BREAKING NEWS: Avi Benlolo Reports From Israel Under Fire as Hamas Rocket Attacks Hit Sderot

ASHKELON, ISRAEL--(Marketwired - Aug. 8, 2014) -

Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

Avi Benlolo, President & CEO of the Canadian Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC), is on a fact-finding mission to Israel to obtain the most up-to-date information on events in the country. In a series of meetings with Israeli community, government and military representatives to discuss their personal experiences, and to better understand the difficulties they continue to live with on a daily basis, he met with the Mayor of Sderot, Alon Davidie, on the frontlines of the war with Hamas.

"Mayor Davidie told me that Sderot is not dealing with Post Trauma - just with Trauma; the traumatic pain of Sderot from rocket fire and sirens is constant. The price of countering this unending terrorist threat is shock, panic, sirens, shelters, pain, injuries mild, severe and life-threatening, and death. Arguably the price for the Palestinians living under the brutal Hamas rule is even worse: utter devastation," Mr. Benlolo explained. "None of the people with whom I spoke want a war. They prefer peace. But they are united in their belief that preserving democracy and their freedom is a sacrifice without option. They understand that Sderot stands for Israel, and Israel stands for the free world."

To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20140808-FOS800.jpg.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is a leading non-profit human rights organization directly representing over 30,000 Canadian members. FSWC is committed to countering racism and antisemitism and to promoting the principles of tolerance, social justice and Canadian democratic values through advocacy and education. Through its affiliation with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the organization has won two Academy Awards, has two Museums of Tolerances (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is represented at the United Nations and the OSCE. FSWC has a diverse number of programs, including Freedom Day, Speakers Idol and the Tour4Humanity.