Two months have passed since the government forced residents out of their homes in the Gaza and northern Samaria regions. Most of them still are in temporary quarters in hotels and tent cities. They moved into the traditional Sukkot (makeshift dwellings) for the seven-day holiday but still are waiting for the government to allow communities to resettle as groups, rather than as individuals.
Uri and Hadassa DeYoung and their four small children are one of almost 70 families holed up in a Be'er Sheva hotel for two months. "We still are fighting the battle," says Hadassa, originally from Blawenburg, New Jersey, near Trenton. "The government is trying to break up the community because people work and learn Torah and are productive."
Her husband Uri, originally from the Atlantic City area and an accountant for the re-established Kfar Darom vegetable company, added, "We are setting an example of what Israel can be, and the people in power do not want to see a religious country."
The DeYoungs met in Israel and moved to Gush Katif 14 years ago, the last 12 years at Kfar Darom. Most of the community has stayed together, living in cramped hotel quarters where the children "are climbing the walls," said Hadassa.
Asher Mivtzari, one of the spokesmen for the Kfar Darom families, accused the government of purposely dragging its feet in an effort to break up the community. He compared the government's indifference to solving the plight of expulsion victims to its indifference to Jonathan Pollard, the Pentagon analyst imprisoned for life for passing intelligence secrets to Israel.
"The government's lack of morality is clear concerning us and Pollard, all of whom have worked for Israel," he said.
Mivtzari rejected Disengagement Authority claims that the communities created their own problems by rejecting government solutions.
"What has the government done? It rented 700 apartments scattered throughout the country. They called that a solution, but we made it clear to them that we wanted to stay together as a community."
He added that the 70 families of Kfar Darom reluctantly accepted a government proposal that they move into an Ashkelon high-rise for two years until permanent housing is built. "The government delays and delays and makes everything complicated. The building has been empty for months," Mivtzari asserted.
The government is paying about $2 million for housing the community in the Paradise Hotel in Be'er Sheva, estimated Mivtzari. He said the money could have been used to find temporary housing for the community.
Meanwhile, families like the DeYoungs remain determined to stay in the community. "We have been through bombings and shooting attacks. We are not going to break," insists Hadassa.
Their families in New Jersey occasionally tell them to take the compensation payments, which have not yet been paid, and move back to the United States. They reply, "We already are home."
The community is planning to move out of their Sukkot temporary dwellings Monday and celebrate the Simchat Torah holiday on Tuesday in Kfar Maimon. Afterwards, while the rest of the country already will have returned to permanent houses, the families from Kfar Darom will return to their temporary hotel rooms.
Uri and Hadassa DeYoung and their four small children are one of almost 70 families holed up in a Be'er Sheva hotel for two months. "We still are fighting the battle," says Hadassa, originally from Blawenburg, New Jersey, near Trenton. "The government is trying to break up the community because people work and learn Torah and are productive."
Her husband Uri, originally from the Atlantic City area and an accountant for the re-established Kfar Darom vegetable company, added, "We are setting an example of what Israel can be, and the people in power do not want to see a religious country."
The DeYoungs met in Israel and moved to Gush Katif 14 years ago, the last 12 years at Kfar Darom. Most of the community has stayed together, living in cramped hotel quarters where the children "are climbing the walls," said Hadassa.
Asher Mivtzari, one of the spokesmen for the Kfar Darom families, accused the government of purposely dragging its feet in an effort to break up the community. He compared the government's indifference to solving the plight of expulsion victims to its indifference to Jonathan Pollard, the Pentagon analyst imprisoned for life for passing intelligence secrets to Israel.
"The government's lack of morality is clear concerning us and Pollard, all of whom have worked for Israel," he said.
Mivtzari rejected Disengagement Authority claims that the communities created their own problems by rejecting government solutions.
"What has the government done? It rented 700 apartments scattered throughout the country. They called that a solution, but we made it clear to them that we wanted to stay together as a community."
He added that the 70 families of Kfar Darom reluctantly accepted a government proposal that they move into an Ashkelon high-rise for two years until permanent housing is built. "The government delays and delays and makes everything complicated. The building has been empty for months," Mivtzari asserted.
The government is paying about $2 million for housing the community in the Paradise Hotel in Be'er Sheva, estimated Mivtzari. He said the money could have been used to find temporary housing for the community.
Meanwhile, families like the DeYoungs remain determined to stay in the community. "We have been through bombings and shooting attacks. We are not going to break," insists Hadassa.
Their families in New Jersey occasionally tell them to take the compensation payments, which have not yet been paid, and move back to the United States. They reply, "We already are home."
The community is planning to move out of their Sukkot temporary dwellings Monday and celebrate the Simchat Torah holiday on Tuesday in Kfar Maimon. Afterwards, while the rest of the country already will have returned to permanent houses, the families from Kfar Darom will return to their temporary hotel rooms.