Journalist Yisrael Shapira published a book on the history of Gaza Jewry, together with Ze'ev (Jabo) Ehrlich, who was killed during operational activity in Lebanon. In an interview with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News Shapira talks about the book, which is being published in the twentieth year of the Disengagement from Gaza.
"Gaza and Judea are an ancient story spanning generations, dating back to the time of the Bible," says Shapira. "Jews lived in Gaza and ruled Gaza periodically. There has not been a single generation in the last two thousand years that does not have documentation of Jewish families in Gaza and Jewish trading houses in Gaza."
However, with the exception of two periods, there was no full Jewish rule over Gaza. The two periods in which there was full Jewish rule were during the reign of King Solomon and the period of the Hasmoneans, who conquered the city, converted the nations who lived there, and fully ruled the city.
"The largest synagogue during the time of the Sages was in Gaza. When we talk about the period of the Amoraim, we think of Usha, Shafaram and Tiberias, where the Jerusalem Talmud was written, but in 1965 we found the largest synagogue from the time of the Sages in Gaza."
He talks about working with Jabo on the book and notes their ongoing contact over two years. "Jabo was in contact with many tour guides and researchers. He was sharp minded; I don’t know anyone else like him," says Shapira. "He lived history; he lived the Bible and the stones that he stepped on. This is something that we don’t see these days," he says that it is clear to him that Jabo would have wanted to end his life this way, while engaged in what he loved most, the exploration of the Land of Israel.
Shapira spoke about the attitude of the leaders of his haredi community towards the Gaza Strip during the Disengagement, when yeshiva students were forbidden from participating in demonstrations and protests. He says that he was a young student who felt the need to come and protest, but this was forbidden and anyone who participated in the protests would be expelled from the yeshiva. Now, as a columnist for the Kikar Hashabbat website, Shapira’s connection with Gaza was been renewed when he wrote about the city and its heritage following the war.
"Following my articles on Gaza, I got more involved and interested in the region and enlisted in a late drafting to the IDF for haredi soldiers (Shlav Bet). While writing about a place and those who fell there two thousand years ago and about what happened there back then, I started asking myself where I am in this lineage, so I drafted and have served many reserve duty days since then," says Shapira, who hopes to return to Gaza the day after the implementation of the Trump plan and visit the holy and national sites in this region. "There is the mountain where the biblical Samson moved the city gates," he mentions, noting that the mountain is named "Mount Samson" on maps.
Shapira also mentions Napoleon's visit to Gaza, where he asked the name of the mountain and was told that it was called 'Mount Samson.' "On his map, written in Latin and published in 1799, he writes that it is Mount Samson. It is a very exciting place. There is an amazing view to the west and the east, and I hope to visit this place and many others, such as the synagogue and the tomb of Rabbi Yisrael Najara, as well as less historical places, like the Abu Hatzera restaurant," he says, mentioning some of the versions of the story surrounding the special name.
Shapira notes that, as usual, Jabo z”l searched for evidence of the origin of the Abu Hatzera family name, whose occupation was weaving mats. This name was used both by the rabbi’s family, who arrived to the Holy Land on a mat and by Muslims who worked in this field.