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"Rebuilding Jewish Life in Judea, Israel"
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JUDEA ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE Vol.8, No.4 Tamuz-Av 5760/July-August 2000
***********************************************************************
Website: http://www.crosswinds.net/~judea
Contents:
* The Camp David Summit:
The Map Negates Our Birthright / On Dividing Jerusalem / Trusting the
Israeli People / The Jewish Survival Instinct / Chief Justice Landau
Speaks Out
* Palestinian Summer Camp Offers the Games of War
* Trying To "Solve" Jerusalem: Interview with Former Deputy Jerusalem
Mayor Meron Benvenisti
* Jewish Responses:
Gush Emunim Under Palestinian Rule? / Women of Valor / The Jews Keep
Building / New Construction in Karmei Tzur / Settling the Land - The Next
Generation
* Major Doctor Miri of the Air Force Rescue Unit
* Senator Lieberman would Find Our Community Familiar
************************************************************************
The Camp David Summit:
THE MAP NEGATES OUR BIRTHRIGHT
The prime minister of Israel offered Syria large tracts of land
populated entirely by Jews, for a pledge of peace. Now he has done the
same for Judea, with no relation to the fact that this is the Jewish
heartland.
The empty areas -- the hills where no one lives -- are the birthright
of the Jewish people, our homeland, where my children and grandchildren
and yours could someday live. Instead of this future, there is a plan to
bring in millions of "Palestinian" Arabs to settle in Judea and
throughout the Land of Israel, threatening to overturn the hard-won
Jewish majority in the land.
The Arab population of Judea already enjoys self-rule. We are still
absorbing the shock that an Israeli government offered to hand over
Jewish control of most of Judea to Arab rule. While no one can predict
the outcome, my guess is that 5 years from now I’ll still be living here
in Judea.
* * *
ON DIVIDING JERUSALEM
She who would agree to divide the baby in half is not the true
mother. -- King Solomon
* * *
TRUSTING THE ISRAELI PEOPLE
What the Arabs, the Americans, and even Ehud Barak do not understand
is that the Israelis are not stupid. Deep down inside they understand
that the only true security is when, with G-d's help, we take care of
ourselves, without having to put our trust in anyone else. We cannot, and
will not, ever be able to put our existence in the hands of Arafat and
Uncle Sam. There is absolutely no doubt that should Barak come back to
Israel with a signed accord, abandoning over 90% of Yesha together with
some 40,000 Jews, the Israeli people will pour it down the drain.
(David Wilder, The Jewish Community of Hebron, 7 July 2000)
* * *
THE JEWISH SURVIVAL INSTINCT
The current situation is arousing the survival instincts of many in
the Jewish world, unified in their desire for peace but equally concerned
with protecting the foundations of Jewish spirit for centuries to come.
(Former UN Ambassador Dore Gold, _New York Post_, 11 July 2000)
* * *
CHIEF JUSTICE LANDAU SPEAKS OUT
Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Moshe Landau is against the
planned concessions to the Palestinians by Prime Minister Barak. In a
letter to Natan Sharansky, who recently resigned from the government in
protest of Barak's policies, Landau wrote,
"At this difficult hour for the State, I wish to encourage you for
reaching the right conclusion as a public figure, in light of the dangers
to the existence of the State caused by the concessions planned by the
Prime Minister - whether the Camp David summit succeeds or fails. These
concessions are a large step forward in our enemies' 'plan of stages'
towards their final goal of liquidating the Zionist entity. Our enemies
are again showing their true face and are continuing to act according to
the Palestinian charter, mixed with diplomatic negotiations and
violence...
I view with concern the lack of willingness among our own people to
stand up for the soul of the nation. This phenomenon is not new; the
Prophet Jeremiah wrote, 'They have superficially healed the hurt of my
people by saying, "Peace, peace" - when there is no peace.'"
(Arutz Sheva News Service, July 16, 2000,
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com)
************************************************************************
PALESTINIAN SUMMER CAMP OFFERS THE GAMES OF WAR
John F. Burns
Shechem, Samaria (Nablus, West Bank), Aug. 2 -- It is summer camp
time for 25,000 Palestinian teenagers, and strikingly unusual camps they
are, too. As run by the men who handle psychological warfare for Yasir
Arafat, the Palestinian leader, they allow no horsing around in the dorm,
no fun-in-the-sun by a cool clear lake, no rousing sing-alongs beside a
roaring campfire.
Instead, there is the chance to stage a mock kidnapping of an Israeli
leader by masked Palestinian commandos, ending with the Israeli's
bodyguards sprawled dead on the ground. Next, there is the mock attack on
an Israeli military post, ending with a sentry being grabbed by the neck
and fatally stabbed. Finally, there is the opportunity to excel in
stripping and reassembling a real Kalashnikov rifle.
In the summer of the latest Camp David talks, a summer that was
supposed to produce a final peace settlement between Israel and its
Palestinian adversaries, the Palestinians' idea of a teenage boys' camp
is a reminder of how deep old enmities run. At 90 two- and three-week
camps on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip, youths from towns and
villages already ceded by Israel to Mr. Arafat's Palestinian Authority
are learning the arts of kidnapping, ambushing and using assault weapons.
"As President Arafat says, this is the generation that will plant the
Palestinian flag on the walls of Jerusalem," said Dr. Wajieh Affouneh, a
49-year-old dental school graduate who joined Mr. Arafat's Fatah
organization. In the 1970s and 80s, he participated in some of the
operations that made the Palestinian cause synonymous with attacks on
Israeli and other targets. Dr. Affouneh is now a top man in the
"political guidance" department of Mr. Arafat's National Security Forces,
the armed police unit permitted under the Oslo accords.
In the camps around this biblical town 35 miles north of Jerusalem,
the mood is a throwback to the days before Mr. Arafat joined Israeli
leaders in the peacemaking effort that faltered at Camp David, mainly
over the future of Jerusalem.
Since the current cycle of talks began in Oslo in 1993, both sides
have made generous use of the tactics of bluff and threat, and have still
made impressive strides toward peace. But the display today in the yard
of what was once a notorious Israeli prison seemed more than old-time
propaganda, even if there was an element of that. What the youths and
their mentors had prepared for a graduation parade appeared to a visitor
to be steeped more in the Palestinian mind-set of the 1970s than the
conciliatory postures of today.
In the mock kidnapping, an Israeli official walked across the old
prison yard surrounded by eagle-eyed security men. Suddenly a reporter
approached with a tape recorder. The target stopped, only to be grabbed
by the reporter, now flourishing an imitation pistol. As the target was
dragged off, other mock kidnappers shot seven of the bodyguards dead.
For 1,000 Palestinian youngsters standing in neatly ordered platoons,
cheering, the exercise seemed like ripping good stuff.
Afterward, many predicted that their generation would someday take up
arms against Israel over Jerusalem. At indoctrination sessions in the
camps, the youths have been told that Mr. Arafat, at Camp David, rejected
American proposals that would have given the Palestinian Authority a
foothold in parts of Jerusalem, demanding instead that Israel surrender
the entire eastern half of the city.
Fikri Fouad, a 15-year-old village boy, said Palestinians had learned
during the Oslo peace effort to live with a split view of Israelis -- "as
people that we can make peace with, but still our enemies, too." He
added: "If we can get Jerusalem without weapons, it is better. But if
there is a need to liberate Jerusalem with weapons, we will be ready for
that."
Suleiman Nubaim, 16, when asked how he defined Palestinian freedom,
said it included having Jerusalem, and then the rest of Israel. "As long
as Israel occupies any part of our land, in Tel Aviv or Jaffa or Haifa,"
he said, "we have not liberated our homeland."
Although the camps have been run for five years with some weapons
training, it is only this summer that they have caused noticeable
controversy in Israel. Since Camp David, Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz, the
Israeli Army chief of staff, has cited the training in the summer camps
as evidence of the risks of a new Palestinian upheaval. Israeli officials
have said security has been tightened all across the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip, especially near the 145 Jewish settlements that have been the
cause of much Palestinian ire.
According to Mr. Affouneh, the Arafat aide who oversees the Nablus
camps, weapons used in the camps -- judging by the graduation rehearsal,
American-made Smith & Wesson revolvers in addition to the Kalashnikovs --
were "legitimate" under the Oslo accords.
(_New York Times_, 3 Aug 2000
************************************************************************
TRYING TO "SOLVE" JERUSALEM
Interview with former Deputy Jerusalem Mayor Meron Benvenisti
Moshe Zondar
Q: Barak now wants, as we understand it, a permanent solution for the
question of Jerusalem.
A: "I was one of the people who drew the municipal boundaries of
Jerusalem after 1967.
"The way of the West, the Anglo-Saxon tradition, is to say, come, let
us sit at the table and talk. This situation is foreign in the East where
we live. We have a situation in which we live, not a problem that we need
to solve. There will be no proclaimed 'end to the conflict.'
"The Palestinians will not agree to municipal autonomy. Do you expect
that there will be a border that divides Jerusalem according to some
crazy line, where I will have French Hill but the Arabs will have
Shuafat, which is further west than Pisgat Zeev. There will be no such
thing. It's not realistic for a city like Jerusalem.
"There can be no solution in terms of sovereignty, only in terms of
protecting the status quo with quiet arrangements. The Americans proposed
Israeli sovereignty underground and Muslim sovereignty above ground, or a
bridge from Abu Dis that would pass above the cemetery on the Mount of
Olives. Why not just hang Jerusalem from the moon? These are all absurd
solutions.
"No one wants to physically separate Jerusalem. People get up in the
morning and go to work. Many Arabs work for Jews. Many live on Israeli
National Insurance payments. They have health insurance, they make a
living, they have freedom of movement. They complain all the time, but
they are managing.
"Take Ramallah. How many Jews visit Ramallah? None. Maybe there are a
few who boast that they went to Ramallah to eat humus, but the vast
majority see Ramallah as foreign territory. Do you now want to copy the
situation in Ramallah to be inside of Jerusalem? The minute you do that,
you have turned Jerusalem into Belfast. The minute that a uniformed
Palestinian policeman is in Sheikh Jarrah or Shuafat, in Kalandia or Beit
Hanina, the potential for conflict will simply be too great. Thousands of
Israelis travel into Jerusalem daily via the French Hill junction which
is actually Shuafat, so what will Palestinian sovereignty in Shuafat
mean?
"If the central question continues to be about sovereignty, there
will be no solution to the dispute. Since the time of the Mandate the
Arabs have claimed the Temple Mount to be the property of the Muslim Wakf
and wanted it listed as such in the land registry. The English refused to
agree, nor did they agree to register as such the walls of the Old City."
Q: How do we know that the Temple stood on the Temple Mount? Have
they ever found any archeological findings that prove this?
A: "This is the position of the Arabs that says that the Temple Mount
was on Mount Zion. Everything about Jerusalem was handed down from
generation to generation since the time of King David. It's not connected
to archeology. Does anyone actually believe that the Temple Mount wasn't
there?"
Q: You refuse to relate to the question.
A: "I'm amazed at the question. The Temple Mount was there. No one
ever questioned it, including the story of Omar who conquered Jerusalem
in 648. He saw the ruins on the Temple Mount and asked the Christian
bishop what the place was. The Christian answered that this was the place
where the Jews would pray and we keep it like this to prove that Jesus
was correct when he said that the Jewish Temple would be destroyed. Then
Omar went and built the Mosque of Omar on the spot. What we don’t know is
where exactly the central holy place (Holy of Holies) was located, the
place where the High Priest would enter, where during the First Temple
the Ark of the Covenant stood. Therefore, religious Jews are forbidden to
go up to the Temple Mount out of concern that they may accidentally walk
in this place."
Q: How would you describe your own Israeli identity?
A: "I have an Israeli, Jewish, patriotic identity. I grew up in the
labor movement, was a member of a kibbutz, and my parents were from the
labor movement with socialist values.
"I have certain positions with regard to Zionism and to Jerusalem,
and the last thing that I want is that my neighbor in Shuafat and I will
feel that we belong to two states that require a border between them.
Nothing will come of solutions that require such separation. To me, such
an approach represents apartheid."
(From _Maariv_ Weekend, 18 Aug 00, p. 36+)
************************************************************************
Jewish Responses:
GUSH EMUNIM UNDER PALESTINIAN RULE?
Geula Cohen
[Geula Cohen is a former Knesset Member who during Israel’s
pre-independence period was a leading figure in the radio broadcasts of
the Lehi underground - the Jewish freedom fighters led by Yitzhak Shamir.]
The agreement being discussed will not falter over the question of
Jerusalem. What will cause the agreement to fail, even if it is signed in
Hebrew, Arabic, and English, is the question of the settlements in Judea,
Samaria, and Gaza. Even if we assume that Israel and the Palestinians
will agree that some percentage of the villages be uprooted (an outcome
that will cause a social and moral earthquake in Israel in its own
right), the leaving of some 50,000 settlers within the area of the
Palestinian Authority will be the true time bomb.
These tens of thousands, which no government in the world will be
able to uproot, are the core group of Gush Emunim, the founders of the
settlements -- the Levingers and Katzovers, the Felixes and the Daniella
Weisses. They are Nadia Matar and the youth of Dor Hemshech (The Next
Generation) who settle on the hilltops. No bulldozer will move these
people. There may be others who came later in search of quality of life
who may agree to accept compensation, but not them.
I have no doubt that the Palestinians will never agree to the time
bomb of 50,000 Levingers in their midst. And they are right. If I was 18
today, and I was left by the government of Israel to live under what is
called the Palestinian Authority in Eretz Israel, the next morning I
would establish there an underground liberation organization in order to
kick out the new foreign government, the Palestinian one, just as I did
with my comrades when I was 18, against the British Mandate in
Palestine-Eretz Israel. Nothing less.
(From _Maariv_ Shabbat, 18 Aug 00, p. 23)
***********************************************************************
WOMEN OF VALOR
Women in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza are learning to protect themselves
against Arab terror, and in recent months many women have taken courses
in self-defense. Women in Green leader Nadia Matar from Efrat explains,
"During the course, the women learn to use a variety of weapons,
including the Uzi submachine gun, the M-16 rifle, and handguns. They
practice at a shooting range and learn how to operate and maintain
firearms."
"Weapons training for women was designed to provide an answer to the
settlers' greatest fear that, when the time comes, the IDF would pull out
of the territories and leave them alone to their fate. We are not afraid
of the uprooting of settlements," Matar said. "We are much more afraid of
a devilish situation in which the government would decide to pull the IDF
out of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza."
"We don't want to learn to be Rambo, nor do we intend to be a women's
army," Matar clarified. "Our intention is to learn how to defend
ourselves in times of danger, when the husband is away and the army does
not show up. For example, parents and children are traveling on a lonely
road in Samaria. A group of Arabs attacks them with rocks, and one hits
the driver and he loses consciousness. What does the wife do? She takes
her husband's Uzi and immediately fires in the air. If she sees Arabs
approaching to finish the family off, she should aim her gun at their
heads and eliminate them on the spot."
"When Rabbi Ra'anan was murdered in Hebron, they said he had a gun in
the drawer, but his wife did not know how to use it to chase the
murderers away. On the other hand, a woman who lives in Kiryat Arba
chased away two Arab robbers. She simply took her husband's gun and aimed
it at them. They panicked and fled."
"In one of the lessons in the self-defense course, the women learn
how to protect themselves from physical attack. They are also taught
rules of caution that help them stay alert and notice things that might
turn out to be hostile." The women also learn how to pull wounded people
out of a car and what to do when faced with a roadblock made of stones
(turn the car around immediately).
"In the past, when I drove through desolate areas, I used to be very
scared. Now I am no longer afraid. I used to lock my gun in the safe at
home. Now I carry my gun everywhere I go, and it gives me a sense of
great confidence. When we first started training, we felt very bad for
even finding ourselves in such a situation where we, Jewish women, must
learn to defend ourselves from hostile elements. Our hands were shaking,
our hearts were pounding, some women had to rest a few minutes before
they could hold a gun. But after the first 20 rounds were fired, we knew
that we could handle a gun just fine."
"We will let no one disturb orderly life in the Jewish villages. If
our neighbors should decide to make our lives hell, come up to the
settlement gate, throw rocks and throw boiling oil at us, we will call in
the IDF and watch it handle the rioters. But if the army fails to arrive
on time, we will react instead."
When asked: "Would you turn your gun at our soldiers?," Nadia
responded: "The army is made up of our husbands, brothers, and children.
We would never harm even a fingernail of an IDF soldier."
(From Sari Makover, _Maariv_ Weekend, 25 Aug 00)
************************************************************************
THE JEWS KEEP BUILDING
Shlomo Zesna
Seven years ago, with the signing of the Olso agreement, some 110,000
Jews lived in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. By June 2000, according to the
Ministry of Interior, the number had reached nearly 195,000. In the last
year alone the population there increased by 13 percent compared to the
national growth rate of 3 percent.
Travelers on the highway from Jerusalem to Hebron via Gush Etzion
cannot help but notice the many colorful signs along the way: "In the
nearby village they are selling detached houses for the same price as
apartments in the city."
According to MK Mosy Raz of Meretz, a veteran opponent of
construction in the territories, "Someone who buys in the territories
receives a mortgage at preferred rates as well as outright grants. On
every purchase there are loans of between 26,000 and 106,000 shekels,
depending on the village and the size of the dwelling. There is a benefit
of 7 credit points off income taxes. Pre-school nurseries are subsidized,
and there are other benefits, since all the villages are in areas of
national preference."
Pinchas Wallerstein is head of the Benjamin Regional Council which
includes 30 villages with some 4,500 families. "No government can stop
us," he says. He claims that the Interior Ministry statistics are
outdated and believes there are already 210,000 Jews living in the
territories. The Council of Villages in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza believes
that some 10 percent of the residents have not yet changed their
addresses with the Interior Ministry for bureaucratic reasons, and the
actual numbers are higher than the official figures.
The villages of the Benjamin Regional Council have absorbed 564
families in recent months. Wallerstein calls them "the true pioneers of
this generation." "The increase in numbers is not dependent on the
government, but is due to Zionist motivation. There are those who are
looking for quality of life, those who come for ideological reasons,
those who are looking for a religious community, and those who come for
all of these reasons together. The result is that our numbers have kept
growing steadily for the past 15 years."
The massive building over the 'green line' is especially prominent in
ultra-Orthodox (haredi) communities. According to Interior Ministry
figures, the town of Betar grew by 19 percent in the past year, from
11,821 to 14,115 residents. Kiryat Sefer grew 29 percent, from 11,071 to
14,284 residents.
(From _Maariv_ Shabbat, 18 Aug 00, p. 16+.)
************************************************************************
NEW CONSTRUCTION IN KARMEI TZUR
A new 18-unit neighborhood will be dedicated today in the Har Hevron
community of Karmei Tzur. Groundbreaking for still another neighborhood
will take place there today as well. All 18 homes have been sold, and
interest in the new neighborhood is great, according to reports from
Karmei Tzur, despite the unclear political future facing the town.
A Karmei Tzur resident told Arutz-7: "We are constantly growing in
size, and are now over 90 families. Within days after families leave
their caravans to move into the new houses, new people move in -
sometimes even before we get to paint the old homes. What we see is that
faith and action are stronger than anything else. This is not just a
cliche, but something that we see is true in practice."
(Arutz Sheva News Service, 29 Aug 00)
***********************************************************************
SETTLING THE LAND - THE NEXT GENERATION
Several dozen young citizens - from Efrat, Tekoa, and other cities
around Israel - settled on the Tamar hilltop outside Efrat last night,
and erected two huts and a watchtower there. Large army and police forces
arrived in the early morning hours, and the eviction of the youngsters
ended shortly after 1 PM. Tamar Ferenczi, who participated in the effort,
said that they plan not to give up, "as this hilltop is an intrinsic part
of Efrat. Just as we succeeded in the Dagan hilltop here in Efrat, we
hope to succeed here at Tamar as well."
* * *
[For the history of the struggle for Dagan hill in Efrat, see
http://www.crosswinds.net/~judea/jm34.htm and
http://www.womeningreen.org/dagan.htm].
(Arutz 7 News Service, 16 July 00, http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com)
************************************************************************
MAJOR DOCTOR MIRI OF THE AIR FORCE RESCUE UNIT
Roit Naor
For the past two years, Major Doctor Miri [only her first name is
given], 29, has served in the air force helicopter rescue unit (#669).
"Already during my studies I knew I would do everything to get into the
unit because I wanted to be a flying doctor," she said. With
determination, she contacted the chief medical officer of the air force
during her period at a hospital after medical school. "Everyone told me I
didn't have a chance, but I kept trying. Today there are already 4 women
doctors working in the unit and I'm the veteran among them."
Like the other doctors in the unit, Miri takes her turn being on duty
for emergencies and has had a number of incidents. "In one incident we
successfully took out two badly wounded soldiers."
"True, it's a tough system, but this same system has taken me to
places I would never have gotten to."
Miri speaks quietly, and despite her tough demeanor, she radiates
unquestionable authority, together with a winning smile. She knows
exactly what she's worth and what her skills are.
When the alarm goes off and cuts short our conversation, within
seconds Miri grabs her weapon and runs to the helicopters outside,
together with two women medics and the flight crew. She has seven minutes
to load all the emergency equipment onto the helicopter and put on flight
gear.
"We are the trauma unit of the air force," she explains. "Our task is
to reach the wounded as quickly as possible, administer first aid,
stabilize the patients, and bring them to a hospital as fast as possible.
If there is a need and conditions warrant, I can order the pilots to land
on the way to allow me to give additional treatment that would be
impossible to do in flight since the possibilities for movement inside
the helicopter are quite limited. We act as a flying ambulance."
"It does something for you to be part of this organization and wear
flight overalls with the unit patch, and not just be sitting in some
air-conditioned infirmary between four walls. As far as I'm concerned,
the mix of doctor and flight is a winner."
(From _Maariv_ Shabbat, 7 July 2000, p. 16+)
***********************************************************************
SENATOR LIEBERMAN WOULD FIND OUR COMMUNITY FAMILIAR
The selection of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an observant Jew, as a major
party candidate for Vice President of the United States is educating
millions, Jews and non-Jews alike, about the lifestyle of a person who is
completely comfortable being Jewish and actually enjoys Jewish practices.
In Israel, there are many communities, especially in the Jewish
heartland locations of Judea and Samaria, populated in large part by
people who share Sen. Lieberman’s lifestyle.
************************************************************************
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