New concerns developing …
EXPULSION 2: PREPARING THE PEOPLE by Rachel Saperstein, Neve Dekalim/Nitzan: e-mail: ruchimo@netvision.net.il
“A South African youth group came to visit us in Nitzan. I was asked to be their evening speaker. I warned their tour leaders that I was not nice. “I don’t gloss over the cruelty of the expulsion of the people of Gush Katif. I talk tough.”
I talked about the preparation for the expulsion. I told the teenagers how the army psychologists prepared the soldiers and turned them into robots. “They were taught to avoid the eyes of mothers and infants as they begged and cried to be allowed to stay in their homes.”
The preparation included brainwashing the general public. The people of Gush Katif were known as heroes for having withstood years of bombardment by their Arab neighbors. Now we suddenly became “evil settlers” causing the deaths of Israeli soldiers sent to protect us. We, known for having brought millions of dollars into the Israeli treasury from sales of our vegetable exports, were now called “parasites… a drain on our country.”
We were permitted to protest but warned to “obey the law”. We must not shout “undemocratic” epithets. We were to remain polite and understanding in our sacrifice “in the cause of peace”. We were warned that no amount of protest would stop “the train that had already left the station.” Without even a vote in the Knesset our fate was sealed totally and irrevocably.
We were enticed with promises of monetary benefits. We were threatened by Justice Minister Tzipi Livni with “swift justice”, ie, family prison camps in the Negev. Carrot and stick psychology.
The massive influx of soldiers and police into Gush Katif made resistance useless. The destruction of our homes sent a clear message to our brothers and sisters in Judea and Samaria: get ready. We’ll soon be coming for you.
Last week we began to see the preparations for the next expulsion. The newspapers began their systematic attack on the Jews of Judea and Samaria. [This morning's Jerusalem Post headline: "Ministers warn of political violence as they decry far-right lawlessness"] The idealistic young men and women who have gone to the strategic hilltops in Judea and Samaria are brutalized and condemned. Their homes and belongings are destroyed. Politicians routinely condemn these young people who dare to defend themselves. The army and police do not appear when settlements are attacked by Arabs bent on pillage and murder but routinely arrest Jewish youth defending themselves as “vigilantes”.
The public is being prepared for the evacuation of Jews from Judea and Samaria to the 1967 borders. Just as in Gush Katif the government and media work together to dehumanize these heroic Jews, promising that their destruction will lead to everlasting peace.
We must say “Never again!”
The South African youngsters were clearly dismayed to hear these terrible facts. I urged them to come and live in Israel, for only with idealistic Jewish settlers can our wonderful Israel survive. ##
Our Gush Katif people living in scattered refugee camps have just received letters from the government housing agency informing us that effective this month they will cease all repairs on our flimsy cardboard homes. A second letter informed us that we will be evicted in 18 months. Clearly to make room for the victims of Expulsion 2.
OPERATION DIGNITY needs your help to aid the refugees of Gush Katif. Please make your checks payable to Central Fund for Israel and earmarked for OPERATION DIGNITY. Send them to Central Fund for Israel, 980 Sixth Avenue, New York, NY 10018, USA or Central Fund for Israel, 13 Hagoel Street, Efrat 90435, Israel Shekel checks can be sent directly to Operation Dignity, POB 445, Nitzan 79287, Israel”
Read previous posts about Gush Katif ‘Expellees’ – More Help Needed for the Gush Katif ‘Refugees’ (Expelees)! …Still Waiting …. (Updated), Gush Katif – 3 years and still waiting, Gush Katif (continued): 1000 Days Without a Home — still waiting …. (Updated).
Article by Mrs. Rachel Saperstein with permission, appreciation to her and her husband, and “todah rabah”.
“”Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God.’” (Ezekiel 28:25-26)
3 users commented in " Expulsion 2: Preparing the People by Rachel Saperstein "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a Trackback[...] Hebron spokesperson David Wilder and Daniella Weiss, former mayor of Keddumim, were interviewed by Arutz Sheva INNstaff, “Hevron: ‘The Moment is Now’“. They both shared the many thoughts, hopes, and emotions of the residents and those who support Beit HaShalom. They say they have learned from the experience of the expulsion from Gush Katif. (See our previous post Expulsion 2: Preparing the People by Rachel Saperstein). [...]
[...] Our previous post was an article by Mrs. Saperstein, used with permission, “Expulsion 2: Preparing the People by Rachel Saperstein” [...]
[...] our previous posts: Remembering … Gush Katif and Netzarim (Updated), “Forty-two Seconds”, Expulsion 2: Preparing the People by Rachel Saperstein, and Gush Katif (continued): 1000 Days Without a Home — still waiting …. [...]