By Jerusalem Newswire Editorial Staff
Sep 28, 2004
Further stepping up his campaign to displace those he once championed, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s government this week published its “disengagement law”, warning Gaza’s Jewish residents not to resist forced transfer from their homes.
If Sharon succeeds in getting the law ratified in its present form, obstructing their own expulsion would result in the settlers forfeiting all their possessions and spending up to five years in prison.
In an effort to appear sympathetic, Sharon’s “disengagement authority” (SELA) sent out letters to all 1,700 families slated for evacuation Sunday explaining to them why their homes must be sacrificed in an effort to stave off unrelenting “Palestinian” aggression.
Several Israelis, including Holocaust survivors, noted the chilling similarities between the disengagement letter and the letter sent to Berlin’s Jews by the Judenrat prior to their expulsion by the Nazis.
Gaza’s Jews vowed to return the letters to SELA chief Jonathan Bassi with pictures of their children and a note reading:“Gush Katif – it’s my home.”
(Gush Katif – or the Katif Bloc – is the major area of Jewish settlement in southern Gaza.)
The gloves come off
Despite lacking official Knesset approval, full backing from the cabinet, the endorsement of the ruling Likud Party as well as a mandate from the public, preparations for Sharon’s Gaza-first retreat plan continue apace.
Until now, the vast majority of those Jews slated for transfer under the plan have vigorously opposed efforts to buy them off with financial compensation, and have vowed to do everything in their power to save the communities and homes they have shed their blood, sweat and tears to establish.
But this week Sharon’s government threw down the gauntlet when the Justice Ministry published a draft version of its “disengagement law”, threatening the settlers and their supporters with jail terms for obstructing the evacuation.
Included in the document are clauses providing for stiff prison terms and the loss of personal property for settlers to refuse to be removed from their homes and any non-Gaza residents who descend on the area in order to obstruct the evacuation.
According to the draft, the prime minister will set a date after which no non-residents of the Gaza settlements will be allowed to enter the areas designated for withdrawal. Anyone who does enter after that date will be subject to three years in jail.
If the violator is carrying a weapon, he will be imprisoned for five years.
Additionally, anyone participating in a “gathering of three persons or more” with the intent of hindering the security forces from carrying out the expulsion of Gaza’s Jews will receive a three year sentence.
The same punishments apply to setters who refuse to willingly leave their homes on the day of the evacuation, even if their act of resistance is a passive one, such as lying on the floor and forcing the police to carry them from the premises.
Any possessions that are not removed from the areas designated for evacuation prior to the evacuation date will be forfeited by their owners.
The public has been invited to submit comments on the proposed law until October 14, and Sharon hopes to hold a first reading on it in the Knesset on November 3.
If it is accepted in its current form, the law poses a serious problem for the Yesha Council and its supporters.
Despite wild left-wing media assertions, Yesha spokesmen have been adamant that the settlers and their right-wing supporters have no intention of using violence against the security forces sent to uproot them.
Rather, the Council had planned to place tens of thousands of settlement supporters between the security forces and the Gaza settlements in an act of passive resistance.
According to the new law, however, those exercising their democratic right to publicly demonstrate against the expulsion would face years in prison.
Note of empathy
Sounding a note of empathy, the government on Sunday sent letters to the 1,700 families slated for expulsion informing them of their “rights” and promising to “be there” for the settlers to talk to.
“We are well aware of the many personal, societal and economic ramifications of this program. We will do all we can to help you in the most sensitive, fair and professional manner that we can,” the letter read.
Gaza’s Jews vowed to return the letter to sender attached to photos of their children and a note reading:“Gush Katif – it’s my home.”
A chilling parallel
Last week, co-founder of the right-wing protest group Women in Green, Nadia Matar, noted the chilling similarity between the disengagement letter and the letter sent to Berlin’s Jews prior to their expulsion by the Nazis.
That letter was sent by the Berlin Jewish council known as the Judenrat, and urged the city’s Jews to allow themselves to be expelled in a calm and cooperative manner.
The Judenrat promised to do all it could to ease the tensions and hardships associated with such a traumatic event.
Matar said “disengagement authority” head Jonathan Bassi had allowed himself to become the new Judenrat, though she clearly refrained from equating Bassi with the Nazis themselves.
She was vociferously attacked by the Israeli media and government officials for her comparison.
On Tuesday, a senior IDF officer echoed Matar’s assessment in an interview with Ma’ariv .
“[Bassi’s] actions chillingly resemble the activities of the Jewish Judenrat who collaborated with the Nazis in order to complete a smooth and problem-free expulsion,” said Colonel Gadi Dorchler.
Dorchler is a member of Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, where Bassi also lives. Several of the community’s elders are survivors of the Holocaust, and Dorchler said he formulated his position after noticing their reactions to the role Bassi is playing.
“These Jews told me with tears in their eyes that they hadn’t slept in three days after they had found out their fellow kibbutz member is the one in charge of uprooting Jews from their homeland.”