We're coming upon eight years since the “disengagement” from Gush Katif, Gaza, and the time is ripe for introspection about an event that drastically altered the Middle East and that most people don't talk about anymore, even as people cavalierly call for evacuating more Jews from the West Bank.
According to an article in “>In chilling interviews I conducted with “disengagers” as research for my novel about the withdrawal, “>The Settler. In the novel, a “disengager” wrote the following letter to the protagonist (don't worry, it's not a spoiler). I don't know if any soldiers went this far, but that reunion would be interesting…the stuff of fiction.
“I never felt good about what I did….I knew in my heart it was wrong, but it was so hard to go against the army. There was a lot of training and pressure to do it. We were taught we didn’t have to take personal responsibility….I don’t think anything I can say or do can make up for the pain I caused you and your family, or the pain I caused myself. Still, if it’s not too late, I ask that you and your family forgive me.”
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