Dozens of Demonstrators against the Terror of Rock Attacks on the Road to Tekoa

Dozens of residents and supporters of the Jewish communities in Judea & Samaria held a protest demonstration against the increase of terror by rock attacks on the Tekoa-Jerusalem road, and the lack of response by security forces.

By Avi Yogev
Dozens of residents of the Gush Etzion area held a demonstration last Friday on the Tekoa-Jerusalem road protesting the rising Arab terror in the area.
It was decided to hold the demonstration following the attack on dozens of vehicles last Tuesday by Arab rioters who waited in ambush at Beit Sahour Junction, faces covered and armed with rocks and rods. During the course of events many vehicles were damaged and five Jews were injured.
Participants in Friday morning’s demonstration included residents of Gush Etzion and members of the Women in Green Movement and AFSI (Americans for a Safe Israel) activists, who had participated a short time beforehand in the weekly cultural activity of the Land of Israel Cultural Center in nearby Shdema. At this event, Kiryat Arba resident Sarah Nachshon gave a lecture about the struggles of the resurgent Jewish settlement in Kiryat Arba-Hevron and its challenges when it started out.
During the protest demonstration, Rabbi Durani, rabbi of the Nokdim community, said that “Our leaders speak all the time about the need for “avtacha” (security), but they apparently have become confused and actually mean “havtacha” (promise, assurance). We are here in the Land of Israel because of the divine assurance that this is our land. Only when we remember why we are here, can we speak of security”.
Rabbi Durani also said: “The Arabs are not the problem. We, the Jews, are the problem. If we all had raised our heads and behaved as sovereigns in our land, and we had sent the clear message that the Land is ours – the Arabs would not have dared to throw rocks at us”. Rabbi Durani directed his words to the security forces and said: “These days, when throughout the Land, we commemorate the memory of Yitzhak Rabin, we should remember Rabin’s words that any Arab who throws a rock should have his arms and legs broken. This is Rabin’s true legacy and this is the role of the security forces”.
We have not come here to whine about the rocks. We have come to say something quite simple – this is our land and we will continue to be here, to travel here, to live here and to settle here”, said Rabbi Durani.
The Deputy Head of Gush Etzion Council, Moshe Savil, who also participated in the event, added the importance of introspection and the emphasis on public relations highlighting the fact that the Land belongs to the Jewish people and only to the Jewish people. Savil added that “we must demand that the security forces regard rock throwing as attempted murder. When someone throws a rock, his real intention is to murder Jews and we demand from the security forces that they relate to rock throwing accordingly.
Helen Freedman, head of AFSI, which, as we mentioned, also took part in the protest, noted in her speech that she has been coming with her friends for more than thirty years to strengthen Israeli presence in the field and to strengthen Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria, and in parallel “to remind the government of Israel that it represents the entire Jewish people and as such, it must be strong”.
It should be noted that AFSI, which is directed by Helen Freedman, is composed of American Jews who support the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and come faithfully every year to Hevron to take part in Shabbat “Hayei Sarah”, which is also known as Shabbat Hevron. During their visit, members of the movement take part in various other activities as well, whose goal is to strengthen and defend the resurgent settlement in the Land of Israel.
In his call on the residents to participate in the protest demonstration, Rabbi Durani wrote: “It seems to me that there is no need to elaborate on the danger of throwing rocks and the damage that such an event does to the the feeling of personal security. Moreover, in recent weeks the Arabs have been attempting, with significant support from radical Leftist organizations, to take over agricultural areas near our communities. If we do not rise up and act or at least express protest, we will not be able to keep complaining about the lack of action by the authorities”.
At the end of the protest the protestors walked towards Beit Sahour. Then the demonstrators dispersed.