4 1 2 3 64 65 Chapter Five | The Se�lements My wife and I remained in the se�lement alone Yossi Neuman: On Shabbat, a�er Tisha B'av 5742, the Kirschensa� and Cohen families went to visit their parents. Yael and I remained in Neve Dekalim alone, with two reservists who guarded the gate and came to eat with us. It was an interes�ng experience. Many days later, when Neve Dekalim was expanding, I tried to tell people that Yael and I were alone in Neve Dekalim, and they found it hard to believe. There is no doubt that this is an unforge�able experience. On Elul of 5743 (08/15/1983) the first families began to enter Neve Dekalim - the first of 70 families that formed the beginning of the se�lement. Some of the families came from the nearby moshavim: Netzer Hazani, Ganei Tal, Gadid, Morag and Atzmona. Arik Tamir, who was the first secretary of Neve Dekalim, wrote to the se�lers in Gush Ka�f bulle�n in Av of 5743 (July 1983): "I would like to emphasize that the current situa�on in the se�lement and the enormous pressure exerted on the issue of absorp�on and apartments does not overshadow the central ray of light - there will be no problem inhabi�ng Neve Dekalim." Neve Dekalim became, as planned, the largest se�lement in Gush Ka�f, and served as an urban, municipal, economic and educa�onal center for all residents of Gush Ka�f. About 600 families lived in the se�lement, and maintained an extensive Zionist-Religious community, which included Torah classes, charitable ins�tu�ons, charity and more. The se�lement featured council offices, religious ins�tutes, health and educa�onal ins�tu�ons, a commercial center and an industrial zone. Within the se�lement there were daycare centers, kindergartens, the 'Neot Ka�f' regional school, the 'Neve Dekalim' Ulpana for girls, the 'Neve Dekalim' Hesder Yeshiva, the 'Torat Ha'im' High Yeshiva, Chabad house and Midreshet 'Tohar' for girls. Three youth movements were ac�ve there: Bnei Akiva, Oz and Ariel.7 On Wednesday and Thursday, 12th and 13th of Av 5765 (08/17-18/2005), most of the residents of Neve Dekalim were evacuated from their homes. The last few families were evacuated on Sunday, 16th of Av 5765 (08/21/2005). Most of them moved to the trailer park in Nitzan, north of Ashkelon, a�er a long stay in hotels. The rest moved to Ein Zurim in order to build a new se�lement in the Lakhish region. 1 The Neuman family at the entrance to their house in Neve Dekalim 2 The council building and the plaza around it 3 A neighborhood in Neve Dekalim 4 Aerial photograph of Elei Sinai Elei Sinai A mixed community se�lement - religious-secular - in the Northern part of the Gaza Strip. It belonged to the 'Amana' Se�lement Movement Three days before Independence Day of 5742 (1982), while the bulldozers finished destroying the last houses of Yamit, and the IDF soldiers were engaged in final prepara�ons for the handover of the rest of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, Avi Farhan, a resident of Yamit, took the Israeli flag and �ed it to a flagpole , and together with his wife Laura marched from his destroyed house in Yamit, towards Jerusalem. They walked a distance of 250 km in five days, and at the end of Independence Day they arrived, accompanied by hundreds of supporters, at the Western Wall. Farhan kissed the flag and handed it over to the guard at the hands of the Rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Yehuda Meir Getz (May His Memory Be Blessed). The event became highly publicized and symbolized the struggle to stop the withdrawal from Sinai. It was clear to the government that an adequate and quick solu�on had to be found for the evacuees of Yamit. The Assistant Minister of Defense for Se�lement Affairs, Brigadier General Uri Bar-On, suggested to se�le families from the Yamit gegion in the Northern part of the Gaza Strip. Less than a month a�er the evacua�on of the Yamit region, the plans for the establishment of the new se�lement Elei Sinai were already underway. In those days, the 'Revival' movement (Ha-Thiya), the most aggressive right-wing opposi�on during the struggle against the withdrawal from Sinai, joined the government. Head of the movement, Prof. Yuval Ne'eman, was appointed Minister of Science and a member of the Ministerial Commi�ee for Se�lement Affairs headed by the Minister of Agriculture, Simcha Erlich. Farhan, one of the 'Revival' veteran ac�vists, wanted to promote through the leader of his movement, Ne'eman, the establishment of a new se�lement intended for 150 families.1 On Elul of 5742 (09/08/1982), about five months a�er the evacua�on of the Yamit region, the Ministerial Commi�ee on Se�lement Affairs decided to establish a new se�lement in the Northern part of the Gaza Strip for the Elei Sinai nucleus, which included se�lers from the Yamit region. The responsibility for its establishment was assigned to the Se�lement Division of the World Zionist Organiza�on, including temporary housing for the nucleus' pioneering group.2 Equipped with this decision, the nucleus members turned to 'Amana' - the se�lement movement of Gush Emunim - to join it. The agreement included a rare clause for this type of contracts: The se�lers undertook to use only Hebrew laborers. A few days later, the Placement Commi�ee of the Se�lement Division toured the north of the Gaza Strip to determine the loca�on for the new se�lement.3 On one of the days of the Sukkot holiday, the 17th of Tishrei 5743 (10/04/1982), hundreds of Yamit se�lers arrived at Gush Ka�f. They held a 'picnic' on the beach, accompanied by an exchange of memories and experiences between former neighbors. When they finished dealing with the past, they started dealing with the future. Avi Farhan and other members of the nucleus tried to convince those present to join the Elei Sinai nucleus.4 "Tomorrow the cornerstone for the new se�lement is laid. We have the op�on to return to the Zionist prac�ce of establishing a new se�lement in the Land of Israel. Do not miss it."5
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