Several hundred rabbis paid a solidarity visit to Gush Katif in the Gaza area of southern Israel yesterday. The members of the Union of Rabbis for the Nation and Land of Israel, under the leadership of former Chief Rabbis Avraham Shapira and Mordechai Eliyahu, visited the towns of Kfar Darom and N'vei Dekalim.
The rabbis' concluding statement notes that the recent diplomatic agreements are null and void, and that "Gush Katif is a tremendous Torah center and economic focal point, blessed with great educational centers - school, yeshivot, kollels, pre-military academies, high schools [and more]... The very thought of running away from Gush Katif, expelling its residents and giving its lands to our enemy, is contrary to Torah and to morality, and is a dangerous political mistake that will lead the entire southern region to increased terrorism... Uprooting the Gush Katif communities will split the nation even more... We say to the residents of Gush Katif and those of Judea and Samaria: Do not fear, and continue with greater strength your tremendous work."
The rabbis' concluding statement notes that the recent diplomatic agreements are null and void, and that "Gush Katif is a tremendous Torah center and economic focal point, blessed with great educational centers - school, yeshivot, kollels, pre-military academies, high schools [and more]... The very thought of running away from Gush Katif, expelling its residents and giving its lands to our enemy, is contrary to Torah and to morality, and is a dangerous political mistake that will lead the entire southern region to increased terrorism... Uprooting the Gush Katif communities will split the nation even more... We say to the residents of Gush Katif and those of Judea and Samaria: Do not fear, and continue with greater strength your tremendous work."