Shlomo Wasserteil, Director, Gush Katif Museum: "Had a museum been opened after the expulsion from Yamit, we would have been spared the Gush Katif expulsion"
Five Years after the Destruction: Masses Visit the Gush Katif Museum
At this auspicious time, I call upon the public to visit the Museum, to strengthen, support and identify with the Gush families.
Five years have passed since the Gush Katif settlers were explelled from their homes. Shlomo Wasserteil, one of the most successful agriculturists in Ganei Tal, Gush Katif, presently the director of the Gush Katif Museum in Yerushalayim, speaks about the difficult feelings, and the thousands who flock to the Museum. Wasserteil: the Museum has become a source of positive energy * Wasserteil invites the public to come and identify with the struggle, support, and-most of all- influence * Gush Katif – the Story We Must Not Forget
Five years have passed since the Expulsion from Gush Katif. What has changed?
"To our shame and sorrow, nothing has changed. The government promised ′a solution for every settler", invested tens of millions to convince the public of the truth of their campaign, but it never materialized. The unemployment situation is abominable- even worse than the housing situation. And we haven′t touched yet on the social and health damage to the expellees, that is a result of the expulsion. And I pose the question: WHY? What did Israel gain from this? Another terror state? Lands abandoned and thousands evicted from their homes?"
What is your personal feeling?
I ran an agricultural operation with 40,000 dunam, and I exported flowers to the entire world. It went completely down the drain, but that didn′t interest anyone. Today I direct the Gush Katif Museum. It is important to study about Gush Katif and learn the lessons, so that what happened to my family and me personally, will not happen, G-d forbid, to any other Jews. Therefore it is imperative that the public identify with what happened, and it is important that every individual visits the museum. Our children, the future generation, must understand and know what happened."
The Gush Katif Museum is celebrating its second birthday. What is the Museum′s part in the perpetuation of Gush Katif?
The Gush Katif Museum makes great waves. Since its inception, 90,000 visitors have come, of every type and stripe. High ranking generals, ministers, members of Knesset, and tourists from every corner of the globe are among our visitors. The museum has brought about a conscious revolution concerning every aspect of the Gush Katif expulsion, and the content displayed here helps to draw the proper conclusions.
" It matters not to which political side you belong – left or right, religious or a kibbutz of Shomer Hatzair - every visitor leaves the museum with knowledge and a moral that they acquired here. Many visitors go through a metamorphosis, and leave these doors with a changed outlook. The director of the Latrun Museum paid a visit to us, and he remarked that the Gush Katif Museum affects the visitors more than any great museum does.
"During this past year alone tens of Rabbonim, ministers, MKs, IDF career and reservist generals and other individuals of great public influence visited the museum. Hundreds of groups comprised of people from all circles and all ages, including tourist groups of Jews and non-Jews, have come through the museum doors. One of the most prominent visitors was Mr. Mike Huckabee, US Presidential candidate. One of the guests remarked to me that had a museum been established after the Yamit expulsion, we would have been spared the Gush Katif expulsion."
Could you share more comments?
"When there are so many visitors, the reactions are naturally very diversified, but all, without exception, are very impressed. I could relate about one particular visitor, a senior general in the defense system, who began organizing tours to Yehuda and Shomron as a rectification for not doing enough to stop the "disengagement plan".
"It is hard to explain, but there is something magnetic in the Museum. People are drawn to and actually feel part of Gush Katif. From the moment that one enters the Museum and view the timeline history of the Gaza Region dating 3,000 years back, there is an authenticity that you are actually entering Gush Katif. You pass through the settlements, the shuls, witness the struggles, and arrive at the Room of Tears and commemoration of the settlements. The Gush Katif Museum is alive and vibrant. The museum tells the story that we are forbidden to forget. The staff is comprised of people personally connected with Gush Katif, making it all the more tangible."
The Philatelic Service joined in the salute to the Gush Katif Museum…
"True. The Philatelic Service released a special commemorative stamp honoring the Gush Katif Museum, stamped with the date 10th Av, on the second anniversary of the museum′s opening. The official ceremony took place on Wednesday, the 10th of Av, at the office of Knesset Chairman Mr. Reuvein Rivlin, in Yerushalyim. Avi Hochman, the Director of Israel Post Company, and Avi Ratzon, the Director of the Philatelic Service, took part in the ceremony. The stamps were issued in a limited edition, and are on sale at the museum."
During the month of Av, when we commemorate the expulsion from Gush Katif, and salute the heroic settlers and identify with their pain, Wasserteil calls upon the public at large to visit the Gush Katif Museum in Yerushalayim. "It is incumbent upon every person who loves Eretz Yisroel, to come and bring the family. The Gush Katif Museum is the place to be in order to continue the legacy of the Gush and pass it down to the future generations, to identify with the settlers, to feel their pain, and to remember.
"The Museum is open to the public during the summer months from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM. We offer an array of activities and kits for camps. There are many special exhibits at the museum now: A Dream from a Window, by a Gush Katif artist, and a special exhibit about homes. Once a month the museum hosts a cultural event-panel discussions with media professionals, law experts, and Members of Knesset. In addition, we offer Gush Katif memorabilia for sale, with the proceeds benefiting the expellees.
"Many artifacts are on display at the Museum, including the shuls and the Netzrim Menorah, which has become a symbol of Gush Katif. Each group and individual visiting the museum contributes to the message of Gush Katif. Each visitor helps the cause, and the story of Gush Katif will never be forgotten." |
