Cheryl Libson, my assistant, and I went down to Ashkelon today to run parties for the kids in several bomb shelters in Ashkelon.
Before we left we went to the local bakery in Kadima, ROLADIN, and picked up three amazing chocolate soufflé cakes which were generously donated to us by Moshe Spiegleman the owner.

It was a beautiful day and as we drove past the acres and acres of fields that are green this time of year it was hard to believe that we were at war.
We arrived at the Exodus Youth Center shelter in Ashkelon and walked into a hot, crowded room full of children, most of whom were of Russian and Ethiopian backgrounds.
We played all the games which the children loved and at the end served the cake and watched as they licked their fingers with joy!
I sat around with them a while to talk to them about what it feels like to live under these conditions. Anastasia told me how terrified she was but that she was sure we would smash the Arabs and win. She then lifted her hand to give me a "hi-5".
This little blond haired girl made sure I understood that "the good guys would win"

Later on we went onto another shelter in the Ashkelon Matnas. We waited until Yuval Hamvulbal, a famous clown in Israel, finished his act.

We ran the Birthday Angels program for the 60 children who were in this shelter.
When I played the Wishing Tree Game with them one kid after the other said: "I wish that all the soldiers return safely", "I hope they find Gilad Shalit and bring him home" and "I wish we could go back to school already." Unfortunately many of the children also made this wish:
"I hope we kill all the Arabs."

One teenager said to me: "Look around the room. Every other kid here is wetting his bed at night".
It was painful for me to witness how their fear has turned to hatred. I am sure the children in Gaza have been similarly traumatized.


I hugged the children before I left and told them that I hope the war will be over soon and that they remember the outpouring of love and kindness they've received from so many people who have come to entertain them and help them pass the time.

We all need to focus on the love.We need to work at building a circle of giving so that we can diffuse the cycle that turns fear turn into hatred.

Sometimes I hear people say that birthday parties are so much less important than other needs for people in distress. But at Birthday Angels we think that it's a matter of approach.

You can help people through their misery, or relate to them through human kindness and joy.
Whoever thinks that parties are of lesser importance during war times should have been at Matnas Kadima today which hosted hundreds of children from Netivot and Shaar Hanegev this week so that they could escape the incessant bombing and fear that has been their every day reality for the past 8 years.


Teenage volunteers and I took all the children from ages 8-14 and gave them a great time filled with games and activities which enabled them to take their mind off their troubles.
In the last game called the Wishing Tree Game the kids had to write their name on a leaf and stick it in the poster. We then picked the leaves and the child whose name was picked was asked to make a wish.

One of the girls, Ziv, said: "I hate that there is war, but it makes me happy that all of you are treating us so kindly".

So, I ask you, is giving children a couple of hours of joy important for the war effort?
We think so and so do they.