The director of the Religious Kibbutz movement, Amitai Porat, has expressed his sorrow at the passing of former MK Gershon Shafat.
"Gershon arrived in Israel in 1934 and went straight to the religious kibbutz of Ein Tzurim in Gush Etzion, and from there, he went with his friends into Jordanian captivity on the day that Gush Etzion fell, on the 5th of Iyar, 1948. Even when he was in captivity he remained proud of the path he had chosen and believed in it with perfect faith.
"After he returned from captivity, he worked intensively for the settlement enterprise, in Gush Emunim, in the Religious Zionist Party, and in Tehiya, and also endeavored to bridge the gaps between religious and secular. He also worked to memorialize the fallen in the battle for Gush Etzion, and also to raise the standard of the Religious Kibbutz movement. He will be sorely missed."