Sometimes Israel chooses to surrender territory. This is a political decision that will obviously cause a great upheaval and a great deal of resentment. But it is done nonetheless. This differs from losing territory in a war because it is a decision of the government. It clearly causes a great deal of distress, but it is done nonetheless, as we have seen with Yamit in the mid-seventies and Gush Katif about thirty years later.
There are two ways of going about this procedure.
One way is through force. The government can lay down the law with a strict edict and forcibly remove the residents, possibly after determining a compensation for their land.
The residents will rarely accept the compensation as being sufficient. After all, they love their land and they love their property. They developed a livelihood, they have friends, they love the surrounding neighborhood, and so on, in addition to the Biblical issues. It's very difficult to uproot them forcibly because many people would rather die than to give up their home.
The government unquestionably realizes this and therefore the government uses greater force than the people have. Obviously, no settlements, no people can match the intense force that can be exhibited by an army and its affiliated security divisions. Yet, the residents often do choose to fight the eviction, often with the assistance of other Jews who do not live in that area.
There is another way to carry out this painful process. That's by using love.
This way is much more difficult but it lessens the painful effects of the removal.
The governemnt could bring in psychologists, rabbis, social workers, and more to speak to the people. They could show understanding of the people's feelings and needs and do what is possible to reduce the suffering involved. They could show empathy for the difficult time that the people will have to go through and they can make them feel like the heroes that they really are. They could help them find another suitable location to live that would be as close as possible to the existing situation, and this could be determined through communication with the people living in the region to be taken away and with their representatives. The compensation could be given lovingly and apologetically by giving the feeling that what they have done by living in these areas cannot be replaced by money and this money is not a replacement for their land because there cannot be a replacement, certainly not in terms of cash. However, the government wishes to show a token of its appreciation for the fact that they lived in this troubled area and this is a way of saying thank you.
Either way the evacuation will be met with sorrow and regret. There is only one difference.
If the government chooses force, then it will be met by force.
If the government chooses love, then it will be met as much as possible by love and understanding.
The government chose force.
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