Nahal Oz, a kibbutz in the South located near the Gaza Strip saw its share of tragedy during this past summer’s Operation Protective Edge.
On July 28, a group of Hamas terrorists emerged out of a tunnel near Nahal Oz and killed five IDF soldiers. Nahal Oz was also home to 4-year-old Daniel Tragerman, who was killed on August 22 by a mortar shell from Gaza.
Although twenty families have left the battered community since the recent conflict, radically reducing the community’s population, 2 new families have moved in, and another family is in the process of relocating, Channel 10 reported Tuesday night.
Additionally, dozens more Israeli families, primarily from central Israel, have expressed interest in settling in kibbutzim on the southern border, particularly Nahal Oz, citing beliefs of “secular Zionism.”
A tour, which was organized by the Or Movement, for the development of the Negev on Tuesday, saw an overwhelming turnout of 100 families, with many hailing from Ma’ale Adumim, Rishon Lezion, Be’er Ya’akov, Yavne, Ashkelon, and Modiin.
A coordinator proclaimed most of the families were “young secular families with small children, which isn’t insignificant.”
“I know it’s a little bit scary, but we are so proud of being Israeli,” Ophira Graji of Ma’ale Adumim told the TV station.
Several of the participants expressed their concerns about safety due to the proximity of the Kibbutz to the volatile Gaza Strip, but also demonstrated strong interest in Nahal Oz and other nearby communities.
“We live in Ashkelon. We’re considering moving further south to improve our quality of life,” Leonardo Kobel said. His wife, Zohar, said, “If I do it, it will be with a heavy heart,” jokingly adding, ““we would need to take a shooting course or something.”
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