Eli Mozes gave me his boyish grin, but the pain in his eyes and the new creases in his forehead told me that he was in pain.



His hearty "Shalom HaMorah" - "Hello teacher" - is his standard greeting when he sees me. I was his English teacher at the Community Center's course for adults.



Eli is under house arrest. Dear, sweet Eli. It is Friday morning and we are sitting in his garden. He just celebrated his son's bar mitzvah and his twin daughters are to celebrate their third birthday. Eli will not be allowed to attend the party in their kindergarten.



Eli Mozes told me his story.



"I'm a security guard in N'vei Dekalim. Palestinian policemen were being brought to the industrial area to share patrols with our army. Our people were enraged that our security would be placed in the hands of the Palestinian Authority. Residents went out to the gate to protest.



"The police were waiting for us. I carried my rifle as I always do. I had volunteered to go to make sure there would be no friction. A policeman asked me for my rifle. I gave it to him and explained what my job is in the yishuv [community]. I was told to report to police headquarters.



"There, I was told that I was under arrest for disturbing the peace and carrying a weapon. I was whisked off to jail in Be'er Sheva. Suddenly, I was turned into a felon. My feet were shackled and I was thrown into a cell with drug dealers and wife beaters. No, HaMorah, I wasn't afraid.



"Strangely, I knew that I was chosen to accept this mission. That I was the shaliach tzibur, the representative of the people, to be jailed for being at the right place at the right time for the right cause. I was chosen to be put in jail for protecting my fellow Jews. The police treated me as a felon, the felons treated me as a hero when they heard that I was a political prisoner. They shared their food parcels and tea with me.



"Brought shackled into court, I was offered a deal - to be placed under house arrest until my trial. My lawyer took the deal."



Eli Mozes is permitted to be at his job at the Katifari, the Gush Katif zoo, where he cares for the animals. There, he had befriended co-worker Tiferet Trattner, z.l. Eli and his wife Pazit had adopted Tifferet and she had become a member of his family. When Tifferet was killed in a mortar attack, the Mozes family mourned her. Eli spoke about her to the media because so few knew her.



Eli also takes young people who are emotionally or psychologically troubled to a horse farm. He teaches them to ride and care for the horses, aiding in their recovery.



"I'm hyperactive," says Eli. "That's why you'll see me working in neighbors' gardens, caring for my trophy-winning show dog and delivering the Makor Rishon newspaper every Friday morning. I'm also a member of the first response team in times of attack on the community.



"I help people," he smiles.



The people of Gush Katif were very troubled to hear that Eli Mozes was arrested as a common criminal by the "get tough" police. Today, the police are beating any person who shows up at protest demonstrations against government policy. Eli Mozes is being used as an example of this new police action in Gush Katif. The message is clear: 'If we can jail Eli Mozes, we can easily jail you. Beware! Do not show any resistance. We are stronger than you!'



As we spoke in the garden, neighbors passed by. Some brought Shabbat flowers and cakes. Others blew their car horns and waved. A police car drove by to see if Eli was still penned in. Eli wished them a Shabbat Shalom. Eli is not allowed to go to synagogue, so on Shabbat the Torah scroll is brought to Eli's home for a minyan. Last Shabbat, the sexton reminded the worshippers in our synagogue and the many guests from Psagot and Bat Yam to visit Eli to show their support.



They were also asked to visit the jail and courthouse in Be'er Sheba on Sunday. Seven yeshiva students had been imprisoned for the previous week because they dared to stop Arab cars on the Tantcher Road. They had protested the day after the mortar and rocket 'blitz' on N'vei Dekalim. They were beaten and jailed.