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Turmoil

Expulsion tears at what Israel is all about.

LEAH B. STERN
Jewish Renaissance Media

Jerusalem
avid Trombka lies handcuffed
to the ground, as police arrest
him for blocking Israel roads
in protest of the upcoming disengage-
ment scheduled to begin Monday,
Aug. 15.
Trombka, originally of Ann Arbor,
currently lives in the settlement of
Kedumim — in Samaria in
the West Bank. He fears that
withdrawing from Gaza is only
the first step, and that tomor-
row, the rest of Judea and
Samaria, including half of Jerusalem,
will be emptied of their Jews.
"The sociological and political rami-
fications of expelling Jews from their
homes strikes at the very issues defin-
ing Israel — Judaism, Zionism and
even democracy," Trombka says.
Trombka is one of the original set-

D

tiers who moved out to the West Bank
30 years ago with a dream, a dream
that was promoted by the Israeli gov-
ernment of the time. Back then, Israel
wanted to establish Jewish settlements
in the West Bank to act as a buffer
between Egyptian forces and the near-
by Israeli border.
Despite being jailed, Trombka con-
tinues to protest the disengagement,
going as far as bringing his four young
children along, age 6-14, sometimes
putting them in harm's way.
"It is completely natural for
my children to protest the dis-
engagement," he says. "They,
too, feel the need to protect
Israel and all of its inhabitants against
the corrupt values and practices of the
government."
In Israel, the withdrawal seems to be
a part of everyone's world, whether
you want it to be or not. The press has

01 Till

Gm

TURMOIL

Cr,

David Trombka, by the
Jerusalem Central Bus
Station. "The sociologi-
cal and political ramifi-
cations of expelling Jews
from their homes strikes
at the very issues defin-
ing Israel — Judaism,
Zionism and even
democracy, " he says.

on page 56

8/11

2005

53

