|
M&M -- Roses from Israel |
|
"And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose...." (Isaiah 35:1)
M & M ROSES
If you understand Hebrew you can hear live radio from Israel at: reshet bet
There are links off that site to live TV news broadcasts, recorded news broadcasts in English, and lots more stuff.
You can 'read all about it' at these sites, and lots more. some in English, some in Hebrew.
Jerusalem Post (English)
Ha'aretz (English)
Yediot Achronot (Hebrew)
Channel 2 TV News (Hebrew)
A good friend of ours who lives in Kibbutz Ein Harod sends a weekly letter to friends and family. I think he writes very well and, with his permission am providing a link to his weekly letter.
You can click here to read it.
If anyone would like to receive Beni's newsletter, just drop me a line and i'll add you to his list.
Upgrades to this blog are at the top of the listing.
We have been inundated lately with questions regarding our geographic position and ‘the situation’ in the “Gaza Envelope” and what we think will happen. So we are replying to you (and everyone else) to try to answer some of the questions. We have attached a map of the general Gaza Strip environs to this mail.
 click to enlarge then double click for sizing icon then enlarge to full size
|
It seems that most of the time I begin by apologizing for not writing for so long. I think that truly dedicated bloggers keep at it a bit more than I do.
So much has happened since i last updated the blog. I don't know where to start. I guess I'll start from a couple of weeks ago.
For a very long time the Kassam rockets fired from Gaza were mainly aimed at the areas in Israel bordering the northern end of the Gaza Strip.
The area around Sde Nitzan absorbed very few rockets. A couple of weeks ago, the Palestinians set their sites on us and we experienced a week of pretty intense rocket activity.
There was a direct hit on a house a couple of blocks away from our house, the social services office in the next moshav absorbed another direct hit. Luckily, that onw was on Shabat and no one was at work, and no one was injured. Another rocket fell in our fields a few hundred meters from our greenhouses and many more were scattered through the surrounding fields causing only
minor damage.
Since then there has been a flurry of activity to get our defences upgraded. Since it takes a long time to upgrade defences, the first step was to bus our children to kindergartens and schools which already
have secure areas.
Another ongoing issue is that of our prime minister, Ehud Olmert who is under pressure from many quarters to resign. While few people really are in favor of holding new elections barely a year since the previous elections, many people believe
that Olmert should not continue as prime minister, and should step down. There doesn't seem to be much evidence that he is inclined to do that.
The Labor party has held their first round of primary elections. The result could, potentially either put more pressure on Olmert to resign or provide a bit of a respite, depending on the winner of the runoff.
A couple of weeks ago the country celebrated Shavuot which is a lovely holiday celebrating the harvest, in additon to the marking of the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. Almost every kibbutz and moshav have a celebration centered on the bringing of 'Bikurrim' the first fruits. Each agricultural branch decorates a wagon with their finest produce.
The radio and TV have programs of harvest songs and pictures of the waving wheat.
I won't go into the scandals of the President, our former Minister of Justice, the arrests of the former heads of our income tax system.
We may not have Paris Hilton, but we have our share.
OK - I promise to try to keep up with the blog.
Thanks for tuning in.
Myron
February 13, 2007
First of all, thanks to everyone who has sent mail wishing us well and expressing concern about our personal safety. Second, please feel free to respond or react to anything that appears on the blog. Just drop a line to: Response and tell me what you think.
Shalom to you all. First of all, I owe you all an apology for not having written for so long.
I don't have a very convincing excuse, so we'll get right into the blog.
Feb. 19, 2007
It isn't too difficult to be overwhelmed by the scandals, inefficiency, and ineptness of some of our hallowed institutions.
Starting with the president who is under a cloud of suspicion of sexual misconduct through to yesterday's summary dismissal of the chief of police and the assistant chief of police. Just last week a new army chief of staff took over the task of restoring public confidence in the army.
It is a bit like watching the pins fall at the bowling alley. Public opinion of politicians and other office holders is dismally low. The talks with our Palestinian neighbors seem to be on the fast track to nowhere. Even the most optomistic people in Israel are swallowing a dose of reality medicine. It seems to me that
the chances of making real progress towards peace, or a state of permanant non-belligerency are limited, to say the least. Aside from that, however, the weather is improving. The month of Adar begins today, Feb. 19 and in Hebrew we say that when Adar begins, we must be merry.
So we are looking forward to Purim, when all of us can wear a mask for a day and then on to the spring holidays.
There is good news coming out of Israel that you might not have heard about. A medical team in Tel Aviv recently performed a complex lung / liver transplant operation. This was one of a very few similar operations performed in the world every year.
A Leukemia patient was treated with stem cells from umbilical cord blood. The patient seems to be recovering well.
We've had some much needed rain which has raised the level of the Kinneret, but unfortunately, we are still facing a drought year. This will, no doubt bring further cuts in our water allocation for the coming year.
Much of the water used for agriculture is reclaimed water, but the water requirements of modern western society keep increasing, and the supply of water does not keep pace with the demand.
In our immediate area of the north - western Negev the Kassam rockets continue to fall. We have 'enjoyed' a cease fire for the past few weeks but the Kassam rockets have never ceased to be fired into Israel. We have restrained ourselves for weeks and not responded militarily to these repeated attacks.
There is plenty of controversy regarding this policy. There doesn't seem to be a military solution that can completely put an end to the attacks and I doubt that there is a way to negotiate a 'real' cease fire with the many
vigilante groups who fire the rockets. There is no central control in the Gaza strip. The area is in a state of near chaos. We'll have to wait and see what the Mecca agreement brings us, but there aren't too many people here who put much faith in prospects.
I'll try to avoid discussing the investigation and probable charging of our President with a string of misdeeds.
There are enough investigations of high government officials to keep a couple of blogs going. I'll try to avoid getting involved in the mud.
So for now, thanks for coming back. I'll try to be a better commentor on local life than I have been for the past few months.
August 21
There are essentially no more battles between Israeli soldiers and the Hizboulla in Lebanon but the war is far from over. The bad feeling that we had while the battles were being waged are being strengthened by the daily reports of mis-management of the battles, the treatment of the civilian population in the north and the lack of ability of the government to respond appropriately to the situation.
We have groups of frontline battlefied soldiers demonstrating in Jerusalem in front of government offices. Today Ehud Olmert visited Kiryat Shmoneh. He was received with animosity and confrontation over his handling of the war and the civilian population during the war. The government is talking about allocating 4 billion shekels to rebuild the north. The decision is being greeted with cynicism, and lack of enthusiasm and belief. Times are definitely not easy. There are predictions that the countdown to a new government has begun. The countdown to the next battle or war began many days ago. Soon we will be wishing each other 'Happy New Year', Shana Tova. We certainly hope so.
August 14 -- cease fire.
Today was really very unusual. Quiet. serene quiet. Even though no cease fire is in effect in the Gaza strip, I don't think we heard a single artillery shell fired. The North of the country as well as our soldiers in Lebanon and along the border were treated to a near normal day. No rockets were fired and no helicopters flew wounded to the hospitals. We would love to be optimistic. The facts on the ground don't give us much reason for optimism. However, at least for now, there is no firing, no shelling, no killing. I wish i was convinced it will last. I don't believe the Hizboulla will take their ball and go play somwhere else. I don't believe the expanded UNIFIL force will be sufficiently pro-active to get the Hizboulla out of southern Lebanon, prevent them from rearming and keep our border secure.
August 11
Another week full of action, both military and political. I have previously mentioned that Israel probably has more armchair generals per capita than most western democracies. They have been making the rounds of our 3 TV channels and 2 major radio stations. I will try to avoid giving my military recommendations here. However, it seems to me that the media has gone overboard with its reports of our battle plans, the number of casualties to be expected, the jump off points for our possible advance into Lebanon and our targets. In the 'olden' days we kept our lips buttoned and didn't say much at all. OK, that wasn't good either. We had serious military censorship and the morning breakfast menu was a military secret. The 'experts' have already fought and won, or lost the battle before the first shot was fired.
I hate war and wars. I hate killing and certainly I hate hearing about our own casualties. Many of the members and children of members of Sde Nitzan are serving in the army right now. Thinking of our neighbors riding in tanks which have been proven to be less than invincible gives me an uneasy feeling, to say the least. Did we over react at the outset to the kidnapping of our soldiers? Perhaps. But now, we are in battle. We are up against an enemy who has a simple objective. They want Israel and Israelis to cease to exist.
They aren't interested in this border or that border. They want no border. The president of Iran doesn't dance around the subject. There is no doubt of his intentions.
If we accept a cease fire in our current positions, the clock is running down to the next war, and our situation will only be worse.
The 4 PM news this afternoon brought a news report that said that we may not be accepting the terms of the peace agreement which is in the works at the UN. From the reports of the details of the agreement that we heard last night, it didn't look like it would be overly favorable. There is lots more to write, but the sun is going down and shabat is near. We hope that this will truly be a Shabat of Shalom.
August 3
What a week! Everyone who is anyone has apologized for the accidental bombing of a building in which civilians were taking refuge. I wish to add my voice. I don't think that anyone really cares. 'Don't confuse me with the facts' seems to be the slogan. Someone sent me an interesting analysis of 'World Opinion' and what it is worth. Not much. So now the world likes us less. I guess they like us best when we are bleeding.
Most people in Israel are military experts. Either they were in the army, or their children or parents were, or their neighbors or a good friend is a general. We all know what the generals are doing right and what they are doing wrong. What should be done, what could be done. In fact, we, the citizens of Israel will only know when this is all over (if at all) what we did well and where we made mistakes. We can't seriously expect a complete daily update from the military telling us of every success and every failure. We are, of course, a free society and the press is all over the place. The reports of dead and wounded are bad enough, and the fact that there are more dead and wounded on the other side is not a major comfort. I remember the importance of the kill ratio from Vietnam days. As long as we manage to kill lots more of them, then all is well.
But each and every Israeli casualty is 'Olam u'mlo'oh' - an entire world. We learn about a young soldiers love of the guitar, or poetry, or nature, or a girlfriend, a brother - after - after he was wounded, or worse, killed. One of our most popular singers Sarit Chadad went to the Rambam hospital to serenade a young soldier who lost both his legs last week.
The katyusha rockets fall on Acre, a mixed Arab-Jewish town and on Ma'alot Tarshicha, a community which is a merger between an Israeli development town and and arab village which is right next door. The Kassam rockets wounded a Thai worker in the moshav next to ours last week. Luckily, there was only one worker in the building when it was hit. The rocket fell about 150 meters from our lockal supermarket.
We suffered entirely too many casualties this week.
In normal times, the holiday of T"U b'AV is celebrated in Israel as a holiday of love and romance. There are open air concerts in the Negev and around the Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee. There are night time hikes by the light of the full moon, and it is celebrated by giving flowers - usually roses - to loved ones. This year, it looks like we will be skipping T"U b'Av. The entire Northern part of the country is in shelter, many young men and women have been called up for reserve duty and in general, the concern of the country is focused on the war, rockets, bombs, and casualties.
You can get a bit of information about T"U b'AV from our web page . there is a lot of information on the web.
We wish you all a shabat shalom. We hope next week is better than this one was.
July 29
The news of the shooting at the Seattle WA. Jewish Federation is a tragic event. Unfortunately, it is not so surprising. Fanatic individuals and groups have targetted Jewish Community Centers around the globe in the past, and will probably continue to do so. We offer our sincere condolences to the family of the victim and wish a speedy recovery to the wounded. m/m
July 29, 6.30 in the evening. First of all, there is a demonstation against the war starting up in the Rabin Plaza in Tel Aviv. This is one of the first demonstrations we have seen of protestors.
I just watched an interesting discussion on TV. Mati Golan (Ma'ariv) and Meir Pail, a military historian were discussing the progress of the military operations till now. Mati Golan suggested that our extreme caution in not wanting to harm innocent Lebanese civilians was costing our own soldiers lives and by extension, lives in Haifa and the North. He suggested that we continue to notify a targeted village of our intentions to bomb them. To give them 10 hours or so advance warning and then, bomb the village, if that is deemed necessary. He suggests saving our soldiers' lives by keeping them out of areas which may be booby trapped or in which there may be ambushes.
Meir Pail said that we must make it clear to the Lebanese, and everyone else that if Israel is attacked by rockets, we will occupy 'half of Lebanon' to put and end to the attacks. I was quite surprised to hear both of these positions from people who would not, previously, have made those statements.
The war effort seems to be on 'hold'. More and more voices (including my own) are expressing what the plan is. If Israel doesn't regain the initiative, the prospects are not bright. We have made a great start, but this round has to end with a resounding blow to Hizboulla. Hizboulla continues to lauch about 100 or more rockets daily on Northern Israel with relative impunity. In clear contrast to our other military operations, we have not taken this battle deep into enemy territory at the outset. We have done damage to the Lebanese civilian infrastructure while targeting the Hizboulla infrastructure. As far as we have gone, that is all fine. What next? What is our objective? Can we achieve it without using ground forces in a much more aggressive campaign? Israel hates casualties. We, as a society, are torn by each name and face of a young soldier who has been killed. At times like this, we behave like a big family. However, we can't decide to launch a major operation and not suffer casualites. If we are falter now, the next round will surely come, and it will surely be worse. If Hizboulla shows up waving flags and riding their rocket launchers through the streets of anywhere, the day after the cease fire, our deterrant power will not be increased, but rather, decreased. We have some serious decisions to make and very little time to do it. The clock is ticking and we don't have unlimited time. I hope there is a plan which is not yet apparent to the citizenry. I hope so.
July 28
It is always refreshing to read Charles Krauthammer's thoughts. Here is a link to his column in the Washington Post. opinion
Israel today is licking its wounds, burying our dead and doing some soul searching. The commentators, and we have many, are mostly criticizing the decisions of our Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert; Defense Minister, Amir Peretz; and Chief of Staff, Dan Chalutz for their handling of the war. There are very few voices heard in Israel calling for anything but a decisive victory over the Hizboulla. We don't want to have the Hizboulla be able to claim a victory. We don't want to have the HIzboulla on our northern border. But it is a slow road to travel. We try to avoid innocent civilian casualties. It would be relatively easy to go in to Bint J'bel and bomb every house. That isn't our preferred tactic. The latest polls showing the public's assesment of Olmert's and Peretz's handling of the situation show between 65-75% approval. As I write this, the report is coming in of a rocket attack on Afula. I'm not sure yet if there are casualties. The use of a rocket with a 90 KM range is an escalation on the part of the Hizboulla. The official police report, being read right now states that the warhead of the rocket contained 100 kg. of explosives. The rocket seems to be a 'Fajar' In the south, near us, Kassam rockets continue to be lobbed into the Negev. Two days ago a Kassam fell on a dormitory of Agricultural workers in the moshav next to Sde Nitzan. In fact it fell about 150 meters from our supermarket. Luckily, only one worker was in the dorm at the time. Had the attack occured a few hours earlier, or later, the dorm would have been full. We continue to be ok. Compared to the North of Israel, we are on a summer holiday. We hope to have a peaceful shabat, but I wouldn't bet on it. Shabat shalom.
July 26
Another day of war. We have suffered many casualties in the battles of Bint J'bel and Marun a Ras. All of the commentators and experts - and we have plenty - are claiming that the war effort is not going well. Today is the 14th day and we aren't as far along as we should be. The ability of the air force to carry the day is limited. In the final analysis it is the foot soldier in street to street, house to house combat that secures the strongholds of the Hizboulla. It is a slow and difficult job. The commentators are calling for more emphasis on our accomplishments. I heard one commentator urging the army to show pictures of 100 blindfolded Hizboulla prisoners with their hands in the air being led away. Pictures like that, he claimed, would encourage the Israelis in the shelters and put some pressure on Nasralla and prevent him from claiming victory. Nasralla has begun to talk about a diplomatic solution. Here, that is seen as a sign that he is weakening.
At this moment we received the official announcement that 8 Israeli soldiers were killed today in the battles in Lebanon. That certainly puts a pall on all of Israel. I hope tomorrow is better.
July 25
There is a lot of talk about the hundreds of injured in Lebanon and the relatively few injuries in Israel. Let's not forget that every rocket fired into Israel is aimed at civilians and the intention is definitely to kill people with each and every rocket fired. The relatively few casualties is not the result of a benevolant Hizboulla firing into empty lots to frighten us. Israel never, but never, targets civilians as a tactic. We aim at combatants. I'm not sure if the clips of the rocket launchers being destroyed have made it to your TV or not. The launchers are often positioned in school yards, back yards, or in other civilian areas. We try to take them out surgically with pinpoint attacks. more later. July 24
These have been busy, tense days in Israel. We daily hear praise from the army and police of the citizens of Israel who are standing up to the bombardments of their homes quietly and bravely. Over 100 rockets were fired today, hundreds over the past few days. Yesterday 2 citizens were killed by rockets. Property damage runs into the millions of $'s. Today a reporter from the galil said that fires from rocket landings had scorched thousands of trees. We realize that the wounding and killing of civilians and the damage to homes is more urgent than the damage to the trees, but it was an interesting item in that it brought attention to other collateral damage. Today a helicopter crashed killing two pilots. There have been a number of accidents over the course of the past few days. There is a major battle going on in the outskirts of Bint j'bel, a Hizboulla stronghold very close to our border near Avivim. The battles are very difficult. There are face to face confrontations between our soldiers and the Hizboulla. Hizboulla is not rolling over. They are well dug in, in complex underground bunkers, and getting them out won't be easy. Down here, in the south, the battles and the kassam rocket firings go on non-stop. We aren't in the news much, but here too, the battles go on. Yesterday we heard a news item that the Egyptians had asked us to hold our fire for 48 hours to allow them to do some negotiating. The report was that the fighting had essentially ceased. We did notice a reduction in artillery fire, but it never was completely silent. We'll see if anything comes of the Egyptian efforts. Condoleesa Rice is here and there is plenty of talk of a cease fire and diplomatic efforts and 'the day after'. In the meantime, the war goes on. We hope it will lead to a total defeat of the Hizboulla and a permanant change in the security equation.
July 20
Today has been a bit of a strange day. Last night Israel bombed a suspected Hizboulla bunker in Beirut. There is no real way to know who or what was in the bunker and if we got them. We are certainly looking for them and it would be a major accomplishment to get Nasralla, or any of the other leaders. There is much speculation about the possible results of the bombing, but no real information. Today, there have been relatively few rocket attacks on Israel. 'Only' about 20 rockets till now. One of our soldiers was seriously wounded today in battles in the North. Within the past hour there were more kassam rockets fired into the northern negev. Since the actual fighting today was somewhat diminished, the many 'experts' on our TV and radio are spending a lot of time speculating about what will constitute a victory for Israel and what will be something less than a victory. There is no doubt that if Hizboulla returns to our northern border we won't have accomplished what we set out to accomplish.
July 19
We missed a day of updates yesterday. We travelled up to Tel Aviv. The country looks different as you drive from south to north. Down here you see and hear the army. As you go towards the center of the country, things look pretty normal. Traffic jams, people on the streets, and things are pretty normal. We haven't been to the North, but our TV shows constant live reports from Haifa, Tzfat, and many other, smaller settlements all across the country. There, the situation is considerably different. There are still daily rocket attacks on the civilian population, normal life is seriously distrupted. People can't go to work, shops, or children's activities. It is now summer vacation and thousands of children are currently spending a few hot sweaty days in bomb shelters. There are also many instances of families, and settlements moving south for a few days of relief. Right now there is a battle going in within Lebanon, just across the border from Moshav Avivim. We might have thought, mistakenly, that our airforce wiped out the Hizboulla strongholds along our northern border, but that isn't true. The military bases are like fortresses and even after days of pounding, there are Hizboulla terrorists in their bases. Right now, our soldiers are involved in combat to clear them out of one such fortress which controls the area around moshav Avivim. Avivim was the moshav where, 36 years ago, there was a terrorist attack involving a bus of children. The weapons may have changed, but the screenplay seems to remain the same.
July 17. It is hot in Israel. About a million people should be in their bomb shelters or 'secure areas' of their homes. Everyone who lives north of a line from Haifa to Tiberias should be off the streets and in a safe area. During the past hour some 50 katyusha rockets were fired into Haifa and Safed. Most of the rockets caused few casualties. We have been very lucky, so far, today. Israel TV keeps looking for signs of the 'good news' that is coming out of the 'bad news'. Even though there are relatively few 'quality targets' left in Lebanon, the Hizboulla has retained their ability to fire rockets at Israel. it seems that we are approaching the moment when negotiations are the only way to end the current situation.
In fact, we are beginning to hear even the hawks talking about talking. There are preliminary contacts being made but there doesn't seem to be a breakthrough on the horizon in the immediate future. Yesterday, in Hasan Nasralla's recorded message, he threatened to target our petrochemical industry in the Haifa bay. Today Israel has made clear that the price tag for such an action would be the destruction of Lebanon's electricity grid. I hope neither side takes that action.
Today there was increased kassam rocket action here in the southern end of Israel. At this end, there were also relatively few casualties.
This morning there was a radio report about the deserted streets of Haifa. None of the stores in the neighborhood were open. Finally the owner of a flower shop was interviewed. She had opened her shop.
When asked why she had opened the flower shop, she said that people needed to have something beautiful to raise their spirits.
That reminds me of the proverb (Chinese?) that I heard when I began to grow roses, nearly 30 years ago. It goes something like this:
If you have one cent, buy food so you can live.
If you have two cents, buy food with one cent and buy a flower with the other cent so you will have a reason to live.
I'll try to update a little later if there is anything to tell.
July 16.
We don't usually travel away from the moshav much, but we have done a fair bit of travelling lately. There is one curve in the road, not far from Kibbutz Mefalsim where the tanks and other armoured vehicles are parked, poised to enter the northern end of the Gaza Strip. The field just in front of the staging area had large bales of hay in it. Each time I drove past it I made a mental note to bring my camera and take the picture to show you all. Today, we went to Tel Aviv. The bales of hay have been picked up and transported to their home and the tanks have all moved into Gaza, where there is a ground action taking place right now. We can easily hear the sounds of the artillery firing.
Today was a difficult day for the north of Israel. This morning there was a major attack on Haifa involving about 20 katyusha rockets. 8 people were killed by one of the rockets which fell into a workshop of the Israel Railroad.
About 1000 rockets (and other 'stuff') has been fired into Israel over the course of the past few days. All of our experts keep warning us that the Hizboulla has more and longer range weapons. Things are tense, but in the main public opinion is in favor of this operation. I don't think I have heard a single dissenting voice. Everyone agrees that we are 100% justified this time, and we would like to see some kind of a military decision this time. That probably won't happen, but at least the world isn't put the screws on us yet to accept a cease fire.
We hope to do enough damage to hizboulla (and chamas in gaza) to give us a long period of quiet. However there is no chance of a military knock out. In the end, there will be some process of negotiation and an agreement of some kind. So far we are insisting on the return of our 3 soldiers and the prevention of the Hizboulla returning to our northern border as the conditions for a cease fire.
In a televised briefing this afternoon our generals told us how well we are doing in destroying the Hizboulla's military infrastructure. Unfortunately, the most annoying thing happening now is the continued firing of rockets into Israel. That is a very sticky problem. It doesn't take very long to setup, fire, and fold up the launching platforms for the smaller rockets. Our airforce can't find them till they actually fire. There are only a couple of minutes in which to destroy them after that. The hizboulla has hundreds, or more launching platforms. This afternoon we watched Hasan Nasralla's recorded speech. He didn't look very good, but he certainly didn't look wounded and not anywhere near giving up. We hope tomorrow is a better day.
July 14, 2130 in the evening.
The 8 pm newscasts opened with the dramatic news of our attack on the Hizbullah headquarters and Nasralla's home in Beirut. While everyone agrees that this is a symbolic target and noone expected Hasan Nasrallah to be in his office, the message is certainly clear. Nasralla's phone message was full of bravado, but there are many signs that the Hizbulla is not everyone's favorite right now. The Saudi's are openly calling for the return of our soldiers. Our chief of staff held a press conference and warned Syria to stay out of the arena. Just a few hours ago, as a family in moshav Miron was getting ready for shabat, a katyusha rocket scored a direct hit on their living room, killing the grandmother and the 5 year old grandson. The some members of the family had left Nahiriya and sought the safety of the grandmother's home in the moshav.
Many people doubted Amir Peretz's ability to fill the job of Minister of Defence. So far, the commentators are giving him a good report card.
I hope this is the last update for today. Shabat Shalom.
July 14.
Today is quite a tense day in Israel. The last 24 hours have brought non-stop attacks on Israel and nearly non-stop retaliation by the airforce, navy and artillery.
The sounds of warfare here in the south have been somewhat muffled with the heightened activity in the north. In the past, we have exchanged our Israeli prisonors for hundresds of arab prisonors. Perhaps the message we should be sendng is that
we will exchange our prisoners for a cessation of retaliatory attacks on military and infrastructure targets. Our neighbors should learn that kidnapping Israeli citizens and soldiers leads to a swift and decisive response.
As I write, the radio is reporting another katyusha attack in
Nahariya. All of the residents of Nahariya are being directed to the shelters. We spoke to friends of ours who live in Moshav Almagor. They said that the closest katyusha to them was 2 km. away, so they aren't worried.
Yesterday was the 17th of Tammuz, the date of the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem which led to the destruction of the temple on tisha b'av. I hope that yesterday goes down in history as a
day when we took an important stance and defended our freedom.
We thank the USA for the veto cast in the UN which defeated a completely one-sided resolution. We commend Tony Blair for taking the courageous position of
abstaining in the vote. With friends like that - who needs enemies?
Shabat Shalom to all.
Myron and Miriam
July 13.
A couple of weeks ago a few of the children from the moshav went to the beach. While there, a Qassam rocket fell not far from them.
This is what it looks like.
Yesterday was even worse than we knew when I wrote in the morning. 8 soldiers were killed. Today, a katyusha rocket hit a home in Nahariya killing one woman and wounding others. The country feels like we are at war. The radio and TV are definitely on war footing. 24 hour live news reports from the various fronts. The defense forces are calling for the people in the North to get into their 'protected area' which is what we call our home shelters. The politicians are mostly, rallying round the flag, supporting the government in whatever military action they decide to take. The situation brings to mind a motto of the Revolutionary period in the USA. "Don't tread on me". We have been trying to avoid confrontation for a very long time. We pulled out of Lebanon and the Gaza strip. Our neighbors had and have the option to develop agriculture and tourism, build houses, roads and community centers. They have chosen guns, not butter. Israel has been tread on, and I don't think we will stop our response until the message gets through, loud and clear.
July 12
Today is certainly a bad day, and I fear it isn't over yet.
All of the commentators are saying that we are on the brink of war, rather than preparing for a military response. There are reports that the army is preparing for attacks both in Northern
Israel, as well as in the center of the country.
We are engaged in battle in the Gaza strip and now, with this morning's attack and kidnapping of two more soldiers, the situation is extremely tense.
While there has not been an official Israeli report of casualties in this morning's attack along the border with Lebanon, but foreign sources and rumors are talking about 7 Israeli dead.
If that is true, that will be an extremely sad situation and will, no doubt, provoke a very heavy response in the North.
The activity in our region, the Gaza strip, has moved to the back burner. Last night, however, the sounds of warfare could be clearly heard in Sde Nitzan. The situation here, in the South, is quite different.
In the North, the settlements are under threat of attack by rockets and artillary from the Hizbulla. In our area, the major weapon is the Qassam rocket.
That is a horse of a completely different color.
July 6
The events of the past days compete to surpass themselves in importance. The military action in Gaza continues, non-stop. For us, across the southern end of the Gaza Strip
the sounds of battle are constant reminders of what is going on there. At the northern end, the situation is similar. The long range Qassam rockets now being fired
towards Ashkelon can easily reach Sde Nitzan, if anyone wanted to fire in our direction. There is no doubt that Ashkelon is a much more attractive target.
Israel has a strategy, a plan, and a time table. It seems that our Palestinian neighbors have none of the above.
It isn't clear (to me, at least) if the continued firing of Qassam rockets is designed to bring Israel to the negotiating table to discuss release of Palestinian prisoners in retrun for our soldier, Gil'ad Salit, or if they intended to provoke
a strong military response which will lead to censure by the U.N., or if there is no plan at all and anarchy reigns supreme. I believe that anarchy reigns supreme.
Most of the Israeli commentators believe that Ismael Haniya knows where our soldier is. That doesn't mean that he can do anything about it.
If, as is widely claimed, that the orders are really coming from Damascus, then the situation is truly complex and complicated.
As I write, Israel radio is broadcasting live accounts of the battles in the Northern Gaza strip as our troops are advancing along the coast.
At the same time, 100 trucks are crossing into the strip with food and other commidities for the residents of Gaza.
June 25
As I write these lines helicopters are flying over my head and the sounds of cannon fire can be clearly heard.
According to Israel radio, a group of Palestinians infiltrated into Israel near the Sufa crossing, about 15 minutes from here.
The 12 noon news, just reported that 2 of our soldiers were killed, and another is missing. This is very sad news for us.
According to the radio report, we are now conducting an operation with the town of Rafiah and the surrounding area.
May 28, 2008
The weather in Israel has been very warm for the past two days. As a result, we had a spate of fires over the weekend. One of the larger fires burnt the Wadi Hab'sor nature reserve. This is the wadi right near to Sde Nitzan. In fact, our T"U b'Shvat tiyul was there.
You can see some pictures of the wadi before the fire at tiyul. Chag Same'ach to one, and all.
May 24, 2006
I watched Ehud Olmert speak before the US Congress and thought he did a great job. He spoke to the congress and said all the right things. Now, we'll see what the coming months bring.
On Independence day there is a ceremony presenting the Israel Prize to a group of leaders in the fields of Arts and Sciences, Entertainment, Education and Research. One of this year's Laureates was Professor Nachu Keider. I doubt that many of you have ever heard of Nachum Keider. His prize is connected to Sde Nitzan and his work began some 30+ years ago. Nachum won the prize for his work on Tomato Breeding. When Sde Nitzan was originally founded in 1973/74 we only grew Tomatos and we only grew Dutch varieties of Tomatos. Very soon it became clear that the Dutch varieties were not exactly right for the Israeli greenhouse industry. Nachum Keidar and his group of plant breeders began working on greenhouse tomatoe varieties. To give historical credit where it is due, it must be stated that a few years before Sde Nitzan was established, Moshe Dayan, then Minister of Agriculture told Keidar to work on Israeli tomato varieties with an eye to export. But the establishment of Sde Nitzan gave the Israeli Horticulture industry a major shot in the arm. Today, Israel exports vegetable varieties to many countries of the world. Some of them do not recognize Israel and are, indeed, in an official state of war with us. Our seed companies advisors travel the globe teaching farmers from Australia to Zimbabwe how to grow Israeli developed varieties. Mazal tov to Professor Nachum Keidar. We, in Sde Nitzan send him our sincere congratulations.
The following was written by Beni Kaye of Kibbutz Ein Harod. The paragraph relates the story of his niece and nephew. His niece is the daughter of members of Sde Nitzan. We all feel that we are part of the family.
The weekly task of culling news of lesser importance and relating to the real issues has been discarded this week. Instead I will engage in a little nepotism and relate an incident involving an Israeli cowboy Amir Engel who happens to be our niece's husband. Amir and Rochelle run a beef herd on open range near Kibbutz Beit Hashita and on a stretch of state land leased to them near Kibbutz Gazit. Farming in general and raising a beef herd in particular are fraught with hazards. Coping with adverse weather conditions, periodic outbreaks of bovine diseases (which plague Israel from neighbouring countries where they are endemic) and fluctuating meat prices would daunt many prospective grazers. Amir is not a cattle baron, just an ordinary cattle farmer who together with his wife and family wants to make an honest living. Ever since the Engels were leased the Gazit section for grazing a neighbouring grazer from Kfar Messer (an Arab village) has been trying to intimidate him. Attacks on the Engel herd and burning the pasture have been part and parcel of a series of intimidations aimed at driving the Engels from Gazit plot. Recently over 100 acres of pasture at this site were torched by the same neighbour. Without concrete proof the police won't even start an investigation against a suspect. However, this week Amir caught his neighbour red-handed attempting to burn his pasture. Amir called in the Jezreel Valley security chief who brought the culprit to the police and later on he was arraigned before the district magistrates' court in Nazareth. Since arson and similar offences are often treated by the courts as minor crimes, it wasn't surprising that the magistrate released the 'suspect'. This not so friendly neighbour didn't waste any time and responded by threatening the Engel family with threats to their person and property. This seemingly mundane occurrence was reported in a number of newspapers. In one paper over fifty sympathetic 'write-ins' followed the publication of the report. One of them signed anonymously by someone calling himself 'Dirty Harry' advised Amir to "shoot the bastard!" Of course Amir has more sense than to take the law into his own hands, but he doesn't know how he can protect his family and property.
April 2, 2006. I won't bother apologizing (again) for the long break between updates. the events keep falling over each other and vieing for first place in importance. The elections in Israel. The pundits are still chewing them over. Was this a referendum on future withdrawals, or merely a vote for a more compassionate fiscal policy? Is the Likud part of our past, or still a part of our future? Is Bibi part of our past, or will he rise again? Is Amir Peretz a clever politician or a strong arm longshoreman's union leader drunk with power? Did the people have their say vis a vis the withdrawal from Gaza, or was this just a hiccup that will not stand the test of time? Is the rise of the pensioners party a passing fancy or a permanant part of the political landscape? There are plenty of questions and plenty of answers. It just depends who you ask. On our own home front, the latest volley of Qassam rockets was, for some reason, aimed in our direction. A greenhouse belonging to a member of Moshav Mivtachim, which is right next to Sde Nitzan was hit by a Qassam rocket. We can't quite understand why the Palestinians would waste a Qassam rocket on our region as it is sparcely populated. The pictures from the Gaza strip are quite amazing. Essentially chaos and anarchy rule the streets in Gaza. Teh Hammas are accusing Muhamad Dahlan of collaborating with Israel to facilitate the 'targeted eradication' of one of the terrorist leaders. The United States is cutting off talks and relations with the Hammas government while attempting to maintain contact with the more moderate Abu Mazen. So the coalition negotians are the next major event on the national calendar. We continue to watch the jockying for position with curiosity, amusement, and a bit of disgust. When will they ever learn? Next week we will celebrate pesach. One of the great family holidays in Israel, and of course a great holiday for buying and selling flowers. Chag Same'ach to one and all. Myron and Miriam
Friday, Feb. 3, 2006.
Of course the Israeli elections are the hottest issue. The parties are trying to get their lists in order. A few parties (Labor, Likud, Meretz) had primaries. Others, including Kadima are arranging their lists in a somwhat less democratic fashion.
The polls show a slight drop in support of the Kadima after the violent destruction of houses in the Amuna outpost. The police force is taking serious fire from members of knesset who are demanding a judicial inquiry into their handling of the situation.
And now, the sun is setting on Sde Nitzan. Shabat is about to enter. I promise to try to keep the blog up to date. Thanks to all of the people who wrote asking me to keep it up.
Shabat Shalom,
Myron
Sunday, Aug. 30.
Now that the main part of the disengagement process has been completed, events in Israel return to something resembling normal.
I intend to carry on updating this page at least once a week with a bit of insight and comment (avoiding the controversial) on life in Israel in general and in the Negev and Sde Nitzan in particular. I want to thank all of the people who visited this page and the many who wrote to me. The entire text of the recent updates can be found, below.
The political situation is complex and the political correspondents who were drafted into action at the myriad hot spots throughout the Gaza strip and Northern Shomron have returned to their desks to chew over the recent events and gaze into their crystal balls regarding the future.
This morning there was a suicide bomber attack at the Beer Sheva central bus station. The details aren't clear yet as it just happened about an hour ago. One thing is clear, that exactly one year ago, on Aug. 30 there was a similar attack in Beer Sheva. Essentially, there is no problem for anyone who wants to cross the border from the Southern Hevron region into the Beer Sheva region, which makes Beer Sheva an attractive target. The fence being built along the border in the North and Central parts of Israel has made it more difficult to infiltrate there. Therefore the South might see some increased activity.
Around Sde Nitzan, the situation is nearly back to normal. The roads are open, the roadblocks are gone. Not surprisingly, the Palestinians are demanding more concessions from Israel. More withdrawal, more 'confidence building measures'. I guess we'll have to wait and see what they can offer. This morning's suicide bombing doesn't auger well.
Today, Omri Sharon, Arik's son will be charged with a variety of offences stemming from election fund raising.
The information I hear from the various groups of Gaza Strip settlers is that they are interested in settling in the Negev, and are now negotiating for various sites. There are 3 sites which are mentioned most of the time, but time will tell which, if any, will be chosen.
Our roses are growing nicely and I expect to have a bountiful harvest for the High Holidays and through the coming months. The weather this summer has been reasonable, though the past two weeks were very hot. We hope you all enjoy the last week of summer vacation. More to come by next Sunday - guaranteed. Other updates according to developments.
Thanks again to all of you for visiting this page.
I can't ignore the fact that Sde Nitzan is only 9 Kilometers from the border of the Gaza Strip, and not share with you some of the events and impressions of these tumultuous days in our area. I have no political statement to make but only wish to give a purely personal, no doubt incomplete, mention of events in our area.
click to enlarge then double click for sizing icon then enlarge to full size
To enlarge the English map, click on the link next to the map. Then double click on the map that comes up and a little square will appear at the bottom of the map. click on the square to zoom in.
Sde Nitzan is at C-25 at the bottom of the map,
Sde Nitzan is part of the Eshkol Region, with borders along the Gaza Strip from it's Southernmost point till just North of Kibbutz Beeri. There are two other regions which border the strip to the North. The main road into, and out of the Gush Katif settlements is just south of Kibbutz Re'im on the map. This road runs through the Kissufim border crossing. You might hear or read about the demonstrations taking place there at this very moment. A second road runs through Kibbutz Sufa, just West, Southwest of Sde Nitzan. For weeks we have been prepared for the upcoming events by a series of meetings, and notices, about the effect of the disengagement on our lives as civilians living in close proximity to, but not directly involved in, the disengagement. There are to be a number of changes made in the near future. New security measures are to be taken in the wake of the withdrawal etc. Yesterday, the army and government closed the strip to everyone except bona fide residents of Gush Katif. As a result, road blocks were established on all of the roads leading into and out of the area. I had to go to Beer Sheva yesterday and was delayed for a short time white travelling in both directions. In the coming days and weeks we expect some 5000-7000 journalists as well as many thousands of soldiers and police to descend upon our area. We are in the forward staging area of the deployment for the disengagement. Our region is normally a quiet farming area and the roads and other infrastructure is not really set up for the number of cars, trucks, and hungry people who are due to visit in the coming weeks. Our radio and TV is filled with everyone's opinion for and against the disengagement and as the date draws nigh, the level of rhetoric as well as action increases. There are planned marches down our roads and groups of people handing out orange ribbons (against the disengagement) and blue ribbons (in favor of the disengagement) at many intersections. Regardless of anyone's personal position, it is a time of heightened tension and upset in many people's lives. We have many neighbors who experienced the trauma of leaving Northern Sinai settlements in 1982 when the Egyptian peace treaty was signed. The experience of leaving your home and property is not one which is easily gotten over. I will try to update this page with bits and pieces of the news as we hear it on the radio, tv, newspapers and of course, from our daily lives.
Sincerely, Myron updated: July 14.
Unfortunately today's events warrant another update. A woman was killed this afternoon by a Qassam rocket fired into Netiv Ha'asarah. Netiv Ha' asarah is just at the Northern end of the Gaza Strip. In fact, about a week ago there were news reports that the Palestinian Authority was claiming that Netiv Ha' asarah should be evacuated along with the rest of the settlements in Gush Katif. Israel adamantly said that Netiv Ha'asarah was "out of bounds" which meant 'within the green line'. Netiv Ha'asarah was one of the settlements removed from the Pitchat Rafiach (Northern Sinai, Rafiach approaches) area under the 1982 peace agreement with Egypt. In addition, there were mortar attacks on other settlements within Gush Katif. Arik Sharon says he won't withdraw or disengage under fire and it looks like there are many elements in the Palestinian camp who want to push his back to the wall and see how he will react.
While the security situation in Sde Nitzan (9km as the crow flies from the Gaza Strip) has been reasonable for the past years due to the security fence around the strip, the outlook is not very optimistic right now. The major topic of the day in our area is still the road blocks and how guests will get to Sde Nitzan for shabat. Everyone needs authorization to come in to the region. People coming to visit from outside the area need to be registered in the computers at the road blocks. Today there was mostly confusion. Hopefully things will be clearer as time goes on. updated: July 14 - midnight SNDST (Sde Nitzan Daylight Savings Time)
July 16. The events are running into each other these days. We have distributed our area ID cards as well as the automobile window tags. My latest trip to Beer Sheva was essentially uneventful. A short delay at the roadblock heading towards Beer Sheva and I was on my way. I'm not sure what the value of the roadblocks is as there are thousands of demonstrators at the Kisufim border crossing every night. Aside from Gush Katif itself, there is no justification for preventing citizens from driving down the roads or expressing their opinions in a democratic and civilized manner. It is most regretful that the legitimate demonstrations often cross the lines of legitimacy into the area of violent demonstrations. On Monday, there are plans to bring 'hundreds of thousands' to march on Gush Katif. The march is due to begin in Netivot. As of the latest news broadcasts, the march has not been granted a license and is, therefore to be an illegal demonstration. All of that could change by morning.
Palestinian violence is becoming a major event with 10's of rockets and mortar shells being lobbed into Israeli settlements on both sides of the Gaza Strip.
The army is poised for action. The level of tension is high. Sharon says there will be no withdrawal under fire. He means there will be no gunfire. The palestinians think that gunfire will delay / prevent the withdrawal. It looks like a game of chess except that the stakes are much too high for a game. Voices are heard - some, to delay the withdrawal, others to begin withdrawal immediately.
July 17.
I've been watching CNN and Fox news most of the day and haven't seen much to reveal the internal turmoil in Israel today. The evening news tonite is not easy to watch. The pictures of young Israeli soldiers facing off against young Israelis at the Kisufim border crossing into the Gaza strip are quite heart rending. The media home in on young officers who live within Gush Katif facing off against their neighbors and friends who oppose the disengagement. Many rabbis from 'yeshivot hesder' are calling for young religious soldiers and officers to disobey orders when they run counter to the rabbis' dictates. The conflict is extreme.
The huge demonstration planned for this afternoon has been, at least temporarily, thwarted by the police preventing the busses from reaching Netivot. The attorney general today ruled that if the buses carried people intending to violate the law, the busses could be stopped. The entire situation is bringing up serious questions of democracy, freedom of speech, expression and the right to demonstrate.
July 18
Today, the issue of the withdrawal has been replaced by the issues which arose yesterday regarding the right to demonstrate, etc. Today there have been a number of appeals to the Supreme Court against the decision of the police to prevent busses from leaving the major cities on the grounds of 'intent to commit a crime' . The Supreme Court is taking this very seriously and is expanding the number of judges who will hear the case. As I write, there is a large gathering of anti-disengagement supporters in moshav Kfar Maimon, near Netivot. Since the weather is extremely hot, the organizers have decided to postpone the beginning of the march on the next leg of the demonstration to take them to the Kisufim border crossing. However, the demonstration is set to begin when the weaather cools off, in a few hours. It will be an interesting evening. There have been calls for restraint from the leaders of the demonstration and an attempt to lower the level of the violence between the police and the demonstrators.
Surprisingly, everyone who has set off for Sde Nitzan has reached us with only minimal delays. Updated: July 19. Kfar Maimon was described by an Israeli newsman as a modest farming village in the Northern Negev. We have friends who live on Kfar Maimon, and have been there many times. In addition to the farming village, there is a Yeshiva at Kfar Maimon. I'm not sure exactly where the thousands of people are right now. I assume that many of them are in the area of the Yeshiva, and not the area of the farms and homes. A few of the children of Sde Nitzan serve in the police force. Yesterday one of them, who normally is a detective in the center of the country was bussed down to the Kfar Maimon region to reinforce the many thousands of soldiers and police already here. They were bussed down with insufficient food and water and with essentially no facilities to sleep out in the fields. I think many of the demonstrators are more prepared for this confrontation than the security forces.
Please remember that all of the TV stations show the same clips of the physical confrontations over and over and over again. The impression is of ongoing and perhaps escalating violence. As of now, the level of physical violence has been relatively minor, given the number of people involved and the difficult physical conditions. Tomorrow's weather forecast is for 37C - nearly 100 degrees F.
For the past couple of days, we haven't heard a word from the residents of Gush Katif. The only ones talking are representatives of the west bank settlements, and politicians. Those most directly involved are barely visible.
The Kfar Maimon standoff is now over. The demonstrators have gone home. Luckily, all sides made an extra effort to avoid violence and indeed, the level of physical confrontation was very low. It isn't clear if this will be the last mass rally, or whether there will be more. It isn't clear what the settler's plans are for the period of 'ben hametzarim'. There is some talk from government sources suggesting that mass demonstrations during this period could precipitate early implementation of the disengagement plan.
A little historical footnote from my friend Beni Kaye who used to live in Kibbutz Nirim and now lives in Kibbutz Ein Harod:
Eighty eight years ago across this same expanse between Netivot and Kissufim General Sir Edmund Allenby leading the Egyptian Expeditionary Force [a mainly British army with auxiliary Australian, New Zealand and other units] broke the Turkish line of defence, captured Beer Sheva and Gaza and reached Jerusalem three weeks before Christmas 1917. This was the start of the 30 year British presence in Palestine.
Allenby had replaced General Sir Archibald Murray who in two unsuccessful attempts to capture Gaza lost 6,400 men and subsequently his command. Murray fielded a larger army than the Turkish army which was under a German command, he had the advantage of superior weapons including tanks , heavy artillery and the British fleet off the Gaza coast, however his stonewall tactics failed miserably. Allenby realized that he had to secure the Beer Sheva wells, a direly needed water supply for his army before he could attack Gaza. Following an all-day battle at the southern approach to Beer Sheva an Australian Light Horse unit finally penetrated the Turkish defences and secured control over the town's wells before the Turks could execute a prepared plan to contaminate them. Allenby's ordinance maps contain long forgotten place names, superseded by the names of new communities which settled in this arid region after 1946.
On our own little home front, it is getting harder to travel in the area. There are more road blocks, with more frequent road closures. Hopefully, with the dispersal of the masses from Kfar Maimon, we will have a bit of calm before the actual disengagement begins in mid August.
Sunday, July 24:
Bloody Weekend.
This has certainly been a bloody weekend. Starting with the reports of the bombs in Sharm el Sheik. That is one of the most beautiful spots in the world. Before the peace treaty with Egypt I used to go to Sinai and Sharm fairly regularly. It is really beautiful down there. I haven't been there in years. The target of the attack seems to be Huseni Mubarak and the government of Egypt rather than Jews, Israelis, Americans or the west, in general. That doesn't minimize the carnage, and explanations are really irrelevant when dealing with acts of wanton murder and destruction, but we, humans, seem to need to know 'why?' things happen.
A couple from Jerusalem was murdered leaving Gush Katif on Saturday night and 5 others were wounded. The Gush and the roads into and within the strip are theoretically swarming with Israeli forces and yet the murderous attack took place. We killed the terrorists who carried it out, but the fact that the attack occured at all is most tragic and disturbing.
On Friday night a terrorist bomb attack was thwarted when the two people involved in the plot were both captured. The one with the bomb was captured near Sderot, at the Northern end of the strip.
July 26:
Yesterday's images of the IDF chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yisrael Weiss being attacked by rabble rouses in Gush Katif were more than a reasonable person can bear. Few, if any, of the people attacking him, were bona fide residents of the Gush or people who were affected by the very serious nature of his visit. He came to speak to bereaved families about arrangements to move the graves of their loved ones when the disengagement process is finished. Today, in an interview on the radio, Rabbi Weiss said that when people sink to 'sub-human' levels, their actions and words don't disturb him.
Today the final 'dress rehearsal' for the disengagement began in an army base near here. Some 5000 troops and police will go over each and every aspect of the procedure. The army assures us that every scenario has been taken into consideration. I doubt that that is true, but I'm sure the army will do its best.
In addition, the army spokesman has set out fairly unreasonable restrictions to the free movement of the press during the disengagement process. I would assume that the Supreme Court will strike them down if they are challenged in the courts. Similar restrictions were implemented during the evacuation of Northern Sinai in 1982. Those too, were struck down by the Supreme Court.
For the information of those who were concerned, my rose plants arrived without a problem and are happily planted in the greenhouses. I hope they will be in production in time for Rosh Hashanah. If not, they will be available to decorate your sukkah!
Friday afternoon, July 29.
The plans for next week's demonstration(s) in Sderot, and we have heard, in Ofakim and Netivot , are to be, perhaps the last major gathering of the anti disengagement forces. As of now the leaders are still declaring that they will march to the Gush and the police are making it clear that they won't allow any one to march to the Gush. The demonstrations, and the planned demonstrations are getting ugly. The members of Nisanit are planning to wear concentration camp prisoner uniforms when the security forces arrive. The use of the Holocaust symbolism is not winning them too many friends. There are, in Israel, lines which should not be crossed. The plans to beef up the security measures in the settlements surrounding the Gaza strip are moving ahead. How much will actully be done, and how much will be delayed by lack of funds is yet to be seen. We have heard the talk about improving the security situation in Sderot since the Qassams began to fly, but there are still many holes in the defense system.
Right now, there is a massive dress rehearsal going on in the army base near here. Thousands of soldiers and police are going through maneuovers, practicing every possible scenario likely - and hopefully, unlikely - to be encountered during the disengagement. We, the spectators, get to watch the horrifying dress rehearsal on TV every evening - somehow to prepare ourselves for the more horrifying spectacle of the actual event - coming soon to a screen in your home!
Sde Nitzan will be home to a small unit of soldiers who will be involved in the disengagement. We have put our moadon (community center) at the disposal of the unit for the duration. Though there is a large military base, called the 'tent city' near us we are putting facilities, which will be more appropriate to the unit's task, at their disposal .
Shabat Shalom to one and all. And to those of you who are fortunate enough to have M&M Roses from Israel on your shabat table, a special thank you, and shabat shalom. To those of you who missed ordering M&M Roses from Israel this week, you can still order for next week.
Monday, Aug.1:
Greenhouses in Gush katif. There are about 4500 dunam (roughly 1000 acres) of greenhouses in Gush Katif. Over the course of the past couple of weeks there was a major effort made by the Minister of Agriculture as well as the growers organizations to prevent these greenhouse being handed over to the Palestinians. The main reason was that the potential competition from the Palestinians in our (Israeli farmers') markets could be harmful to our own marketing efforts. In the final analysis it seems that all, or nearly all of the greenhouses will be sold to either an American or World Bank agency (I'm not sure which) for about $4000 per dunam. The greenhouses will then be sold or turned over to the Palestinians.
For many years the farmers in Gush Katif have worked land within the green line. In fact the area in cultivation in our region (Chevel Eshkol) is more than 4 times greater than the area within the Gush itself. Much of that land is right around Sde Nitzan. The settlements are organized in a cooperative entity called "Macha" which stands for ' the farms of the Gaza region'. All of the agricultural activity on that land will, of course continue without skipping a beat. In addition some other settlements rent land in Israeli settlements. Some of the large farmers have entered into partnerships or other working arrangements with kibbutzim both in our area and farther afield. The farmers who are faced with loss of income and loss of a season are, mostly, the small farmers who did not organize themselves in time to make arrangements for the coming season.
The plans for tomorrow's (Tuesday) demonstration seem to be pretty fluid right now. News broadcasts are fairly contradictory ranging from 'agreement to hold demonstrations in Sderot' to police / army plans to stop busses with demonstrators well in advance of the Negev, thereby preventing the demonstration and also any potential march or rush on the Gush. There are also reports that the demonstration will take place in Ofakim and at Park Eshkol.
Getting to Sde Nitzan this evening has required a bit of extra patience. In addition to the regular road blocks there is a bit of extra security activity going on that has complicated the situation a bit more. I hope to have a couple of new pictures posted withing a day or so. Please feel free to send the webaddress of this page to any and all of your friends.
Thursday morning, August 4.
From the sublime to the ridiculous in 100 km.
Yesterday, we drove to North, to take our granddaughters to an exhibition at the "Eretz Yisrael Museum" in Ramat Aviv. The exhibition is of Chinese Dragons. There were big dragons, small dragons, moving dragons, smoke spewing dragons, dragons with 7 heads as well as Chinese lanterns, beautiful mannikins with Chinese embroidered silk costumes, and large crowds of young and old enjoying the show. The exhibition opened at dusk and the entire effect was beautiful and most impressive.
We left Tel Aviv at around 9 in the evening. We drove South and everything seemed normal (except for the news broadcasts which were, of course, full of the demonstration at Ofakim). On our way home we went through 2 checkpoints and 2 roadblocks. Since our car has a Eshkol Region resident's tag and we have special ID cards for the period of the disengagement, we were waved through the checkpoints and roadblocks with only a few moments delay. As we passed Kibbutz Mefalsim we saw part of the considerable
military preparations for dealing with any Palestinian escalation of agressive behavior. The roadblocks and checkpoints were meant to prevent extreme opponents of the disengagement from infiltrating into Gush Katif. During the day we were 'treated' to some tidbits from the World Bank's report on the state of the Israeli economy and government. The World Bank statistics were presented by Business Data Israel. The report came as no major surprise to many of us, but now, it seems it is 'official'. The final paragraph states:
"Israel is considered one of the riskiest places in the Western world, with an unstable, inefficient regime, low accountability, a relatively high rate of state corruption and poor law enforcement," BDI said, based on the World Bank report. BDI economists noted that the low indices hamper foreign investment, raise risk premiums on financial markets and hurt resource allocation."
So, altogether we felt like we were on a rocket ride from Chinese Dragons to Palestinian dragons to right wing dragons to the dragon of our own inefficiency and blundering. Let's hope tomorrow looks better.
As a postscript to the information about the sale of the Gush Katif greenhouses: it now appears that perhaps the arrangement to transfer the greenhouses to Palestinians will not go forward. The situation is not clear (to me, at least) as of now.
Friday Morning, August 5.
From one end of the political spectrum to the other, loud condemnation is heard of the actions of Eden Natan-Zada's attack on a bus in Shfaram yesterday. I don't think Eden represented anyone, or anything. Perhaps he was just a sick, disturbed young man. The fact that he targeted Israeli Druze citizens only doubly compounds the tragedy. This is not the way of any civilized human being. Yes, the Arab terrorists do the same thing. We strongly and loudly condemn them as being the dregs of humanity. Eden Natan-Zada must be condemned in the same strong terms.
I hope there will be something more positive to post later today.
Shabat Shalom from Sde Nitzan.
Saturday night, August 6.
The Israeli army has a proud record. We have some of the most highly trained and competent crack fighting units. Our air force is one of the best in the world. Our intelligence units have great successes to their credit. Our army has taken upon itself to bring underprivileged and under educated inductees and invested time, funds, and effort to bring them up to standard, educationally. We have always prided ourselves on the army's policy of a universal draft to have every citizen take part in the defense of Israel. We can, indeed be proud of Tzahal.
Our army has a long history of creating 'committees of enquiry' to investigate the army's shortcomings. Often, the conclusions of these committees are not implemented.
It seems that the tragic killing of innocent citizens at the hands of Eden Natan Zada will be the subject of another committee of enquiry.
Israel radio reports that a mental health officer classified him as unfit for combat when he was inducted and made a note that he should be watched by the mental health officer in his unit. He was AWOL since June and desperate pleas and warnings from his family that he is potentially dangerous were not heeded. One of our high profile military correspondents, Carmela Ben Menashe, passed the information on to her sources. Nothing was done. Tonite we hear, again the words - a breakdown in the system - to describe the mishandling of the entire tragic story.
Shavua tov.
Update: Thursday Aug. 10
It has been a busy week. Bibi quit the government. Cynics say he did it when it was safe. Next year's budget has been prepared, his resignation is 'too little, too late' to stop the disengagement, and the polls were firmly on his side. He has now left the country, and the huge demonstration planned for tonite in Kikar Rabin, without their most charismatic keynote speaker.
The media circus surrounding the disengagement goes on. Each of the Israeli TV networks (there are 3) and the radio stations each have dramatic music and graphics to attract the listening and viewing audience to their coverage.
For the past few days the media have been homing in on each settlement in turn, describing the physical and community structure of the settlement. I heard one interview with a 14 year old girl from the gush and a 37 year old woman who was 14 when she had to leave her home in Northern Sinai after the Egyptian peace treaty. The woman spoke from first hand experience and the empathy was evident in the conversation.
The actual evacuation / removal / exile / resettling of the settlers will be in full swing on Wednesday. Sunday morning each home, each family in the Gush will be notified that they have 48 hours to remove themselves from the Gush. They are to be assisted in any number of ways if they do that. On Wednesday, at the end of the 48 hour period the plans are to have a unit of soldiers surround each settlement, another unit will knock on the door of each family and begin to remove them - by force - if necessary. The plans are to have 4 soldiers for each family member to remove them from their homes.
We have been listening to ads on TV and radio in which a soothing male voice explains that adequate preparations have been made to house and assist each family who leaves the gush. There are schools, jobs, homes, agricultural land all ready and waiting for the present occupants of the gush according to the narrator. The guitar background music and the soothing voice are very believable. Unfortunately, there is any number of interviews with evacuees for us to realize that the situation 'on the ground' is not exactly as it is described in the ads. If we have enough police and soldiers to assign 4 of them to each settler, why don't we have enough government employees to really solve the complex and sometimes heart rending problems of the settlers? I know for a fact that our regional council (Hevel Eshkol) has plans for housing, schooling, and agriculture for which there is no government finance. The government is happy for us to make the plans, but they won't give us any money to actually make the preparations necessary to carry out the plans.
With all of that , there are settlements who have made absolutely no preparations for the events which are going to unfold within a very few days. They have not packed their belongings, nor made any plans for a move. Some people are still planting their crops for the coming year.
The strength of their belief is admirable.
Driving down the roads is getting more difficult each day. Yesterday, we went to Tel Aviv. Normally, the ride back is boring and dark and very conducive to falling asleep. Last night's trip was not at all boring. There were streams of traffic in both directions. Near the new army base at Re'im, clouds of Negev dust were being churned up making the road appear to be foggy. I think that most of the busses in Israel are on our roads. TV tells us that there will be convoys of 250 vehicles entering and leaving the gush during the actual disengagement procedure. It would make interesting viewing if it was happening somewhere else. But it is us. Our kids in the army evacuating the kids who live in the gush who were in school with them a few months ago.
Update, Friday afternoon, August 12
The end of the Greenhouse story (maybe).
The latest report on Israel radio at around noon today is that the remaining greenhouses - about 3500 dunam will be transferred to the Palestinians through a third party. The Israeli owners will receive $4000 per dunam. I have no idea how they will be transferred to the Palestinians, or who will own them. CNN reported Palestinian infighting and greed held up the deal the first time around. You can read it at: CNN Story.
This could be the last shabat for most of the Israeli settlements in the Gush. We all hope and pray for an easy fast and and easy week for everyone. I doubt if that is possible.
President Bush, speaking on Israel TV says he is convinced that the disengagement will lead to more security in the region. I imagine that from his ranch in Texas things are looking good. We are now building a triple barrier around the Gaza Strip. Tonite, a Palestinian minister, Nabil Sha'ath said that as long as Israel controls the air space over Gaza, the Gaza strip remains occupied. What can I say ? I'm not sure that bodes well for the future.
Sunday evening, August 14.
Watching TV and listening to the radio today, and for the coming days is like driving past an accident on the highway. You know that you should just ride by, but you can't help yourself from looking. The media interview the leaders of both camps as well as many, many 'ordinary' settlers, and 'ordinary' citizens. The stories are truly touching. There are any number of claims and counter claims that can be made, for and against the disengagement, for and against the settlers. However, in the final analysis, it is a sad day for all of us. We hope that better days will come.
There is a major demonstration planned for Jerusalem this evening. It is to be in front of the office of the Prime Minister. As of now, 9.33 pm, the police have not given the demonstration a permit. The police are concerned about a huge demonstration which is designed to prevent the cabinet from meeting tomorrow.
The border crossing at Kisufim, the main entrance into the Gush will be officially closed at midnight, tonite. After that, only the army will be allowed to enter. The settlers will only be allowed to leave. Estimates are that roughly 50% of the families will leave the settlements by themselves. Right now, there are many thousands of supporters, mostly young, who have infiltrated the gush during the past days. I can't understand how they did it. Last night we had a doctor come to Sde Nitzan to see one of our employees who was sick. The Drs' name, identity card number, car license number were all given to the army in advance of his arrival. He called me 3 times from the roadblock telling me that he was being delayed. On the other hand, there are many stories of infiltrators passing relatively freely through the Kisufim checkpoint.
Roadblocks have been set up from Ashkelon making travel more than inconvenient. Our cellphones are bombarded with SMS messages. Mostly, the message is - be patient, be patient. Everyone is now checked for their special ID passes. It is a slow process. Temperatures are near 100 degrees every day. The outlook for the coming days is hot.
Monday, August 16
Watching the images of the officers entering the various settlements this morning to present the settlers with the evacuation orders, I am reminded of the movies of how the West was won. Here we see battalion commanders, generals, colonels, and other high ranking officers approaching 'the Chiefs' of the settlements. The cavalry is parked a few hundred meters away and the Generals and Chiefs are negotiating. The General meets the rabbi. The scenes of young girls, women, mothers and fathers weeping and embracing the police and army are very touching. The security forces are acting with great self control, discipline,
Settlers in some of the settlements have destroyed their own homes rather than leave them to the bulldozers.
In the end, we have to realize that with all of the heartache and grief, this is not a Holocaust, it is not the Spanish Inquisition, it is not a pogrom.
The TV commentators have begun the inevitable process of discussion, evaluation, introspection, analysis of the disengagement, the events leading up to it, and the ' day after'. What will be? How will we reconnect? Can we be 'am echad' again? Will there be an irreparable chasm between the settlers and the rest of am yisrael? How will the right and the left, the religious and the secular establish a dialog? Is there common ground? Is this the first disengagement - or the last? Did Sharon trample Democratic processes or were the decisions taken according to law? Plenty of questions, plenty of opinions. Everyone can make their own judgment until the events actually unfold.
It is axiomatic in Israel that we all support Tzahal, the Israel Defense Force - our army. We know that they are great soldiers led by outstanding officers. I can't recall feeling as proud as our army as I am these days. The defense forces have possibly one of the most difficult tasks they have ever undertaken. Watching our soldiers facing the settlers hour after hour in the heat is quite amazing. They never raise their voices, they never lose their temper. They embrace and gently remove each settler, each person with great compassion, understanding and patience. Though the foreign press seems to be a bit disappointed that there isn't enough 'action' and they try to emphasize the burning garbage wagons and the relatively few demonstrators who are being forcefully arrested, most of the demonstrators are escorted to the busses "against their will, but without force".
Some of the settlers in their own emotional upset have done inexcusable things. We saw - over and over - the fellow spitting at the ground in derision of the flag on the soldier's uniform. the father pushing his child into the arms of the officer - telling him to take his child - The girls walking out of the Ulpana at Atzmona with their hands above their heads and yellow stars of David on their chests. An insult to Holocaust survivors.
Friday morning, Aug. 19.
Yesterday's events were really a sensory overload, culminating with the clearing of the roof of the Synagogue in Kfar Darom.
Most of the day there were images of soldiers gently and compassionately helping - sometimes forcing - settlers from their homes. Some 1500 families of fine people - "the salt of the earth" as they are often described whose pain is deep and real. When the genuine settlers were removed the army's attention was focused on the infiltrators. The army of young people who, in the main, don't live in the Gush, who infiltrated over the course of the previous days and weeks. I'm not sure about the sincerity of their feelings. However, the small band of delinquents, vandals or - as some say - criminals on the roof of the synagogue, unfortunately has sullied the memory of Kfar Darom. It is most unfortunate that the achievements of years, decades of people's lives in Kfar Darom and Gush Katif will be remembered in juxtaposition with the shameful acts of these people.
For all of the years of the intifada, I wondered how responsible parents could allow or encourage their children to go out on the streets day after day and throw stones - and worse - at the army. Didn't they know that they were putting their children in extreme danger? Didn't they care? What sort of people would do that? Over the past few weeks, and most disturbingly in the past few days we have seen Jewish Mother's holding their children with them as they were carried out of their homes. They brought their children to demonstrations which had the potential of turning violent. They taught their children to hate the soldiers, to hate and despise the government. When asked, they almost universally claim that their children are happy and proud to be part of the struggle.
Sunday, Aug. 21.
There are a few recurring themes now. One is universal disgust and revulsion at the use of the Holocaust and paralells to events then - and now. I received a letter to the editor which someone wrote. She has asked that it be shared by as many people as possible, so i am posting it hereA second is the repeated images of settlers being carried out of their homes, mostly weeping but with dignity intact. A third is the illegal infiltrators, most of them young who seem to be quite willing and able of throwing things as well as toxic and irritating substances on the police. Another theme is the amazing self control of the security forces. It has become a major topic of discussion with interviews with commanders and squad leaders and soldiers. Today we saw the settlers from Alei Sinai leave their homes in a procession to the Erez crossing. None were carried out of their homes. They all walked away under their own power. In Atzmona one of the most moving incidences involved 'Saba Peretz", a father, grandfather and great grandfather living with his family in Atzmona. He said that this is the third time he was forced to leave his home. Once by the Nazis, once in Kfar Etzion (near Jerusalem - conquered during the war of Independance) and the third time, today. He tried to give his ribbons from the 2nd world war to the officer who came to evacuate him.
More tomorrow.
You can send any response or reaction to what I have written, to me. Click on Response and tell me what you think.
The main page of M&M Roses From Israel
Deadlines for holiday orders: click HERE TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT
Roses from Israel for Fundraising
We now offer delivery WITHIN Israel
a few pictures from the t"u b'shvat tiyul to Nachal Habesor
Privacy statement : We don't collect any information about our visitors, and we don't give out any information.
Links to other good sites:
M&M Roses is listed in the Directory of Israeli Agriculture Companies
as well as on many of the other sites promoting Israeli businesses. Please visit them.
American Israel Chamber of Commerce site
The Israeli Partnership Israel Embassy site
Shop in Israel (possibly the first such site established)
White Plains for Israel
You are not alone Israel
JR's shop in Israel Listings
Israel Products.com
You can read an article about us in "The Source"
USA - ISRAEL
And many others.
Send flowers to someone IN Israel.
Here are some more links to other Israeli sites, or sites using Israeli products.
|
|