Prime Minister Sharon happened to meet a woman from Gush Katif in the Knesset last night - and although he smiled and tried to reassure her, she was not reassured. Chana Pekar, a resident of Shirat HaYam (Song of the Sea), related what happened:
"I saw him at the other end of the corridor, and walked towards him - with a "Gush Katif" bag on my shoulder, so he could clearly see who I was. But he didn't walk away, but rather waited for me to come closer. I said to him, 'Hello, Mr. Prime Minister, I'm from Gush Katif. Do you really intend to uproot us from our homes?' He looked at me and said in a reassuring type of tone, 'Don't worry, nothing is final yet, we still have to discuss it in the government, etc.' I said to him, 'Mr. Prime Minister, you know Gush Katif, you built it.' He smiled, and said, 'Of course, for sure, I know it well.' I said, 'So you should come visit us, before you start talking about removing us. A year ago, I was part of a delegation that visited with you, and you received us very nicely, and were happy to learn that I am from Shirat HaYam - but were you ever in Shirat HaYam?' He said no, and I said, 'So you have to come and see what's going on there.' He then smiled broadly again and said, 'Of course, for sure.' Then I looked him in the eye and said, 'Mr. Prime Minister, you are a believer, correct?' He nodded, and I said, 'So you believe that this Land has been given to us, right?' And I said some more things about the connection between the People of Israel and the Land, and then the reporters started coming, and that was the end."
Asked if she came away comforted, Chana said cheerfully, "Not at all. It's obvious that he would say it's not finalized yet; that's why I'm coming to protest now. Does he expect me to come to protest only after it's all signed and delivered? This is one of the lessons that we learned from the evacuation of Yamit in 1982 - that we have to start before the deal is finalized. I don't know exactly what value all our protests have, but I have learned in life that we have to do everything we can, and the rest is not in our hands..."
"Well, Sharon might still surprise you, and show up one day in your caravan," said Arutz-7's Haggai Segal. "With G-d's help," said Chana. "I invited him, and he'll be welcome."
"I saw him at the other end of the corridor, and walked towards him - with a "Gush Katif" bag on my shoulder, so he could clearly see who I was. But he didn't walk away, but rather waited for me to come closer. I said to him, 'Hello, Mr. Prime Minister, I'm from Gush Katif. Do you really intend to uproot us from our homes?' He looked at me and said in a reassuring type of tone, 'Don't worry, nothing is final yet, we still have to discuss it in the government, etc.' I said to him, 'Mr. Prime Minister, you know Gush Katif, you built it.' He smiled, and said, 'Of course, for sure, I know it well.' I said, 'So you should come visit us, before you start talking about removing us. A year ago, I was part of a delegation that visited with you, and you received us very nicely, and were happy to learn that I am from Shirat HaYam - but were you ever in Shirat HaYam?' He said no, and I said, 'So you have to come and see what's going on there.' He then smiled broadly again and said, 'Of course, for sure.' Then I looked him in the eye and said, 'Mr. Prime Minister, you are a believer, correct?' He nodded, and I said, 'So you believe that this Land has been given to us, right?' And I said some more things about the connection between the People of Israel and the Land, and then the reporters started coming, and that was the end."
Asked if she came away comforted, Chana said cheerfully, "Not at all. It's obvious that he would say it's not finalized yet; that's why I'm coming to protest now. Does he expect me to come to protest only after it's all signed and delivered? This is one of the lessons that we learned from the evacuation of Yamit in 1982 - that we have to start before the deal is finalized. I don't know exactly what value all our protests have, but I have learned in life that we have to do everything we can, and the rest is not in our hands..."
"Well, Sharon might still surprise you, and show up one day in your caravan," said Arutz-7's Haggai Segal. "With G-d's help," said Chana. "I invited him, and he'll be welcome."