NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza – She came when it was nothing but sand and helped turn the desert into a blooming paradise with much assistance from then-Industry and Trade Minister Ariel Sharon.

Tomorrow, one of the oldest residents of Jewish Gaza moves out, and she says she will never forgive Sharon for his "betrayal."

Great-grandmother Sylvia Mandelbaum, age "none of your business," was one among the first residents of Neve Dekalim, the largest community in the Gush Katif slate of Gaza's Jewish neighborhoods. She built her house on a sand dune with personal encouragement from Sharon, and endured terror attacks, heat waves and several Israeli-Palestinian "peace negotiations" that included a Palestinian state in Gaza.

Sylvia Mandelbaum packs belongings at the Gaza home she will evacuate tomorrow (Photo: WND)

Tomorrow, two weeks before the start of the Gaza evacuation, Mandelbaum is leaving.

"I'm the oldest one here, I can't fight anymore," she says, fighting back tears. "My neighbors know how much I love them and love this town I helped build for them from scratch. If I was 30 years younger, I'd stick it out."

Mandelbaum immigrated to Israel from New York in 1971. She recalls her first days in Gush Katif in the early 1980s, just after her husband died: "It's funny the way the media says Jewish settlers are living in the middle of Palestinian towns. When I arrived, the whole thing was nothing but sand. Sand up to my door steps. No civilization. Then everything turned green.

"Back then, you came and built your own house. I came because of the beauty of the place and because I could build my own personal paradise. I oversaw construction of my house and built everything according to my own personal specifications."

Mandelbaum, speaking with a slight Brooklyn accent, offered a tour of her home, which is scheduled to be bulldozed by Israel in the coming weeks. Working with contractors, Mandelbaum planted outside her house little fields of mangoes, apples, clementines, figs, lemons, almonds, avocados, tomatoes and assorted other fruits and vegetables.

"They said we were crazy to move to a desert. But look now. We made the desert bloom. We built the most beautiful, peaceful communities in the world. And now Sharon wants to take it all away."

Mandelbaum said she built her house with personal encouragement from Sharon, who as minister of industry and trade from 1984 to 1990, and later as housing minister, was one of the most vocal proponents of developing Gaza, Judea and Samaria.

"Sharon came here and told me I was at the forefront of Israel, that building in Gush Katif is the Zionist dream, Mandelbaum recalled. "He said our communities would last forever. He helped in the government to get us a lot of assistance. He told me this is my Israel. I wanted to say, 'Mr. Sharon, this is our Israel.' Even back then, he was a little disconnected. I will never forgive him for this evacuation. For lying to me."

For Mandelbaum, opposition to the Gaza withdrawal is not about politics or Israeli defense.

"It goes against God's word. It's that simple. We are here in the land settled by our forefather Jacob living by the commandments of God."

She said she is "furious" at Israel's religious lawmakers.

"They are just letting this happen without putting up any fight. They are corrupt. In America, you have a representative from your community in the government. Here, the people of Gush Katif have no one. Worse, they have been turned into the enemy."

Mandelbaum said she is "absolutely heartbroken" by having to leave. Most items in her home are packed in large boxes. The movers arrive tomorrow morning.

"I am leaving because my government wants me to leave. Most everyone else in this community is staying. They are strong. I wish I could be strong with them. I have never been more devastated then I am right now."

Mandelbaum says her neighbors "are like my family. They are closer than family. I watched the kids here grown up and have known them their entire lives. Now, their kids come over to my house, and I throw spaghetti parties for them every two months. They just love my spaghetti. Well ... not anymore."

Asked if she thinks there will be violence during the withdrawal, Mandelbaum said, "The people in Gush Katif aren't violent. They are so nice. I don't know what is going to happen. But I know they are not going to just leave."

Israel has announced it will destroy the homes of Neve Dekalim shortly after the Aug. 17 evacuation and has been negotiating with Egypt about taking the rubble.

"I don't want my home to be bulldozed," exclaimed Mandelbaum. "I know about Hamas coming to take over the area. Still this home is my work. It's my creation. I put everything I had into it."

Mandelbaum originally moved to Israel "because it's where all Jews should live." She was a homemaker and was involved in Jewish communal activities. In 1986, she developed a kind of peaceful litigation in Israel to serve as a substitute to divorce attorneys, and helped establish some of the guidelines still used today in Israeli divorce litigation.

Mandelbaum moves into a new apartment in Jerusalem tomorrow but says, "My heart is in Gush Katif. For me, it will always be home."

Editor's note: "ISRAEL BETRAYED?" – the July issue of WND's acclaimed monthly Whistleblower magazine – is devoted entirely to an in-depth exploration of the controversial forced removal of thousands of Jewish residents from Gaza and the likely creation of a Hamas-run terror state many believe will follow. Read more about "ISRAEL BETRAYED?"

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