Chapter Thirteen |The Destruc�on of Gush Ka�f 4 3 2 1 182 183 The largest and most publicized farewell event was held in the synagogue complex of Neve Dekalim on the day of the evacua�on, which symbolized the nature of the struggle and le� a strong impression on the Israeli public. It was organized by the Yesha Council with the par�cipa�on of 2,000 youth, illegal guests to the se�lement, and was broadcasted on all TV networks, moving mul�tudes in the Israeli public. About 1,000 girls stayed in the Ashkenazi synagogue, and a great singing of the prayer from Psalms 102:1 ("Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto thee") echoed far and wide. The boys stayed in the Sepharadi synagogue. There, the atmosphere was more militant, and the soldiers had to drag them out, one by one. Of course, no violence was displayed against the IDF soldiers there. Most par�cipants were not residents of Gush Ka�f. The singing, the prayer, the cries and the sobbing touched everyone—the evacuators, the media reporters, the illegal guests—and resonated for a long �me a�erward. For many hours, female soldiers evacuated the girls, and male soldiers evacuated the boys. At the end of the day on Thursday, the se�lement was completely vacant.48 At the end of the second day of evacua�on, most of Gush Ka�f se�lements had already been uprooted. On Friday morning, the ten families that remained in Gadid were evacuated along with the illegal guests who were staying there. On Sunday, the 16th of Av, Ka�f was evacuated, a�er three days of standing in the square at the entrance to the se�lement, through which most of the residents of Gush Ka�f passed on their last route out of the region. A�er an upli�ing and exci�ng Shabbat and a special, powerful prayer of "Our Father, our King" (usually saved for public fas�ng days and on Yom Kippur), a one-of-a-kind farewell ceremony was held on Sunday. The ceremony took place near the home of David Hatuel, who lost his wife and four daughters the previous year, in a terrorist a�ack on the entrance to Gush Ka�f. David spoke words of farewell to the place and to his family from the bo�om of his heart, with five empty chairs standing in the background, each chair bearing the vic�m's name, an orange ribbon and a memorial candle. Then, they le� in a convoy, carrying the Torah scrolls, to the Kfar Pines Ulpana (girls' seminary).49 Atzmona was also evicted on Sunday without obstruc�ons or struggles and a�er a moving ceremony in the synagogue, comprising singing and dancing with the Torah scrolls. Then, the residents boarded the buses toward their first respite at Kibbutz Alumim. At midnight, they inaugurated the 'City of Faith' near Ne�vot, where they resided un�l a more permanent solu�on was found. The residents of Elei Sinai also le� their homes on Sunday. A�er an emo�onal farewell ceremony at the basketball court, the last 40 families walked in a long, sad procession towards the Yad Mordechai intersec�on. Sarita Maoz, Chairperson of the Secretariat, said: We won because we leave here with our heads held high. We ascertained that money will not buy us or break our spirit." Aric Harpaz, the father of Liron Harpaz, who was killed in an a�ack by terrorists who infiltrated the se�lement, marched ahead of the convoy. When they arrived at the Yad Mordechai intersec�on, they set up a protest tent, assisted by 150 individuals who came from the Golan Heights, and waited for them to arrive. Avi Farhan, who was also evacuated from Yamit, walked with his family members - his children and grandchildren - three genera�ons, through all the monuments for those killed in the Northern part of the Gaza Strip, holding a short ceremony next to each monument.50 On this day, Nisanit and Shalev were also evacuated. On Monday morning, the 17th of Av, the residents of Netzarim, the last se�lement to be evacuated, decided to leave with their heads held high, without crying and without being dragged by the soldiers. A�er a moving ceremony in the synagogue with words of encouragement, reading Psalms chapters, singing and crying, and preven�ng the evacua�ng soldiers from entering (only the soldiers who defended them during the past months were allowed in) - the residents set off on their way out. They took the large Hannukiah from the roof of the synagogue and began marching with it towards Jerusalem, with Rabbi Zion Twil, the rabbi of the se�lement, marching ahead of the convoy. The image became famous as one of the expressions of the evacua�on, as it paralleled the famous image engraved on the Arch of Titus in Rome, depic�ng the destruc�on of the temple and the cap�ves going into exile carrying the vessels of the temple. The great consola�on was that, this �me, the direc�on was: Jerusalem.51 On Tuesday morning, the 18th of Av, a�er five days of evacua�on, the last family - the Wisner family - le� their home in Netzarim, and not a single Jew remained on the land of the Gaza Strip. 'Private' Protests A different type of protest was held inside the residents' homes, each family with its own style and each house with its own character, everything in an a�empt to influence the soldiers and demonstrate to God and to themselves that they have done their best. Eran Sternberg, spokesman for Gush Ka�f and a resident of Ganei Tal, painted all the entrance doors in the colors of the Israeli flag in the hope that no soldier would break in, since breaking in means breaking the flag. Then, he moved to Kfar Darom to "assist in the only ba�le that ensued in Gush Ka�f," in his opinion. "The main difficulty was that I le� only because I was Jewish, because of the flag I hold in my hand," he said.52 1 Soldiers and teenagers - one against the other 2 Soldiers preparing to break into the synagogues of Neve Dekalim 3 A girl cries and hurts in Kfar Darom 4 Soldiers drag residents from the synagogues complex in Neve Dekalim
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