations of human rights."