By
– January 10, 2012
Some historical events become defining moments for a society. While these moments are seen through a positive lens for parts of that society, for others, the same event can symbolize devastation. Such is the case with the Israeli redeployment from Gaza.
The summer of 2005, the summer that Israel pulled out of Gaza and forcibly removed the last Jewish settlers from their homes, was a critical moment in Israel’s history. Jewish soldiers and police were in conflict with Jewish civilians. Israelis cried as they saw it all happen live, captured on television, described moment by moment on national radio.
For most Israelis the redeployment was seen as the beginning of a new era with the Palestinians. But not for the settlers. Not for the men, women, and children who were dragged from their homes. For them it was the beginning of a nightmare that has not yet ended. The evacuation was planned perfectly down to the most minute detail. But the follow up, the what happens next, the consequences of the evacuation on the lives of the Israelis who called Gaza home was not even considered. Now, three years later, the redeployed are still living in mobile homes.
The Expulsion From Gush Katif is the story of those settlers. It is the story of people who felt betrayed by their government in 2005 and feel betrayed by their government today. Time has proven that the new era of peace with the Palestinians has not materialized, that the dawn of a new age, an era of peace, has not yet begun. No major change for the good has come out of this redeployment. Jewish homes and businesses were stripped bare, Gaza is a Palestinian hotbed and many of the settlers still remain uprooted and homeless.
The book is an anthology describing the events of the summer of 2005. Some entries are op-eds, some are memories. Some are stories told in the first person, others are stories told by sympathetic friends. All are gripping moments of pain described by people who were greatly affected by the events of that fateful summer of 2005.
Micah D. Halpern is a columnist and a social and political commentator. He is the author of What You Need To Know About: Terror, and maintains The Micah Report at www.micahhalpern.com.
