bs"d
This letter is being sent to those of you who live in NY and those outside of NY. For those of you who live outside NY please forward this letter and Evelyn's press release to your friends that you think can perhaps attend. The date is Joseph's birthday. This is not simply any old cruise. It is one of major significance given the serious humanitarian and security crisis that we are experiencing today in the Land of Israel. It is possible to make a statement and stop the evil. It just takes individuals like yourselves that don't believe this is a lost cause. There will be political officials and press at the event.
This cruise is a statement about our Mother Rachel and her son Joseph. Many, many years ago Egypt became the wealthiest country due to Joseph. Egypt and the surrounding countries sold all they owned in return for food that only Joseph had in Egypt. Joseph sustained them.
Joseph left the Land of Israel at age 17 when he was sold by his brothers. He lived in Egypt till he died at the age of 110. He served Egypt from the age of 30 as viceroy, only second to Pharaoh. Yet on his deathbed what does he command his children? In Breishis Perek 50 Pasuck 24 Joseph says to his brothers. "I know that G-d will remember you and take you out of this land and bring you up to the Land that He promised to Avraham Yitzchok and Yaakov. (25) And Joseph made the Bnei Yisroel swear saying G-d will remember you and you should bring up my bones from this."
Joseph represents the Diaspora Jew. Yet all of Israel uses Joseph for their traditional blessings to their children. They bless their children to grow up like Joseph's children who were born and bred in the Diaspora in Egypt. (see Genesis Chapter 48 Pasuk 20) (And he (Yaakov) blessed them on that day saying whoever comes to bless his sons will bless them with their blessing. A man will tell his son "May G-d make you like Ephraim and Menasheh"..Rashi.) In spite of the surrounding culture of Egypt steeped in idolatry, Joseph made sure that his children knew who they were and who their roots are and Yaakov himself asserted that Joseph's children are no different then Yaakov's children that were raised in the Land of Israel in Yaakov's house insulated from an alien culture..
If your priority is stopping future expulsions, then Rachel's tomb is right up there. Joseph is extremely significant. Even without a large Jewish resident population in Bethlehem, it's significance to our Nation is beyond words. Attending this cruise is making a statement about the Diaspora Jew and that we too are linked permanently to the Land. The fight for Kever Rochel is the same as the Commemoration of Gush Katif. It's important to let the gov't know that people care and that we collectively will do whatever we can to stop this ongoing tragedy.
If you can't come personally, send, email to whomever you can. We need to present a united front. Gush Katif, Hebron, Rachel's Tomb, Joseph's tomb in Shechem and the communities in Samaria. It's all the same battle.
Please do what you can to make this cruise a momentous one. Please check your email for a copy of the Press Release sent out by Evelyn Haze about the cruise.
Sincerely,
Robin Ticker
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Rachels Children Cruise Press Release - from Evelyn Haze
You're Invited to a major display of affirmation of Ima Rachel, a role
model for the whole world and Kever Rachel, the 3600 year ohel of Rachel
Imeinu visited by Jews across the world. Join RCRF on Monday evening June
26 for a evening cruise to the Statue of Liberty and celebrate the joy of
Rachel on Yosef's birth. Bring flashlights as we affirm our roots and to
spotlight the cause for Rachel's tears for her children exiled from Gush
Katif and those suffering barrages of rockets on their schools, businesses
and homes in Sderot, Alumim and Ashkelon today. Open mike for your Rachel
and immigrant stories. DVDs, Carlebach Songfest with Laible Ben Moshe,
Glatt Kosher Buffet, wine, your birthday, anniversary, graduation cakes.
Don't forget the cameras as we anchor under the brightly lit Statue of
Liberty which welcomed refugees to the New World. Remember, it is Rachel
Imeinu who welcomes us ancient Jewish people back
to our Old Biblical land which many of our brethren never left.
Rachel Imeinu, Mother of Israel
by Evelyn Haies, President Rachel's Children Reclamation Fdtn, RCRP
718-648-2610
60 West End Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11235
(c)2006
After conquerring the Temple Mount in 1967, HaRav Shlomo Goren marched with
his troops to Kever Rachel.
An Arab came towards him from the fields below and returned the giant key
to the door added in 1841 by Sir Moses Montefiore
with permission from the Ottoman empire. The Gorens have this key until
this day.
As the soldiers came upon isolated Kever Rachel, they fell down on
the ground and cried. Some said they saw Rachel Imeinu hovering over them.
When we first put the mezzuzahs on the walls of our new house adjoining
Kever Rachel, which my son David who is in Givati and HaRav Benny Elon
placed on the wall with HaRav Shmuel Rabinowitz standing by, a picture
shows a clear elegant bust of a woman glowing on the wall. This was the
first mezuzzah put on a Jewish home since the re-occupation of Kever Rachel.
After the passageway to our building where Nachum Segal was
pictured was destroyed following a visit by Mofaz and Ehud Olmert, we were
denied passage as it was claimed unsafe. Soldiers were no longer housed in
our very large basement because the ground floor windows were exposed. When
we came to examine our house Beit Bnei Rachel and took pictures with IDF
officials, in the picture there is a vague white feminine image floating in
the air above, much like the artwork of Baruch Nachum of Kiryat Arba, who
gave me a picture of Kever Rachel in a Torah scroll with the Moshiach
blowing a shofar overhead at our Torah ceremony in 1998.
From Kever Rachel, HaRav Goren and his troops went on to liberate
the Holy City of Hevron, a city also embraced
and supported by Sir Moses Montefiore during the Ottoman occupation. His
diaries record that there were three yeshivas and 489 Jews living in Hevron
in 1865 including the Slonims and Shneersons.
The Sefer Torahs of our foundation, Rachel's Children Reclamation
Foundation is in the Aron Kodesh built by HaRav Goren with stones from the
Mount of Olives which is in the room of the Kever. Rabbanite Goren was a
1998 awardee of RCRF
to honor her husband's attachment to Ima Rachel. It is her Kever in Beis
Lechem, the House of Bread, that is the spot of her burial from 12 stones
to four pillars to a single room to the two rooms and the expanded facility
of this day. This development of Kever Rachel is displayed on the wall of
Beit Bnei Rachel, the place that houses a yeshiva, weekly women's learning
groups and will develop a Museum of Jewish Aliyah with contributions of
Jews across the globe. We are collecting histories, stories, your aliyah story.
After the reclamation of Beis Lechem in 1967 occupied by Jordan
for a brief 19 years, Prime Minister Levi Eshkol ordered the annexation of
this area including Kever Rachel. This was never renegged but ignored as is
the Amendment to Oslo II , September 28, 1995 protecting 29 Jewish holy
sites with the complete Jewish control of Kever Rachel, Kever Yosef,
Shalom Synagogue and Hebron forever.
Join RCRF on Rosh Chodesh Tammuz and celebrate the birthday of
Yosef Hatzaddik and the eighth anniversary of our dedication of a Sefer
Torah for Rachel Imeinu in Beis Lechem as well as the anniversay of the one
year anniversary of the Sefer Torah dedicated for our house Beit Bnei
Rachel on Derech Chaya Rachel, Beis Lechem, now housed in the Aron Kodesh
built by HaRav Goren and soon to be permantly in our Beit Bnei Rachel.
Call Evelyn Haies for details and reservations 718-648-2610. Volunteers and
sponsors needed. The larger the group the lower the rate.
model for the whole world and Kever Rachel, the 3600 year ohel of Rachel
Imeinu visited by Jews across the world. Join RCRF on Monday evening June
26 for a evening cruise to the Statue of Liberty and celebrate the joy of
Rachel on Yosef's birth. Bring flashlights as we affirm our roots and to
spotlight the cause for Rachel's tears for her children exiled from Gush
Katif and those suffering barrages of rockets on their schools, businesses
and homes in Sderot, Alumim and Ashkelon today. Open mike for your Rachel
and immigrant stories. DVDs, Carlebach Songfest with Laible Ben Moshe,
Glatt Kosher Buffet, wine, your birthday, anniversary, graduation cakes.
Don't forget the cameras as we anchor under the brightly lit Statue of
Liberty which welcomed refugees to the New World. Remember, it is Rachel
Imeinu who welcomes us ancient Jewish people back
to our Old Biblical land which many of our brethren never left.
Rachel Imeinu, Mother of Israel
by Evelyn Haies, President Rachel's Children Reclamation Fdtn, RCRP
718-648-2610
60 West End Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11235
(c)2006
After conquerring the Temple Mount in 1967, HaRav Shlomo Goren marched with
his troops to Kever Rachel.
An Arab came towards him from the fields below and returned the giant key
to the door added in 1841 by Sir Moses Montefiore
with permission from the Ottoman empire. The Gorens have this key until
this day.
As the soldiers came upon isolated Kever Rachel, they fell down on
the ground and cried. Some said they saw Rachel Imeinu hovering over them.
When we first put the mezzuzahs on the walls of our new house adjoining
Kever Rachel, which my son David who is in Givati and HaRav Benny Elon
placed on the wall with HaRav Shmuel Rabinowitz standing by, a picture
shows a clear elegant bust of a woman glowing on the wall. This was the
first mezuzzah put on a Jewish home since the re-occupation of Kever Rachel.
After the passageway to our building where Nachum Segal was
pictured was destroyed following a visit by Mofaz and Ehud Olmert, we were
denied passage as it was claimed unsafe. Soldiers were no longer housed in
our very large basement because the ground floor windows were exposed. When
we came to examine our house Beit Bnei Rachel and took pictures with IDF
officials, in the picture there is a vague white feminine image floating in
the air above, much like the artwork of Baruch Nachum of Kiryat Arba, who
gave me a picture of Kever Rachel in a Torah scroll with the Moshiach
blowing a shofar overhead at our Torah ceremony in 1998.
From Kever Rachel, HaRav Goren and his troops went on to liberate
the Holy City of Hevron, a city also embraced
and supported by Sir Moses Montefiore during the Ottoman occupation. His
diaries record that there were three yeshivas and 489 Jews living in Hevron
in 1865 including the Slonims and Shneersons.
The Sefer Torahs of our foundation, Rachel's Children Reclamation
Foundation is in the Aron Kodesh built by HaRav Goren with stones from the
Mount of Olives which is in the room of the Kever. Rabbanite Goren was a
1998 awardee of RCRF
to honor her husband's attachment to Ima Rachel. It is her Kever in Beis
Lechem, the House of Bread, that is the spot of her burial from 12 stones
to four pillars to a single room to the two rooms and the expanded facility
of this day. This development of Kever Rachel is displayed on the wall of
Beit Bnei Rachel, the place that houses a yeshiva, weekly women's learning
groups and will develop a Museum of Jewish Aliyah with contributions of
Jews across the globe. We are collecting histories, stories, your aliyah story.
After the reclamation of Beis Lechem in 1967 occupied by Jordan
for a brief 19 years, Prime Minister Levi Eshkol ordered the annexation of
this area including Kever Rachel. This was never renegged but ignored as is
the Amendment to Oslo II , September 28, 1995 protecting 29 Jewish holy
sites with the complete Jewish control of Kever Rachel, Kever Yosef,
Shalom Synagogue and Hebron forever.
Join RCRF on Rosh Chodesh Tammuz and celebrate the birthday of
Yosef Hatzaddik and the eighth anniversary of our dedication of a Sefer
Torah for Rachel Imeinu in Beis Lechem as well as the anniversay of the one
year anniversary of the Sefer Torah dedicated for our house Beit Bnei
Rachel on Derech Chaya Rachel, Beis Lechem, now housed in the Aron Kodesh
built by HaRav Goren and soon to be permantly in our Beit Bnei Rachel.
Call Evelyn Haies for details and reservations 718-648-2610. Volunteers and
sponsors needed. The larger the group the lower the rate.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
If we only had that yearning for Torah and Mitzvoth...
bs"d
I feel that a lack of yearning for Eretz Yisroel from Hamonei Am, from each and every Jew be it in Israel or in the Diaspora, is the true cause for the expulsion of Gush Katif. This cause must be rectified or else future expulsions that are in the making may G-d forbid actualize. Sharon and the Palestinians were simply Hashem's messengers but not the root cause of the expulsion. Our lack of yearning for the Mitzvoth of Eretz Yisroel is the root cause.
Hashem is waiting for all of us, each and every Jew whether in Israel or in the Diaspora to express the yearning to be in Eretz Yisroel and to keep the Mitzvoth. Giving away the Land makes it impossible to keep actual Mitzvoth. For example, farmers in Yishuv Itamar in the Shomron near Shchem, can now do Leket, Shikcha, Peah and Shemittah to name a few Mitzvoth. These are hands on Mitzvoth. Just like you need a hand to do Tefillin one needs the property of Land to keep these Mitzvoth. If there was a true yearning among the Gedoilim Batorah, and among those that learn and believe in the Torah, there would be a Kol Korei in Hamodia and Yated saying that giving away the Land of Israel is not an option for Am Yisroel. How can any other entity, even the most friendly democratic State, actualize the ultimate purpose of Am Yisroel and Eretz Yisroel which is only through the performance of Mitzvoth.
What a Chillul Hashem to give the Land of Israel to an entity that actually wishes to erase any vestige of Torah and Mitzvoth and holiness and whose platform openly wishes to destroy anything holy and destroy the Nation that is divinely entrusted to bring that holiness into this world.
Gedoilim Batorah can influence hundreds of thousands of ehrlich Yidden to voice a protest against the Roadmap and against the Convergence plan and express their yearning for Eretz Yisroel and a yearning to keep the Mitzvoth of Eretz Yisroel. Hashem is waiting for us to speak up for the Torah and for Hashem's Bris with our Forefathers, Avraham, Yitchok and Yaakov. If we only proclaim G-d's sovereignty of the Land (Ki LI Kol Haaretz) and recognize our own obligations of keeping the Mitzvoth, we would eliminate the cause of our pain and suffering. No matter where a Jew lives, Eretz Yisroel has been promised to us as a gift and we in turn are obligated to guard it and keep it by not only learning Torah but also by doing the actual Mitzvoth that can only be done on a piece of property within the boundaries of Eretz Yisroel. Those boundaries are spelled out very explicitly in the Torah. When we perform the Mitzvoth,(See Torah Reading of Shabbat Shevuoth Aser Taaser) Hashem then promises us much blessings, security and peace and the entire world will be blessed as well.
Rav Kanievsky, Rav Shteinman, Rav Eliashiv and the Gerer Rebbe. Please end the Silence. Your voices will be echoed by hundreds of thousands. Bush will pay attention. Please just try it. Put a Kol Korei in Hamodia and the Yated and the Jewish Press about Bris Avos, Hashem's Covenant with our forefathers. Humanitarian issues and Security concerns are not the reasons to support our Brethren ruthlessly expelled from our Land. They are simply the consequences of not speaking out for the Torah thereby creating a chillul Hashem. If you are truly our Leaders and Gedoilim Batorah then you will rise to occasion and speak out. Your voices will bring a new spirit to Am Yisroel and blessings for the world. In that zechus may Hashem bring blessings upon you and yours, may you be blessed with Arichus Yamim with health, happiness and much Nachas from your families and from Klal Yisroel.
Please forward to Rabbi Rebibo editor of Hamodia and to Rabbi Lipshutz editor of Yated and Rabbi Klass of the Jewish Press. I would hope that Rabbi Rebibo and Rav Lipshutz and Rabbi Klass would then forward this to the Gedoilim Batorah begging them to please come out with a Kol Korei in their paper that the Land of Israel is promised to Am Yisroel and that only Am Yisroel is obligated in keeping Mitzvoth that will bring blessings to the entire world. The Roadmap and Convergence Plan are in direct contradiction to the Torah since boundaries of the "other" State are within the recognized boundaries of the piece of property that has been given as a gift exclusively to the People of Israel. It is a Mitzva to voice protest to the Roadmap Plan and to the Convergence Plan and this will be a true Kiddush Hashem. Our Nation is waiting for our Gedoilim Batorah to take a unified Lead. This will make our generation worthy of the coming of Moshiach.
I feel that a lack of yearning for Eretz Yisroel from Hamonei Am, from each and every Jew be it in Israel or in the Diaspora, is the true cause for the expulsion of Gush Katif. This cause must be rectified or else future expulsions that are in the making may G-d forbid actualize. Sharon and the Palestinians were simply Hashem's messengers but not the root cause of the expulsion. Our lack of yearning for the Mitzvoth of Eretz Yisroel is the root cause.
Hashem is waiting for all of us, each and every Jew whether in Israel or in the Diaspora to express the yearning to be in Eretz Yisroel and to keep the Mitzvoth. Giving away the Land makes it impossible to keep actual Mitzvoth. For example, farmers in Yishuv Itamar in the Shomron near Shchem, can now do Leket, Shikcha, Peah and Shemittah to name a few Mitzvoth. These are hands on Mitzvoth. Just like you need a hand to do Tefillin one needs the property of Land to keep these Mitzvoth. If there was a true yearning among the Gedoilim Batorah, and among those that learn and believe in the Torah, there would be a Kol Korei in Hamodia and Yated saying that giving away the Land of Israel is not an option for Am Yisroel. How can any other entity, even the most friendly democratic State, actualize the ultimate purpose of Am Yisroel and Eretz Yisroel which is only through the performance of Mitzvoth.
What a Chillul Hashem to give the Land of Israel to an entity that actually wishes to erase any vestige of Torah and Mitzvoth and holiness and whose platform openly wishes to destroy anything holy and destroy the Nation that is divinely entrusted to bring that holiness into this world.
Gedoilim Batorah can influence hundreds of thousands of ehrlich Yidden to voice a protest against the Roadmap and against the Convergence plan and express their yearning for Eretz Yisroel and a yearning to keep the Mitzvoth of Eretz Yisroel. Hashem is waiting for us to speak up for the Torah and for Hashem's Bris with our Forefathers, Avraham, Yitchok and Yaakov. If we only proclaim G-d's sovereignty of the Land (Ki LI Kol Haaretz) and recognize our own obligations of keeping the Mitzvoth, we would eliminate the cause of our pain and suffering. No matter where a Jew lives, Eretz Yisroel has been promised to us as a gift and we in turn are obligated to guard it and keep it by not only learning Torah but also by doing the actual Mitzvoth that can only be done on a piece of property within the boundaries of Eretz Yisroel. Those boundaries are spelled out very explicitly in the Torah. When we perform the Mitzvoth,(See Torah Reading of Shabbat Shevuoth Aser Taaser) Hashem then promises us much blessings, security and peace and the entire world will be blessed as well.
Rav Kanievsky, Rav Shteinman, Rav Eliashiv and the Gerer Rebbe. Please end the Silence. Your voices will be echoed by hundreds of thousands. Bush will pay attention. Please just try it. Put a Kol Korei in Hamodia and the Yated and the Jewish Press about Bris Avos, Hashem's Covenant with our forefathers. Humanitarian issues and Security concerns are not the reasons to support our Brethren ruthlessly expelled from our Land. They are simply the consequences of not speaking out for the Torah thereby creating a chillul Hashem. If you are truly our Leaders and Gedoilim Batorah then you will rise to occasion and speak out. Your voices will bring a new spirit to Am Yisroel and blessings for the world. In that zechus may Hashem bring blessings upon you and yours, may you be blessed with Arichus Yamim with health, happiness and much Nachas from your families and from Klal Yisroel.
Please forward to Rabbi Rebibo editor of Hamodia and to Rabbi Lipshutz editor of Yated and Rabbi Klass of the Jewish Press. I would hope that Rabbi Rebibo and Rav Lipshutz and Rabbi Klass would then forward this to the Gedoilim Batorah begging them to please come out with a Kol Korei in their paper that the Land of Israel is promised to Am Yisroel and that only Am Yisroel is obligated in keeping Mitzvoth that will bring blessings to the entire world. The Roadmap and Convergence Plan are in direct contradiction to the Torah since boundaries of the "other" State are within the recognized boundaries of the piece of property that has been given as a gift exclusively to the People of Israel. It is a Mitzva to voice protest to the Roadmap Plan and to the Convergence Plan and this will be a true Kiddush Hashem. Our Nation is waiting for our Gedoilim Batorah to take a unified Lead. This will make our generation worthy of the coming of Moshiach.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Creative suggestions to the people of Gush Katif for survival based on Shemittah
bs"d
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 .
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 .
Sunday, May 21, 2006
This past week's Haftara--amazing timing--a must-read!
bs"d
Please read this article on last week's Haftorah about Shemittah Parshas Behar-Bechukosai Yirmiyahu 16:19
by Rabbi Dovid Siegel
Kollel Toras Chaim
Kiryat Sefer, Israel
The author is Rosh Kollel (Dean) of Kollel Toras Chaim,
Kiryat Sefer, Israel.
Please read this article on last week's Haftorah about Shemittah Parshas Behar-Bechukosai Yirmiyahu 16:19
by Rabbi Dovid Siegel
Kollel Toras Chaim
Kiryat Sefer, Israel
The author is Rosh Kollel (Dean) of Kollel Toras Chaim,
Kiryat Sefer, Israel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
