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Chizuk group at Midreshet Hadarom in Gush Katif

THE AFSI/ZOA CHIZUK MISSION – NOV. 2004 – The theme of the Mission:

LET OUR PEOPLE STAY!

By: Helen Freedman, Executive Director, AFSI

Forty members of the AFSI/ZOA Chizuk mission arrived in the new terminal at Ben Gurion airport in Israel on Nov. 3 and began immediately to travel to the threatened communities of Yesha. We began in the northern Shomron with Kadim, Mevo Dotan, Sanur, and Homesh, visiting with the residents and hearing their stories and reactions to the impending evacuation of their communities. After staying overnight in the Ashel HaShomron hotel in Ariel, we visited Kedumim where we met with the remarkable Mayor, Daniella Weiss. We planted vineyards in Shilo under the watchful eye of our guide, Era Rappaport, and in Kfar Tapuach we were impressed with the very professional dog training program supervised by Mike Guzofsky, Lenny Goldberg and David HaIvri. Chaim Silberstein, head of Uvneh Yerushalayim took us into Muswara and the Shimon HaTzaddik neighborhoods in Jewish east Jerusalem, to visit the Jewish families living in the reclaimed areas. Mati Dan of Ateret Cohanim guided us through Beit Sarah in Abu Dis where the group posed against the twenty-four foot high “security wall” that splits Jerusalem apart. Some members of the group visited the Temple Mount, calling it a remarkable experience, while others were introduced to the new Begin Center by its director, Yisrael Medad. The entire group was greeted at the Knesset by MK Dr. Arieh Eldad, MK Rav Benny Elon, and Josh Reinstein, Director of the Christian Allies Caucus under the chairmanship of MK Yuri Shtern. AFSI’s Jerusalem Chairman Bill Mehlman joined us there, along with AFSI’s national Chairman, Herbert Zweibon.

We prayed at Kever Rachel in Bethlehem, dismayed by the fact that the families that had moved into the new apartments painstakingly built by Uvneh Yerushalayim, had been evacuated and the apartments were closed by the army. On our way to Hebron, we stopped in Beit Haggai for a tour of a distinctive community catering to the special religious educational needs of young men. In Hebron we had the spiritual joy of celebrating Shabbat Chaye Sarah with the thousands of people who come each year to Hebron for this special occasion. As is our custom each year, we were housed in Yeshivat Nir in Kiryat Arba, and had the pleasure of receiving a message of encouragement from Rav Eliezer Waldman.

The next day we toured the Negev, learning about the burgeoning Bedouin presence in the area and arrived that evening in Gush Katif/Gaza. We were greeted by our friend and guide, Dror Vanunu, along with a TV crew from Israel’s Channel 2 news. They enjoyed interviewing our group, a band of orange-shirted avid supporters of Gush Katif. The next day we heard that rockets had landed in Nissanit, in a private home, and in the kindgergarten schoolyard. We immediately altered our itinerary and traveled to Nissanit, viewed the damaged home, and learned that once again, miraculously, no one had been killed, although five people were taken to the hospital. At the school we distributed toys and enjoyed mingling with the children. We then went on to Netzarim, thrilled with viewing the synagogue which had been built by members of the community in slow stages, and it was now complete and gleaming in the sunshine. We spent the day traveling from community to community in Gush Katif, and some of the group actually went swimming in the sea when we stopped for lunch at the Pagoda restaurant. Tuesday evening, Nov. 9, we were able to listen to the broadcast of the TV program while traveling to the airport for the return trip to the U.S. and Canada. We were proud of the fact that over one million viewers and millions of listeners heard us pledge our allegiance to Gush Katif. We promised to return to support the residents of the communities should the Sharon evacuation, deportation, imprisonment plan become a reality.

Throughout the trip, in every community visited, we heard and felt from all a terrible urgency about the present conditions in Israel. This was elaborated upon in our evening meetings with Itamar Marcus, head of Palestinian Media Watch, Ruth Matar, co-chairwoman with her daughter-in-law Nadia Matar, of Women in Green, Moshe Feiglin, head of Manhigut Yehudit, and Moshe Saperstein, Esther Lilienthal, and Esther Bazak, residents of Gush Katif .

There is an inescapable reality about the fact that Israel is being severely threatened by the Arab world, most immediately by the PLO, Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. Arafat’s death will intensify the assault, not mitigate it as the competing factions vie to be the new destroyers of Israel. Israel is the canary in the coal mine in a global war being waged by Islam.

The Jews of Israel have an additional, immediate enemy. They are battling the Sharon government. They face intimidation, administrative detention and arrest by the Israeli police. The Israeli Supreme Court is closed to their pleas, and most egregiously, the government threatens them with imprisonment following any resistance to expulsion from their homes and the roots they have planted over 35 years.

Their cries for help must be answered by Jews throughout the world, who feel their pain. The members of the Chizuk mission are committed to assist them in getting their message out to others who might listen and respond.

The next Chizuk mission will take place in the spring of 2005. We will return to Gush Katif, to Hebron, to Jewish east Jerusalem, and to the threatened communities of Judea and Samaria. Hopefully, we will also experience the joy of seeing the vineyards we planted sprouting their tender grapes. This is the symbol of the continuity of life in Israel. Despite the assaults by enemies, Jewish communities will continue to grow and flourish. It is important that we in the diaspora continue to give our time, money and most importantly – our love, and devotion in the support of the embattled Jews of Israel.

Please visit the AFSI website – afsi@rcn.com – to see pictures of the group in some of the many places described above. Contact AFSI – afsi@rcn.com – if you are interested in joining us on the spring trip. We promise an unforgettable experience.

To read about last itineraryPast Trips Itinerary

To read about last itineraryPast Trips Itinerary