5 6 1 2 3 4 52 53 Chapter Five | The Se�lements I brought the method for brewing extracts from Tunisia Avraham Berebi: In a small restaurant we ate sandwiches with le�uce. One of the diners threw away the le�uce on the grounds that it had insects in it, and then said to me: I am an importer of insect nets, maybe you can grow le�uce using such nets? I started growing mint and peppermint, cabbage and le�uce using these nets. I was the only one to cul�vate these greens that way. In Tunisia, I learned a method of turning plants into extracts using steam. I started making mint extract. It was something new. Only a�er three years, on the 5th of Tishrei 5743 (September 22, 1982), the members of the Gadid nucleus moved to their permanent se�lement.4 They were joined by seven other families who arrived for absorp�on.5 The first se�lements in Gush Ka�f - Netzer Hazani, Ka�f and Ganei Tal - were built in a se�lement model called Model B, where the residences and the farms were completely separate from each other. The advantages of such model are clear: Work does not enter the house, and also aesthe�cally the se�lement is more beau�ful. When they started building Gadid, Zvi Hendel suggested to the se�lers to build the moshav according to model A. "Aesthe�cs are aesthe�cs" - explained Zvi - "We are not in Savyon, and there is an advantage to the fact that the farm is close to the house, certainly an intensive farm, built on sophis�cated agriculture for export, with greenhouses, computers and more. It's enough that one misses the opening or closing of a ven�la�on curtain, to completely kill the crops; therefore the farm should be near the houses." The management of the Jewish Agency Se�lement Department decided that Gadid would be designed according to model A - greenhouses near the houses. Gadid was the only moshav in Gush Ka�f constructed in this model, where the farm was behind the house.6 Later, addi�onal greenhouse areas were established around the moshav, due to the increased greenhouse spaces per family. Most of Gadid residents made a living from agriculture - vegetables, flowers, domes�c plants, insect-free vegetables, spices and organic vegetables. There was also a factory for the produc�on of medicinal plant extracts of the Berebi family.7 On the day of the evacua�on, 44 families lived in Gadid and two more families were in the process of being absorbed.8 On Tuesday, 11th of Av 5765 (08/16/2005), the residents were evacuated from their homes a�er a moving farewell ceremony, a�ended by all members of the moshav. The work con�nued into the night Laurence Baziz: During the first days of Gush Ka�f, agriculture was done within the family framework: small farms, and we learned as we went on. I did study agriculture, but I felt that there was nothing I could apply from my studies. We relied more on the experience of the people around us. There was nothing quite professional. Over the years, we became highly professional. Farms have greatly expanded. Those who remained with a 0.4 of a hectare farm could not advance. We were told that it was not advisable to hire too many workers, and all family members should work, so we worked nights sor�ng Baby-Breath plants. It was very difficult to work all day in the greenhouses and con�nue into the night so that the shipment would go out in the morning, and in unfavorable condi�ons, but it gave a good feeling of accomplishment. Bedolah A religious Moshav Ovdim (workers village) in the center of Gush Ka�f, belonged to the Hapoel HaMizrachi Moshavim Union At the beginning of 5742 (1981), a nucleus of Moshavim from the Negev was organized in the Hapoel HaMizrachi Moshavim Union to establish a new se�lement of their own in the Land of Israel. They turned to the Gaza Regional Council and the Hapoel Mizrachi Moshavim Union, who added another group of Moshavim from the Sharon region, with the des�na�on for se�lement being the Gaza region. In the first phase, the se�lers were offered to reside at a temporary point, the Morag Nahal stronghold.1 During the forma�on of the nucleus, 45 families went on a tour of the area, passed through Khan Yunis, arrived at Morag, and went up to one of the hills for be�er lookout. Only six families responded to the call to migrate to the temporary point, Morag, in the winter of 5742 (December 1981). The migra�on was done in a hurry - from one day to the next. The security system threatened that if they did not go there immediately, the place would become a Nahal stronghold, so the families must prepare the next day by two o'clock in the a�ernoon and wait for the truck. Employees of the Azata Regional Council told them: "If it is more convenient for you, you can go there earlier, during the night...." That evening, the families began to pack their belongings. At midnight, they arrived at Morag through Khan Yunis. The place was dark and empty. The truck driver, who was terrified by the very presence within the Gaza Strip in the dead of night, refused to enter through the gate into the se�lement. The families were forced to carry their belongings into the se�lement by themselves, on foot. At the gate to the se�lement, they were greeted by sparkly eyed Reuven Rosenbla�, Head of the Gaza Coast Regional Council. 1 Avraham Berebi in his extract factory in Gadid 2 Gadid Synagogue 3 A street in Gadid 4 Laurence Baziz in the family greenhouses in Gadid 5 Aerial photograph of moshav Bedolah 6 Pastoral landscape in Bedolah
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