The Weekly Portion: Gaza communities need actions, not just words

I spent the past week-end with my wife in the Gaza periphery. More precisely, I was hosted by my friend and fellow MK Shay Hermesh who extended the invitation to stay with him and his family at his kibbutz in Kfar Aza. The area's civilian and security problems have been known to me for some time. However, the 2 days I spent there allowed for a closer look at the reality on the ground.

The most impressive thing I noticed was the spirit of the people there. I met proud people, strong people, unpretentious people, heroes and certainly people devoid of the typical, whiny 'sense of entitlement' attitude so prevalent whithin Israeli population. A visit to a local kindergarten, whose walls were made of thick cement and whose windows were elevated and decreased in size so they almost looked like small shootout points, was enough to understand the continued difficulties such communities have endured for the past 7 years. The swings and slides stand alone in unused sandboxes since these small children are forbidden to play outside and spend their days in a room where very little sunlight comes through.

Those who wish to understand the Israeli economy's strength are advised to visit the Gaza periphery. Amid the Kassams and the mortars, top industrial factories continue to operate. Potatoes are planted up to a meter away from the road that leads directly to the border fence that separates Israel from Gaza and are picked at night so as to make life harder for snipers. From the huge packaging plant owned by the Ovitz family, agricultural products are exported to countries all over the world. Flags on display make the place look like the UN in New York and not a factory outside Gaza. Perhaps I got carried away with my colorful descriptions but there is no Israeli who is not impressed by this Zionist achievement done under the most impossible conditions.

Most cars in the Gaza periphery are adorned with large stickers of the Israeli flag with the sentences: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me?" and "The State of the Western Negev". This sticker expresses the feelings of separation and isolation people there feel from the rest of the country and the government. The main complaint is the snail's pace with which aid is provided and how little is actually offered. Added to the general lack of support and backing that is felt. As a Kibbutz Nir member who's seen hundreds of Kassams and mortar shells land near him said: "My dream is to be part of an inclusive community, not a peripheral community. When I'll say that I'm from Nir, people will say "wow" and not "poor man". Such a community would be on the front lines of a proud state, a peripheral community is neglected to the sidelines.

What brought about this situation? When I looked into some of the unsolved problems, I was met with a familiar bureaucracy. Complicated procedures, overworked legal consultants and clerks and so on. These scenarios are known to me from the time I focused governmental attention on the area, as Deputy Defense Minister. Only a ministerial authority who applies pressure on the clerks from the top can get things moving. It is my understanding that today, there is no such authority. But we mustn't hold the governmental clerks solely responsible for the alienation that Gaza periphery communities feel. Most are doing the best they can. The government's most significant error is the missed moral issue. If the government were to make a move that would obviously favor communities on the Gaza periphery, it would send a moral message to everyone. In other words, these are the favored sons of the state of Israel - people who work and create under fire. Appreciation for the work and the steadfastness should finally be demonstrated with actions and not just words.

When I determined the principles of the 'Israel is Strong' campaign, I wrote that first and foremost, "the government is responsible for the welfare of every citizen", before mentioning security or peace. As I was driving north, I realized how right I was in doing so.