VOA新闻杂志2023--以色列男子在悬崖边挖洞居住50年将被驱逐

After 50 Years, Officials Aim to Remove an Israeli Man from His Beach Home

For more than 50 years, Nissim Kahlon has lived in an unusual way on the Mediterranean¹ coast in Israel.

He started by setting up a tent on the beach in Herzliya, not far from the city of Tel Aviv.

Over time, he started making a cave in the stone cliffs.

Little by little, he made a living space. He started to make stairs and windows. He built up the stone walls with glass and colorful tiles he found while walking in the city.

Now, his home is a tourist attraction. People come to the beach just to see what he has made.

But officials in Israel want the 77-year-old to leave.

The Environmental Protection Ministry² said Kahlon's cave home is illegal. The ministry says the cave home makes the traditional homes above his unsafe. They worry the cave damaged the structure of the cliff.

Officials sent Kahlon a letter telling him to leave, known as an eviction³ notice.

"Instead of encouraging me, they're denigrating⁴ me," Kahlon said.

He said his home is safe. It even has electricity, a telephone and a toilet.

He said his home is an example of living without waste. Everything he cuts out of the stone he uses. "There's no waste here, that's the logic⁵," he said.

The last time the government told him to leave was in 1974. He received a document that said his home would be torn down. But it never happened. He did not hear of any government concerns for almost 50 years.

The removal order has been suspended while Kahlon appeals the decision. Kahlon plans to say the government knew about him for many years. He said the city approved his presence when it connected his home to electric power.

He said he wants to die in the home he built for himself.

"I am ready for them to bury me here," he said.

The government said Kahlon's home makes the cliff unsteady. Officials are worried about the homes at the top of the cliff. But the government is concerned about more than that.

An old weapons production center is only about 400 meters north of Kahlon's home. The production center closed 30 years ago after an accidental explosion killed two workers, damaged hundreds of buildings and broke windows far away. The government worries there are still some explosive devices nearby. In June, an explosion blew a large hole in the sand not far from Kahlon's cave.

The Ministry of Defense⁶ said there are not supposed to be any explosives in the area. However, no government or private organization has cleaned the area and checked it for explosives since the weapons center closed in the 1990s.

Some say the Israeli government is using its concerns about unexploded weapons and the cliff wall to push Kahlon out of his home. The local leaders in Herzliya said they have a new place for Kahlon to live. But Kahlon said he wants to stay. His friends are raising money for his appeal.

After speaking to the Associated Press, he picked up some tools and started working on his home.

"I'm doing something to feel something," he said. "I can't sit around all day."

Words in This Story

beach –n. an area covered with sand that is by a body of water

cliff –n. a very steep surface of rock, earth or ice

tile –n. a flat piece of clay or stone used to cover floors or walls

tourist attraction –n. a place designed to interest visitors to an area

eviction –n. to be officially removed from a building or land

encourage –v. to cause someone to what to do something

denigrate⁷ –v. to make someone seem less important; to criticize, attack or insult

logic –n. a way of thinking; a reason

1 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 eviction   

n.租地等的收回

参考例句：

• The family have won a temporary reprieve from eviction.这个家庭暂时免于被逐出。
• He claimed damages for unlawful eviction.他要求对非法驱逐作出赔偿。

4 denigrating   

v.诋毁，诽谤( denigrate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They bristled at his denigrating description of their activities. 听到他在污蔑他们的活动，他们都怒发冲冠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The KGB pigeonholed his report and reprimanded him for denigrating a brother officer. 克格勃把他的调查报告扔在一边，不闻不问，反而说他往同志脸上抹黑。 来自辞典例句

5 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 denigrate   

v.诬蔑，诽谤

参考例句：

• It was unkind to denigrate her achievement.贬低她的成就是刻薄的。
• To assert this is to denigrate the effectiveness of the police.坚持这一点就是贬低警方的办事能力。