Excerpts from an interview with A., who is responsible for one of the intersections this evening:
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal: Which intersection exactly are you in charge of? Are we permitted to know, or is it a secret?
A.: The truth is that I don't know yet precisely which one it will be. When it gets closer to the time we will find out, by phone message or --
A7: by messenger pigeon?
A: -- something like that.
A7: What happens then? You go to the place and sit on the street, or you burn tires - how does it work?
A: At the right time, people will go to the intersection and block it, and what we hope is that 50-100 meters away, some others will burn tires at roads leading into the intersection, so that there will be a multiple effect...
A7: Do you have sufficient troops for this operation?
A: Yes. Today is a sort of practice; I estimate that about 5% of those who plan to do this when it becomes "for real" will be involved today. Many people don't want to appear too militant - they hope that somehow, perhaps miraculously, it will not get to that stage... Not everyone wants to get arrested, and some will come and show support from the side.
A7: Do you have guidelines for what to do if a driver gets angry and begins to act violently?
A: We, for sure, will not act violently. We'll try to calm him down and explain that we are not against anyone, but that we rather have specific goals. Our goals are, first of all, to see how strong we are; we're not using all our tools, but we want to see how things work. Secondly, there is a psychological aspect: People like to be on the winning side, and Sharon is currently giving off airs that he is winning; we want to show that the battle is far from over and that we are actually quite confident that in the end his plan won't work. This will increase the numbers in our ranks.
A7: But you know that there are those who have been apathetic until now, but will be angered by being stuck in traffic and will go against you.
A: People who are apathetic usually remain apathetic. There are many things that get them angry, yet they remain apathetic. In general, it's accepted that only a small percentage of the public takes an active role and is influential in things important issues... People will have to understand that they are passive partners to causing terrible suffering to thousands of people, and tens of thousands in later circles, and therefore they must be part of this decision; sooner or later it will reach their homes as well.
A7: And you don't care about getting them a little angry?
A: No, I don't care if they get a bit angry and are brought out of their apathy. Apathy plays into the hands of Sharon.
Speaking later on Arutz-7, MK Sha'ul Yahalom of the National Religious Party expressed his strong opposition to the idea of blocking intersections. Calling it a "super-violent" act and one that will lead to hatred, Yahalom said,
"What we have to do is to 'settle in the hearts,' meaning that all public opinion should be with us - but acts like this lead only to the opposite... In the meanwhile, a recent poll shows that 54% of the public is against the disengagement, and the number has risen; people explaining on radio and TV how terrible it is for them to be torn away from their homes, and the confusion and bungling of the government - these things help increase the opposition. It is too bad that we have these hot-headed people who think they're helping; not only are they not helping, they're causing damage to the matter of the Land of Israel."
[Back to the interview with road-blocking organizer named A.]
A7: You said that this is a test case; what do you think will happen when the real thing happens?
A: According to the amount of people I see who are willing to be arrested and the like, it appears that those who will come today are just a small percentage of those who will come out when it becomes for real. Many people say it's still too early - but there are others who are willing to be like Nachshon [the first person to jump into the not-yet split Red Sea during the Exodus from Egypt - ed.] in order to check the situation and see what will be needed to neutralize the police from being able to carry out the disengagement.
A7: Two leaders of your organization were arrested by police yesterday. How much does this effect the preparations for today?
A: Not at all, actually. We were surprised at the tardiness of the police, because they made the arrests at a stage when matters had already been taken out of central control and had already trickled down to the people in the field. It should be emphasized that the organizing body is very small, and that there are many home-grown groups in various locations, and the police really have no control. This also reflects the public sentiment better than if there were one large organizing body.
A7: The police keep announcing, almost every hour, that they have discovered a stash of tires or arrested someone. Doesn't this indicate that they are onto you pretty well?
A: The fact that this requires of them so many forces merely shows what awaits them when it really comes down to it. If, Heaven forbid, Gush Katif is closed off, people will leave their work and will be willing to go straight to jail. Secondly, we are dispersed in very many places, and there is no way to stop us.
A7: Many media reports say that the "settlers" will be blocking the roads. Is it true that the participants will be mostly residents of Yesha, or are they from all around the country?
A: In truth, it's hard for me to know, because there is no central organization, but rather groups of people from all around the country, from north to south, who don't know of each other.
Arutz-7's Haggai Segal: Which intersection exactly are you in charge of? Are we permitted to know, or is it a secret?
A.: The truth is that I don't know yet precisely which one it will be. When it gets closer to the time we will find out, by phone message or --
A7: by messenger pigeon?
A: -- something like that.
A7: What happens then? You go to the place and sit on the street, or you burn tires - how does it work?
A: At the right time, people will go to the intersection and block it, and what we hope is that 50-100 meters away, some others will burn tires at roads leading into the intersection, so that there will be a multiple effect...
A7: Do you have sufficient troops for this operation?
A: Yes. Today is a sort of practice; I estimate that about 5% of those who plan to do this when it becomes "for real" will be involved today. Many people don't want to appear too militant - they hope that somehow, perhaps miraculously, it will not get to that stage... Not everyone wants to get arrested, and some will come and show support from the side.
A7: Do you have guidelines for what to do if a driver gets angry and begins to act violently?
A: We, for sure, will not act violently. We'll try to calm him down and explain that we are not against anyone, but that we rather have specific goals. Our goals are, first of all, to see how strong we are; we're not using all our tools, but we want to see how things work. Secondly, there is a psychological aspect: People like to be on the winning side, and Sharon is currently giving off airs that he is winning; we want to show that the battle is far from over and that we are actually quite confident that in the end his plan won't work. This will increase the numbers in our ranks.
A7: But you know that there are those who have been apathetic until now, but will be angered by being stuck in traffic and will go against you.
A: People who are apathetic usually remain apathetic. There are many things that get them angry, yet they remain apathetic. In general, it's accepted that only a small percentage of the public takes an active role and is influential in things important issues... People will have to understand that they are passive partners to causing terrible suffering to thousands of people, and tens of thousands in later circles, and therefore they must be part of this decision; sooner or later it will reach their homes as well.
A7: And you don't care about getting them a little angry?
A: No, I don't care if they get a bit angry and are brought out of their apathy. Apathy plays into the hands of Sharon.
Speaking later on Arutz-7, MK Sha'ul Yahalom of the National Religious Party expressed his strong opposition to the idea of blocking intersections. Calling it a "super-violent" act and one that will lead to hatred, Yahalom said,
"What we have to do is to 'settle in the hearts,' meaning that all public opinion should be with us - but acts like this lead only to the opposite... In the meanwhile, a recent poll shows that 54% of the public is against the disengagement, and the number has risen; people explaining on radio and TV how terrible it is for them to be torn away from their homes, and the confusion and bungling of the government - these things help increase the opposition. It is too bad that we have these hot-headed people who think they're helping; not only are they not helping, they're causing damage to the matter of the Land of Israel."
[Back to the interview with road-blocking organizer named A.]
A7: You said that this is a test case; what do you think will happen when the real thing happens?
A: According to the amount of people I see who are willing to be arrested and the like, it appears that those who will come today are just a small percentage of those who will come out when it becomes for real. Many people say it's still too early - but there are others who are willing to be like Nachshon [the first person to jump into the not-yet split Red Sea during the Exodus from Egypt - ed.] in order to check the situation and see what will be needed to neutralize the police from being able to carry out the disengagement.
A7: Two leaders of your organization were arrested by police yesterday. How much does this effect the preparations for today?
A: Not at all, actually. We were surprised at the tardiness of the police, because they made the arrests at a stage when matters had already been taken out of central control and had already trickled down to the people in the field. It should be emphasized that the organizing body is very small, and that there are many home-grown groups in various locations, and the police really have no control. This also reflects the public sentiment better than if there were one large organizing body.
A7: The police keep announcing, almost every hour, that they have discovered a stash of tires or arrested someone. Doesn't this indicate that they are onto you pretty well?
A: The fact that this requires of them so many forces merely shows what awaits them when it really comes down to it. If, Heaven forbid, Gush Katif is closed off, people will leave their work and will be willing to go straight to jail. Secondly, we are dispersed in very many places, and there is no way to stop us.
A7: Many media reports say that the "settlers" will be blocking the roads. Is it true that the participants will be mostly residents of Yesha, or are they from all around the country?
A: In truth, it's hard for me to know, because there is no central organization, but rather groups of people from all around the country, from north to south, who don't know of each other.