Israel's daily newsmagazine
   Israel's daily newsmagazine
| home |   security |   politics |   diplomacy |   anti-semitism |   culture |   travel |   views | today's weblog  
 
Disengagement Struggles

   



 
Sign up for free!

E-mail
 
         
    Subscribe    
         










Rachel Saperstein is a teacher at the Neve Dekalim ulpana and a spokeswoman for the Katif Regional Council.
ruchimo@netvision.net.il
Previous views
Soldiers at the Gate
Stocking up
Friends For Life
Don't throw in the towel!
Magnificent Children
Roundups and beatings of Jews pick up pace
Gush Katif is now a ghetto
Abe Foxman's second cup of coffee
To un-bury a son
Police arrest quiet hero of Gush Katif; Eli Cohen: "I was Chosen"
"Because of settlers like you!"
Why we refuse to be "realistic"

Neve Dekalim tense as rumors spread of early expulsion plan
Views: Turn the tables on Sharon
High Court rules Gaza synagogues to be relocated, rather than razed
750 pullout opponents detained for attempting to infiltrate Gaza
Riot police in Gush Katif covering up their nametags
Sharon tape rationalizes retreat; foes slam giveaway, evasions, deception
Views: The Painful Progress of Israel
Views: "Commander, I cannot!" The miracle will come through our soldiers
Secret IDF officers' letter warns of last-minute mass mutiny

 
Gush Katif will rise again. But I must leave.
By Rachel Saperstein   August 16, 2005


I am crying. Tears stream down as I write this letter to you.

We are packing. Tonight we will receive our eviction letter. The soldiers will knock at our door and we will answer the door .... Tomorrow we will be put on to buses and brought ... who knows where.

Our friends who have been living with us are packing up my home. I am so grateful they are here and doing this awful work. I don?t care if my things are clean or folded carefully. They are just thrown into cardboard boxes provided by the army, each marked with our name and a blue sticker. An ugly red shipping container will probably be put on our front lawn today, the visible sign that we are leaving.

Residents were called to the town hall for an emergency meeting this morning. Our mayor, Lior Kalfa, gave us our instructions. Rabbi Yigal Kaminetzky praised the large crowd of people who did not leave. Eighty percent of Neve Dekalim residents are here today. We are the people who have held out to the end under the most difficult conditions. War weary after five years of bombardment and a year of extreme psychological pressure, we are still here.

Ariel Sharon has won the battle but he lost the war. He has lost the people of Israel. He has crushed the soul of our soldiers.

Gush Katif will rise again, at another time and in another place. We were a source of inspiration, of greatness, a fight well fought, a fight for the right to be a Jew in a Jewish land.

Gush Katif will rise and the Sharon government will be remembered with contempt by the people.

And so this chapter is over.

Views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.


 Talk Back! Respond to this view



Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.

 
  | about |   partners |   sponsor |   donate |   news |   subscribe |   contact |