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The legend of Gush Katif
Settlers should be greeted as heroes so rift within nation may be mended
The higher the ascent, the bigger the fall. The settlers were not mentally prepared for the collapse of their life’s enterprise - their pride, their vision. They were also not ready for being evacuated from their homes, humiliated and ashamed.
More than 12 years ago, during former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s administration, I warned in this newspaper of the possibility the settlers would resort to acts similar to those carried out by the Masada Jews. I urged Rabin’s government to begin cultivating steps that would help gain the settlers’ trust.
The fact that some people contend the settlers should not have relocated to Gaza in the first place is irrelevant, as they settled there with the approval of most Israeli governments.
In light of the developments on the ground, we must incorporate patterns of behavior that would help them recuperate from the crisis without falling apart.
One proven recipe is the formulation of a “tale” or “legend” that the former settlers will be able to tell themselves - a story that would turn the humiliation into heroics.
This technique has proven itself throughout history and has allowed Jewish society to rehabilitate itself after disasters and destruction.
The testimonies of Holocaust survivors during the trial of Nazi Adolf Eichmann were heralded as stories of conviction, perseverance and even heroism and completely changed the depiction of the survivors, who were previously blamed by some for being led like “cattle to the slaughterhouse.”
Legend of the wandering Jew
The trial allowed the survivors to tell their story and begin their healing process; it also facilitated their absorption into Israeli society.
The heroic tales of a fallen IDF soldier help the bereaved family recuperate and deal with the soldier’s untimely death.
The criticism of the settlers, the rejoicing at their downfall, the focusing on the standard of living they were accustomed to in the settlements and in the compensation fees they are supposed to receive - all these put the settlers in a state of despair and dangerous mental anguish. Some may even deteriorate to psychopathic behavior.
So we should welcome the settlers as heroes. Instead of arousing civil war, we can mend the rift by creating a story: The legend of the Jew who wandered from Gush Katif to the Negev Desert to rebuild the divided house of Israel.
Mordechai Rotenberg is a professor of psychology and theology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
