In the Sukkahs city that arose from an idea on Sunday, Chol Hamoed Sukkot, life was a quiet and pastoral throwback to the reality of the Gush Katif settlements before Prime Minister Ariel Sharon got himself into criminal trouble and settled with the prosecution to sacrifice some 8,000 Jews to keep his hide out of jail. Of course, pastoral life was interrupted on occasion by terrorist attacks, but the Jews of Gaza were willing to take it.
Blame it on divine intervention, karma, or cosmic justice, but soon after destroying the lives of so many happy Jews in Gaza in August 2005 (one day after Tisha B’Av, just like the Spanish expulsion of 1492), Sharon suffered a stroke in January 2006 and remained in a permanent vegetative state until he died in 2014.
Since their arrival at the IDF-approved designated area, the men and women, boys and girls from all over Israel continued to erect more and more Sukkot, and the entrance to one of them, at the front of the city of temporary dwellings, a sign welcomed newcomers: “Join us in the new Gaza City,” with some details: “The re-establishment of the city of Gaza as a Hebrew city, technological, green, and unifying all parts of Israeli society. A city that will be a symbol and a flag for Zionism, the restoration of security, and the campaign’s victory.”
Like the Eiland plan to empty northern Gaza of all its residents, and the plan for south Lebanon to do the same for the residents there, the Sukkahs City planners believe that Israel cannot punish its Islamist enemies by killing them. Their entire culture is death-oriented. In fact, one of the things they despise about us Jews is how precious life is to us, while they are willing to give it all up with the push of a button on a suicide vest.
Land, however, is an entirely different thing. You want to teach the Islamists a lesson they’ll never forget? Take away their land. Why the Al Qaeda leadership in 2001 was still talking about retaking Andalusia, their name for Spain and Portugal, from which the Muslims had been driven in the 1390s. Their world is divided into the parts that are governed by Muslims and those that are not, with special emphasis on areas that used to be Muslim and no longer are, such as Iberia and Eretz Israel.
Haaretz correspondent Noah Spiegel quoted Noam Twig, who now lives in Givatayim, who sat in one of the Gaza Sukkot and explained, “We are active in New Gaza. Our goal is bigger than Gush Katif – to make Gaza a part of the State of Israel, a modern, prosperous city. The Riviera of the Middle East.”
Here’s a funny thing: Twig’s vision was the Israeli left’s vision, most notably then Labor Party Chairman Shimon Peres, who predicted that once Gaza is free from the Jewish settlers, it would become the Singapore of the Middle East. Turns out you need Jews to realize these visions.
Chaya Aitgeb from Beit Shemesh, who was expelled from Gush Katif in 2005, brought her five children to the Sukkahs City. “We have been praying for this for twenty years,” she told Spiegel. “A year ago, no one thought this could happen. I think this is the solution. The Holy One, blessed be He, directs it. I don’t see the residents of the Gaza Envelope returning if there is no Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip.”
In addition to Sukkah settlers who spent their time in the colorful compound, there were many visitors. The organizers offered a shuttle every half hour from the Be’eri junction as long as the event was going on.
The driving spirit behind the Sukkahs City venture is Daniella Weiss, 79, founder of the Nahala settlement movement and the former mayor of Kedumim. She is so successful that at her advanced age, she was sanctioned by Canada in June for violence against innocent Arab civilians. Apparently, she beats up Arabs so hard, you can hear their cries for help over in Ottawa.
At the preparatory conference near Kibbutz Be’eri which was attended by several hundred men and women, including Likud, Otzma, and Religious Zionism MKs, Weiss declared she wished to teach the folks “a small lesson in English,” asking if there were foreign reporters on hand.
“Our goal is clear,” she said in English, “to settle the entire Gaza Strip.” She repeated the sentence and continued, “I want to tell the world in English, the international language, that this is not only good for Israel, it is not only for the Jews, it is for the benefit of the whole world, to support good and eliminate evil, to put an end to Hamas, to Hezbollah,” and switched to Hebrew, “to the axis of evil.” She continued in English: “I want to advise the US, England, and the European Union – be with us, it will be good for you. I assure you that sticking to the good is not only good for Israel.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attended the event near northern Gaza and said, “If we want to we can renew the settlement in Gaza. Ladies and gentlemen, we can. We can rebuild Kfar Darom, we can rebuild Netzer, Atzmona, we can return home.
“We can do one more thing – encourage Arab migration. The truth is, this is the most moral, the most correct solution. Not under duress, but we should tell them: We give you the option, to go from here to other countries. The Land of Israel belongs to us!
“I would like to extend my best wishes to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the occasion of his birthday, wishing him a heartfelt mazal tov. Over the past two and a half months, during our participation in the limited forums alongside you, we have demonstrated that action is achievable, that care can be provided, that challenges can be overcome, and that victory is within reach!”
Couldn’t say it better myself, even seeing as my sweet Raanana has just been threatened by very scary booms, courtesy of the remaining Hezbollah terrorists. I, too, believe victory is within reach and happy days are here to come.
