Product Description

"Grains Of Sand: The Fall Of Neve Dekalim" closely follows the life of an Israeli family living in Gush Katif, from the pre-Intifada days until Disengagement. The author, herself an evacuee, provides a rare opportunity for the reader to look into the hearts and souls of the people who lived during those difficult times.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #389341 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 185 pages

Customer Reviews

an important book that everyone should read
In August 2005, the community of Neve Dekalim (and several neighboring communities in Gush Katif, the "Harvest Belt" of southern Israel) were destroyed by a corrupt and misguided politician; the longtime residents lost their homes and their livelihood for no reason. Shifra Shomron - a young writer who was among those forced to leave her home in Neve Dekalim - has written a very impressive novel about these events. She shows what Neve Dekalim ("Palm Oasis") was like before all this happened, and follows the struggles and hopes of the residents as they try to save their community. The likeable characters bring us into the events, giving us an inside view. I believe this book is of value to all readers, since it shows what can happen when political corruption is allowed to overrule the rights of ordinary citizens - even in a democratic country. This is an excellent first book by a young author, and I hope to be able to read more books in the future by Shifra Shomron.

grains of sand
Awesome I wish I had done more in those days. She wrote everything truthfully from the perspective of the eyes and the feelings of an adult. May Moshiach, the Goel Tsedek, come speedily in our days ,Malkah

Reminiscent of Nazi Germany
The author Shifra Shomron gives you a good insight of what it must have been like to live under the doom of being expulded from your home and have it destroyed. It kind of reminds me of Nazi Germany when Jews by the thousands and millions got thrown out of their homes only to be hauled of in cattle cars to their certain death. True, you cannot make the exact comparison. After all the government offered financial compensation and people didn't get cart off into death camps. But the truth is that half of 9000 Gush Katif inhabitants still live in tents or hotels and have no jobs. And as far as the government is concerned, many have not seen anything of the compensation the Knesset offered. As a German it was heart wrenching for me to watch this happen. It's enough to have to live with the fact that we as a country were able to commit large scale genosite but it's even more so to see Israel's own government rip their own people from their homes and thriving communities. Of course Shifra Shomron's writing style is more that of a teenager which she was at the time she started to write her book. But this makes it even more appealing because in the story of the family she picked she lets the reader glimpse into her own personal struggle from pain to frustration to hopelessnes. I hope she will write another book about how the Gush Katifians are dealing with their situation nowadays. They need much financial support.