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AGE 6 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE March 28, 1986 Focus on Campaign Federation dollars make miracles happen in Negev towns bv Bill Clark l J A Press Service PITHAT SH ALOM. ISRAEL — Fruits of peace now grow inside Eddi Peretz's greenhouses. They blossom and ripen beneath the 400 dunams (four million square feet) of glass roofing scattered at the kibbutzim and moshavim here in the Pithat Shalom region of the northwest Negev Desert. Pithat Shalom, which means Gateway to Peace, is the wedge of Israel squeezed between the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian Sinai. Since the 1979 peace accords with Egypt this region has become even more important for Israeli planning. Moshavim here (within Israel’s pre-1967 borders) are financed by the Jewish Agency with funds mainly from American Jews through the United Jewish Appeal Federa tion Campaign. They are one of Israel’s and the Jewish Agency’s high priorities. To keep a thriving rural popula tion in this part of the desert, a sophisticated type of agriculture is necessary—thus the greenhouses. Functioning with a number of other high-tech agricultural a- chievements such as computerized drip irrigation, the greenhouses represent an impressive saving of the desert’s most vital commodi ty—water. Prior to all these innovations, the average farm family in this part of the Negev required 40,000 cubic- meters of irrigation water per year to produce enough crops to sup port itself. Now, with all the im- Squeezed between the Gaza Strip and the Egyptian Sinai is Pithat Shalom. Moshavim in the area, within Israel's pre-1967 borders, are making miracles happen by aid of American Jews who contribute through Federation campaigns. provements, a family needs only 1,000 cubic meters of water to pro duce the same quantity of crops. This means that the region's water allocation makes it possible to set tle 40 times the number of people in Pithat Shalom than had been previously thought possible. And just in time. Before the Camp David Accords, this part of Israel had been a remote and dusty wilderness with only a few scat tered settlements. But the new peace brought a substantial influx of settlers, many of them Jews who had newiy settled in the Sinai. People in communities such as Kibbutz Sufa simply packed up the entire village, moved it back across the border into Israel, and set in new roots. Others, such as Moshav Peri Gan are entirely new and were built to help accelerate the popula tion of this vital region. Today there are 24 settlements in Pithat Shalom, with more under construc tion. Generally, this new Israeli sal ient finds peace along the Egyptian border a great blessing. “Ah! The peace is excellent.” said Meir Sha- ham of Moshav Talmei Yosef, one of the settlements which had been evacuated from Sinai and rebuilt in Pithat Shalom. “But it could be even more excellent!” Talmei Yosef earns its living by growing vegetables and flowers in the greenhouses introduced by Eddi Peretz. Most of its families are “mixed” marriages—one part ner a native Israeli, and one an immigrant. “There are some diffi culties with export marketing these days,” Shaham admits, “but we’re making a living here. But we do suffer from this ‘cold peace’ with Egypt. Things could be better.” Similar sentiments are found at Kibbutz Sufa where the entire community voted in 1979 to accept the peace and then move quietly back into the Negev. The original Sufa, just two miles from the Sinai coastal town of Yamit, was razed and a new village built five miles within Israel’s pre-1967 borders. “We’ve accepted the situation well enough,” said kibbutz secre tary Udi Vulichman. “We had two years in which to evacuate Sinai and build our new settlement. Ev eryone was involved in the effort and, by working together, it was much easier to accept psychologi cally.” Today, normalcy has re turned to the kibbutz. A few years have helped ease the frustrated expectat ions of a prosperous peace with Egypt. Settlers here are still uneasy a- bout the future. Is this truly the “Gateway to Peace” with Egypt, or Israel’s new frontier bulwark fac ing Egypt? Either way, settlers agree, Federation campaign sup port is extremely valuable in help ing maintain their presence. And while politicians decide the fate of nations, these desert settle ments are busy beneath their glass roofs growing all manner of fruits, vegetables and flowers. The best business comes from the flower export market—and particularly roses. So they fulfill an ancient prophecy: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose (Isaiah 35:1).” Celebrating the miracles The Miracles of Campaign ’86 will be celebrated at a Campaign Closing Event on Thursday, April 3, 7:30 p.m., at the Standard Club. All campaign workers and spouses/ guests are invited to join in the festivities. Leonid Feldman, the first Soviet emigre to be ordained at the Jewish I heologica! Seminary, will be the guest speaker for the event. Feldman is returning to Atlanta for the second time this year, by popular demand, after his presentation to the Women’s Division earlier in the campaign received rave reviews. I he evening will mark the official close of the Atlanta Jewish Federation 1986 Campaign. Campaign results will be announced, and campaign volunteers will be recognized for their ability to Make Miracles Happen. i .«? Mike The Connection Help Miracles Happen LFeutu ' £z jal-y Stillman Loehmanns Plaza 8610 Roswell Road (above Northridge Rd ) 998-1488 (fyivenchu * J.ily of O’ xl,x 9 Dio,a D^uny n-& *(-n\iiiiat U\ama > teio. c^utia '<PaiU INTERIORS OF ATLANTA'S GREAT HOMES SOUTHERN HCMb natt: V E Loehmann s Plaza at Executive Park 2480 Bnarclih Road 633-6399 Located exclusively next door to Loehmanr