Chapter Thirteen |The Destruc�on of Gush Ka�f 5 4 10 9 1 2 6 7 8 3 186 187 Even the Germans gave his mother two hours to get organized when they came to deport her. In a democra�c vote of all family members, it was decided not to pack, to oppose the evacua�on in any way, except in violence. 400 soldiers surrounded the house, and when they realized that the members of the family were tough and determined, they let them stay another day. Many conversa�ons about faith were held in the closed-off house. Towards the end, some of the house members went up to the balcony of the second floor to make the evacua�on even more complex, and some started destroying the house while singing songs of deporta�on. The army worked hard to evacuate them. Eventually, the officer begged their forgiveness and said, "You have my respect for educa�ng your children this way!" At midnight, the family held a farewell ceremony, removed the mezuzahs from the doors, along with the flags, and everyone boarded the bus on their way to Jerusalem.61 The en�re Namir family of Neve Dekalim and many guests have gathered to protect the house and even prepared for some sort of warfare. At the entrance to the house they placed a gas tank with a sign sta�ng: "The deporta�on will explode in your faces. "For many hours the soldiers tried to break into the house, and when they managed to do so, they were invited to a summary mee�ng, with everyone crying. Dr. Sudi Namir, the father of the family, who tended to most terrorist a�ack vic�ms in Gush Ka�f and witnessed the situa�on up close, said: "Basically, they tried to murder us in every way, and when they failed, they send Jews to deport us." He sobbed while reci�ng the verses of the Akeda (the Binding of Isaac), and performed one 'tear' (the ren�ng of one's garment as a sign of mourning - 'Kri'aa') for each of his 9 children.62 The children in Gush Ka�f also took an ac�ve part in the family protest. They spoke to the soldiers from the bo�om of their hearts, cried when they realized that no one listened, and even sprayed graffi� on the walls, inside and out, with statements of pain, disappointment at the situa�on, great love for the place and even hope to return when the �me comes. Shahar Elnekave from Neve Dekalim wrote: "God, when you build your house, you shall also build ours!"63 Elroi Odes of Tel Ka�fa hung up a sign saying: My name is Elroi and today I am 6 years-old. If you came to bring me a gi�, you are welcome to enter. If you came to ruin the party, go home"! 64 Depar�ng where Many of the residents did not know where they were headed. They only knew that they were going where the community would go.65 Most of them boarded the buses broken and crying, without any privacy or in�macy, and were taken to an unknown des�na�on - a hotel, a guest house, a school, etc. "The journey lasted for many hours, as part of the mistreatment of us," said Chai Golan of Neve Dekalim. "The soldiers refused to stop the buses mid-way and let us go to the bathroom," argued Doron Gilboa and Ronit Avitan - both from Neve Dekalim.66 "It wasn't un�l I got on the bus that I realized that I was escor�ng Gush Ka�f, my home, to its eternal rest," said Hanna Picard, "I performed the mourning ritual of ren�ng my shirt, for the loss of the Land of Israel, and I felt immense pain, even greater than during my parents' funeral, who were killed in an accident on their way to Gush Ka�f." 67 Un�l they got off the buses, they did not know where they were headed, which added to the intensity of their pain over the betrayal and aliena�on. They arrived with a bag for a few days, and did not know that they would stay there, in these hospitality accommoda�on, for a long �me.68 1 A convoy of vehicles leaves Elei Sinai 2 Soldiers drag residents to buses 3 A convoy of buses leaving Gush Ka�f 4 Uproo�ng what has been planted 5 Taking out the Torah scrolls from Gan Or 6 Shirat HaYam in ruins 7 Neve Dekalim Yeshiva a�er the Arabs burned it down (Photo: AP) 8 A destroyed street in Neve Dekalim 9 Demolishing a house 10 Fire and smoke during the demoli�on of a house
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