Hiking Through Emek Shiloh Valley עמק שילה

Last Friday at high noon, a multigenerational group from גוש שילה Gush Shiloh Bloc took off together under the guidance of Land of Israel, Eretz Yisrael guide extraordinaire Zeev Ehrlich. 

A treasure trove of little-known history and Biblical geography, Ehrlich told us about the unusual nature of the massive Shiloh Valley and its place in Jewish History.

Apparently today's growth of Jewish communities around Emek Shiloh Valley עמק שילה isn't new. Over the millenia, even a few hundred years ago, there were also Jewish towns surrounding the valley and  taking advantage of the fertile land for agriculture.

Zeev Ehrlich

The tour was sponsored by the עמק שילה- ועד מקומי Emek Shiloh-Vaad Mikomi, vote עמ list for the Local Council. In recent years the גוש שילה Gush Shiloh Bloc has grown enormously in every way. It's situated between just west of Highway 60 and goes all the way eastwards to the Alon Road. There's potential for much more growth, since most of the Land is government owned. That's why the new community of Amichai, designated especially for the former Amona families/residents, is located here. 

I'm supporting this list, because I feel that it has the most vision for growth and unity. In order to maximize our potential the numerous existing communities must give up some independence and work together. This is a process that has played out all over Israel. Many of today's major and successful cities also began as small independent communities. No doubt that the גוש שילה Gush Shiloh Bloc will remain a combination of rural and suburban, but too much money and manpower are now being wasted.

The Biblical stories centered in גוש שילה Gush Shiloh Bloc are well-known, and it was very exciting to learn of Jewish life here during other times, even long after the Destruction of the Second Holy Temple. As you can see from the pictures, there's plenty of empty Land for Jewish Life here in גוש שילה Gush Shiloh Bloc.

Houses on the Road to Amichai

Amichai!

Yesterday on my way home to Shiloh, I could see the caravillot, temporary homes on their way to Amichai, the new town just southeast of Shiloh.

https://a7.org/media/a7radio/misc/video/18/feb/AMICHAY21-2.mp4

Priority for living there is being given to those who had been thrown out of Amona, which was on a hill right next to Ofra. The residents of Amona had undergone two very traumatic destructions. One was partial, and the most recent totally leveled their peaceful community, making all residents homeless. As compensation, the government decided to build a new community for them, Amichai.

Amichai is southeast of Shiloh, south of Shvut Rachel, near a number of small hilltop farming communities and has been allocated land for growth. It is a beautiful area. It is a short distance from the Alon Road which goes north-south in the Jordan Valley. The children who had lived in Amona and whose parents agreed to move to Amichai have been bussed to the Shiloh elementary schools this year.

We, in Gush Shiloh, the bloc of communities surrounding Shiloh, are very excited about the establishment of the new town, although we are very upset that Amona had been destroyed. Why does it always take death, murder and destruction to galvanize the Israeli government to build new towns and communities?

Finally, Ground Being Broken for Town of Amichai, B"H

Yesterday morning while riding from Shiloh to Kochav Hashachar I could see the empty hill that had been promised to those displaced from Amona and was so sad. What was taking so long? Why is the Netanyahu Government making them suffer further?

And then while returning home we suddenly noticed something new on the landscape. There were tractors working on the hill. Amichai, My People Lives, the new town for Amona and others who want to live here in one of the most beautiful and central parts of the Land of Israel is starting to be built! Unfortunately I couldn't photograph it, but I did see it!

When the Amona "DPs" had been protesting outside of the Prime Minister's Residence I spoke to one of the women who had lost her home. I introduced myself as being from Shiloh and told her that we were looking forward to their new town being in our area.

She said that she was looking forward to starting a new community and had no problem moving from "near Ofra" to "near Shiloh." What was important to her was that they could move and build and not be harassed by the government and Leftist groups.

Gd willing, the first stage of temporary homes will be ready for them by the beginning of the school year, and they will be able to quickly plan and build their permanent housing. And of course, Gd willing many more families will join them.

Bibi's Land Policies Bad For Jews

Even though the Israeli media and "world public opinion" insist on labeling our Prime Minister as "Right," the truth is that his policies are far to the Left of the Israeli political spectrum. I can easily admit that he can give a great speech, which even echoes the basic principles of what's considered Right policies. But the truth is in actions and not words. And when it comes to actions, or policies, there's nothing Right about Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu.

Here in 21st Century Israel the key to judging/measuring Right/Left on the political spectrum is one's policies and attitude to the Land of Israel, statehood and sovereignty.  In a nutshell that means that if someone is in favor of Jews living, building and being sovereign in the Land of Israel, ignoring the 1949 Armistice lines, then he/she is on the Right. If one sees a legal holiness or eternal permanence in those lines and consider them as a border between an "Israel of all its citizens" and a judenrein apartheid Arab state called "Palestine" or "West Bank of Jordan," then he/she is on the Left.

Bibi is a pretty smooth speaker and could have been a hell of a used car salesman, but we've heard his lies a few times too often. Those "like new" cars are lemons with doctored records.

While Bibi keeps on touting the hundreds of Jewish homes he has approved for building, they are the same ones that were approved years ago but never built.  Bibi doesn't play those games with the Arabs. They have a new city called Rawabi, and now even on land that was supposed to be for Jewish only building, Jews can't get permits but Arabs can:

FIVE PALESTINIANS CITIES TO EXPAND INTO AREA C

I'm not being paranoid!

Why are we Jews being held back? Why hasn't the new Amona been brought here?

Bibi has promised that a new community will be built southeast of Shiloh. There will be special "incentives" for the Amona community, and it will also be open for other Jewish families. We are waiting. Words won't help. We want action!

Will There be Real Changes in American Policy Towards Israel?

The big question here in Israel and among many American Jews is whether or not the Trump administration will change American policy towards Israel. One great improvement, which isn't actual policy, is attitude.

Obama couldn't hide his genuine antipathy towards Israel and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Even when Obama would read pro-Israel speeches and say the "right words" it was clear that his heart wasn't in it. He absolutely glowed when with Arabs, especially  Mahmoud Abbas. And don't forget that he had vowed to help establish a "Palestinian state" during his term in office. It was the failure to do so that spurred his vicious anti-Israel move in the United Nations and Kerry's awful parting speech while "lame duck."

Contrary to what the New York Times and international media would like people to believe, not all American Jews support J-Street and oppose Jewish life/communities/building in Judea Samaria. Davka, the most committed Jews, the Torah observant ones who have the higher birthrates, totally oppose the extreme Left J-Street and support full Jewish Life and Sovereignty in all of the Land of Israel. On the whole, they are totally embarrassed by American policy. They are proud and happy to have David Friedman as American Ambassador and look forward to the United States' moving its Embassy to Jerusalem.

Pence: 'Trump seriously considering embassy move'

These strongly Jewish American Jews also support building, including news communities, in Judea, Samaria, the Golan and Jordan Valley. And they mourn the destruction of Amona, Gush Katif, etc.

In all honesty, I wouldn't dare predict what Trump will do vis a vis Israel.  At present, he is under so much pressure and opposition to everything he does, good and bad.

Whatever happens, it won't really affect the State of Israel, because our fate and future are in our hands, not those of foreign leaders. Therefore the very best thing the State of Israel can do is to declare complete Israeli Sovereignty over all of the Land we hold. It doesn't matter what anyone says. The stronger and more confident we act the more respect and support we will get from the world, and the more support Gd will give us which is most important. That's the true lesson of Passover, which is in only two weeks.

Remember that the Sea only split when Nachshon stepped in.

Celebrating in The Shadow of Amona

One of the big events in the school year here in Israel, at least in the religious schools, is the מסיבת סידור Missibat Siddur, The Siddur Party, when the First Graders get their Siddur, Prayerbook.

In Ofra, where some of my grandchildren live, it's a big extravaganza. This year the girls school held it in the gymnasium sports center, and it's attended by parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and more.

Part of the program is prerecorded. The children are asked to say what they are praying for. This year there were the usual prayers for babies, more friends, success in school and building the Holy Temple. But there was also a prayer that isn't normally heard. Some of the girls asked for a new home, a rebuilt Amona.

Most of the children who had been displaced from their homes, whether Amona or the nine homes in Ofra which the government destroyed, study in the Ofra schools. So when little girls sweetly and innocently said they were praying to Gd for a place to live, there was an unmistakable gasp by the audience, and many had trouble holding back tears.

It's especially difficult when parents are unable to protect their children from such pain and heartbreak.

המלאך הגואל אותי...
Hamalach hagoel oti

Bereishit - Genesis - Chapter 48:16may the angel who redeemed me from all harm bless the youths, and may they be called by my name and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, and may they multiply abundantly like fish, in the midst of the land."

טזהַמַּלְאָךְ הַגֹּאֵל אֹתִי מִכָּל רָע יְבָרֵךְ אֶת הַנְּעָרִים וְיִקָּרֵא בָהֶם שְׁמִי וְשֵׁם אֲבֹתַי אַבְרָהָם וְיִצְחָק וְיִדְגּוּ לָרֹב בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ:

Amona Vigil, Protesting Bibi and Bennett's Broken Promises

Tuesday afternoon I finally made it to the Amona vigil outside the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem. When I first arrived there was a crowd of young American teens there, who are probably on some study program. Many were wearing T-shirts from the "lone soldiers" centr and others with a picture of Donald Trump.

While I was there, lots of drivers honked their cars horns, the traditional show of support.

There was just a small group of Amona protesters sitting quietly, understandably depressed. I introduced myself to one of the women and mentioned that I can see the hill that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister of Education and head of the Jewish Home Party had promised them. I had really been wondering if they were sincere in wanting to build a new Amona in the Shiloh area.

When I made a joke about the weather being much nicer east of Shiloh than in Ofra, I got a sincere response that Amona had suffered much more difficult winters than even Ofra. Permanent homes in a more moderate climate definitely sounded good to that tired young woman.

We also "joked" about the "interchangeability" of Bibi and Bennett. The only real difference being that one has hair, while the other is bald with a tiny kippah.

In addition we discussed the complete lack of true leaders in Israel. Neither of us trust any of the political parties to do any better than the mess going on at present here. This yearning for approval of foreign leaders is only weakening us further.  Yes, it's all very depressing. How could the State of Israel have deteriorated from a King David giant-killer in 1948/1967 to a cowering terrified Mordechai begging his niece Ester to find a solution to the dangers against the Jewish People from her place in King Achashverosh's Harem in such a short time?

Gd willing our political leaders will become true national leaders speedily in our day...

Bibi's Promises are Worthless

Just a few months ago the community of Amona made a very difficult and controversial decision. They agreed to allow their community be destroyed in exchange for the building of a new and fully approved community, not too far away.

They were pretty confident that as painful as it was to leave their lovely hill near Ofra, the package Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government had offered was better than another violent confrontation. The government had even begun to assemble very large prefabricated homes for them to live in until new homes could be constructed. These prefabricated homes were made transportable. Imagine them as the modern Mishkan, Holy Tabernacle that had been constructed in the wilderness for the recently released Jewish slaves, as depicted in the Torah Portions we've been reading.

Shiloh's main synagogue, designed to look like the Biblical Tabernacle

And like the Biblical Tabernacle, these homes are also supposed to be brought to the area of Biblical Shiloh.

One of the proposed locations for the "new Amona" is south of Shvut Rachel

The only problem is that Bibi's word isn't worth anything. And the families of Amona are still waiting to find out where they're going and when.

Now the families have began a hunger strike near the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem. 

HUNGER STRIKING SETTLERS: NETANYAHU MUST KEEP PLEDGE TO BUILD NEW SETTLEMENT

Today at the Shabbat table, talking with friends about the political situation in Israel. We all felt that Netanyahu is useless and isn't acting as a national leader. But the biggest problem is looking at the alternatives, the wannabes, those who dream of replacing him. They are far worse.

Davka, Ofra

Evacuation of Amona in 2006,
Nati Shohat/Flash 90, Arutz 7

Ever since the Israeli Government's destruction of nine permanent, sic, houses in Amona, a "suburb" of Ofra, eleven years ago, I've been troubled by the fact that davka Ofra, which has always been a "conventional" government supporting aka mamlachti community has become the target of "Peace Now's" favorite weapon, the Israeli Supreme Court.

On February 1, 2006, after a protracted legal battle, some 10,000 Israeli police officers, border guards and soldiers arrived at the illegal Amona outpost in the central West Bank to demolish nine of the settlement’s buildings, in accordance with a court order. (Times of Israel)

Ofra, the first post 1967 Six Days War Jewish community in Samaria, the hills north of Jerusalem, where the Kingdom of Israel had been located after it split from Judea as told in the Bible, Kings, Chronicles and Prophets, has never been known for anti-government extremism.

Although the original garin, group of people, who had planned a Jewish residential presence in Samaira had wanted to live in Biblical Shiloh, they cooperated with the government and moved to what is today Ofra. That decision/concession is a significant cause/source of today's problems. There is not enough unclaimed government land in that area. Davka, there is more than enough unclaimed government land in the Shiloh area.

A couple of days ago, the unthinkable happened. Lovely new Jewish homes, owned and lived in by Israeli families were seized and destroyed by the Israeli Government.

A bulldozer destroys a home built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank settlement of Ofra on March 1, 2017. (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana) Times of Israel

Protesters on the rooftop of a home during an operation to evacuate nine homes in the Jewish settlement of Ofra, in the West Bank, February 28, 2017. (AFP Photo/Menahem Kahana) Times of Israel

For those who managed to survive the trauma of Disengagement still trusting the Israeli Government, I wonder if they have finally realized, accepted the frightening fact that the government is working against its best interests, against the raison d'etre of the Zionist Movement and the Establishment of the State of Israel.

By dividing the Land of Israel into different "priorities" and levels of "legitimacy" the government has caused the legitimacy and existence of the entire of the State of Israel to be endangered.

Davka the community of Ofra which began by symbolizing Jewish strength, pride, settlement and renewed Zionism has now become an endangered community, davka, endangered by its very respect for and obedience to the State of Israel.

Critical Theological Difference Between Judaism and Biblical Criticism

I consider Biblical Criticism, including theories published by many archaeologists, to have theological agendas. Over the years I've been puzzled by various comments to blog posts here claiming that "God promised not to destroy Israel." And over and over I've had to say that such a thing isn't true at all. It's certainly not Jewish. It is written all over the Bible that if we don't behave, follow Gd's Commandments/Mitzvot, Gd will punish us, cause our Kingdom to be invaded, exile us, cause drought etc.

This week in Matan at Dr. Yael Ziegler's class she mentioned something that helped explain why I keep hearing this totally incorrect "comfort."

Dr. Ziegler explained that Biblical Critics do not connect the Bible's fifth book, דברים Devarim, Deuteronomy 28:36 to the previous four. It's davka in that book that we read of the Tochacha, the threat/warning, reward and punishment the Jewish People will receive from Gd.

1And it will be if you obey the Lord, your God, to observe to fulfill all His commandments which I command you this day, the Lord, your God, will place you supreme above all the nations of the earth.		אוְהָיָה אִם שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע בְּקוֹל יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לִשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת כָּל מִצְו‍ֹתָיו אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוְּךָ הַיּוֹם וּנְתָנְךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ עֶלְיוֹן עַל כָּל גּוֹיֵי הָאָרֶץ:
2And all these blessings will come upon you and cleave to you, if you obey the Lord, your God.		בוּבָאוּ עָלֶיךָ כָּל הַבְּרָכוֹת הָאֵלֶּה וְהִשִּׂיגֻךָ כִּי תִשְׁמַע בְּקוֹל יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ:

{and if you disobey Gd}

32Your sons and daughters will be given over to another people, and your eyes will see [this] and long for them all day long, but you will be powerless.		לבבָּנֶיךָ וּבְנֹתֶיךָ נְתֻנִים לְעַם אַחֵר וְעֵינֶיךָ רֹאוֹת וְכָלוֹת אֲלֵיהֶם כָּל הַיּוֹם וְאֵין לְאֵל יָדֶךָ:
33A people unknown to you will eat up the fruit of your soil and [the result of] all your toil. You will be only wronged and crushed all the days.		לגפְּרִי אַדְמָתְךָ וְכָל יְגִיעֲךָ יֹאכַל עַם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדָעְתָּ וְהָיִיתָ רַק עָשׁוּק וְרָצוּץ כָּל הַיָּמִים:
34You will go insane from the vision before your eyes that you will behold.		לדוְהָיִיתָ מְשֻׁגָּע מִמַּרְאֵה עֵינֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר תִּרְאֶה:
35The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs with a terrible skin eruption from which you will be unable to be cured; [it will eventually cover you] from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.		להיַכְּכָה יְהֹוָה בִּשְׁחִין רָע עַל הַבִּרְכַּיִם וְעַל הַשֹּׁקַיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא תוּכַל לְהֵרָפֵא מִכַּף רַגְלְךָ וְעַד קָדְקֳדֶךָ:
36The Lord will lead you and your king whom you will have established over you, to a nation unknown to you or your fathers; and there, you will serve other deities [made] of wood and stone.		לויוֹלֵךְ יְהֹוָה אֹתְךָ וְאֶת מַלְכְּךָ אֲשֶׁר תָּקִים עָלֶיךָ אֶל גּוֹי אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדַעְתָּ אַתָּה וַאֲבֹתֶיךָ וְעָבַדְתָּ שָּׁם אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עֵץ וָאָבֶן:

I suggest reading the entire chapter and more. It's so obvious that Judaism, Gd's relationship with the Jewish People, is a religion that requires that we fulfill our responsibilities towards Gd or we will be seriously punished.

It's not that Gd won't forgive us or doesn't love us. He always loves us, but forgiveness depends on our doing Teshuva, repenting completely. Teshuva, Repentance isn't a simple verbal apology. It requires acting properly when confronted with the same sort of situation as the sin.

Sins can be acts against Gd and His Commandments, against other people or against the Holy Land of Israel. 

Zionism and the subsequent Establishment of the State of Israel, regardless of its legal imperfections were extremely crucial Mitzvot, because it is the responsibility of the People of Israel to return to the Land. Gd would not facilitate the return if we hadn't taken the first steps, yes, very much like Nachshon's stepping into the Red Sea, which then split to allow the Jewish People to escape Egypt.

Unfortunately, and Gd willing not tragically, since the stupendously miraculous 1967 Six Days War, the reactions of the State of Israel and most of the Jewish People have been incorrect.

• Not only hadn't there been a declaration of Jewish Sovereignty over all of the Land liberated in the war, but most, including the Holiest spots, like the Temple Mount, Judea and Samaria were "held in escrow" to "pay" the Arab enemies for a "peace treaty."
• Not only wasn't there massive government supported settlement of the Land liberated, but they did their best to stop it and have destroyed Jewish communities and homes on numerous occasions. 
• Not only wasn't the Land annexed, but most has already been gifted to Arabs.

And this is why I greatly fear Divine Punishment and a new exile, Gd forbid.

The Regulation Law, Will It Make a Difference?

Israeli lawmakers attend a vote on a bill at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem February 6, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Right, Left and Center Israelis have such conflicting views on the Regulation Law.

 "...would legalize housing units built by settlers on private Palestinian land, if the construction was carried out in good faith: If the settlers did not know that the land they were building on was privately owned by Palestinians, and received some kind of assistance from the state, they would be allowed to remain there.
The proposed legislation notes that government support may be explicit or implicit, from the start or post-facto, and that the backing of local municipalities is considered state support.
The bill, sponsored by Jewish Home MKs Betzalel Smotrich and Shuli Moalem-Refaeli and Likud MKs David Bitan and Yoav Kisch, allows the government to appropriate land for its own use if the owners are unknown. If the owners are known, they will be eligible for yearly damages amounting to 125 percent of the value of leasing the land or a larger financial package valued at 20 years’ worth of leasing the plots, or alternate plots." (Times of Israel)

Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I think that it still doesn't go far enough. Like this traffic circle I photographed the other day in Ofra, I don't think that the Regulation Law will really solve the problems. The cycle of attempted settlement, legislative change and then the Supreme Court declaring the laws null and void, "unconstitutional," even though we don't have one...

Consider it a cycle of legal violence against Zionism.

Yes, I, and many others, consider the entire "settlement movement" to be the modern manifestation of the same Zionist Ideology that produced the political structure and rationale for the Establishment of the State of Israel.

The Israeli Left, which once just concentrated on economic ideology, socialism versus capitalism, has dumped "economic utopia" for a flaky unrealistic kumbaya-drug filled dream of Jews and Arabs living and loving together as if John Lennon's "Imagine" is their road map and bible. 

Truth be told that Israel is a dictatorship of the Extreme Left Judicial, which self-perpetuates, because only the sitting justices can elect/appoint new ones. They admit they decide by their own moral compass, which according to their interpretation of Israeli Law, supercedes anything passed by the publicly elected Members of Knesset.

Basically, there must be a way for the Knesset to seriously amend the system to take away the veto power of the Judicial. Without that we can never escape their legal tyranny.

And MK Yehuda Glick is being overly optimistic when he says that the next step is Annexation and Sovereignty.  He and his fellow MKs should have had gone straight to Sovereignty for all of the Land we hold.

Davka in Ofra, Just Incomprehensible

For the longest time, Ofra was the elite of the yishuvim, Jewish communities in YESHA, Judea/Samaria/Northern Sinai/Jordan Valley. Even though, location-wise it isn't great, it attracted the best of the families.

Ofra had a rule early on that it would only accept families in which at least one of the couple worked there. The principle was to prevent the formation of a "bedroom community," a suburb that didn't produce and was dependent on nearby* cities. It was a brilliant idea, since unlike many communities, there were adults home during the workday making it much safer. Also, there were job opportunities, because it attracted a type of person willing to take the risk to start a business. And many of the early members were and still are dedicated to public service.

For us in Shiloh, Ofra was the mentor community. Our founders lived there for quite a few months to learn from them and become a cohesive group. At that time, the aim in Ofra was to stay "small, " more like a kibbutz or moshav and not reach a size that needed more than one central synagogue. It wasn't until they realized that their preschools were shrinking, and the percentage of local kids in the school was getting dangerously low that they changed tactics and began expanding in earnest. That was easier said than done, since state land around Ofra was limited. It's not that Arabs were wandering around on a regular basis caring for vineyards and olive trees, but the maps showed possible problems. So, they planned the neighborhoods as carefully as possible and did receive approval. Without approval, residents wouldn't have gotten bank mortgages.

But suddenly, the Leftist, anti-Jewish settlement groups managed to make cases that have destroyed the Ofra and nearby Amona, which is basically an "independent" neighborhood. Eleven years ago, it was thought that by knocking down a number of houses, they community could continue, but now Amona has been destroyed and nine houses in Ofra are also in the sites of the wreckers.

Entering Ofra today, you seen signs/banners all over protesting the fact that the government is destroying people's homes in Amona and Ofra.

When I was there yesterday, soon before a big demonstration near the nine homes scheduled to be destroyed was scheduled to begin, I noticed men with all sorts of very impressive professional photography equipment waiting for some "action." Just as I walked by I overheard their being asked for credentials.

Later we heard that the court has agreed to postpone destruction for a month to enable the families to make plans for alternative housing.

My daughter lives in Ofra with her family, and it's still a wonderful place to live, although the court rulings have strangled its chance to grow. In recent years, communities like Shiloh have benefited from this situation, since quite a few families that wanted to live in Ofra have bought homes in Shiloh where there is lots of state land to build on.

Gd willing, a solution will be found to allow Ofra to thrive again.

Full Israeli Sovereignty over all of Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley would be the best solution. At present we are second class citizens who must follow all the laws, armay, taxes etc but do not get full protection for our civil rights. 

PS There's talk that Bibi allowed the situation to develop to reduce the support and growing popularity of the Jewish Home (NRP) and its leaders, Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, knowing that they wouldn't follow through with their threats to leave the coalition. What do you think?

Watch this film in Hebrew if you understand the language. Just click here.

*No city was or is "nearby" Ofra.

You Don't Have To Be A Graphologist to See That Israeli Youth Didn't Burn Arab Home in Duma

Just look at these two pictures.

Duma, Haaretz

Times of Israel

When Jewish youth were blamed for the Duma arson because of the "Tag Machir," "Price Tag," תג מחיר style graffiti, I immediately said that I know of no Israeli kid with handwriting like that. The Israeli education system produces graduates with horrendous handwriting, more in the style you see in the lower photo.

Consider this another of my "dumb questions." What do you think?

Like The Loss of a Child, The Destruction of a Community A Permanent Pain

Israeli Shabbat Newspaper
Written on Israeli Flag:
AMONA- WE WILL RETURN

Thursday night on the Israeli news one of the women from Amona, whose home and community no longer exist said she just wanted to know where they were going to live. She was ready to build anew, despite the great pain, bereavement and difficulties, but it hurt her even more that although the government had promised nearby locations the Amona DPs are in limbo.

Looking at all of these devastated, homeless young families and idealistic supporters from near and far just breaks your heart.

It took so much emotional strength for the woman to say that she is willing to build a new home and community if only the government would do its part and set it up. She reminded me of a bereaved mother who has other children after one dies/is killed. In Israel this is a very common reaction, even when the parents had considered themselves as finished with childbirth or "too old." The additional child is certainly not a replacement for the dead one, but the joy of dealing with a new baby a new life is frequently a good way escape the depression and focus on the past that is part of bereavement.

And that is how many of the Amona families feel. They want to build to help deal with their pain and disappointment.

Most had been living in flimsy mobile homes all this time.  Just a couple of months ago, the residents of Amona had been told that they'd still be on the hill, or very close by, and that the government would build them a real community with real houses, rather than the prefabricated ones they'd been in.

What has also been said by the government is that a new community will be built to the east of Shiloh, south of Shvut Rachel, possibly near Adei Ad, and the DPs of Amona will have priority rights for those houses.

The "New Amona" may possibly be on those mountains or nearby.

There hasn't been such a government initiative to build a community for Jews in Judea/Samaria for decades if ever. There are other rumors that it would be further to the south, closer to Kochav Hashachar and Rimonim. Whether near Shvut Rachel or Kochav Hashachar, one thing for sure is that the climate is much milder than Ofra. But if the families want their children to continue studying in Ofra, the trip isn't all that close, since there isn't an official road connecting the Alon Road and Highway 60. The one I travel on is barely one lane wide. Even though Ofra is close "as the crow flies," it's not all that close by road.  It would be nice if as an added bonus, the government should build a couple (or just one) good road connecting these two major north-south highways. 

I travel in that area now a few days a week to a from work, and I'm always amazed and impressed by the quantity of land just waiting for Jews to make it bloom.

Shavua Yoter Tov

May This Week be Much Better than the Last One

Only the Likud Can... רק הליכוד יכול

רק הליכוד יכול

Rak HaLikud Yachol

Only the Likud Can

PERSONAL SECURITY
TRUE PEACE
FREE ENTERPRISE/MARKET
Only The Likud Can
Nationalist Camp
Jabotinsky Institute

Even when the Likud campaign staff came up with that catchy tune and phrase the unintended negative implications of the words resounded to us pragmatic cynics still reeling from Menachem Begin's surprise Sinai withdrawal, destruction of Yamit and numerous smaller communities. Davka, he the supposed extreme Right wing politician, had crossed every red line the Labor Party never dared to contemplate.

Don't forget that Arik Sharon was the Likud's Prime Minister when he announced the horrendous Disengagement Plan that unilaterally destroyed more Jewish communities and gave their Land to the Hamas Arab terrorists in Gaza.

Amona's 2006 house destruction and traumatizing police violence was  while Ehud Olmert ruled Israel in the name of the then comatose Arik Sharon. At that specific time, they called themselves the Kadima Party, but both had reached power as members of the Likud.

And here we are, deja vu, again with pastoral Amona in the sites of the Leftist Israeli Supreme Court. This time, they are out to destroy it. Families have been forced out of the homes they've lived in for years, schools and businesses shut by the government.

Netanyahu as Prime Minister and Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) as Minister of Justice haven't broken the hold of the Israeli Courts, which although they aren't elected by the people, somehow have been given the right, legal status that allows them to override the laws created by our elected officials, Members of the Knesset. To me this is not a true democracy, and it's immoral.

Arutz 7

At least Bibi had the decency to instruct the police to leave the horses and "special units" in their stables.

i24news

Amona, Deja Vu

A view of the Jewish outpost community of Amona. (Noam Moskowitz/Flash90) http://hamodia.com

Just a few short weeks ago, the residents of Amona made a very difficult decision. They agreed to allow a portion of their community to be moved for what was called "the greater good." The government made what seemed to be reasonable promises, and in order not to have a repeat of the violence that so traumatized us all eleven years ago, the residents very reluctantly agreed to the government's offer.

Israeli police clash with Jewish settlers at a burning barricade in the unauthorized outpost of Amona, close to the West Bank Jewish settlement of Ofra, Feb. 1, 2006. (photo by REUTERS/Oleg Popov) Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/09/amona-outpost-settlements-netanyahu-yair-lapid-coalition.html#ixzz4X5UsuKOT

A settler struggled with Israeli security officers in 2006, when the Israeli government razed nine homes in Amona. Residents are preparing for another clash with their government. Credit Oded Balilty/Associated Press, NYTimes

And now, apparently, the nearby land promised to them is suddenly "problematic," too.

I don't think that anyone wants a replay of the violence of eleven years ago, but now "the ball is in the government's court," and it must make clear laws that protect Jewish Rights over ghost/fictional "landowners" who never really owned the land, never developed it and only were discovered by anti-Jewish settlement NGOs that have an agenda to destroy Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

I see this as part of the mechanizations being used to try to topple the Likud government. Netanyahu is under pressure for alleged corruption, and if the Amona agreement falls apart there will be pressure from the Right. Bibi certainly has plenty of balls to juggle if he wants to remain Israel's Prime Minister.

Thank Gd, Amona Compromise Approved!

Amona, Flash90

Honestly, it will still hurt the good people of Amona, but they did the right thing by approving the latest offer, and Bibi, too, did the right thing by agreeing.

Government approves Amona deal
The government unanimously approved on Sunday a compromise deal hammered out between Jewish Home leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that would relocate more than half of the Samarian town of Amona to nearby plots......According to the outline of the deal, 24 of the town’s 42 families will be relocated to undeveloped plots on the same hill where Amona is currently located. The government will take control of the unclaimed land under the Absentee Property Law, making the plots state land. (Arutz 7)

There are times when one must find a way to get on without harming the greater good.

Nobody really wanted another terribly violent confrontation, like the one which had happened ten years ago on Amona. The iconic pictures of teenagers confronting stormtroopers, riot police on horses, haunt all of us, on both sides till this day.

http://cdn.timesofisrael.com/

As I began trying to plan this article, the image of Menachem Begin, traumatized after Ben-Gurion's ordered attack on the Altalena kept going through my mind. Begin could have very easily, and justifiably, declared war on the Palmach and Haganah, but he refused to fight them in a civil war which the entire Jewish People would lose.

Now, we must take advantage of the new law and the fact that Ayelet Shaked is Minister of Justice to build us a new Israeli Justice that will be truly Just for the Jewish People and the State of Israel.