Gush Katif Museum

Today, my friends and I attended the Gush Katif Museum in Jerusalem. Gush Katif is the name of all of the Jewish settlements that were in Gaza before they were forced to leave in 2005. Once we arrived, the woman who works there explained to us the history of Gaza and showed us a timeline that explains how the Gaza strip has belonged to the Jews and been taken away from us many times since the beginning of Judaism. She also showed us many pictures and artifacts from Gush Katif to give us more of a feel of what life was like there.

After that we roamed around by ourselves. The museum was very small so everything there was very relevant and really contributed to the museum. For example the museum saved the Hannukiah of one of the synagogues that was destroyed after the Arabs tool over Gaza. However the Arabs left one the synagogues standing because they said they don't believe in ruining ANY place of worship not just mosques. I thought that was pretty cool. Another artifact was a rocket the flew into the Gush from one of the neighboring Arab settlements that didn't blow up. The people of the Gush made it look like a Hannukiah because it was a "nes" (or miracle) that it didn't blow up.

For my first siyur to Sderot way back in September, we went to listen to a woman (Anita Tucker) who was from Gush Katif   tell us her story. I saw her picture in many of the photographs in the museum and that took me back to her story and how heartbreaking it really was. Another thing that really got to me was the video of IDF soldiers dragging the citizens out of the synagogue. Men, children and even these soldiers were crying and it was absolute craziness. I feel horrible that this happened to them and it's not easier to see another Israeli citizen be the one to pull you out of your home.

We ended our visit by talking to the tour guide again. By the end of our trip we realized that she must have lived in Gush Katif to work in this museum and when we asked her she admitted that she was. She told us that her family members and friends were in the video that we saw and explained to us that the people are not angry anymore it has been almost eight years. They just miss their homes. Most people have not adjusted and have not been able to find steady jobs and homes. She also told us that she would have gladly given up her home for peace but the fact the Arabs won't stop until they reach Jerusalem and just use Gaza for a launch pad make her very angry. The woman must have only been in her mid twenties meaning that she was probably just a teenager when this happened to her and that is heartbreaking.