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18 Friday, December 9, 1977 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
ASSOCIATED PODIATRISTS, P.C.
Announces the association of
RONALD REIFSCHNEIDER, D.P.M.
with
Mathew Borovoy, D.P.M.
and
Bernard Wechsler, D.P.M.
in the practice of Podiatric Medicine
and Foot Surgery
For appointment
313/548-6717
25725 Coolidge Highway
Oak Park, Michigan 48237
Hothouse Tomatoes Are Big Export Item
From Moshav Dikla in the Northern Sinai
Just past the westward
curve of the coastline of the
Mediterranean Sea, in the
area of northern Sinai, palm
trees wave in the desert
breeze and flocks of Bed-
ouin sheep seem to exist
only on the barest of scrub.
Life is flourishing, how-
ever, among the sand dunes
separating the Sinai Penin-
sula from the Gaza Strip.
Israeli technology is hard at
work, and hothouse to-
matoes are thriving in
Moshav Dikla, according to
Janet Mendelsohn in Israel
Digest.
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Dikla, a cooperative agri-
cultural community only
five-years-old, is today a
profitable farming village
growing in size every year.
As part of the Pithat Ra-
fiah, (Rafiah Approaches)
development region, Dikla
is one of nine established
communities in the area.
Six more have been in the
planning stages for 1977, ac-
cording to Avshalom Ro-
koch, assistant head of the
Settlement Department,
Southern Region, for the
World Zionist Organization.
As a specialist in agricul-
tural and rural planning,
Rokoch is proud of the Is-
raeli innovations and the re-
search being done in the
desert.
"The possibilities are un-
limited," he says. "With the
fine climate of this area and
the plentiful sunshine, the
areas of the Negev and
northern Sinai are ideal for
highly intensive agricul-
ture."
Dikla accepts 10 families
a year as candidates.
"There is a _ long list of
people applying for mem-
bership, but they all go
through a rigorous screen-
ing process," says Zev Gul-
den, one of the founding
members .of Dikla.
"It takes a certain type of
stamina to live here and
help in the building of the
community, and we want to
try and make sure our hav-
erim (members) are
serious and can adapt to
this life in the middle of the
desert."
Gulden., a native of Tel
Aviv, made his way to this
desolate area as part of his
army service. As a member
of the original Nahal, or
pioneering, group of sol-
diers, he and other 18-year-
old 1§raelis formed the basis
of the moshav — pTanting
winter crops in this sunny
area and living in tents be-
fore the houses were con-
structed.
Dikla and a handful of
other such early commu-
nities in the Pithat Rafiah
region served as a buffer
between the Sinai Peninsula
and the Gaza &rip.
The first years were spent
with strenuous days of work
and long nights of guard
duty, but for the few mem-
bers that stayed on in the
moshav after service in the.
Israel Defense Forces, the
problems and growing pains
have been worthwhile.
"We are . developing, and
Dikla firmly has its roots in
the ground," says Zev Gul-
den, taking a break from his
two-meter high tomato
plants. "One day I'll be able
to tell my son about the 'old
days,' but right now I'm too
busy working to think about
it!" smiles Gulden proudly,
a pioneer at 26.
The original community
at Dikla began as a moshav
shitufi, or collective, with
all the members equally
sharing the responSibilities
and work as well as the
wealth — which was scarce"
in those days.
In recent years, however,
cided to change into a coop-
erative settlement or mosh-
av ovdim, and each family
independently operates • its
own half-acre hothouse
which yields as much as one
and a quarter acres of regu-
larly cultivated tomatoes.
Experimental fields of
mangoes are shared by all,
and ideas are currently on
the drawing board to devel-
op the crystal-clear strand
of the Dikla Beach into one
of the Mediterranean's most
sparkling tourist attrac-
tions.
One of the area's newest
packing houses has been
opened at Dikla and with
ultra-modern sorting and
packaging equipment, the
process of getting the to-
matoes fresh from the vine
to the European dinner
table is quickly accom-
plished.
"Tomatoes that are pick-
ed on a Monday and flown
to Europe the same after-
noon are ready for the
Tuesday morning shoppers
throughout Europe," says
Tirza Low Tame, a pert
Argentinian new immigrant
to Israel — and Dikla.
Tirza is responsible for
the allocation of the tons of
tomatoes that come pouring
into the packing house from
November to March, which
in turn fetch premium
prices on the European
market.
Tirza came for what was
to be a short visit to Dikla in
April of 1974 to see her
boyfriend, Eliezer; a horti-
culturist from Buenos Aires,
who was entranced by the
idea of raising gladioli, car-
nations, and other flowers in
the Negev.
Winter vegetables were
found to be more successful
for the export market, and
Eliezer and the other pio-
neers were quick to latch
on to modern Israeli in-
novations in hothouse pro-
duction. Eliezer also latched
onto Tirza, and the couple
are expecting their first
child and quite happy in
their new rural Israeli life.
Like many of the other
young members of Dikla
Tirza and Eliezer are qui
to point out the good rel.
tions between the moshav
and their surrounding neigh-
bors — primarily local Bed-
ouin and Arab villagers.
Several football matches
were played this spring be-
tween the hearty men of
Dikla and Arabs from Ra-
fiah and the Gaza Strip
area, many of whom are
employed at Dikla's packing
house.
"Several of the guys came
up with the idea, and we've
had good competitive
matches," says Eliezer,
who can communicate fair-
ly well in his recently ac-
quired Arabic.
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Sunday 12 to 5
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