Hebron Etzion
_______ Bloc Betar Jerusalem
/Kiryat \ _______ ______ _____________
/ Arba \ / Efrat \ / \ / \_______
___/ \____/ \__/ \____/ Maaleh Adumim
######### #### #### # Tekoa ______
# # # # # # # # _____ / \
# # # # # ### ##### / \ / \
# # # # # # # # # _/ \____/ \_
### ## #### #### # #
"Rebuilding Jewish Life in Judea, Israel"
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JUDEA ELECTRONIC MAGAZINE Vol.8, No.6 Heshvan-Kislev 5761/Nov-Dec 2000
***********************************************************************
Website: http://www.crosswinds.net/~judea
Contents: THE WAR IN JUDEA CONTINUES
* The War Continues
* Goodbye to Mother - Rina Didovsky, z"l
* We Must Protest
* The Movement for the Prevention of Arafat (Former Fatah Member Speaks)
* There is a Jewish Alternative
* Undercover Police in Jerusalem
* The Quiet Revolution of Solidarity
* The Imperative to Respect Each Other
***********************************************************************
THE WAR CONTINUES
During October-November 2000, Arabs turned their guns against Jews
more than 2,500 times, gunning down Jewish women and children on their
way to school or even in their kitchens. There are shooting attacks
every day throughout Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, especially in Gush Katif,
Hebron in Judea, and Psagot in Benjamin (between Judea and Samaria).
There are sporadic attacks on apartment buildings in the Gilo
neighborhood of Jerusalem and in areas near Israel's major coastal
cities, such as Netanya near Arab-controlled Tulkarm, and Kfar Saba
opposite Arab Kalkilya. It is the Arabs who shoot first, yet to our
amazement, much of the world seems to believe the lie that the Israelis
are the ones attacking.
Tekoa, where we live, is southeast of Jerusalem, with Bethlehem
located practically in between. After Bethlehem was handed to the PLO
in 1995, it turned into a safe haven for armed gangs who target Jews.
Explosions from "work accidents" by those assembling bombs occasionally
occur. Since late September 2000, shooting from Bethlehem has been in
all directions -- north towards Jerusalem, south toward the Givat
HaDagan neighborhood of Efrat, west toward the Tunnel Highway artery
connecting Jerusalem to all points south, and east toward the Shdema
army base, causing the closure of the main road between Tekoa and
Jerusalem since the attacks began.
Three times in recent months, Arab gunmen from Bethlehem have driven
a few kilometers southeast to shoot at Jews in school buses and army
jeeps on the road that runs past Tekoa. We have witnessed gun battles in
the nearby hills at dusk and early evening, lasting up to 45 minutes, as
the army pursued the Arabs who were shooting at Jewish traffic on the
road. We have heard more distant shooting almost every night for weeks.
Armored personnel carriers patrol the remaining road out of Tekoa,
between Tekoa and the Etzion Bloc, and they sometimes enter our
community to visit or participate in defense exercises. Yet we feel
lucky that our daily lives go on more or less normally here, thanks to
the 24-hour efforts of the IDF forces stationed nearby (which often
include those from our own community). Our hearts go out to the families
in Hebron, Psagot, Kfar Darom, and Gilo who suffer nightly gunfire and
must live behind sandbagged windows.
According to news reports, our homes in Tekoa and in other areas of
Judea and Samaria have once again been offered to the Arabs by leaders
of our own country, meaning the destruction of living Jewish
communities, where an entire generation of children has gone to
kindergarten, played together in the nearby fields of their ancient
homeland, and learned of the heroes of the Bible who walked where they
now walk. These children have grown up as proud Jews in their Land and
are now marrying, bringing up another generation in Judea.
We don't know how it's possible for a Jewish government to even
consider agreeing to uproot Jews from Judea, or permitting millions of
Palestinians to flood what is slated to be a Palestinian state on all
the empty lands surrounding the Jewish villages and along all the roads
we use, threatening our future existence no less than the future
existence of the whole Jewish state.
For the record, no one is leaving Tekoa, and people are still
building new homes here. We Jews over here in Judea were offered, in our
lifetimes, something that isn't available too often in Jewish history --
the chance to live the genuine Zionist dream and rebuild the Jewish
homeland. We chose this dream because it's a clear and pure place for a
person with a Jewish soul to tap into, and that dream helps keep us
going.
-- Mark Ami-El, Tekoa, Israel
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The Definitive Report:
THE USE OF PALESTINIAN CHILDREN IN THE AL-AQSA INTIFADA
by Justus Reid Weiner
Full-text, on-line, from the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs:
***********************************************************************
GOODBYE TO MOTHER - RINA DIDOVSKY, Z"L
David Wilder
It goes without saying that during a time of crisis, such as we are facing
now, the events take their toll on everyone - men, women and children. The
stress affects everyone differently.
Much to everyone's surprise, the children are holding up better than might
be expected. Knowing that your house is being shot at with the intent to kill
you, your family or friends is far from comforting. Some children have trouble
concentrating, some don't eat with the same appetite they previously had, some
don't want to play outside by themselves, and some have trouble falling asleep
at night. The latter problem plagues my nine and a half year old girl, Ruttie.
She is old enough to understand what is going on, and young enough to let her
thoughts wonder, and is, as are others her age, afraid.
Yesterday morning, Ruttie was a little late getting out of the house. I
drove her to school at about 8:30, just a few minutes after hearing that a
terrorist shooting attack occurred just south of Kiryat Arba. All we knew was
that some people had been hurt.
A few minutes after Ruttie sat down at her desk in her classroom, a
substitute teacher came in and started talking to the fourth grade girls.
She told them that a little while ago Arab terrorists had shot at a car, and
that the girl's teacher had been seriously injured. A few minutes later the
school principal joined the girls and told them that their teacher, Mrs. Rina
Didovsky, would not be returning to their classroom because she had died of
her wounds. The girls began crying and wailing. For good reason.
Rina Didovsky taught in the Kiryat Arba school for almost 2 decades. The
39-year-old mother of six dedicated her life to her young students, usually
in third and fourth grade. In many Israeli schools, teachers spend two years
with their classes and the children and their teacher get to know each other
very well. This was Rina's second year with this class. The girls loved their
teacher.
I asked Ruttie to tell me about her teacher. She told me that Rina never
yelled at the children, was always very understanding, and always smiled.
If they hadn't finished their homework she would give them a chance to
complete it. If a girl had a headache in class, Rina would immediately fix her
a cup of tea. And Ruttie added, "She always did things that were fun."
Yossi Dayan, past principal of the school where Rina Didovsky taught, told
me that Rina was a wonderful teacher, the kind of teacher every principal and
every child dreams of. She had endless patience and dedication above and
beyond the requirements of her job. She saw teaching not as an ordinary career
but as an ideal. Rina worked as a classroom teacher for years, enlightening
the lives of hundreds and thousands of children.
But the schoolroom was not Rina's only role in life. She was a model
mother and wife. Together with her husband Haim, they raised a family of six
children. The oldest girl, Reut, 19 years old, is presently in the midst of
a year of volunteer work following graduation from high school. The youngest
child, Tzion, is one year old. Tzion was named for Rina's father who passed
away just before Rina gave birth. Rina's parents both survived the Holocaust.
Yesterday hundreds of friends and family gathered next to the Beit Haggai
community synagogue, where the funeral began. Speaking in a breaking voice
Reut eulogized her beloved mother, saying, "you always thought of everything,
from a warm sweater to a sandwich for our ten o'clock break."
"Last night I talked to you about future plans, but now, everything has
changed - everything, except for a few things that you have left us for
eternity, that we will always carry with us - the values on which you raised
us: Education, which you were on your way to do this morning; the obligation
of Jews to live in Eretz Yisrael, everywhere, and here you were killed; your
whole life went according to your ideals - and also your death... You also
instilled in us Torah, fear of G-d, good deeds... It will be very difficult
for us without you, yet still and all - we will continue along the way you
charted for us... Now that you are up there with the Holy One Blessed be He,
we ask for a lot of strength here below, for Abba [Dad], Yisrael, Aviad,
Shlomit, Naamah, Tzion, and myself, and to look after all of Israel, who all
want nothing more than to come home safely to their families."
Rina's husband Haim directs a news agency called HaKol MeHaShetach [now
renamed Kol Rina], which broadcasts news events to journalists throughout
Israel. When Haim receives information about a breaking story he notifies
correspondents via personal pagers or 'beepers' as they are known in Israel.
Yesterday morning at 8:20, Haim unsuspectingly sent out a message saying, "In
the area of Bani Naim, near Kiryat Arba, shooting at an Israeli car. Probably
2 people injured, being treated near Kiryat Arba. The condition of one
probably medium to critical."
A few hours later, Haim led his family from their Beit Haggai home to the
funeral procession for his murdered wife, weeping, telling his six children,
"Come, say shalom to Emma - Come, say goodbye to mother."
(From Hebron-Past, Present and Forever, The Jewish Community of Hebron,
December 9, 2000, )
************************************************************************
WE MUST PROTEST
Hilary Hurwitz
I live in Efrat. I travel into Jerusalem to work every day. The
stress is difficult, and all of us who use the roads are showing signs
of tension. But when I hear from all my neighbors that every car on the
road after 6 p.m. on Wednesday was stoned (and most cars had smashed
windscreens), it makes it much harder to bear that none of the
"incidents" are reported. In addition there were five molotov cocktails
thrown at the 167 bus. Only by the quick thinking of Avi - the driver -
were the people on the bus saved.
I am beginning to understand why the Holocaust occurred. As soon as
we allow ourselves to "get used" to being stoned, to having petrol bombs
thrown at us, to being shot at, we are in danger of extermination.
The attitude of "it is OK if it gets no worse than this" and
"nothing terrible happened" is dangerous. We have to stand up and
protest. This is not normal life.
(Letter to the Editor, _Jerusalem Post_, 8 Dec 00, p. A10.)
***********************************************************************
Former Fatah Member Speaks:
THE MOVEMENT FOR THE PREVENTION OF ARAFAT
Ilia Bisk
A series of chance conversations with Arabs from the Jerusalem area
reveals quiet but widespread opposition to the leadership of Yassir
Arafat.
Q: (To a taxi driver from Wadi Joz): Tell me, do you want a
Palestinian state led by Yassir Arafat?
A: Are you crazy? I don't want Arafat, and I don't know anyone who
wants him. He's not even a Palestinian. Ask anyone who Arafat is.
They'll tell you that maybe he's a Jew, maybe he's Egyptian, maybe the
genie knows.
Q: Nevertheless, you want an independent Palestinian state?
A: I'm a Jerusalemite, and no Jerusalemite wants to be under the
control of the Palestinian Authority. We're here in Israel, we have
work, our children are safe, what more does a person need? Ask any woman
who receives National Insurance from Israel, she would starve if you
transferred her [to the Authority]. My father is 90, maybe more; just
tell him "go over to the Authority" and immediately he will call for the
angel of death. If I wasn't afraid to do it, I'd put a big sign up on
the taxi - "I don't want Arafat."
Later I came across a construction worker from the territories and
asked him the same question:
A: We don't want the Authority. They're corrupt, and our economic
situation is worse than before. We just want to work so we can feed our
families with honor and guarantee security for our children.
Another taxi driver answered in a similar way.
A: The Authority acts like the mafia; they have all the money; the
friends of the President have all the power. They come into our homes,
take taxes from us, and if someone has no money, they convince him to go
out and demonstrate. And they have another method: the men of the
President, or of [Tanzim leader] Bargouti. They stand next to the
schools and give the children money to go out to demonstrations. The
parents don't even know. Do you know what a hundred shekels is to a
kid?
And then the taxi driver asked me, "Do you want to meet someone who
was in Fatah for many years and left?" And that is how I met Hamid (not
his real name), 42, from Jerusalem.
Hamid dreamed of becoming a pilot, and in the days of the Cold War,
Arab youth could learn to fly for free in the pro-Arab former Soviet
Union. When he traveled to Amman on his way to the Soviet Union, he met
Fatah representatives who recruited him with promises to take good care
of his family, and also send him to learn to fly.
"They offered me a lot of money. What do you think crosses the mind
of a teenager when they offer you money and power? I was single, without
family commitments, and so I joined the Fatah."
"They sent me to learn the arts of war, in Tunisia, Lebanon, Libya,
Europe, places I prefer not to talk about. I became close to the
leadership, I rose in salary and rank. But the closer I came to the
heads of Fatah, the more I saw their corruption, and I wanted to leave.
But there are places, you understand, that are hard to get into and easy
to leave, and there are those that are easy to enter and practically
impossible to leave.
"I had saved up enough money to live well on and I wanted to
establish a home, a wife, children, and serving Arafat didn't suit me.
So I decided to leave and told my closest friends of my decision. They
tried to dissuade me, to convince me that if I returned to Israel, the
Israeli Security Services would catch me and torture me in jail until I
told them everything.
"But I knew they had no information about me, and I certainly had no
intention of speaking, because you know that whoever trusts and
cooperates with the Israelis, in the end they will betray you. I told a
friend that, maximum, they will jail me for two years, but afterwards I
can live in peace. Then he began to explain to me that no one leaves,
and whoever tries to leave in the middle is sentenced to death, and with
those words pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing an ugly scar
on his neck.
"A token of remembrance from the envoys of the President. But as you
see, I'm here, and I'm not afraid of anything. I returned to Israel, I
was even in prison a bit, but they had no information about me. And
that's how I left my work with Fatah. I had saved enough money and I
built a house, married, I have children, and I want peace for them.
Q: So with whom do we make peace? With Yassir Arafat?
A: No. If you want peace, it won't come if you sign an agreement
with that corrupt leadership, and it won't come if you give more land.
Peace will come only if you deal with the education of the children. I
am a believing Muslim and I know that if we educate our children to
honor one another, and explain to them that all of us, Jews and Arabs,
are the sons of Allah, and that we are connected to each other, we to
the Jews for work and them to us, then peace will come.
Q: But if Palestinian education remains as it is, full of hate and
willingness to kill all the Jews - there won't be peace.
A: Like many others, I say to you that the leadership you brought
from Tunis is corrupt, they take the people's money, and orchestrate the
hatred. It's just easier to send people to demonstrate than it is to
provide them with bread.
Q: Do you really think this is the reason for the riots.
A: Let me explain the dynamics to you. A family has no money, no
minimal standards of a normal life, but everything is quiet, who cares?
No one. How do you, for example, convince the Jews or their friends to
give money for the security of the settlements? You explain to everyone
who supports you that the settlers are endangering their own lives on
behalf of the nation, and you stir up feelings of guilt among those who
are not ready to give their lives for an ideal. The Authority works the
same way. The religious leaders promise the Garden of Eden if one member
of a family becomes a martyr. Do you know of a single live martyr? I
don't. You see, a live person must eat, he costs a lot of money, and a
dead one brings praise.
Q: Money?
A: Now you get it. Every martyr brings money, from Saudi Arabia,
from Libya, Iran, Iraq, and other places. Arafat needs funerals, like
air to breathe. No martyrs, no money.
Q: According to what you're saying, it all sounds simply terrible.
If the people don't have money, will they continue the riots?
A: As I've told you, the youth - and I was once just like them -
don't understand exactly what is right and what isn't. You've never been
in a situation where you didn't have enough to eat or wear or, at a
certain age, money for girls. So you're convinced to go out for jihad,
or simply rob a Jew on the way, or an American, or anyone who isn't
Palestinian, and if in addition you will receive honor and money and a
great salary -- this is why the war continues.
Q: And what about peace, won't there ever be peace between us?
A: I already explained to you, there will be peace only after we
change our education methods, if we educate our children to tolerance,
to mutual respect, so that your child doesn't shake with fear when he
sees an Arab, and my child doesn't feel that Israeli control of our holy
places defiles them, to educate the children and the youth that this
hatred will not solve the basic problems. But if you expect peace
because Rabin and Arafat signed a piece of paper, for which they
received money, then forget it. It won't happen. We will not allow that
corrupt leadership to steal our money, and as long as they continue
their embezzlement, you won't have quiet.
Q: I want to understand, you are saying that what prevents us from
living in peace is your leadership?
A: No, what I am saying is that your governments have allowed this
leadership -- that wasn't chosen by the people -- to ignore the people.
As one who served for years in Fatah, I know I don't want Arafat.
Q: If, as you and your friends say, you don't want Arafat's
leadership, why don't we hear your voice in our media?
A: There are two reasons: one, because your journalists prefer to be
public relations men for the President, and second, that comes from the
first, everyone who cooperates with you pays with his head. Look what
you did with the [South Lebanese] army of General Lahad. We have
families, children, wives -- who will take care of them if we come out
in public against the President? You? No. And they have a long reach. If
you really want peace, look at where the money is going and try to
protect your allies.
(From _Makor Rishon_ Magazine, 15 Dec 00, p. 12+)
************************************************************************
THERE IS A JEWISH ALTERNATIVE
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
The secular political left is convinced that the Jewish People is not
"special," and that we do not have a sacred claim on the Land of Israel. It is
this camp's belief that the Jewish nation is no more special than other
nations, and that the Jewish People has no specific mission. Furthermore, it
is claimed, Eretz Yisrael has no unique qualities that link it specifically to
the Jewish people. It therefore follows that, for the secular left, Jews have
no unique intrinsic claim to the Land of Israel.
This approach has far-reaching ramifications: It strips away all meaning
from our struggle for sovereignty over the Land, and it empties us as a people
of any motivation to fight for the Land of Israel. In fact, for the secular
left, the Arabs are right! Obviously, without any moral justification for
being here, and without any motivation to remain here, it is impossible for us
to wage a war and to win.
Moreover, the blurring of the uniqueness and mission of the People of
Israel dashes any hope for unity and mutual responsibility - since it is our
national mission that really forges us into one nation and fosters an
appreciation of our mutual responsibility. The Arabs, on the other hand, stand
united as one - at least in their determination to wage war against us.
From the secular-leftist perspective, there is no way of solving our
conflict with the Arabs militarily, because military power has its limits, and
we don't have the capability of forcibly imposing our rule over the Arabs -
nor is there any moral justification for employing force! It follows,
therefore, that the only way to bring the conflict to an end is via a deal in
which Israel offers the Arabs major territorial concessions. There is just no
choice, we are told, and the forfeiture of land is the "proper moral choice"
under the circumstances.
The Arabs take advantage of this, knowing that this is the position of the
secular left, and feel free to force more and more concessions upon us - and
the left will agree, since it feels we "have no choice."
The secular left, a group of people estranged from Jewish faith and
divorced of nationalistic values, looks at the conflict with secular eyes, and
sees a political, diplomatic conflict, and not a religious-nationalistic one.
For a political conflict, of course, there are political solutions. From
secular eyes, it is still possible to consider the notion that the Arabs
desire peace, and that if we accept their demands, the conflict will end!
But this is simply wrong. The Arab-Jewish conflict on both sides of the
"green line" is fundamentally a national and religious struggle, and thus it
will be perpetuated even after any agreement is signed. Diplomatic deals will
not lessen the latent hatred, and even if such hatred lies dormant for a
while, it will eventually re-surface.
We believe that there is no political solution to the conflict. What
prevents the Arabs from going to war with us is our deterrent capability. No
agreement signed on the White House lawn will prevent them from waging war
with us. The approach must therefore be to improve our deterrent capability,
by acting wisely and firmly against any attempt to strike us via terrorism or
war. The enemy must know that it will pay a high price for trying to harm us.
Thus, in stark contrast to the defensive and withdrawal-oriented posture the
country has taken in recent years, we believe that we must stand strong and
constantly move towards discouraging the Arabs from trying to harm us.
* * *
Rabbi Melamed is the founding Rabbi of Beit El, the Dean of Beit El
Yeshiva Center Institutions, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Arutz Sheva. (Excerpted from Arutz Sheva Israel National Radio,
, Nov. 20, 2000)
***********************************************************************
UNDERCOVER POLICE IN JERUSALEM
Amir Ben-David
Two weeks ago, after years of work in the streets and alleys of eastern
Jerusalem, the commander of the Mistaravim undercover unit of the Border
Police found himself liberating the Temple Mount, calling into his radio "The
Temple Mount is ours." "I felt like (Gen.) Mota Gur [who led the liberation of
the Temple Mount in 1967]," he admitted.
On that Friday, the prime minister decided to withdraw all Israeli police
from the Temple Mount and leave it in the hands of the Palestinian security
forces. The result was rioting that continued throughout the day. By
nightfall, it was decided to have the Israel police return to the Mount.
"When we arrived in the area we realized the depth of the problem. Our
objective was to catch the remaining concentration of 'Shabiba' youth who
stayed on the Mount, throwing rocks. Every time they saw the police approach
one of the gates, they simply closed and locked the gate. We organized
quickly. Our objective was to reach the gate, take control, and allow
additional forces to get through."
As the undercover unit (dressed as Arabs) passed through the alleyways on
the way to the gate, the Palestinians they passed praised them. "'You're going
to fight? You still have strength?' They were sure that we were Palestinian
reinforcements. When we arrived at the gate we saw 15 Palestinians. They stood
ready to 'greet' the police. They welcomed us 'in the name of the rebellion.'
They quickly realized their mistake." The undercover force arrested the
dominant leaders, opening the way for the quick entrance of the regular border
police.
"As they realized that those they thought were brothers were police, they
went into shock. Those who considered acting were silenced by two stun
grenades. When the main force reached the gate, it was wide open."
The unit commander described how when our forces suddenly reveal their
identity, you can see the panic on the faces of the Palestinians. "There are
those that just stand their with their eyes wide and are unable to run, like a
rabbit frozen in the headlights." "But we are the very opposite of an
'elimination' squad. That's the uniqueness of our unit, our actions greatly
reduce the damage and the casualties on all sides. Instead of shooting rubber
bullets, you insert a few undercover police into the rioting crowd and catch
exactly whom you need to catch."
"The Middle East imagination is also at work here. We've heard stories
that we can suddenly appear in the middle of the night like James Bond, that
our vehicles can change shape, that we have rubber masks that can change our
appearance instantly. But they know all our costumes. It's no secret, we dress
like they dress."
"I leave it to you to imagine what it is like to insert ten people into a
crowd of 300-400 shouting 'Death to Israel,' some of whom are masked. If they
should catch a policeman they would tear him apart. It's very dangerous and
very problematic."
The training of an undercover policeman takes a year. For every ten
candidates, only two or three are suitable. As part of their training they are
first sent into friendly villages. Later they are given more complicated
tasks. "We test to see if they have the correct intuition, courage, and self-
confidence. We're not looking for Rambos; we need people with discipline. And
they need to be actors. In A-Tur, there was a terrorist group hiding in a
monastery and we needed to reach them. As our unit approached, they were met
by 'revolutionary guards' who blocked the entrance. Our people convinced them
that those inside were waiting for them as reinforcements. They used familiar
phrases and names, and when they reached the head terrorists, they hung out
together for half an hour, trading jokes, and then finally revealed their
identity."
(Excerpted from _Maariv_ Holiday Supplement, 20 Oct 00, p. 22+.)
***********************************************************************
THE QUIET REVOLUTION OF SOLIDARITY
Orna Ayalon
Lt. Gen. (res.) Uzi Keren from Kibbutz Ein Gev and other good
friends share a common idea: If there are threats to the existence of
Jews anywhere in the Land of Israel, their group is ready to stand with
them and help, without any political considerations.
Originally organized to support continued Israeli life in the Golan,
the group came back to life to assist in security patrols for residents
of the Jordan Valley.
With the beginning of the rioting, said Keren, "we thought, when
katyusha rockets fall on Kiryat Shmona, all the citizens of the country
demonstrated solidarity with the residents there. Today when residents
of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza are threatened, isn't it logical to identify
with them? The minute Jews are being threatened, we don't care what
their politics is, we will leave that aside until after the war. We come
to give support in every way, and have established an organization
called National Solidarity, with offices in Tel Aviv to receive requests
from those who wish to volunteer -- ambulance drivers, security people,
and others. The regional councils contact the office directly to receive
assistance.
Eli Malka, chairman of the Jewish villages on the Golan, reports the
opening of an office called Reut, a part of National Solidarity, to
coordinate activities "in support of the residents of Judea, Samaria and
Gaza; and not just there. Two weeks ago 50 youth from the Golan visited
the Gilo neighborhood in Jerusalem, handing out free bottles of Golan
wine and bouquets of Golan flowers to the local residents. Baruch Cohen,
who supervises Reut, explained, "We remembered how the Council of
Settlements of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza stood by us during the struggle
over the Golan." "All of the Golan settlements are represented in Reut -
kibbutzniks, new immigrants, religious, and secular. Wherever there is a
Jew, he is our brother, and as such we will care about his safety and
existence."
Last week the bus drivers from the Golan sent their fifth group to
Gush Katif in the Gaza district to switch with the bus drivers there.
They couldn't sit quietly while their brothers in the southwest of the
country were working under conditions of war.
Moti Mizrahi, transportation coordinator of Gush Katif, explained:
"The drivers from the Golan come to us with high motivation. They just
want to work and asked to drive on all the routes, without any favors."
At the same time, the drivers from Gush Katif and their families are
hosted for free in the Golan.
The Mateh Asher Regional Council in northern Israel also sent a
bullet-proof bus and drivers to Gush Katif. Said Moti, "I remember one
driver who worked late and I suggested to him that he take a break and
someone would switch with him. He answered, 'if you switch me, I'm
leaving.'"
The hothouses in Gush Katif, where bug-free vegetables are grown,
were damaged recently in firebomb attacks by Arabs. Here, too,
volunteers from the Golan have come to help repair the damage. Every
Saturday evening a bus leaves the Golan at 1:30 a.m., filled with
adults, among them industrial managers, engineers, teachers, yeshiva
students, pre-army academy students, and others. Other volunteers come
from the Haifa region, the Galilee, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and elsewhere.
After the attack on the school bus at Kfar Darom, the Education
Ministry agreed to open a school in the village, so the children
wouldn't have to travel by bus. Ruthi Rothstein from Kfar Mimon, a
retired school administrator who contacted the village and volunteered
to help, is today the new principal of the school. "Volunteers have come
from all over the country, like Noa from Hispin, Rivka from the
teacher's seminary in Kiryat Arba, Ahikam from Alon Moreh, and others.
They are the teaching staff. Different schools have sent learning
materials, private individuals have given money." Many volunteers have
also come to work in the nurseries in Gush Katif.
(From _Makor Rishon_ Magazine, 22 Dec 00, p. 9+)
***********************************************************************
THE IMPERATIVE TO RESPECT EACH OTHER
Amnon Dankner
[The author is a well-known television commentator and newspaper
columnist long associated with the "peace camp" in Israel.]
A few weeks ago I received a letter from an elderly woman who wished
to tell me a story about my late father. She wrote that in 1944, during
the days of the "Season" when members of the Etzel and Lehi Jewish
underground forces were boycotted and attacked [and even turned over to
the British] by the "mainstream" Jewish organizations, at the direct
order of David Ben-Gurion, this woman remained alone and without
sustenance, caring for a 9-month-old daughter, because her husband, who
was an Etzel commander in Jerusalem, had been arrested by the British
and sent to Latrun prison.
Under such conditions, she was unable to find work, and she and her
baby were even forced out of the Working Mothers Hostel where she had
been staying, where they told her "there is no place here for the
children of terrorists."
One day she came to the coffee house run by my father, seeking work,
and when he heard her story, he told his partner that he was hiring her
on the spot. The partner objected, and explained to my father that the
British and the Hagana members would boycott the coffee shop, but my
father insisted.
When the woman arrived for the first day of work, my father asked
her when was the last time she had seen her husband. She answered that
she had not seen him since his arrest, but she heard it was possible, if
one bribed the guards with nylons and whiskey, to arrange a visit. She
said that in a month, when she received her first salary, she would take
a day off and go see him.
That same evening -- she wrote me -- when she returned home from
work, she looked inside her bag and found a package of nylons, a bottle
of whiskey, and her first month's salary.
The curious part of the story is that my father was a vehement
opponent of the Etzel, he very much disliked Menachem Begin, and was, in
today's terms, a radical leftist. But he knew how to separate politics
from the necessity to be a human being.
(From _Maariv_ Shabbat, 22 Sep 00, p. 11.)
***********************************************************************
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1993 - Vol. 1: Issues 1.1-1.6, 1994 - Vol. 2: Issues 2.1-2.6
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