20 Years Later: White, Blue & Orange, still
The days before the 9th of Av are somber, even the temperatures are harsh here. The air is heavy and dense, and the sea is stormy and scary, as if the world is feeling the unrest, the anger, the pain, the mourning.
Once upon a time, a glorious Temple stood in Jerusalem. It was destroyed, and the destiny of the Jewish people changed forever. Since then, and because of that, we’ve experienced exile, enslavement, mockery, riots, pogroms, discrimination, systematic destruction all the way to the Holocaust. Millions have died for no other crime other than being Jewish. In light (or dark-) of all this, taking the day to discuss some 8600 people might seem almost sacrilegious.
20 years ago, then prime-minister Ariel Sharon almost single-handedly ordered Israel’s “Unilateral Disengagement”, dismantling 21 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, an area known as “Gush Katif”, and the evacuation of Israeli settlers and army from inside the Gaza Strip. Four additional settlements were dismantled in the Northern Shomron. It was done in exchange for – well, maybe hope.
By some strange coincidence / cruelty / random drawing of lots? the date chosen turned out to be no other than the 9th of Av. Once realized, the execution of this “operation” was postponed to begin on the 10th of Av.
The Talmud debates whether it is the 9th of Av which was the worst day or perhaps the 10th?
Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 29:a:
And on the ninth, adjacent to nightfall, they set fire to it, and it continuously burned the entire day, as it is stated: “Woe unto us, for the day has declined, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out” (Jeremiah 4:6). This verse is interpreted as a prophecy about the evening when the Temple was burned. And this is what Rabbi Yoḥanan meant when he said: Had I been alive in that generation, I would have established the fast only on the tenth of Av because most of the Sanctuary was burned on that day. And the Sages, who established the fast on the ninth, how do they respond to that comment? They maintain that it is preferable to mark the beginning of the tragedy….
Our family was visiting in Israel that summer, back in 2005. We toured around, as usual, seeing family and friends and beloved sites. All over the country, there were banners of blue and white and orange, the color of those opposing the disengagement, expressing pain for those evacuated (some would say “relocated” and some would say “exiled”…). At almost every intersection there were people giving out flyers and asking to talk and explain, trying to avert the decree. In other junctions there were also those who expressed their frustration with the “settlers” who “kill every chance for a good deal” and that because of whom, there won’t be “true peace” with Gaza.
We should note: not everyone living in Gush Katif was “religious”, “right wing” or “extremists”. Further: in a compound tragedy, some of the residents there were evacuated earlier from the city of Yamit in Northern Sinai and other places that needed to be “emptied” and destroyed when the peace treaty with Egypt was signed in the late 1970’s. And some just fell in love with the sand dunes, beaches, and quiet.
The government led by Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin was totally behind settling this area. Rabin himself said on the day one of the settlements was naturalized (Netzer Hazani, Feb 10, 1977):
“This is a great day for the state of Israel and for the settling the Land, a day that symbolizes our actual hold on the region, which since the Six-Day War has become an inseparable part of the state and its security.” 9 years later, when he visited again, he told the settlers: “As nine years ago… so today I believe that this region has a future in settlement, economic, social and a security role – and it must be an integral part of the State of Israel.” Menachem Begin told Sadaat, when the latter said he wants to free Gaza from the occupation, “What occupation? This is not a foreign country; this is the Land of Israel”…
That is to say, that even during the Intifadas, the people living there felt that it’s home. Our family too, somewhere in the 1990’s, visited friends in beautiful Atzmona, meeting the exuberant creativity of the pioneering, loving, kind, idealistic people that lived in Gush Katif. There were red roofed-houses, miraculous lush gardens and greenhouses. The produce was amazing, especially considering how “everyone” told the residents there that nothing whatsoever can be grown in those dunes. “Everyone” included their Arab neighbors with whom initially there were very good relationships – visits, jobs, shopping and so on. And among the sand dunes, under shade trees, there were synagogues and schools and kindergartens; there was art and music and… life.
The thought that we, by ourselves, will destroy all this beauty “unilaterally” was harsh, even unbelievable, and many hoped and prayed for a last-minute change. Top that with warnings from those who feared what might happen next, and the joyful parties we saw next door…. But, everything was mostly hushed. As we’ve always been taught, if it’s for peace, it’s all worth it, and painful as it is, we’ll do – whatever it is.
The process itself was accompanied by many tears and cries, on all sides: the departing settlers, looking back at the bulldozers crushing down their homes to dust; the soldiers, holding a baby, hugging a mother, reaching out to lend someone a hand…
The whole saga lasted about a week. A few more days, and the dust settled. Despite the deep sadness, tears and cries, the settlers altogether cooperated. They were given generous promises for “packages” that will allow them to rebuild and resettle elsewhere. The Arab Gazans danced and rejoiced. All was well in the West / East, depending on where you’re coming from…
Recently, I found the following on my blog, written 4 years ago at 16 years to the events (the full text at www.miko284.com):
“Now some time passed. The euphoria has settled with the dust, and in its stead, grew many doubts… Our neighbors did not respond to the generous, painful move with safety, peace, love and flowers, but with rockets… On the other hand, the settlers… were not given the benefits they were promised… some are still battling unemployment, temporary housing in rural areas, poverty, depression, disillusionment and general “down”, feeling betrayed. And terror continues.
It’s a small story. A modern Israeli tragedy that’s off many’s radar. Compared with The Temple, the pogroms, the Holocaust, it might seem trivial, and with current politics, it’s not PC to mention it. And yet… it’s hard for me not to think back and wonder, what happened? And, did we actually do the right thing, for ourselves as well, or did we overpay for something we didn’t get”??
We’re now coming up on Tish’a Be’av again. It’s 5785 – 2025. 20 years have passed since the “Unilateral Disengagement” of Gush Katif, and – it’s 670 days since “Oct 7”. As I’m writing these words, we still have 50 hostages in Gaza, praying with all our hearts that at least 20 of them are still alive. We’re amidst one of the worst nightmares the State of Israel has had to endure and overcome. Crying over a faraway, long ago Temple?? Turns out, Tish’a Be’av is not that far away.
And yet… the Talmud tells us that “when the month of Av begins, we diminish our joy” (Tractate Ta’anit 29:a), but at the same time, we’re also told that on Tish’a Be’Av the Messiah is born (Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Brachot). Perhaps the idea is that when we “hit rock bottom”, we will turn reflect and repent, so that this will actually be a jumping point for better days ahead.
May we be comforted in the redemption of the Land and its people.
Shabbat Shalom.
