The following was adapted from a speech delievered by Mrs. Saperstein to the World Beitar Convention, held at the Hyatt Hotel in Jerusalem on June 17, 2006



My name is Rachel Saperstein. I am 65, a wife, mother and grandmother. I came from New York to live in my homeland 38 years ago. My husband and I once lived in a beautiful home in Gush Katif. Today, I am a refugee.



We were forcibly removed from our home by the State of Israel. Not by the non-Jewish government of a foreign country, but by the Jewish government of my own homeland.



My husband lost his right arm in the Yom Kippur War. We never uttered a word of regret. We loved our country. We were ready to sacrifice. Our daughter was injured on a bus blown up by a suicide bomber. We never uttered a word of regret. It was part of the price of living in our homeland.



We moved to Gush Katif from Jerusalem, and the mortars and Kassam rockets fell on us night and day. We never complained, for we knew we were holding on to our precious land. And when my husband was shot by a Palestinian policeman and lost part of his remaining hand, we remained silent and proud of our privilege to give to our land.



And then, we were rewarded for our bravery, for our courage. We, and the eight thousand men, women and children of Gush Katif, who held on to the land, who defended our land against Arab murderers, were forced out by Jewish soldiers and Jewish police. We were put into tiny hotel rooms, flimsy tent cities and despicable trailers and, finally, into cardboard houses called caravillas. Our possessions were locked away in containers, often destroyed by rats. We watched our homes razed, our synagogues burnt. We were left penniless.



Today, our children cannot concentrate on their studies, our people still weep, for we are all traumatized. Many of our men have died of heart attacks. Within 24 hours, once-vital people were turned into the homeless and unemployed.



The government of Israel declared that we were well compensated. That was a lie. Farmers with once-thriving businesses sit and stare at television. Promises of land remain just that - promises. The small amounts of compensation are being eaten up each day. Mortgages on destroyed homes are still being paid to the banks. Private people come to give us handouts. Supermarkets donate food for the Sabbath meals. Donations are given so that infants can receive formula and diapers. Brides receive household gifts from caring strangers.



This is what the government of Israel, the Likud government of Israel, did to its people. We voted the Likud government into office under their banner of security and protecting the land.



They lied to the people of Israel.



Where were you? Where were the massive demonstrations to fight the evil decree? We experienced the opposite of every principle of the Likud, of Menachem Begin, of Vladimir Jabotinsky, of Yosef Trumpeldor. Our precious land was given to our deadly enemies.



Jews were pulled out of their homes. I am one of those Jews. You are those Jews, because this is your home, too. We were betrayed. You were betrayed.



You must not allow this to happen again. Today, the prime minister promises other expulsions. You must not allow this to happen. Gush Katif is not a place - it is a concept. It s every one of us. Gush Katif is the symbol of courage. You must have the courage to say, "No. Never again."



You must never reward any politician who voted for the expulsion with the privilege of serving in any office of the Likud.



The Likud must return to its ideology. The ideology of Eretz Yisrael l?Am Yisrael, the Land of Israel for the People of Israel.



Gush Katif must never happen again. Never.



Lo Nishkach v?Lo Nislach! We will not forget. We will not forgive.



But we will return to Gush Katif.