SIX YEARS LATER

I think the following letter by Rachel Saperstein, Neve Dekalim/Nitzan in Gaza is worth reprinting, since we tend to forget just how the 8000 Israelis expelled from Gush Kativ are still struggling to get their lives together. The plan was that this should bring peace to the area but we have seen now how it has created just the opposite.

She writes "I’m still paying the mortgage on my house in Gush Katif, the house our government destroyed, and now we've added the mortgage on the house we are building in Nitzan," K says to me. We are sitting in the Nitzan Library. We speak softly. After all, we are in a library. My visiting grandchildren are selecting books.

There is a lingering sadness in each of us. The burden of the expulsion weighs heavily upon us.

Despite the saying 'time heals all wounds' apparently the wound of being forcibly removed from your own home by your own people lays open and continues to fester.

K talks about her sense of loss. "Rachel, I feel as if I'm going through another expulsion. My neighbors in the refugee camp are moving away. Their caravilla is removed from the site as soon as they leave. I experience a sense of loss as good friends leave. I know they are moving to permanent homes but I feel the pain of eviction once again. I tremble when I see the empty space that once was a home. I can't seem to pack my belongings. Having to pack once again leaves me with a sense of dread."

"My two sons are in the army" K continues as she pulls out their picture. They are officers in combat units. "Last week there was a knock on my door. It was my younger son's commanding officer, with a group from his platoon. I froze in terror! 'Has something happened to my son?' I cried.
'Your son is fine' he smiled. 'We've come to help you pack'. Though my heart was pounding, I forced myself to calm down and began to give the soldiers instructions."

There is an ambivalent reaction to our soldiers. Six years ago they came to evict us. This time, as we slowly get ready to move again, they come to help us pack. But moving leaves us with a sense of sadness as we say a temporary goodbye to our dream of returning to Gush Katif.

I hugged K. The grandchildren had selected their books and are ready to return to our caravilla for lunch.

Last night I took a walk around the area. The caravillas that we have called home have begun to disappear. Fields of weeds have taken over. Where homes remain gardens are increasingly neglected.

We who are moving to Lachish still have a long wait as building has yet to begin. We are waiting for our Housing Committee to make a final choice of builder. We are depending on the Committee to make a proper choice, a builder with a good track record. There is also the choice of the contractor for public buildings. We cannot move people into a largely unpopulated area without synagogues, a supermarket, a health clinic, kindergartens and schools. So we wait.

As we complete six years of expulsion this Tisha bAv we contemplate the irony that the stories of expulsions on this terrible date for the Jewish Nation will now include the expulsion of Jews by Jews.

Gush Katif Revisited

Having some time to spare between meetings in Jerusalem, I used the opportunity to visit the Gush Katif museum which was established just two years ago.

Most people seem to think of the settlement of the Gaza strip as a recent phenomenon, an outcome of the 6 day war in 1967. However, the museum traces the Jewish communities existence in the strip from way back in 145 BCE.

Below is the chronicle of their history, I hope you find it interesting.

145 BCE Jewish settlements started in Gaza, following the battles of Simon, the Hasmonean

61 BCE Governor of Syria exiles Jews from Gaza

508-9 BCE Largest synagogue built during Roman Byzantine occupation

700 CE Destroyed by Arab conquest

1400-1500 Israel conquered and Turkish occupation begins. At this time, the expansion of the Jewish community begins

1799 Napolean’s failure to conquer Israel affects the Jews in Gaza and they flee the city and settle in Hebron

1835 Egyptian ruler orders synagogue to be dismantled and stones used to build fortress in Majdal (Ashkelon)

1885 Renewed settlement in Gaza as part of wider plan to establish Jewish settlements throughout the country

1910 Jewish school founded in Gaza city

1917 Following outbreak of World War 1, the Turks expelled the residents of Gaza including the Jewish population, thus settlement in Gaza again came to an end.

1919 Jewish settlement again renewed, however in 1929 during the infamous Arab riots, the Arabs of Gaza sought to riot against the small Jewish community. The Jews barricaded themselves in the city’s hotel and the British managed to save them and transfer them to Tel Aviv in the middle of the night. Once again, the end of the Jewish community in Gaza

1946 After Yom Kippur ended, as part of the 11 points in the Negev settlement plan, the settlement of Kfar Darom was established. The kibbutz lasted for 18 months. During the war of independence 1948, the kibbutz staunchly defended against the Egyptian onslaught. In July ’48 the Chief of Staff ordered the abandonment.

1948 War of independence ended with Gaza and its locality from Bet Hanoun to Rafiah under Egyptian control, 200,000 Arabs fled into Gaza.

1956 During the military campaign, the Gaza strip was conquered by the IDF and a Nahal outpost establish at Rafiah

1957 Under pressure from the superpowers and the UN, the Strip was evacuated

1967 After 4 days of fighting the IDF captured the Strip and thus began the chapter Israel’s 38 years of rule which ended in 2005