A Permanent Home for Gaza “Refugees”

TawilNetzarimWe are happy to announce that after nine and a half years of living in a trailer camp, the displaced residents of Gush Katif, Gaza, who found refuge and community in Ariel, are finally moving into their permanent homes. On January 21, 2015, Rabbi Tzion Tawil, of the destroyed Gaza Jewish community of Netzarim, affixed the mezuzah to his new home, marking the culmination of a ten year journey.

His new home is situated along a ridge overlooking the city where housing developments had been designated for this community. Following their evacuation from their homes in Gaza in the summer of 2005, these “refugees” or “displaced persons” set up a community in Ariel, which had welcomed them to Ariel University’s empty dorms at the time and subsequently enabled them to set up a trailer camp as temporary living quarters. For over nine years they have waited for their new homes to be built, watching the construction of the housing complexes – plagued by repetitive building freezes – from afar.

In the coming weeks, the trailer camp will empty out and all of the residents will complete their bitter-sweet transition.