Carol Towarnicky: In Mideast fighting, it's all about the children

IN NOVEMBER, as the bus carrying our group of 40 Americans approached the Israeli border town of Sderot, less than four miles from the Gaza Strip, here's what we were told:

If you hear a siren, you have 20 SECONDS to find a shelter. Look for one near a bus stop. If you don't see one, lie down in the middle of the street away from glass, and put your arms over your head to protect yourself.

Twenty seconds.

Later, when we were eating sandwiches at an outdoor table, someone asked, "So, if there were a siren, where would we go?" We could see a bus stop a few blocks away - way more than 20 seconds to reach, at least the way I run.

The odds of our being attacked were minimal, of course, but, for a short time, I was forced to imagine what it would be like to hear the siren and lie facedown waiting for the explosion - let alone have sirens and rockets be part of daily life.

Sderot and nearby Ashkelon were attacked regularly by Qassam rockets from Gaza, attacks that were cited as the major reason for the Israeli bombardment and invasion now in its second week. I was there as part of a trip sponsored by Rabbis for Human Rights-North America when the cease-fire that expired Dec. 19 had begun to crack.

A week earlier, Israeli soldiers had moved into Gaza following a tip about tunnels being dug to use as an avenue to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Soon after, the Qassams escalated.

At Kibbutz Mfalsim a few minutes away, Israeli children stood on the steps of their school and sang for us. Children's music is a blessing no matter where you hear it. At the kibbutz, it was transformed into a prophetic message.

"Bashana, Ha Ba'ah," the children sang. It's a song we used to sing often in my synagogue, and one I love dearly. The English verse goes:

Soon the day will arrive

When we will be together

And no longer will we live in fear.

A hundred yards from the school steps, a new playground with a soft surface and colorful climbing apparatus has been built on the site where a rocket had hit. The roof of the school has been fortified with concrete of a thickness you'd see in a parking garage.

In Sderot, at Kibbutz Mfalsim, children and other innocents - who are not responsible for the actions that created this conflict - are at risk. Hamas is indeed targeting them, and that's a violation of human rights. A war crime.

But here's the thing. During the cease-fire, the number of Israelis killed by Qassam rockets was . . . zero. Some people were wounded. Many were traumatized, to be sure. But the Israeli response has left more than 500 dead in Gaza, thousands more wounded and many more than that traumatized.

Some argue this is "self-defense." But is it proportionate?

And how does this bring "security" for Israel? Hamas has stepped up the attacks, and the vows of revenge have escalated, not only from Palestinians but throughout much of the Arab and Muslim world.

And what does it mean that Israel is in the last weeks of its election campaign, and that Defense Minister Ehud Barak's Labor Party and Tsipi Livni's Kadima have both climbed in the polls following the attack?

And how should ordinary Palestinians in Gaza protect their children, who, like the little ones who sang for us in Mfalsin, had nothing to do with creating this conflict?

On that day in southern Israel, at the home of our guide, we could see a balloon flying over Gaza: an intelligence balloon, we were told. Israel has excellent intelligence - so why then so much "collateral damage"?

IT MAY BE TRUE that Hamas stores its weapons among civilians, but - according to B'Tselem, the Israeli human-rights organization - in seven years, 13 Israelis and one foreigner have been killed by rocket attacks. In the same period, Israel has killed 2,990 Palestinians, 634 of them children. Not included in this number are the uncounted Palestinians who have died from the effects of the 18-month blockade that has kept out food and medicine.

I don't want to say anything that could be construed as a defense of Hamas. I do want to say this: Violence, especially this overwhelming and indiscriminate violence, can't lead to peace or justice or security - not for any of God's children. *

Carol Towarnicky is a member of the Daily News editorial board. E-mail her at carol.towarnicky@verizon.net.