Jay Lewis
This is a travelogue of a trip to Israel sponsored by Americans For A Safe Israel (AFSI) on May 16-23, 2004. A group of 25 supporters of Israel from all over the U.S. visited Jewish communities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, to show our support for the Jewish residents there. These areas are collectively known in Hebrew as “Yesha,” an acronym that is derived from three geographic areas: “Yehudah” and “Shomrom” (Judea and Samaria, which make up the West Bank), and “Aza,” also known as Gaza or the Gaza Strip. These territories were captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war . About 240,000 Israelis now live in these areas, including 7,500 in the Gaza Strip.Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced in December 2003 that he planned to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements by the end of September 2005. I believe this is a grave mistake.
I was one of the participants on this fascinating and exciting trip. Many thanks to Helen Freedman, Executive Director of AFSI, for the text (with some of my editorial comments added!) that accompany my photos. For more information on AFSI, visit their web site at www.afsi.org. (Their next trip is scheduled for November 2004.) I welcome your comments on this presentation. I can be reached at this email address heyjay@hotmail.com, but be sure to put “Israel Trip” in the subject line. Or leave comments in my guest book at the bottom of this page. Enjoy the photos! Jay Lewis
Epilogue
Since my trip to Gaza in 2003, much has changed in the area. As everyone knows, the Jewish presence in Gaza is no more, thanks to the Israeli government's decision to “disengage” from the area. Roughly 8,000 Jews were forcibly evicted from Gaza in August 2005, many of them longtime residents who had truly made the desert bloom. Many of these residents have yet to find proper housing and jobs, despite the assurances of the Israeli government. Is it just coincidence that in January 2006, Ariel Sharon, the architect of the “disengagement” plan, was incapacitated by a major stroke? Or was G-d sending a message to those who would relinquish the Jewish homeland in the name of “peace?” And what of peace with our Arab neighbors? Also in January 2006, the Palestinian people (a fabricated nationality, if there ever was one) overwhelmingly voted Hamas, the terrorist group devoted to Israel’s destruction, into office. So much for Arabs and Jews living side-by-side in harmony. And the madness continues. In February 2006, the Israeli government continued its goal of “disengagement” (read: “surrender”) by destroying the West Bank Jewish community of Amona. Theodore Herzl, David Ben-Gurion, and Golda Meir must be looking down from heaven and crying, wondering what has happened to their beloved Israel
| To view large photos and descriptions select and click on any photo. Photos best viewed at 1024 x 768 and at True Color 32 bit. |
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