Monday August 22, 2005

Column:

The twenty-one Gaza Settlements slated for evacuation by Israel have received a lot of attention these past few days. But there are another four, lesser known, settlements also slated for evacuation. Settlements situated in Northern Samaria. They are Gadim, Kadim, Homesh, Sa Nur.

Of the Northern Samaria settlements, two are already empty. Residents of both Gadim and Kadim have moved out of their own volition. Over the last month the residents have slowly, probably painfully, found new places to call home. Some families remain neighbors even in their new community, others are striking out alone.

The other two Northern communities, Homesh and Sa Nur, are a different, evolving story.

Homesh began as a non-religious commuter settlement. About two years ago it became a community with a 50-50 religious/non-religious split. Over the past three months a complete shift took place and all non-religious Jews left turning Homesh into an exclusively religious settlement infused with outsiders coming to lend support.

Homesh sits on a summit that allows for a panoramic view of the entire region up to the Mediterranean Sea. Until he made the decision to evacuate, Ariel Sharon would invite people - like me - to Homesh. The prime minister would stand on an overlook in order to emphasize the view, proudly gesticulating, speaking of the history of the area and pointing out exactly how important this settlement, Homesh, was to the security of Israel.

Sa Nur was originally created as an artist colony. It fell on hard times and attracted people who were more self-sufficient and able to stay home and work inside the community.

Sa Nur is considered a radical place. It has also become a magnet for outsiders. On a visit to Sa Nur, after the evacuation had been announced but before plans were actually formulated, I was removed from the area by local residents. Several colleagues and I had been promised a walk and talk - meet the residents, tour their community, hear what they have to say about the impending evacuation. When it was discovered that among us were Arab journalists, our visit was shut down and we were put on a bus and evacuated out.

Gaza settlers are timid relative to those in the Northern Samaria settlement of Sa Nur.

Despite their natural proclivity for stern action, I do not anticipate an armed exchange between these settlers and the soldiers. Among the residents of Sa Nur is a member of the Israeli Knesset, Aryeh Eldad, and I credit this MK from the National Unity Party with impressing upon his neighbors the importance of conducting unarmed resistance.

The settlers of Sa Nur, like most of the Gaza settlement residents, will, I think, ultimately play by the rules of the game - but they will "take it up a notch." They will resist, but more forcefully. I have heard, for example, that they have collected stun grenades to use against the soldiers. They will display signs of public mourning. They will insist that they be removed by groups of soldiers. And then they will board the waiting busses for relocation.

Today's residents of Sa Nur are torn between being loyal citizens of Israel faced with the inevitable and an ideology of living out a dream and fulfilling a Biblical commandment. On the one hand they have already begun to take steps toward peaceful resistance in the face of inevitable evacuation by voluntarily giving up their weapons to the "good soldiers" - those charged with their protection versus those charged with their evacuation. On the other hand they have slashed the tires of the trucks that brought in the evacuation containers, the large boxes provided to each family to be used as packing crates for their belongings.

The residents of the Northern Samaria settlement of Sa Nur know that their days as a community within the State of Israel are ending. Most of Gaza has been emptied of Jews. In response to an evacuation that looms only hours away the Jews of Sa Nur held a dedication ceremony for a new building in their settlement community. A synagogue.