"Incredible" U R • ITU Al Bitter Harvest For Gush Katif MICHELLE MAZEL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS G "Incredible" PR ICE AGS Tremendous Selection ♦ "FORM ITALIA" Leather All New Merchandise ♦ Sectionals 50% OFF ♦ Wall Units ♦ Tables ♦ Sofas ♦ Love Seats ♦ Dining Rooms ♦ Bedrooms 4- 4 ' C.., 0 AlE1 300VH .au )100H9 MOOV3 VV SHERWOOD WAREHOUSE , C4s‘I', Farmington Hills Industrial Center (5, ,,, It< , 0,1, be/ 0 HALSTEAD RD. and more! SHERWOOD STUDIOS WAREHOUSE 24760 Crestview Ct. Farmington Hills 476-3760 10 MILE Peter Cristiano Southfield City Council I EXPERIENCE I • Southfield Government 32 Yrs. • Southfield Council 12 Yrs. • Southfield Council President 2 Yrs. • Southfield Administrator 12 Yrs. • Southfield Family Resident 35 Yrs. I commiTmENT • New Senior Housing Developments. • Paramedics Life Support Units. 22 von ammo MOM 2 • Community Police and Fire Safety. • Cultural Arts and Recreation. • Strengthened Neighborhoods. (Raid for by Citizens for Cristiana) & focs 6 00 (IV 1,e gift We are pleased to announce that Martin Malter, formerly of Matter Furs, is associated with us. Mr. Malter is looking forward to serving his customers and friends at Ceresnie & Offen. 181 S. Woodward Ave. Birmingham, MI 48009 • 642-1690 ush Katif' roughly translated into Eng- lish is "Harvest Coun- try." But the early set- tlers in this region certainly could not have envisaged the bitter harvest they would one day reap. Catapulted into the international spotlight in re- cent months, five Gush Katif residents have been murdered by Arabs in the last year alone. What brings Jews to this 12 x 1 1/2 mile (31 x 4 kilo- meters) stretch of fertile soil at the southern tip of the Gaza strip, between the powder kegs of Gaza and Rafiah? Surely this can't be the most appealing place to make one's home and raise one's family. Some of Gush Katif's 4,200 settlers, about 50 percent of whom are religious, came from Yamit in northern Sinai, which was to be Israel's third major port. Returned to Egypt in 1982 following the Camp David accords, residents were forcibly removed by the Israeli army, and Yamit, a town of lush gardens and opulent homes, was dismantl- ed piece by piece. The settlement drive in Gush Katif, which was originally intended as a link with Yamit, was backed by both left and right wing governments and was scheduled to make up for the loss of Yamit — sometimes referred to as the "new Yamit." For the religious settlers, there was also the biblical connection to Gaza and its celebrated strip — from whence came the biblical stories Samson and the faithless Delilah, and David and Goliath. The Philistines, who in- habited the region, are long gone and the last Jews were forced out of the city by Arabs in 1931 (during the British Mandate), with the British Governor general indiffer- ently looking on. Renewed Jewish settlement in the area began in the aftermath of the Six-Day War, with military settlements like Gan Or (Garden of Light), Bedolah (Crystal) and Gedid (Date Harvest) which were later turned over to civilians. Hard work, inspiration, know-how, and generous set- tlement budgets turned Gush Katif into a model province with new roads, an air strip, pleasant houses, and well tended gardens. Its hot houses produce prize-winning tomatoes for export, accoun- ting for 40 percent of the country's tomato exports; its roses are flown to European markets in mid winter, and the house plants of one moshav alone (Moshav Bnei Atzmon), bring in $1 million a year. A successful tourist resort offering horse and camel rides, the 114 rooms of the Palm Beach Hotel are fully booked weeks in advance. The attraction? Endless golden beaches, a sea breeze, and startling sunsets which usher in enchanted evenings. Hard work and know how turned Gush Katif into a model province. The only thing missing is more settlers. The original government plan called for 5,000 families at the outset and 25,000 by 1989. Only 16 settlements, however, some with only 15 families, materialized. What went wrong? Firstly, Arabs begin in- filtrating settlements at night to steal, set fire to pack- ing houses, and destroy greenhouses, leading to retaliatory raids by the set- tlers. Then with the onset of the intifada in 1987, the con- frontations escalated, and set- tlers began traveling armed and mostly in pairs. Because of its relatively small population, Gush Katif farmers have had to rely heavily on cheap Arab labor. Women's Group Plans Tea The Birmingham Jewish Women's Group will hold its fourth tea 8:30 p.m. Nov. 3 at the home of Mrs. Cindy Levine, 753 Smith, Birmingham. Mrs. Rochel Polter will speak on matters regarding the mod- ern Jewish woman. Mrs. Elaine Blustain will exhibit classic arts of the '90s. For information, call Mrs. Polter, 544 8639. ❑