Creative suggestions to the people of Gush Katif for survival based on Shemittah

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The people of Gush Katif do have alternatives to putting all their hopes and energies on the gov't to come through with their "compensation packages". Jews all over the world must help them start anew, help them once again settle the Land.

Here are some very innovative suggestions that have its origin from my Shemittah year experience. For this suggestion to work to its fullest I will lay down some givens.

Givens:

1. Jews in the Diaspora have the same obligation to settle the Land and keep the Mitzvoth of the Land as one who is a citizen of Israel. We are collectively bound by one Torah

2. The Land is a gift from G-d to the people of Israel.

Each Jew has the obligation to express their desire and yearning for the Land in a practical way even if he is unable to physically live on the Land. Anything that a Jew does that helps build up the Land and helps to settle the Land, whether they are in the Land physically or not, is showing their recognition of G-ds gift to them and the responsibilities inherent in that gift.

Suggestions for survival to the people from Gush Katif that are derived from the Commandment of Shemitas Kesafim.

Shemitas Kesafim takes place at the end of the Shemittah year. The Lender forgives the loan to the Borrower. The Lender may not hound the borrower and the borrower is not obligated to repay the Lender:

Shemitas Kesafim works hand in hand with Shemitas Karkaot. In the Shemitta year, practically, the farmer is not working and is generating no income. He will ask his friend for a loan. His friend is commanded to open his hands generously to provide for the needs of his friend. The farmer has no pressure to pay back the loan though he may very well wish to, since he is under no obligation to pay back the loan.

Preceding the disengagement there was a campaign called Maamin Vezorea. This campaign called upon all Jews to lend the people of Gush Katif money so that they could continue to plant. Banks were refusing to allow farmers to borrow. Lenders were taking an obvious risk as were those that were planting.

Now again the time has come to reinact the Maamin Vezorea campaign. Everyone can participate. The main purpose is to get the people from Gush Katif back on their feet without putting the burden of paying back loans on their shoulders.

Suggestions to the expelees of Gush Katif:

1. Go to groceries, restaurants etc., and ask the proprietor to please allow you to buy on credit. Tell the proprietor that you are from Gush Katif, and broke and unemployed or whatever is the truth. Tell the proprietor that you can not guarantee that you will repay him but you very much hope that one day you will be back on your feet and will remember with kindness the act of kindness on his/her part and try to repay him/her in kind. There is an understanding that the proprietor is willing to forego the loan if necessary. And there is no obligation on your part to repay back the loan.

2. Don't hesitate to live on overdraft especially if you've never done so in your life. You might find it to be a positive and exciting experience. Be Israeli.

3. Don't rely on compensation from the gov't and make sure above all that you eat well. Anyone that wishes to feed/clothes/buy things you need and it's appetizing/appealing don't be embarrassed. Remember their kindness for the future. At the Shemittah year in 1987 I remember visiting my Satmar aunt who insisted that I eat everything each time I visited. Without having a job I gained 30 pounds that year.

Enjoy the kindnesses of others! They are benefitting from it perhaps even more than you. Keep your chin up. G-d is great! Don't worry. Be realistic. Don't expect compensation from those that expelled you without aggravation. Don't depend on the gov't.

Suggestion for those who wish to do something but don't have money, to do as follows:

1. Lobby the gov't of Israel to take over the mortgages of the houses they destroyed and compensate the owners the full value of the house and possessions minus the mortgage.

To everyone else besides the people of Gush Katif: (We should be the ones worrying about our brethren. To those from Gush Katif simple trust in Hashem but don't worry.)

Open up your hand generously. Forego all loans. Apply pressure at the gov't to take over the mortgages of all apts/houses they destroyed. Let the families be free of all debt. Of course the gov't should pay the families the full amount that the people paid towards the house/business including cost of living increase. The gov't should pay an equitable amount for destroying a business, loss of income etc.

The following was reported on Orange Bulletin:

Knesset Lobby for the GK families.


Last week was held in the Knesset the first session of the new established lobby for the evacuated families of GK which was formed by MK Uri Ariel, Mk Zeev Elkin from Kadima and the Gush Katif Committee

More than 20 MK from a vast array of political parties (Kadima, labor, Likud, National Unity/ Mafdal, Shas, Yahadut Atorah) joined MK Uri Ariel in this initiative when the sole goal of this lobby is the full rehabilitation of the families.

During this first meeting, the MK's listened to the representatives of the different communities, when they exposed the situation in their particular location. Following this first meeting and after realizing the extent of the problems faced by each community, the MK decided to visit the different communities in order to meet with the residents and see from close the issues to be dealt with.

Last Friday they visited the caravilla site of Ein Tzurim, where 130 families from Neve Dekalim and Gadid have finally, after 9 months in hotels and guest houses, integrated their temporary houses. The community of Netzer Hazani is still waiting for their caravillas to be ready.

Later on they continued to Yad Binyamin, Nitzan and to the tent city of Yad Mordechai.

After the State Comptroller's report two months ago, this is the first time that our representatives acknowledge the incompetence of the government and its various agencies in restructuring the lives of 10,000 citizens who were uprooted from their homes and communities last summer. They took upon themselves to work in small task committees in order to try to solve the most pressing problems: the lack of employment, the incapacity of the farmers and small businesses to restore their lifework, the permanent housing solutions, the flaws of the compensation law that do not allow for the families financial autonomy , the bureaucracy and more.

In Yad Binyamin one of the social workers who follows the expellees and provides guidance and counseling since last summer showed and exhibit of children's art works depicting their feelings after the expulsion, their pain and longing for a real home.

In Ein Tzurim, the MK were outraged to see that despite the fact that the site is unfit as proper housing solution, many families were forced in, in order to vacate the rooms in the guest houses.

They are living in despicable conditions: uncovered electric wires, open pits, uncompleted infrastructure, and the lack of community structures such as day care center, youth center, and synagogue. The impression is more of a construction site with hazardous security conditions, bulldozers still working, huge trucks driving back and forth, than a normal village.

In Nitzan the farmers and industrial plant managers explained the injustice of the law that not only does not give compensation but do not cover the nominal value of the assets. The former agreements between the Ministry of Agriculture and farmers who reinvested in their farms are not kept and the farmers did not receive the promised grants.

The Lobby for the Gush Katif evacuees promised to start working together with the Gush Katif Committee and the representatives of the communities in order to draw out the needed amendments in order to be able to present them to the Knesset Committees. In these days lawyers and economists are working together to bring amendments to the law so in less then a month so we will be able to present it to the Knesset .