_a.jpg "צילום: ירון ברנר")
Settler: We are one nation
Rabbi Shimon Ben-Zion waited for soldiers to evacuate him from the settlement of Gadid wearing his old army uniform; says he wore it to show soldiers 'we are one nation'
Rabbi Shimon Ben-Zion from the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba moved to the now evacuated Gush Katif settlement of Gadid three months ago to show his support for the settlers slated for evacuation.
In preparation for the soldier's arrival Friday to evacuate the settlement, Ben-Zion wore his old army uniform from when he served in the armored corps years ago.
Ben Zion was badly burnt during the war with Lebanon hen his tank burst into flames. Two of his fellow tank members died in the incident.
"We came here to stay, we hoped the order would be canceled," he said from his Gadid home on Friday.
"Instead of being brothers, there is an attempt to destroy everything that is Jewish. The chief of staff and police commissioner say they are carrying out the law, and I ask them - at what price? Even if it's against morals and conscience."
Rabbi Ben-Zion claims a powerful force is operating to turn Israel into a gentile state.
"If they were evacuating an Arab village everyone would be shocked, but expelling a Jew is okay," he said.
Rabbi: Don't think that I hate you
The rabbi said he believes that the disengagement is just the beginning.
"It will not end here, it will continue to Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem," he said.
Standing at the entrance to his house, moments before soldiers had to drag him by his hands and feet onto a bus waiting to evacuate him and his fellow neighbors, Ben-Zion tore his IDF shirt as a sign of mourning.
"Don't think that I hate you. My son is your age; he is a paratrooper and a Gush Katif resident," he told the soldiers. "Just know that I wore my uniform for you to understand that we are one nation."
