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HANUKAH AND A HOME

by Anita Tucker

  

From the Netzer Hazani website (http://www.netzerhazani.org)

"In 2005, the Community of Netzer Hazani was uprooted after thirty years on the shores of the Mediterranean. The families of community immediately began rebuilding the homes they lost in Gush Katif. "In 2009, Netzer Hazani was reborn. A new town being built on empty land in the Nachal Sorek area between Ashkelon and Jerusalem in the foothills of Judean Mountains. Learn more about this vibrant and amazing community."
 

Dearest friends,

I began writing to you all about what was happening in Gush Katif 10 years ago, Hanukah 2000, when the confused understanding of what "shalom" means led to terror as well as disenfranchising us from our Arab friends and neighbors.

It is almost 2010 and here I am still crying on your shoulders.

Thanks for still being here for me.

I just came back from a long meeting of our building committee with the architects we have engaged, both for our homes and for the community buildings that must be built anew. In honor of Chanukah we are working hard on finishing the plans for our synagogue and public buildings of the Netzer Hazani that will be.

The horrors of the government building freeze these last weeks in Judea and Samaria, Israel's heartland, permeated a more significant than ever atmosphere to us Gush Katifers that building anew is a must and as quickly as possible.

All that happened around the "building freeze" that Israel's government announced - seeing the picture of a Yassamnik (special police) grabbing a mother and injuring her in a Judea town and many similar photos on the Internet aroused traumatic memories (as we saw it being done to our own children who now live in these towns) of what happened to us.

I feel motivated more than ever that we have to find the strength to rebuild as fast as possible and as tastefully as possible so that those behind these strange efforts to try to stifle the flourishing of the spirit and values of Am Yisrael, Torat Israel and Eretz Yisrael will see with their own eyes that they cannot really succeed -

We had the Chanukat Habayit (dedication celebration) of our home built in Neter Hazani in Gush Katif almost 35 years ago!

The destruction of our home and all of the Gush Katif homes was so final. Yet, new structures will arise to enable the spirit and values to be able to have a base for flourishing anew! The infrastructure in the new town is now awaiting impatiently that we begin anew to build.

If there are further attempts to try to stifle building in other places other solutions will be found... but the spirit and values of Israel and its people will not be destroyed, as we have been promised by our Prophets!

As we have seen miracles in those days so we have been privileged to have seen miracles in these days. As we have seen rededication "in those days so it will be in these days!"

To me it is an absolutely amazing phenomenon that G-d arranged things that we of Netzer Hazani were unable to acquire the land to build anew for agriculture without partnering with caring Jews from all over the world.

Now this "Hanukah" again G-d has arranged things in such a way that in order to be able to build community buildings anew for the community we are forced to invite caring Jews to partner with us on this.

Yes, we are forced to share this Hanukah privilege of helping towards this Chanukat Habayit with those who care and understand. How much simpler it would have been for us had we received compensation to build anew exactly what we had in Gush Katif and we would not have been dependent on anyone. It looks to me that G-d saw an importance in this partnership of Jews all over Israel and the Diaspora with us. We have no choice but to flow with G-d and turn to you with this opportunity.

If you care, understand and choose to partner with us, please see how to do so in our website
http://www.netzerhazani.org/donate via secure online donation, mail or bank transfer. Please click here.

Or you can send American Dollar Checks
In the US:
American Friends of Netzer Hazani
POB 268
Cedarhurst, New York 11516

In Israel:
Please make checks out to Central Fund for Israel, memo to Netzer Hazani and send to:
T'chiyat Netzer Hazani
Ein Tzurim
D.N. Sde Gat
Israel,79510

Or you can send Israeli Shekel Checks
T'chiyat Netzer Hazani (approved Israel registered fund )
Ein Tzurim
D.N. Sde Gat 79510

For an Israeli 46 a tax exempt donation, checks should be made to our Keren Yochanan - memo check, Techiyat Netzer Hazani, and mail to same address.

Of course, the more you are able to partner with us on this the faster will be the Chanukat Habayit of our new town and these community buildings. However, truly what is most significant is that your caring and help will give us the strength to continue to meet the many challenges yet ahead.

It really isn't so much fun to have to write to you about this, but it is what has to be done if we all agree, as I am sure you do, that we each must do our part and cannot allow the spirit and values to be destroyed.

Forgive us for not wasting funds on more shiny pamphlets and for turning to you in this direct way (please read below as well).

Best wishes for a meaningful and Hanukah Sameach, sincerely hoping to hear from everyone of you to whom this letter reaches and feel free to forward this to others that you feel should receive it.

Anita
Ein Tzurim DN
Sde Gat 79510
Israel
tel.972-547775268


Here are a few examples of the projects for which the government's participation covers only about a third of the cost of putting up each building.

The community center in memory of Itamar Yefet H.Y.D. (Itamar was 18 yrs old when he was murdered by Arab terrorists in GK in 2001 -5761 as a result of the so called "peace initiatives." His parents were successful herb farmers and through their efforts a beautiful community center was built in Netzer Hazani in 2004 and was destroyed)

Beit Midrash learning center adjacent to synagogue in memory of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama HYD. This beloved and honored scholar, Rabbi of Netzer Hazani, was shot down byArab terrorists dressesd as IDF soldiers before the eyes of his wife and six children in 2003/763. this will not be not covered by any government funding, nor will the beautiful wooden tables and chairs we had and need for learning here and bookshelves,and smaller woodcarved aron kodesh that were all ruined in storage.

Ezrat Nashim women's section mechitza and seats in memory of Esther (Etti) Pachima H.Y.D. who was murdered by Arab terrorists leaving her injured husband and four children with our community. The beautiful mechitza and wooden velvet covered padded seats of women's section of synagogue that Gabi, her husband and their families generously donated were destroyed in the extended storage by Government offices in inappropriate conditions for extended time and no compensation was received to replace this.

Bnei Akiva building for the children's activities. In Netzer Hazani this building educated our youth to the values that enabled them the fortitude and faith which they demonstrated during the most challenging of times.

Youth center in memory of Yochanan Hilberg. This was a building in Netzer Hazani that was put up by our families as a comfort to this family of our community whose son was killed in duty as an IDF Navy Seal by the Hizbollah in Lebanon. For this building we have not yet received any compensation and it still being debated in appeals and it is not known how much and in how many years these funds will be received. Our amazing youth need this youth center as their focus point of the values that were symbolized by Yochanan's life of modesty and devotion to Israel. The Hilberg family who had to uproot and reinter Yochanon's remains have since had two other younger children who also served in special Navy units, deserve again this dynamic form of comfort that they had chosen to memorialize their son.

Basketball Court and Soccer field. Training in our Netzer Hazani basketball court in Gush Katif enabled the youth to win the regional tournament 5 yrs. consecutively. They yearn for a serious field in order to return the lost basketball glory to our community. The government's limited compensation does not provide funds to enable any such facilities.

Women's Mikva. In Netzer Hazani we invested large sums of funds from families donations in order to enhance the building with beautiful tiles and appropriate facilities. There has been no compensation for this. The regional council to where we will move will generously help us on the basic building but all else must be again funded by us.

Men's Mikva. In Netzer Hazani we had a men's mikva according to custom which was destroyed. No compensation was received for this. We hope that a way will be found to enable this to be again built for those to whom it is important.

The beautiful stained glass and wooden sanctuary - Aharon Kodesh, Bimah-prayer stand, wood paneling, light chandeliers, wooden cushioned pews -seats, bookshelves and many other symbolic, meaningful and expensive items were all ruined in the Ministry of Defense shipping containers while first being stored in temperatures reaching 90 degrees Celsius and later dumped into a damp shed by the Ministry for Religious Affairs until a new town is built. All these must now be acquired anew while we have received no compensation for these.In an attempt to repair this injustice we must sue in court at great expense while not at all clear what exactly will be the results after the many years that such cases take.

Playgrounds, park benches and other landscaping items in parks and around town must be built anew with no funding to replace them.

We, of course, will be honored by any requests for dedications of any partial or total buildings and equipment etc. as well as small donations as an expression of partnership in this dedication anew.

If, by miracle, we find more partners than needed to build and equip these structures any additional funds will be used to help reestablish greenhouses that were not compensated for sufficiently.

 

If you want to view pictures of structures that were destroyed between 2000 and 2003 visit our site: http://www.netzerhazani.org.

Anita Tucker
http://netzerhazani.blogspot.com
http://www.netzerhazani.org
 

 

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