Arutz-7's Kobi Sela, who traveled the length and breadth of the chain, began the afternoon in Nisanit, a mixed religious-and-secular community in northern Gaza of some 300 families. There he met one of the southern-most links in the chain, Nechemiah Agadi, writing Biblical verses and the like on large signs. Asked to explain his actions, Agadi said,
"There are many who mistakenly think that the chain began today, or a few decades ago. But really it began well before - at the Creation of the world. [Medieval Torah commentator] Rashi already explained: Why did the Torah begin with the story of Creation, instead of with the first commandment to the Jewish people? The answer is, in order to show His nation that the world is His, and that He apportions it as He wants - giving the Land of Israel to the People of Israel. The first settler was the Patriarch Abraham, and the story continues with Isaac, Jacob, the Tribes, the Giving of the Torah, then our re-entry into the Land with Joshua bin Nun, who conquered it and divided it up among the tribes, then the Judges, and King David, and the First and Second Temples, and the long exile of 2,000 years during which we pined to return to Our Land, and now here we are!"
Human chains were simultaneously formed across the globe, in New York, Washington, Tokyo, Atlanta, Sydney and elsewhere. In Melbourne, the Beth Rivkah Ladies College formed a chain, with each class representing another region, beginning with Gush Katif and ending with Jerusalem. "The feeling of unity was amazing," one participant reported.
Over 500 people took part in a solidarity chain in New York City, organized by Americans For a Safe Israel. Carrying signs reading, "Sharon - Let the people STAY", "As Gaza Goes, So Goes all of Israel", "The Land of Israel belongs to the People of Israel," and "Pres. Bush, Honor G-d's Covenant with Israel," the crowd roared with approval as the speakers repeated that terrorism must not be rewarded, that Jews must not be expelled from their land, that mortals cannot break G-d's covenant with the Jewish people, and that there must not arise a PLO state. Busloads of Chabad-Lubavitch members also took part.
The organizers have already begun working on their next project. The new campaign, entitled, "Our Love Will Win Out - Gush Katif and Samaria," will involve personal visits to more than 1.2 million Israeli homes in a face-to-face effort to convince them to resist the expulsion/retreat plan. Yesha Council head Bentzy Lieberman told reporters today that the current struggle is "not just for Gush Katif, but for the entire Land of Israel." He introduced several new slogans to the ongoing public campaign, including, "We have love, and it will win out," and "We are all Gush Katif and Samaria."
Former Labor MK Uzi Bar'am grudgingly admitted today that if the right-wing continues its efforts along the lines of yesterday's event, while those who support the pullout plan continue to remain silent, "it will be impossible to implement the disengagement."
"There are many who mistakenly think that the chain began today, or a few decades ago. But really it began well before - at the Creation of the world. [Medieval Torah commentator] Rashi already explained: Why did the Torah begin with the story of Creation, instead of with the first commandment to the Jewish people? The answer is, in order to show His nation that the world is His, and that He apportions it as He wants - giving the Land of Israel to the People of Israel. The first settler was the Patriarch Abraham, and the story continues with Isaac, Jacob, the Tribes, the Giving of the Torah, then our re-entry into the Land with Joshua bin Nun, who conquered it and divided it up among the tribes, then the Judges, and King David, and the First and Second Temples, and the long exile of 2,000 years during which we pined to return to Our Land, and now here we are!"
Human chains were simultaneously formed across the globe, in New York, Washington, Tokyo, Atlanta, Sydney and elsewhere. In Melbourne, the Beth Rivkah Ladies College formed a chain, with each class representing another region, beginning with Gush Katif and ending with Jerusalem. "The feeling of unity was amazing," one participant reported.
Over 500 people took part in a solidarity chain in New York City, organized by Americans For a Safe Israel. Carrying signs reading, "Sharon - Let the people STAY", "As Gaza Goes, So Goes all of Israel", "The Land of Israel belongs to the People of Israel," and "Pres. Bush, Honor G-d's Covenant with Israel," the crowd roared with approval as the speakers repeated that terrorism must not be rewarded, that Jews must not be expelled from their land, that mortals cannot break G-d's covenant with the Jewish people, and that there must not arise a PLO state. Busloads of Chabad-Lubavitch members also took part.
The organizers have already begun working on their next project. The new campaign, entitled, "Our Love Will Win Out - Gush Katif and Samaria," will involve personal visits to more than 1.2 million Israeli homes in a face-to-face effort to convince them to resist the expulsion/retreat plan. Yesha Council head Bentzy Lieberman told reporters today that the current struggle is "not just for Gush Katif, but for the entire Land of Israel." He introduced several new slogans to the ongoing public campaign, including, "We have love, and it will win out," and "We are all Gush Katif and Samaria."
Former Labor MK Uzi Bar'am grudgingly admitted today that if the right-wing continues its efforts along the lines of yesterday's event, while those who support the pullout plan continue to remain silent, "it will be impossible to implement the disengagement."