The government's Disengagement Ministerial Committee decided a few days ago to approve a project that would enable the Gush Katif expellees to establish new communities in the Lachish region, in the northern Negev bordering southwestern Judea.
One of the communities, however, was to be in Kibbutz Shomriyah - the youngest kibbutz in Israel, and a very unsuccessful one. It was founded in 1982 by the left-wing HaShomer HaTza'ir [Young Guard] movement. Of the 35 families living there in its heyday, only 11 remain. The government plan was to move the 55 Atzmonah families to the kibbutz, in place of the 11 families currently there. The latter were to be paid $300,000 each - but they demanded $500,000.
By a 17-5 vote (each family gets two votes), the kibbutz decided to reject the offer. The families of Atzmonah will therefore remain in their encampment, uncertain of their future.
This is not the final word, however. For one thing, the government is likely to increase its offer, leading to another vote in the kibbutz.
The families of Atzmonah are not holding their breath, though. They actually prefer to move to another area, just north of Shomriyah, where they will be able to start a new community from scratch. Resident Dudu Reish explained to Arutz-7:
"The name of the place is Mirsham, next to an Arab village of a similar name. It was supposed to be a Jewish settlement site some ten years ago, but never got off the ground, and we hope now to redeem it, and build it up."
Asked why the government would be willing to pay so much to the kibbutz families rather than have the Atzmonah families move into pre-fab housing like other expellees, Reish said, "We're not just talking about apartments, but rather about starting a new farming community, like we had in Atzmonah - with land, and infrastructures, and water, and hothouses, and a sapling nursery, and a dairy. This is a major undertaking."
Reish explained that he and his co-townsmen hope not to move to Shomriyah, "as we have no interest in causing, even indirectly, Jews to sell out their community in the Land of Israel... Ideally, we would love to help them [the people of Shomriyah] build up their kibbutz again - but that's not happening."
On his way to a meeting with government officials about Mirsham, Reish said,
"For some reason, they're telling us that it will take eight months to get it ready - but we have informed them that if work doesn't start within a week or two, enabling us to arrive there within three months, we'll simply move there ourselves! We'll take all our caravans and tents from Faith City and move them to the site. They say there's no water? We'll bring a water tower. They say there's no electricity? We'll bring a generator. The people of Atzmonah are used to building communities from scratch - but there's no reason to wait eight months! We had a traumatic experience, and now we have to repair the damage that was caused. The Land of Israel is waiting for us!"
The 55 families are actually closer to 70, Reish said, as some others are currently living in Yad Binyamin or other temporary housing sites. "Within a few years," he added with his trademark enthusiasm, "we expect to grow, with G-d's help, to 150-200 families, and turn this area into another flourishing community in the Land of Israel."
One of the communities, however, was to be in Kibbutz Shomriyah - the youngest kibbutz in Israel, and a very unsuccessful one. It was founded in 1982 by the left-wing HaShomer HaTza'ir [Young Guard] movement. Of the 35 families living there in its heyday, only 11 remain. The government plan was to move the 55 Atzmonah families to the kibbutz, in place of the 11 families currently there. The latter were to be paid $300,000 each - but they demanded $500,000.
By a 17-5 vote (each family gets two votes), the kibbutz decided to reject the offer. The families of Atzmonah will therefore remain in their encampment, uncertain of their future.
This is not the final word, however. For one thing, the government is likely to increase its offer, leading to another vote in the kibbutz.
The families of Atzmonah are not holding their breath, though. They actually prefer to move to another area, just north of Shomriyah, where they will be able to start a new community from scratch. Resident Dudu Reish explained to Arutz-7:
"The name of the place is Mirsham, next to an Arab village of a similar name. It was supposed to be a Jewish settlement site some ten years ago, but never got off the ground, and we hope now to redeem it, and build it up."
Asked why the government would be willing to pay so much to the kibbutz families rather than have the Atzmonah families move into pre-fab housing like other expellees, Reish said, "We're not just talking about apartments, but rather about starting a new farming community, like we had in Atzmonah - with land, and infrastructures, and water, and hothouses, and a sapling nursery, and a dairy. This is a major undertaking."
Reish explained that he and his co-townsmen hope not to move to Shomriyah, "as we have no interest in causing, even indirectly, Jews to sell out their community in the Land of Israel... Ideally, we would love to help them [the people of Shomriyah] build up their kibbutz again - but that's not happening."
On his way to a meeting with government officials about Mirsham, Reish said,
"For some reason, they're telling us that it will take eight months to get it ready - but we have informed them that if work doesn't start within a week or two, enabling us to arrive there within three months, we'll simply move there ourselves! We'll take all our caravans and tents from Faith City and move them to the site. They say there's no water? We'll bring a water tower. They say there's no electricity? We'll bring a generator. The people of Atzmonah are used to building communities from scratch - but there's no reason to wait eight months! We had a traumatic experience, and now we have to repair the damage that was caused. The Land of Israel is waiting for us!"
The 55 families are actually closer to 70, Reish said, as some others are currently living in Yad Binyamin or other temporary housing sites. "Within a few years," he added with his trademark enthusiasm, "we expect to grow, with G-d's help, to 150-200 families, and turn this area into another flourishing community in the Land of Israel."