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A Jewish holiday, mortar-free …
Kfar Aza was mostly empty during the normally festive holiday of Shavuot.
Busloads of kibbutzniks fled the threat of mortar fire from the nearby Gaza Strip — resident Jimmy Kedoshim was killed by a strike last month — and spent Sunday night and Monday as guests of two kibbutzim far from Gaza.
“For us it was really relaxing,” said Shontal Kaner, “to see our children happy and free, without worrying if they go outside.”
Kaner, who has lived at Kfar Aza for 26 years, took a three and half-hour bus ride with about 65 others from the kibbutz to Degania Alef, just south of the Sea of Galilee.
Shavuot marks the day the Torah was given to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai.
Among secular Israelis, Shavuot is a celebration of the first grain harvest. Families prepare vegetarian feasts, which typically include dairy foods, such as cheesecakes and blintzes.
“They opened their hearts to us,” Kaner said of their kibbutz brethren. It was the second year Degania Alef has hosted residents of Kfar Aza. “We don’t want this tradition. We want to invite them to our kibbutz someday.”
She spoke during a farewell gathering of singing traditional Israeli songs, before they left for their embattled home.
“We are afraid,” she said. “We don’t want to live by the noise of the missiles.” Her son’s bar mitzvah celebration last week was interrupted by a mortar blast, she said. No one was hurt.
“We want peace. Peace is the most important thing,” she said. “I want to continue my life as before.”
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By John Maszka
June 10, 2008 9:27 PM | Link to this
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