14 Tishrei, 5773 / September 30th, 2012 – 07:29

Partner in establishing 45 communities – now is the time to salute

Heads of the hit’yash’vut movement, ministers and public figures will salute Ina Viniarsky, the Tekoa resident who was a partner in the establishment of 45(!) communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.

Written by Shimon Cohen for Arutz 7

Translated by Abayiss A. for Women in Green

In the community of Tekoa in Gush Etzion, everyone knows Ina Viniarsky, but tens of thousands of residents (some of them second and third generations of Judean and Samarian communities) in over 40 different communities are unaware that Ina Viniarsky, the warm, smiley and energetic woman from Tekoa, was a partner in the establishment of their community.

Now, after 35 years of pioneering operations and activities, the time has come to salute the woman that immigrated from the Soviet Union to Israel in 1974, and only 3 years later established the Tekoa community together with one other family and 8 bachelors.

From there Ina began her unceasing operations for the establishment of communities throughout Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, operations that are synonymous to the latest struggle, together with the Women in Green organization, for the reestablishment of the Jewish presence in Shdema, located between Har Homa and Tekoa. In between activities Ina Viniarsky manages the Russian department of the Uri Zvi Greenberg (UZG) Heritage House in Jerusalem. Hundreds of immigrants find a connection to UZG’s poetry thanks to her combined efforts with Israel Prize Laureate Geula Cohen.

These days Ina’s friends are busy making the final arrangements for the large tribute event for Ina, for the settlement enterprise, for the absorption of immigrants and for E’retz Yis’ra’el, the Land of Israel. The event is scheduled to take place on Thursday October 10th, during the upcoming Chol Ha’Mo’ed of Sukkot, in Shdema, Gush Etzion.

Once news of the preparations for the tribute event got out, many sought to attend and pay homage, and the list of speakers includes Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Minister Yuli Edelstein, Rabbi Yaron Durani, Chairman of the Gush Etzion Regional Council Davidi Perl, Geula Cohen, Ze’ev Hever (Zambish), Rabbi Ze’ev Sultanovits, Sofia Ron Moriya, Yehuda Etzion, Aryeh Heskin and Datya Yitzhaki. MK Uri Ariel and Shilo Gal sent their written congratulations.

In preparation for the event, say the organizers, Women in Green leaders Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, more and more stories of Ina’s character and operations have been pouring in. Katsover says: “I met Ina during a nocturnal, dark and especially quiet march, in an attempt to enter Yamit before the expulsion. We managed to evade IDF forces, thanks to the guidance of one of the activists, and we entered Yamit around 2-3am. We arrived at the “X’s” neighborhood and entered an open-doored house. The tenants were asleep in the upper floor. We settled in on the ground floor without the tenants’ knowledge. Ina and her husband Mark (ob”m) found beds with no matresses, but didn’t seem to feel the difference, joyous that they found shelter and a place to sleep. All that mattered to them was to take part in the struggle against the withdrawal from Sinai. That’s how I met Ina”.

They continue by sharing how for the past week they’ve been visiting Ina in her home in Tekoa, in order to “confirm the stories we’ve heard about her”, as they put it.

Among the stories that came up was one regarding the establishment of the Rehelim community. It was after the murder of Rahela Drook (May G-d avenge her blood), a resident of Shilo, in 1991 (5751). At the time Ina had been in Be’er Sheva. The moment she heard of the murder she notified her husband that she would not be coming home that day, but rather going to the location of the murder. “She sat there [at the murder site] and said she wouldn’t move until a community was established in that location. She sat there, for weeks and months, in heavy pouring rain, in freezing cold, without clothing that was appropriate for the Samarian weather, and did not move until the Rehelim community began to take shape. Of course she herself claims that the establishment of the community was made possible by the determined efforts of women from the Shilo and Beit El areas, including Naomi Sapir and Orit Rappaport and others. The men helped, including Benny Katsover, who was the Head of the Samaria Regional Council at the time, Uri Ariel and Yehuda Etzion”.

The two quote Orit Rappaport’s words: “One of the stories with Ina that I recall happened after the Shloshim, the 30-day memorial of the murder. After all, they kept trying to evict us from there. Once after the Shiv’a. They didn’t succeed. After the Shloshim they came again. This time there were three of us: my brother, Yehuda Etzion, Ina and myself. It was cold so we were in the car. The three of us in a car, at the spot where we hoped the community would be established. The Brigade Commander [of the region] arrived with some soldiers. They wanted to take us out of the car so they could arrest us. And then the “button war” started. A “fingers war”. We were inside the car, holding down the “lock” buttons with our fingers, while outside the soldiers were attempting to open the car. We managed to stay inside. We weren’t arrested. That was a turning point. Thanks to our fingers we were able to stay and we decided that from there we would continue moving forward until the community was established”.

Another chapter in Ina’s life is that of her significant contribution to the immigration from the former Soviet Union. “The YeShA (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) Council established a special camouflaged team in the early ‘90s, which worked through a private company to bring immigrants from the Soviet Union. The team included Uri Ariel, Yehuda Etzion, Miki Varstale and Ina. Together they traveled several times to the Soviet Union, for periods as long as a month each time. Her teammates tell of a woman who is extraordinarily determined, goal oriented, and especially knew how to make sense of the pioneering chaos…”, say Katsover and Matar and add: “There’s nothing to be said regarding work hours – it was always beyond any measurable hours. Very high work ethic. Goal oriented. Ina has managed to be a partner in the establishment of over 45 communities”.

The tribute event for Ina will be accompanied by the musical compositions of Musa Berlin, as well as a display of the paintings of the artist Leonid Belaklav. The hosts and organizers of the event, Katsover and Matar, note that “parallel to the main event there will be a special program for children”.

The tribute event will be held, B”H, in Shdema, Gush Etzion, on Thursday, 18 Tishrei,October 4th, Chol Ha’Mo’ed Sukkot from 14:00 to 16:00 (2pm to 4pm). It will be recalled that Shdema is a military camp located between Har Homa and Tekoa in Gush Etzion. The camp was abandoned by the IDF in 2006 and, following a persistent struggle by Women in Green and the committee for a Jewish Shdema, on the Eve of Passover, 2010, the IDF returned to Shdema.

For details about the event “A Salute to Ina Viniarsky” please click on http://www.womeningreen.org/Ina%20Viniarsky-english.php