WEST BANK, Israel -- A group of Americans this weekend visited all West Bank and Gaza Jewish communities slated for evacuation in July as part of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's withdrawal plan, and spent the Jewish sabbath in a Gaza community at which mortar shells were fired during their stay.
Participants planting tree in West Bank (photo: WND) |
U.S. philanthropist Dr. Irving Moskowitz, who gives millions to Jewish causes, led the mission of some thirty people, including top leaders of the U.S. Jewish community, to show solidarity with the people of Gaza and the West Bank who will be forced to leave their homes this summer if the evacuation plan is carried out. The group said they hope to spark a wave of weekly U.S. missions to Gaza to protest the withdrawal in spite of a recent State Department warning against travel to the area.
"I felt completely safe. Americans need to come here to see what these so-called settlements are all about," said Moskowitz's wife, Cherna. "These are not Jewish caravans in the middle of Arab communities. These are beautiful, spacious, modern homes with businesses and schools surrounded by lush landscapes and a gorgeous beach. The people here, unlike the media representation of so-called settlers as extremists, represent some of the best that humanity has to offer. And the neighborhoods are peaceful and secure."
The mission landed in Israel Thursday and headed straight to the West Bank, where they visited all four communities there slated for evacuation. The group toured schools, community centers and homes. They planted trees in one of the neighborhoods, and then helped lay the foundation for a new synagogue.
"We hope and we are certain these trees and this synagogue will flourish in the continued presence of the Jewish community here. People need to visit these areas and see for themselves that the Israeli government is making the biggest mistake by talking about giving up beautiful towns," said Adele Bernstein, one of the mission participants.
The next day, the tour headed to Gush Kattif, the largest of the Gaza Jewish communities, where they visited businesses, restaurants, yeshivas, and a local beach. They went to several Kattif areas, including nearby Neztrarim, a community about a mile from Gaza City repeatedly hit with Qassam rockets and mortars.
"To see the areas hit is to bear witness to many incredible miracles," said participant Rabbi Pesach Lerner, executive vice president of the National Council of Young Israel. "So many rockets landed in homes and no one was hurt or killed. We visited a shul (synagogue) that was hit in the middle of services, and miraculously no one was injured. We saw a vacant house that was destroyed on the inside except for the walls that had pictures of rabbis."
The mission toured Kattif's famous greenhouses, which provide Israel with nearly seventy percent of its produce and feature some of the most advanced agricultural technology in the world, including high-tech temperature regulation and insect-free produce.
The Israeli government has been conducting negotiations about handing over the Gaza greenhouses to the Palestinians as part of the disengagement plan.
Group building synagogue in settlement slated for evacuation (photo: WND) |
"People don't realize the incredible work that has been put into the land here," said Dr. Joseph Frager, a New York Jewish activist. "How can we contemplate asking Israelis to just give up these enormous greenhouses? It's a shame to think this area, teeming with life, might be turned over to Hamas terrorists who will use the land to stage attacks against Israel."
The group stayed in various Kattif communities for the Sabbath, eating and praying with residents, including the town's mayor and several local Knesset members.
"It was the most exhilarating Shabbat of my life," said Mrs. Moskowitz. "Here I am in the middle of Gaza, and I feel safer and more at peace here than at my home in Miami Beach. The perception in America is that these are unsafe military zones with constant violence. Actually, these Jewish communities are like a Garden of Eden, where you don't have to lock your doors or worry about crime. Kids can play safely in the streets. It's not what you see on television."
Participant Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, said, "By spending Shabbat in Gaza, every false stereotype promoted by the media and the Israeli left has been shattered in the minds of all of us here. These include that the Jewish section of Gaza is a hell hall and a slum, not the gorgeous suburban beachfront community that we see with normal, hard working physically and spiritually beautiful people. Also these areas are not in the middle of Arab towns at all. Any American would be delighted to spend a weekend here."
The weekend also featured some unexpected thrills. Several hours before the sundown marked the end of Shabbat, 27 mortars were lobbed at the neighborhoods being visited. The mortars were fired, reportedly by Hamas, in response to the IDF on Friday killing three Palestinians who ran at an IDF post after attempting to smuggle weapons from Egypt into Gaza.
One mortar damaged a house, most exploded in empty fields, except for a mortar that failed to explode and needed to be detonated by an Israeli bomb squad.
"It sounded like a door slamming shut," said Dr. Frager. "But after we heard the sound a few more times, we realized what was happening."
With Palestinian suicide bombers having trouble infiltrating Israel because of the security fences in the West Bank and Gaza, terror organizations have been stepping up rocket and mortar attacks against Jewish settlements. Analysts say Hamas will likely increase attacks as the Gaza disengagement drawn closer so they can claim to their supporters Israel retreated under fire.
The group continued their tour in spite of the attack, and after Shabbat headed to Israel's international airport to catch flights back to America.
Participants said the experience changed their perception of the Gaza evacuation plan. Many voiced concern Jewish communities in Gaza being vacated may be used by terrorists to stage attacks against Israel, and warned Palestinian groups will view the retreat as a vindication for terror tactics.
A confidential Hamas memo written by Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, and obtained last summer by WorldNetDaily, stated the terror group views Sharon's unilateral withdrawal as a capitulation to terror and is planning to continue its "armed struggle" against the Jewish state until "all territories" are in Palestinian hands.
"The withdrawal, if it is implemented, is an important achievement by the Palestinian people, its intifada and armed struggle, its determination and great sacrifice, and confirms the willingness, correctness and usefulness of employing an armed struggle and its ability to attain political objectives," writes al-Zohar.
"We will emphasize our people's right to resist the occupation [outside the Gaza Strip] so long as the occupation of the land and the aggression continue, with the understanding that withdrawal from Gaza is not the end of the story and occupation is still present in the rest of the lands and that not all rights and holy sites have been returned yet," the memo stated.
Participants blasted a recent U.S. warning against American travel to Gaza. ''The Department urges U.S. citizens to defer unnecessary travel to the West Bank and avoid all travel to Gaza,'' announced a State Department memo.
''The warning is political,'' said Klein. ''They are trying to get Americans scared from coming to Gaza because these U.S. missions really make a difference, and can help get the world to realize the mistake the Israeli government is making by giving up the land to terrorists. We felt completely safe here, and I would urge Americans concerned about Israel to come visit Gaza as soon as possible.''
Several mission participants said they were so touched by the weekend experience they decided to finance more trips to Gaza.
Rabbi Lerner, who wrote a personal check to sponsor a bus to bring visitors to Gaza, said, "Time is running short. We have to get as many people to come here as possible so they can see for themselves the true situation and realize they are being deceived by the media portrayals of Gaza. Americans, especially the younger generation, must visit immediately and tell people about what is really going on."