Two weeks ago, Uriel and Rachel Raisch left their home in the southern Negev town of Mitzpe Ramon and moved, with their three young children, to Kibbutz Kerem Shalom.

The kibbutz is adjacent to the Gaza border and just a few hundred meters from the Egyptian border. It is next to one of the main crossings into the Gaza Strip.

“We see a lot of movement by the army and hear lots of explosions,” Rachel told The Times of Israel in an interview. “After 100 days of reserve duty in Gaza, Uriel doesn’t notice the explosions. The children know the IDF is making them.”

She went on, “We had heard that the kibbutz was very beautiful and green. and still feel as if we’re on vacation. People from the kibbutz always said life here is 99 percent heaven and 1% hell. After what the Israeli army has done, it’s closer to 99.5% heaven.”

The Raisches — Uriel, 28, who is studying industry and management in Beersheba, social worker Rachel, 27, Leshem, 5, Shir, 3, and Ofek, 1 — are one of five families, both religious and secular, to have joined the kibbutz in recent weeks.

Uriel, one of 11 children, was born in the Gush Katif settlement bloc in Gaza, which was evacuated in 2005 as part of Israel’s unilateral disengagement plan. Rachel grew up on Moshav Kfar Maimon, near the southern town of Netivot.

“We’re from the Negev,” Uriel explained, when asked why the family had relocated to Kerem Shalom, “and we were attracted to the idea of a community for religious and secular people.”

“We can’t forget the period we’re in,” he continued. “The answer to Hamas and terrorism is to strengthen settlement and hold on harder to the land. We are........

© The Times of Israel