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Health & Fitness

Assemblywoman Casagrande Project Interchange trip to Israel: Day 5

We visited the City of Sderot and received a briefing at a lookout point over Gaza from Captain Kobi Harush, coordinator of Security for the city.  Sderot is along the Gaza Strip and is regularly under rocket attack.  Most of the exploded rockets are from Hamas, but lately, with the instability in the region, more rockets are coming from places like Libya and Sudan. Seeing the remnants of these rockets that were launched into Israel was like seeing a museum of terrorist weapons. 

Sderot is the closest city to Gaza.  Because of the short distance these rockets are often shot from playgrounds, schools and hospitals in Gaza, knowing there won't be a counterstrike.  Since the Arab spring, these rocket attacks have increased.  

My visit to the old City of Jerusalem included a visit to the Western Wall – or what is known as the Wailing Wall - a sacred site for Jewish prayer and pilgrimage for centuries. 

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I had a very informative meeting with fellow legislators who are Members of the Knesset, the Legislative branch of the Israeli Government.   The 120 members of the Knesset not only pass all laws, but elect the President and Prime Minister as well.  They serve four-year terms, but it is their party that is elected and the party chooses the member.   Fascinating to see the differences between Israel’s form of Democracy and that of the United States.


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