After 38 Years
Israel ends era by leaving Gaza Strip;
synagogue razings stoke fear of chaos.
DINA KRAFT
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Neveh Deklaim, Gaza Strip
blazing orange sun set over the
Mediterranean as Israeli soldiers
lowered the country's flag at the
army's Gaza headquarters, signifying the
end of an era in this sandy strip of land.
Sunday's brief ceremony, attended
by top military officials and the par-
ents of soldiers killed defending Israeli
settlements in Gaza, marked the end
of 38 years of Israeli presence in the
Gaza Strip, a period that saw the cre-
ation — and most recently the
destruction — of Jewish settlements
and some of the bloodiest fighting
between Israel and the Palestinians.
The three highest-ranking army
commanders overseeing Gaza — the
army's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan
Halutz; the head of the Southern
Command, Maj. Gen. Dan Harel; and
the head of the Gaza Command, Brig.
Gen. Aviv Kochavi, faced an honor
A
guard of soldiers and saluted them.
Together, they sang Israel's national
anthem, "Hatikvah," and spoke of
their hopes for a better future.
"Thirty-eight years are coming to a
close. The army is leaving the Gaza
Strip," Kochavi said. "We leave with our
heads held high. The gate that is closing
after us is also a gate that is opening.
We hope it will be a gate of peace and
quiet, a gate of hope and goodwill."
Harel also voiced hope for a future
without bloodshed.
"We are at the brink of something
new I hope the withdrawal of our
troops signifies a period of peace and
quiet with our neighbors," he said.
But there were reminders of the diffi-
culties ahead.
A ceremony scheduled for earlier
Sunday was canceled after the
Palestinian Authority boycotted the
event. That came after the Israeli
Cabinet reversed a decision and voted
.
Soldiers lower an Israeli flag before the closing of Israel's army headquarters in
Gaza on Sept. 11.
AFTER 38 YEARS on. page 32
HARRY KI RS BAUM
Staff Writer
From Cynicism To Hope
0
Metro Detroiters land on all sides of disengagement debate.
n their way to and
from working out at
the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield, Fitness Club
members weighed in on
Israel's disengagement from
Gaza and Samaria.
"Pullout from Gaza was
the best thing that they could
do," said Donald Boxman of
West Bloomfield. "They got
to consolidate; they got to
get out and give [the
Palestinians] a chance; but it
won't work. I'm pessimistic
about it.
"Hamas still controls
Palestine; the problem is
Palestine, not Israel."
Roz Garber of West
Bloomfield said the Israelis
"should not have given an
inch.
"But I'm not an Israeli and
Staff photos by Brett Mountain
Weiss
Levin
I don't have to suffer and I
don't have to fight the bat-
tle," she said. 'As an
American, I don't have a
right to say that what they do
is right or wrong; but as a
Jew, I would not give up an
inch."
Garber was doubtful about
the future. "Giving up Sinai
seemed to work with Egypt,
but the Palestinians, when
Garber
McKay
they go in there and burn
down synagogues when they
could use the buildings for
something positive, I don't
get it," she said. "I'm not
hopeful, but I hope for the
Israelis' sake that they don't
have to go through all the
torture of all the bombings
and other things.
Arnold Levin of
Farmington Hills was cynical
Boxman
about the pullout and the
Israelis leaving the syna-
gogues in place for the
Palestinians to destroy.
"Why didn't [Israelis]
knock down their own syna-
gogues? Why did they leave
it for them [Palestinians]?" he
asked. "I think they're look-
ing to say now, 'Look how
they're desecrating our tem:
pies.' That bothers me."
Mary McKay of
Bloomfield Hills said both
sides should do better to
reach out. "All sides need to
give a little. It's such a con-
centrated area with such large
populations everywhere," she
said. "It's like a ripple effect."
Andy Weiss, who sat on a
bench near the health club
entrance under the shade of a
tree, had mixed emotions.
"In some instances, I thinks
it's a wonderful and great
effort on the part of whoev-
er's in charge for tolerance,"
he said. "But whether toler-
ance will be created is anoth-
er factor."
Weiss, 95, of Farmington
Hills condemned the syna-
gogue burnings, but said the
idea for peace in the future is
"beautiful and conciliatory,
but not everyone has the
patience to wait for the con-
ciliatory actions to be more
prominent."
9/15
2005
31