Arutz Sheva June 20, 2005

Following widespread reporting of violence on the part of residents of the Maoz Yam hotel in Gush Katif Saturday, Nadia Matar says the government is trying to defame Gaza’s newest residents.

‘I have nearly lost my voice from talking to reporters and trying to correct the lies being spread about the hotel here in Gush Katif that we have refurbished,’ Matar told _Israel National Radio’s Eli Stutz_ (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/data/radio/asx2005/06/20/rl_184.asx) .

According to Matar, guests who were visiting the hotel for the Sabbath were walking along the beach toward the beachside Shirat HaYam community when a group of Arabs attacked them with sticks and stones. ‘Thank G-d the Jews had the upper hand and were able to disperse them,’ Matar said, ‘but then the Arabs themselves had the gall to call the police, and of course the press decides to believe the Arab story.’

Matar says she is extremely concerned that the government and Shabak (General Security Service), led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, will attempt to win back the support of the public for expelling the Jews of Gaza and northern Samaria by orchestrating some sort of atrocity and blaming it on them.

‘We know that Sharon is on his way down,’ Matar said. ‘He is like a wounded animal and needs to find a way to win back public opinion. We already know that there was an Avishai Raviv [the agent provocateur who was hired by the Shabak to orchestrate bizarre militant swearing-in ceremonies and attacks on Arabs that were broadcast on television nightly in order to sap support for residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza ‘ed.]. I am very afraid that there will be a Shabak agent dressed as a settler who will shoot a soldier, or some other production ‘ we must be very aware and on the lookout for this.’

Matar, together with Datiya Yitzhaki of Minhelet Kela (the organization refurbishing homes in Gush Katif for new residents and gathering supplies), has successfully restored the 114 room Palm Beach Hotel to a level in which it is able to house hundreds of Jews who wish to move to Gush Katif in order to show their identification with the Jews there who face expulsion.

‘We contacted the owners of the hotel, who were enthusiastic about reviving the place,’ Matar said. |The hotel was completely abandoned and vandalized. Jewish and Arab criminals from the region and Ashkelon took everything that could be taken ‘ from toilets to window frames. Now, through Minhelet Kela, the place has been cleaned up and it is now in amazing condition. We have electricity, and we even have a large shared kitchen.’

Matar says the army is not happy with the hotel’s residents ‘ not because they are ‘radical’ or ‘law-breakers’ ‘ but because the IDF planned to confiscate the hotel and use it for a base of operations in implementing the Disengagement plan. ‘The army was eyeing this hotel and wanted to turn it into a headquarters for hundreds of soldiers ‘ to use as barracks and to be a way of entering Gush Katif through the back door,’ she said. ‘Now they are trying to blacken our name and frame us as violent. We, the national camp do not need violence because we have justice on our side.’

Matar moved to a small trailer in Gush Katif from a four-story home in the Gush Etzion community of Efrat last month. ‘It was not easy to move here,’ she said. ‘We have six children. Four of them are now in a new school here. I don’t have my Maytag washing machine, but we are one of many families doing the same thing and this is what you have to do for the Land of Israel.’

She is calling on others to join her. We have 114 rooms here, plus big halls, ‘ she said. ‘We opened up a kindergarden a few days ago and there are 18 children between 1 and 4 already attending. The military has made it clear that if 100,000 Jews arrive here they will not be able to implement the plan ‘ so that is what we are doing.’

Those who aren’t ready to move down to Gush Katif yet should still have a bag packed, Matar said. ‘The day you hear they have tried to close Gush Katif down. Everybody should walk down to Gush Katif on foot. Everybody should already have a knapsack in their living room with two liters of water, a flashlight, wire-cutters, some crackers and sun-tan lotion.’

She is sure that the nation of Israel will succeed in thwarting the Disengagement Plan and has even scheduled her son’s bar mitzva to take place at the hotel, renamed the Maoz Yam Hotel. ‘The bar mitzvah will be in this hotel,’ she told Stutz, ‘Parshat [the Torah portion of] VaYakhel-Pekudei [the end of the book of Exodus ‘ed.] - in March 2006.’

Residents of Gush Katif Hotel Say Gov’t Trying to Defame Them 20:14 Jun 20, ‘05 / 13 Sivan 5765

Following widespread reporting of violence on the part of residents of the Maoz Yam hotel in Gush Katif Saturday, Nadia Matar says the government is trying to defame Gaza’s newest residents.

‘I have nearly lost my voice from talking to reporters and trying to correct the lies being spread about the hotel here in Gush Katif that we have refurbished,’ Matar told Israel National Radio’s Eli Stutz.

According to Matar, guests who were visiting the hotel for the Sabbath were walking along the beach toward the beachside Shirat HaYam community when a group of Arabs attacked them with sticks and stones. ‘Thank G-d the Jews had the upper hand and were able to disperse them,’ Matar said, ‘but then the Arabs themselves had the gall to call the police, and of course the press decides to believe the Arab story.’

Matar says she is extremely concerned that the government and Shabak (General Security Service), led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, will attempt to win back the support of the public for expelling the Jews of Gaza and northern Samaria by orchestrating some sort of atrocity and blaming it on them.

‘We know that Sharon is on his way down,’ Matar said. ‘He is like a wounded animal and needs to find a way to win back public opinion. We already know that there was an Avishai Raviv [the agent provocateur who was hired by the Shabak to orchestrate bizarre militant swearing-in ceremonies and attacks on Arabs that were broadcast on television nightly in order to sap support for residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza ‘ed.]. I am very afraid that there will be a Shabak agent dressed as a settler who will shoot a soldier, or some other production ‘ we must be very aware and on the lookout for this.’

Matar, together with Datiya Yitzhaki of Minhelet Kela (the organization refurbishing homes in Gush Katif for new residents and gathering supplies), has successfully restored the 114 room Palm Beach Hotel to a level in which it is able to house hundreds of Jews who wish to move to Gush Katif in order to show their identification with the Jews there who face expulsion.

‘We contacted the owners of the hotel, who were enthusiastic about reviving the place,’ Matar said. |The hotel was completely abandoned and vandalized. Jewish and Arab criminals from the region and Ashkelon took everything that could be taken ‘ from toilets to window frames. Now, through Minhelet Kela, the place has been cleaned up and it is now in amazing condition. We have electricity, and we even have a large shared kitchen.’

Matar says the army is not happy with the hotel’s residents ‘ not because they are ‘radical’ or ‘law-breakers’ ‘ but because the IDF planned to confiscate the hotel and use it for a base of operations in implementing the Disengagement plan. ‘The army was eyeing this hotel and wanted to turn it into a headquarters for hundreds of soldiers ‘ to use as barracks and to be a way of entering Gush Katif through the back door,’ she said. ‘Now they are trying to blacken our name and frame us as violent. We, the national camp do not need violence because we have justice on our side.’

Matar moved to a small trailer in Gush Katif from a four-story home in the Gush Etzion community of Efrat last month. ‘It was not easy to move here,’ she said. ‘We have six children. Four of them are now in a new school here. I don’t have my Maytag washing machine, but we are one of many families doing the same thing and this is what you have to do for the Land of Israel.’

She is calling on others to join her. We have 114 rooms here, plus big halls, ‘ she said. ‘We opened up a kindergarden a few days ago and there are 18 children between 1 and 4 already attending. The military has made it clear that if 100,000 Jews arrive here they will not be able to implement the plan ‘ so that is what we are doing.’

Those who aren’t ready to move down to Gush Katif yet should still have a bag packed, Matar said. ‘The day you hear they have tried to close Gush Katif down. Everybody should walk down to Gush Katif on foot. Everybody should already have a knapsack in their living room with two liters of water, a flashlight, wire-cutters, some crackers and sun-tan lotion.’

She is sure that the nation of Israel will succeed in thwarting the Disengagement Plan and has even scheduled her son’s bar mitzva to take place at the hotel, renamed the Maoz Yam Hotel. ‘The bar mitzvah will be in this hotel,’ she told Stutz, ‘Parshat [the Torah portion of] VaYakhel-Pekudei [the end of the book of Exodus ‘ed.] - in March 2006.’

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 21st, 2005 and is filed under news.