At the site where Yossi Shok was shot to death by drive-by terrorists two weeks ago, south of Hevron, his family and friends lit Chanukah candles each night of the holiday. A menorah was set up at the site, and each night members of another of the neighboring communities - Beit Haggai, Otniel, Carmel, etc. - took part.
Tonight's ceremony is expected to be particularly large, with participants from all over the country.
Shok was murdered as he was driving home to Beit Haggai on Friday, Dec. 16. He is survived by his wife and five orphans, aged one month to nine years, and served as a member of the town secretariat and commander of the local emergency response team.
Northern Gaza
At 4 PM, a convoy of vehicles carrying former Gush Katif residents, rabbis and other public figures will arrive at a spot overlooking the ruins of the three demolished northern Gaza communities - Elei Sinai, Dugit and Nisanit - and will prepare to light eight Chanukah candles. Under the theme, "The light will emerge victorious over the darkness," the group will call upon the government to physically retake the area of northern Gaza.
"The three communities in this area," said Avi Farhan, a leader of the initiative and an expellee from Elei Sinai, "never should have been destroyed. There is simply no logic to it. These were state-owned lands, not near any Arabs; we didn't displace anyone, and we didn't bother anyone. The government had built a 70-million shekel fence around them - and then simply gave it all away. We call upon the government to recognize its mistake and rectify it - not by taking control of its air space [as in Operation Blue Skies - ed.], but by sending the IDF physically in and rebuilding the area."
The rabbi of the three communities, Rabbi Yishai Bar-Hen, will also be on hand. The rabbi is currently living in the temporary pre-fab community of Nitzan, together with several hundred of the expelled families. "We are willing to give up all the compensation that the government said it would give us," he said, "as long as they simply return us to the ruins that were our homes, and we'll build them from scratch."
Aware that this is not a very realistic option, Rabbi Bar-Hen said, "The problem is that much of the public is no longer aware of our plight; the problem has dropped from the public eye. The public is willing to let Sharon take responsibility, while it is interested in other things. But this won't make us give in - we are like the Maccabees, the few against the many, and as long as we can breathe and act, that's what we will do. Here in Nitzan, for instance, we have set up a Torah study program during the morning and evening hours for the unemployed farmers; we don't receive government money, and are trying to do it ourselves."
Sa-Nur
Some 15 former residents of northern Shomron and other supporters snuck back into the destroyed communities of Homesh and Sa-Nur during the Chanukah holiday, and lit candles there as well. Miriam Adler, one of the expellees, said, "We were thrown out, but we have not abandoned Sa-Nur, and we will continue to go back there until we are able to return for good."
Sa-Nur was found to be totally destroyed. "The Arabs continue to return here and destroy what they can," Adler said. "They looted and burnt walls, and cut down trees for firewood. Aside from the mountain of sand covering the synagogue [by the soldiers before they left] and the paved roads, nothing is left."
Yossi Dagan of Radio Kol Chai reported that the candle-lighters were in Sa-Nur for three full hours before being detected by Israeli security forces. "If they were able to sneak past all the roadblocks without being detected," Dagan noted, "this does not bode well for our security control of the area.
Dagan also noted that a group of army reservists in the area also made their way into Chomesh, where they lit candles in honor of the Jewish presence in the area.
Miriam Adler summed up, "Israel's return to northern Shomron is more than possible; it all depends on the public's determination."
Tonight's ceremony is expected to be particularly large, with participants from all over the country.
Shok was murdered as he was driving home to Beit Haggai on Friday, Dec. 16. He is survived by his wife and five orphans, aged one month to nine years, and served as a member of the town secretariat and commander of the local emergency response team.
Northern Gaza
At 4 PM, a convoy of vehicles carrying former Gush Katif residents, rabbis and other public figures will arrive at a spot overlooking the ruins of the three demolished northern Gaza communities - Elei Sinai, Dugit and Nisanit - and will prepare to light eight Chanukah candles. Under the theme, "The light will emerge victorious over the darkness," the group will call upon the government to physically retake the area of northern Gaza.
"The three communities in this area," said Avi Farhan, a leader of the initiative and an expellee from Elei Sinai, "never should have been destroyed. There is simply no logic to it. These were state-owned lands, not near any Arabs; we didn't displace anyone, and we didn't bother anyone. The government had built a 70-million shekel fence around them - and then simply gave it all away. We call upon the government to recognize its mistake and rectify it - not by taking control of its air space [as in Operation Blue Skies - ed.], but by sending the IDF physically in and rebuilding the area."
The rabbi of the three communities, Rabbi Yishai Bar-Hen, will also be on hand. The rabbi is currently living in the temporary pre-fab community of Nitzan, together with several hundred of the expelled families. "We are willing to give up all the compensation that the government said it would give us," he said, "as long as they simply return us to the ruins that were our homes, and we'll build them from scratch."
Aware that this is not a very realistic option, Rabbi Bar-Hen said, "The problem is that much of the public is no longer aware of our plight; the problem has dropped from the public eye. The public is willing to let Sharon take responsibility, while it is interested in other things. But this won't make us give in - we are like the Maccabees, the few against the many, and as long as we can breathe and act, that's what we will do. Here in Nitzan, for instance, we have set up a Torah study program during the morning and evening hours for the unemployed farmers; we don't receive government money, and are trying to do it ourselves."
Sa-Nur
Some 15 former residents of northern Shomron and other supporters snuck back into the destroyed communities of Homesh and Sa-Nur during the Chanukah holiday, and lit candles there as well. Miriam Adler, one of the expellees, said, "We were thrown out, but we have not abandoned Sa-Nur, and we will continue to go back there until we are able to return for good."
Sa-Nur was found to be totally destroyed. "The Arabs continue to return here and destroy what they can," Adler said. "They looted and burnt walls, and cut down trees for firewood. Aside from the mountain of sand covering the synagogue [by the soldiers before they left] and the paved roads, nothing is left."
Yossi Dagan of Radio Kol Chai reported that the candle-lighters were in Sa-Nur for three full hours before being detected by Israeli security forces. "If they were able to sneak past all the roadblocks without being detected," Dagan noted, "this does not bode well for our security control of the area.
Dagan also noted that a group of army reservists in the area also made their way into Chomesh, where they lit candles in honor of the Jewish presence in the area.
Miriam Adler summed up, "Israel's return to northern Shomron is more than possible; it all depends on the public's determination."