Grains Of Sand: The Fall Of Neve Dekalim

 If you are not an Israeli and if you did not live in Israel during the pre-Intifada II and Disengagement era in 2005, you cannot understand what these dear people went through.  You must read this book,  Grains Of Sand: The Fall Of Neve Dekalim, written by Shifra Shomron, a teenage girl who writes with amazing maturity and who lived through it, so that you can understand just a bit of what these wonderful Israeli people went through, what they worked for, what they created, and what was taken from them by their own government in an act of appeasement to their Arab enemies.  Shomron includes excerpts from the media, her diary, pictures before and after.  (paperback, Amazon.com, $16.95)

The people living in the area lived their lives with daily gun fire, rockets being fired at them (11,000 terror attacks and about 4,000 mortars and kassam rockets during one short period of time and yet 300 more people moved into the area).  The government responded by notifying the Arabs which buildings would be fired upon in retaliation for the missiles, so that the Arabs could vacate the buildings and no Arabs would be hurt or killed.  Israeli leaders preferred Havlaga - restraint,  over Tguva - action. 

The residents of Gush Katif could not believe their ears when they heard that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon intended to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip and from part of the Northern Shomron.  "Our own Jewish Prime Minister wants to throw us out of our homes!"

The media then in Israel (as now in both Israel and the United States) reported a slanted story to the public.  Gush Katif was presented as a small outpost, with images of only ten houses, one street, one jeep, with nothing else but sand, when in reality Gush Katif was twenty-one thriving communities with thousands of families; large homes; acre after acre of greenhouses, vineyards, trees, gardens; many educational institutions. 

The Israeli government and a large number of citizens wrongly believed that if they gave the Arabs Gaza, the Arabs would give them peace, they would stop the attacks and missiles.  The government and the media tried to portray the residents of Gush Katif as right-wing extremists.  Even the President of the United States agreed to the Disengagement (what a tidy little word for the destruction of such beauty and for capitulation to terror).

The people of Gush Katif looked for a miracle so that their lovely oasis would not be reduced to dry grains of sand.  But no miracle came.  They believed that the rest of Israel would stand with them against the government, against the Disengagement.  They were wrong.  We can only hope that lessons were learned from this disastrous event, but watching world events since that time I'm not so sure.

What happened to the people who were left homeless, without land, without jobs, in order to give their land to the Arabs?  Where did they go?  What did they do?  How did they provide for their families and go on?

I am forwarding this review and the book to a Conservative movie producer in Hollywood I know, with the hope that this can be made into a movie. I will personally never forget images of bulldozers destroying homes, businesses, schools, and soldiers physically removing residents, some holding out until the last minute, sitting on their rooftops, still waiting for a miracle.  May we never forget!

Grains Of Sand: The Fall Of Neve Dekalim puts a human face to the people of Gush Katif as it closely follows the story of an Israeli family from pre-Intifada II until the Disengagement, which was the expulsion of Israeli citizens from Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip in 2005. The reader is given a rare opportunity to look  into the hearts and souls of Gush Katif residents. This novel is historic fiction based upon the author's life and experiences in Gush Katif, as well as those of friends and neighbors. It vividly reflects the thoughts and feelings of the people who lived there during those difficult times. The author, a teen at the time she wrote this book, was herself an expellee. -- Product Description.  

The story is told through the vantage point of teenager Efrat, a high school student living under the dual threat of Arab attacks and the Israeli government's 2005 Disengagement plan to destroy her town and adjacent Gush Katif communities. She, along with family, friends, and neighbors, try to lead an ordinary life as the ever-encroaching conflict gets closer, and the whole community joins efforts to save their beautiful towns from destruction. It is a story of a teenager dealing with social responsibility, identity, faith, family, community, school and trauma; of unfulfilled dreams, of loss and of hope. 

 Novelist Shifra Shomron doesn’t tell readers what to think in her book “Grains Of Sand The Fall Of Neve Dekalim” but gives them awareness. She utilizes narrative, poetry, diary entries, news articles, photos, and Biblical text to give the reader a more intimate look at life and events in Gush Katif  than the general details of major news network coverage; taking the reader on a journey into her Gush Katif community. The reader can blend their own thoughts and thinking with the story, and better understand issues related to the uprooting and destruction of the Jewish Gush Katif communities that are still being grappled with to this day – 5 years later.  Youth are especially excited to read a book written by a peer and ideally will be motivated to give written expression to their own voice. 

Here is the author in her own sweet words:

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This is a fantastic book.    In addition to the book you will find links below to videos, discussion groups, publisher's information.  Also available are free downloadable aides for teachers and students.  Don't pass up this story:

(continue reading below the fold)

"Grains Of Sand" is an historically accurate, fictional novel leading up to the controversial uprooting and destruction of the beautiful, growing, and dynamic Gush Katif communities in the summer of 2005. There are numerous articles, pictures, and videos available on this event - but only one published historical fiction novel – and it’s written in English by a then 18 year old senior high school student attending Ulpana Neve Dekalim, who was raised in Gush Katif. 

A glimpse at the author Shifra Shomron with a personal look into the writing of her debut novel: Meet Shifra Shomron, Book Promo video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-hnSw_t9vA  and here with a message of hope in the Gush Katif: Celebration of the Settlershttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl-LmSNmOE

Please listen to what readers have to say about the book in these two new promotional Video Book Reviews on Youtube:

Readers Discuss the Book Grains Of Sand: The Fall Of Neve Dekalim -- Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Q44W09Dd8&NR=1

In this video Batya Medad, Abigail Leichman, Menachem Ben Mordechai, and Chava Levin share their thoughts and opinions about the book "Grains of Sand: The Fall Of Neve Dekalim" etc

Readers Discuss the Book Grains Of Sand: The Fall Of Neve Dekalim -- Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9DfQ_4yywc

In this video agricultural entrepreneur Anita Tucker, teenager Elimelech Ben Efraim, and educator Jennifer Nagar share their thoughts and opinions...

These videos are also available on wejew video site, too. 

http://wejew.com/media/9059/Readers_Discuss_the_Book_Grains_Of_Sand:_The_Fall_Of_Neve_Dekalim_--_Part_1/

 

 http://www.wejew.com/media/9682/Readers_Discuss_the_Book_Grains_Of_Sand_The_Fall_Of_Neve_Dekalim__Part_2/ 

An literature study guide is available for free downloading from the publisher's website: 

http://www.mazopublishers.com/study-guide-grains-of-sand.pdf    

It helps teachers, students, and individual readers deepen their understanding of the contents and ideas of the book. An historical overview, chapter questions, activities (word search, crossword puzzle, match game), interdisciplinary teaching ideas and suggested projects, comprehension exercises, and more are included. The ppt slide show presentation is available on-line: http://www.slideshare.net/saralayah/grains-of-sand-study-guide?from=comment_email 

To view handouts: just click on my slideshare name
click on "more" to learn background of ppt presentation

Lastly, I’d like to ask you to please take a minute to read about a very special Jewish boy being raised in New Jersey and how “Grains Of Sand” and his contact with Shifra made a positive difference in his Jewish identity and love of and for Israel.  

http://tzometfriknfrak.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-08-08T12:14:00-07:00&max-results=7

Please visit Shifra's website for additional book details, book excerpt, book reviews, and more. 

http://grainsofsand.insightonthenews.net/

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Comments

[Angel]

what a heart wrenching series of events Deb..wonderful post ..thank u for letting others know of this atrocity! have a great weekend..what's left of it!:)

[Ra'anan Elozory]

People who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it which makes Shifra's book all the more urgent.

[Debbie]

Thank you both. As to learning from the past, I don't think the Israeli government has done that.

There is talk of a third intifada. It is pure evil what goes on.

[Leah, Maaleh Adumim]

a very important book - Deb, thanks for bringing this to people's attention

[Debbie]

Leah: Thank you and please share this with friends and others. It is so important for the world to understand.

[Jon Walker]

Good post. It's hard not to sympathize with a young lady who spent her whole life growing up in a community only to have it bulldozed and destroyed on short notice.

I might hope that in a better world, a book like this might also generate some understanding for the author's Palestinian neighbors; 750,000 of whom lost their homes and livelihoods in the creation of Israel. And since the 1967 occupation, some 25,000 Palestinian homes have demolished by the Israeli government. Most demolitions taking place in the middle of the night with little or no notice, no recourse to the courts, and definitely no compensation.

A sad situation for all, and it's nigh on time for the Israeli government to end its' occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, AND for a representative Palestinian government to accept Israel within it's pre-1967 borders.