Until Roni arrived, we talked about events from the last week: about harvesting olives with farmers in the West Bank, about meetings of the personal kind and more …
“We talked,” referring to Shmulik, Nahshi and I, who are in charge of the infrastructure and we were gradually joined by Talila and Hanan.
When Roni arrived, our building was raised to the top of the lighthouse and illuminated Gaza. Roni, who is linked to men and Women in Gaza, told about videos that are sent to her in which girls and boys are excited to receive a new school bags!
Roni went on to talk about a slight shift in the operation of a new hospital that was built and has not yet started operating, About her concern every time he liaises with a friend in Gaza and the relief of his renewal, and a little about the mood of her friends within the routine of life in Gaza.
Hanan told about an online confrontation with one reporter in the Haaretz newspaper about the boundaries of discourse within “challenged religion and nationality” communities (my definition A.B.), what is not talked about because it is a kind of taboo, and why they explain to us what is right and wrong to say. “
From here to the end of our meeting, the discussion on the subject of the “taboo” revolved around. The dangers and prohibitions of bringing certain issues to the community discourse and also the courage to confront these issues that are sometimes the size of an elephant in the room …
For a brief moment, a guy and a girl sat with us, from Moshav Kadima, I think, but the third guy who was with them, insisted that they come and help him with something and they left before …
We were: Shmulik, Nahshi, Talila, Hanan, Roni, Oded.
Wrote: Oded

Why has no water desalination plant been established in Gaza yet?
Why was Jerusalem established precisely where there is no source of water?
And what is the agricultural backyard of Gaza City?
This time we talked about all these subjects and more. It was interesting.

We where: Roni, Rami, Shmulik and Nahshi.
Wrote: Nahshi

Today Roni is back to us! In her real body! And not only in her spirit that is always lined up on the “lighthouse”, but she herself in full exclusion. Undoubtedly a real refresh and also a little “shaking” of the lighthouse idea … we will reach the “shaking” at the end of our summary.
Erez arrived on a “Harley” motorcycle … came for a preliminary tour before Saturday, where he will be accompanied by other motorcyclists for a trip in the area. Shmulik in the role of Nahshi serves him (and us) coffee. Rami greets him with an explanation of us and adds hope that “someday we will not have to sit here anymore …”
For Ramy, Gaza in recent years has been an internal alarm clock. Something that reminds him that he’s not alone on the planet. That he should and can look at the weak and the suffering. Perhaps this is Gaza’s ‘gospel’ to the world, he muses, it demands a direct look at overt suffering and mental reckoning.
Malki felt a strong desire to come even for a short time (she has guests at home), the company of the people and the place “charged” her with a good feeling.
Roni feels very connected to Gaza. The fence hides reality. We need to score the walls. She has friends in Gaza, those who call her the “mother of Gaza”. She tells the story of the piano transfer and adds that beyond the unique act, the event was used as an image gimmick … a gimmick that covers real daily hardships. Here, in the “Lighthouse” she found a group that sees things as it is. “The day after” will come. There is no other option.
Jaber talks about al-Zarnouk and the structural problems in a village not recognized by the authorities. In Gaza it is much more difficult, he adds. Recently he is stressed at work, but coming to the “lighthouse”, gives him air. A man mind can’t bear that here live in well and there they will suffer, he says. Jaber occasionally has anecdotes from work as a bus driver, Small stories about encounters with passengers that illustrate the mixing of the identities of the area. Thank you Jaber for sharing …
Oded says that for him there is also another purpose in meeting casual (or invited) guests, his desire to crack the absoluteness of Jewish-Israeli justice that makes us not examine ourselves and just say what “they” should do …
Shmulik says that we have been hosting people in the circle for 3.5 years. People like us and different from us. Shmulik is happy to meet travelers who comes mainly in the spring and winter. In the summer they go to the sea …
Now it’s the turn of Erez … he has a long “affair” with Gaza, he says. He is a native and a resident of the area and this “creature”, Gaza, is no stranger to him. As a child he visited there and they visited them. It was obvious to him. Did not see any difference. He played as a child in security trenches of he’s kibbutz and did not think about the context or that he would need shelter again at all … Today he thinks differently, he became disillusioned. Gaza is a “friend” who has become an “enemy.” Still, the basis of his observation is that a dialogue needs to be built. In the created reality, his opinions shifted. We are in war. In war you have to shoot and talk. If it is possible in speech to prevent war it is good. No need to move from where they sit (they and we). Katif setlements evacuation from the Gaza strip was our tribute. Expected to see a different response. They have an elected government that wants to kill. If we were to lose we would all be dead. We are in a long process towards where they will understand that the place can be developed into heaven. They (still) do not understand it because of a different mentality. Erez thinks and even suggests that we divert the light in the “lighthouse” to the Bedouin problem in Israel and not toward Gaza.
Rami replies that there are many problems in the country and we chose to focus on Gaza. Adds some facts about life and the situation in Gaza.
Hayuta, last in the round, responds to Erez and says that the Bedouin are part of us and Gaza are neighbors. Reads a poem by Hamutal Ben Yosef. Erez says goodbye as he notes the important work we are doing and rides to the sunset. From there shines Maharan and joins us.
Now we’re up for “shaking” … It seems to Roni that we have warmed ourselves up in “Lighthouse”, with a bit strict rules and as a result we are recently missing opportunities to reach wider audiences.
Ramy says that we actually tried and sometimes we were able to organize or host wider audiences. There are limitations due to the conditions at the place.
An interesting conversation developed that sharpened insights in the context of the original ideas that shaped the “lighthouse” in its infancy versus the present.
It was definitely interesting and fertile.
We were this time: Roni, Malki, Hayuta, Erez, Jaber, Shmulik, Rami, Maharan, Oded.
Wrote: Oded.

Thus, with the arrival of autumn and with it the relief from the summer heat, a thin stream of hikers begins to return and tour the reserve and also to discover the “lighthouse”. Last week, three cyclists and today a couple from Jerusalem (Ravid and Tal) and three ATV riders (Amit, Ofir and Eili). They were added and came to Shmulik, Nahshi, Hayuta Rami and I, who as usual on Fridays between one and four, circle ourselves into Gaza consciousness in the shade of the pine trees. Sometimes, Mark comes too, like today for example. Maharan, who was on his way to the “lighthouse”, got stuck with a malfunction in his vehicle.
Nahshi told the listeners about connections with people from Gaza from his childhood, for his youth, coming of age. Friendships were formed and when the space closed, most of them broke off. Years passed and he realized that the situation was not normal. People live close by, suffer, and do nothing about it. He felt that he too had a responsibility for what was happening there. The frame here, in “Lighthouse”, was very suitable for him as a way to keep in touch. They know about us, we talk to them and that means thinking about each other. This is also a statement, do not sink into oblivion. Believes that something will change in the future. Everyone needs to contribute their bit. Until then he will hold the light in the “lighthouse”.
Hayuta: Her inner motive to come, is the need to be human! Less comes from an ideology, which she attributes mainly to Shmulik Nahshi and me, and on the other hand, enjoys the sense of humor created by the three of us encounter with the ideology …
reads poems by the amazing Wislawa Szymborska.
Shmulik claims that as a communist he is committed to political existence and solidarity and therefore came here. It’s also a kind of “moral laundry” for him … he adds. Trying to contribute to the best of his ability (his words …) and hoping that the things said here, reach beyond the fence and inspire hope among our space partners. In general, it is better that the fence was not and did not cross the land.
Tal says that for him, Gaza is a “black hole”. The largest prison in the world. Something that is convenient to ignore its existence. It’s annoying somewhere. Maybe that’s what pushed him to come here to hear about Gaza.
Ravid thought of Gaza while traveling here. The burnt hills … Gaza is a type of wound that the more you move away from it the more painful … wrapped in a wall of ignorance. The 2014 war was an unbearable rift. Visited a tent of bereaved families. Everything in our society is related to the occupation directly or indirectly. Was active in social protest. In her opinion, there is now maturity to talk about the occupation. There are initiatives and are starting to talk about it. Out of desperation she began to act. Always believes it is possible. There is room for her, and also in society, to start doing!
Mark wanted to rest today and decided to rest in our company … While Ravid was speaking, he realized how important it was to mention Gaza and the Gazans. He does not have enough energy to deal with the occupation. it’s tiring. It is still difficult to decipher Israeli society. It seems strange to him to even try to understand it …
Eili: A native of the area, he has known the reality since he was born. Feels like we ‘got used to it’, it’s pretty natural for him already. The situation is unsolvable in his opinion.
Ophir is also a native of the area. Asks himself where else in the world does such a reality exist. Is it even possible to resolve the conflict? Imagining himself as daring and asking how he would have behaved. Life here shaped him in their image. Want to be optimistic but …
Amit lives in the area from the age of 10. When asked about Gaza, she says thease are her life. Her mother says life here, near the Gaza Strip, is 99 percent heaven and one percent hell. Her brothers literally grew into reality. She has a sister who is scared of a motorcycle passing by on the street and a nephew who plays in kindergarten in “running for shelter” … I wish we could hope, but we are already used to it and we are not excited about a balloon or an alarm … Hayuta asks her if she would like to raise children here. She repeats her mother’s answer, adding that she still asks and examines her surroundings and she don’t have an answer yet.
Ramy says the circle was formed when people joined it. Explains the idea behind the “lighthouse”. Every morning, as he begins the day, he tries to bring the intention into consciousness. Well, he says, there is a place you can come to and talk about Gaza. There is a house to talk about Gaza. This is our reality and that of Gaza and the “lighthouse” serves as its home. Gaza represents for him something that requires getting up in the morning and adjusting to it. The dialogue about Gaza is not off the agenda but it’s going nowere… Rami is building within it the recognition that this will change. It’s a matter of time, because there can be no other. Asks himself, does he “love” Gaza despite what comes from there? And replies to himself that the mind does not practice, yet he loves optimism and faith. We do not know much about Gaza. The “noise” that emanates from it merges with the noise that is heard towards it and ambiguity is created. Gaza is an important crossroads in history, it meets the peoples of the world. Gaza’s peace periods are much larger than those of the war. Gaza during his grandfather’s period is the second largest in the area. His grandfather traded between Cairo and Damascus and Beirut and moved to Gaza. Ramy’s father came here 75 years ago. On the way to Be’eri, he would pass through Gaza and load goods into the kibbutz. The road north passed through Gaza. Rami himself sleeps in hotels in Gaza as part of his tourism business. Grandfather, father, himself and even his son met and will meet Gazan people. The road from there can go in any direction. At the moment Gaza is an unresolved story and is paying the price of the “no solution”. The Nakba is the Palestinians’ narrative of the conflict. For Rami the Nakba, it is another point of view on the conflict. Abundant waters create life, and the peoples of the region are thirsty. When the water flows to everyone there will be nothing to fight about …
We were: Rami, Shmulik, Hayuta, Nahshi, Oded, Mark, Eili, Amit, Ofir, Tal, Ravid and almost came Maharan …
Wrote: Oded.