In the Summer of 2005 the Israelis (and the Jewish world) were divided on Gaza. Thousands of Jewish residents around the Gaza Strip had made their home in Gush Katif for decades. Their homes, their communities, their families, and their livelihood were all based in Gaza.
That summer, many of us were wearing orange bracelets, t-shirts, and ribbons to show our support for the families in those Jewish communities. The banner I saved says “Yehudi Lo Megaresh Yehudi.” A Jew does not exile a Jew. I still keep an orange ribbon on my backpack.
Our efforts failed. The Olmert led Kadima government continued on Ariel Sharon’s initiative. The Israel military forcibly removed the Jews from their homes.
The result was mixed at first. The Gazans were celebrating their new “freedom”, though many just became unemployed. They sang and danced as they smashed greenhouses and destroyed synagogues. Then the rockets started.
The rockets never ended. Gaza fell into a civil war. The Hamas supporters drove out the Fatah aligned Palestinians. The bloodshed was extensive. Hamas emerged victorious and took control of the Gaza Strip. The new “Hamasstan” became a breeding ground for hatred, violence, and rocket attacks.
Now that Israel has had time to digest the results of the Gaza pullout, an event that many of us were against from the beginning, even the strongest supporters have changed their mind. Israeli President Shimon Peres, a traditionally left wing politician who strongly supported the Gaza withdrawal, said that he was wrong.
He noted in a speech to the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem that he was “one of the people who were wrong. We should have done things differently.”
Now Israel has elected new leaders. We will see who emerges victorious in the Knesset, but one thing is sure. Many Israelis who supported the removal of Jewish residents from Gaza have seen their error. I hope this is not repeated across the West Bank.
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