Migron, Still in "Transit," Waiting

2,243 Days 

Since the Removal/Evacuation of Migron

Still in "Temporary" Housing!

I took the picture a couple of days ago, so now you can add a few more to the number.

The community of Migron, north of Jerusalem, south of Beit El, was removed from its location 2,243 days ago and counting... They agreed to go peacefully because of promises of a new approved location nearby. Years have passed, and they are still waiting in their makeshift quarters.

The Israeli Supreme Court cares more for phantom nameless Arab landowners than Jewish rights and the law.

Migron, Still Counting

Migron is/was a quiet community in a great location, just off Highway 60, north of Sha'ar Binyamin and the turnoff to Psagot, Kochav Yaakov and Tel Tzion, across from the southern end of the Alon Road. It's not far from Jerusalem, and many young families were living there in temporary homes. But instead of building permanent homes, a nuisance case was brought by Peace Now, the anti-Jewish settlement group claiming to represent "true Arab owners*," and the Israeli Lefit courts ordered Migron to be destroyed and moved.

In compensation, the government promised that the residents would get a new totally approved location, and while waiting they would be set up in state of the art caravillot (temporary prefabricated homes) nearby. This "temporary" setup has been going on for quite a few years already. The community set up a large electric sign, which you can see below. It shows the amount of days Migron has been waiting for a new location and permanent homes.

Yesterday when I passed by the number had reached 2,142 days exiled and waiting. That is why so many of us do not consider the present Israeli Government coalition to be Right, pro-Jewish rights/settlement. The truth is that we have no one to vote for. The most reliably pro-Jewish rights/settlement party is Jewish Home, but the coalition agreement/conditions really ties the hands of the more dedicated Knesset Members. Bibi sure knows how to write a very tight contract, and nothing can be done effectively by a party out of the coalition.

The real problem is that the Israeli High Court makes policy according to the judges' ideology and doesn't decide according to law. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, Jewish Home, is trying hard to change this, but it isn't easy and will take a long time.

*The so-called owners had been offered land by Jordan on the condition that within a certain period of time they developed it. But prior to the 1967 Six Days War, when Jordan was illegally occupying land west of the Jordan River until the Israeli border, they did nothing to make the areas habitable. Nobody was interested in living or investing here. The "gifts of land" were considered worthless. All of the modern infrastructure, electricity, water, sewer, telephone etc have been built by Israel, post Six Days War.

The Migron Nightmare

My sources from Migron can't figure out what they did wrong.  They did the "right thing" according to their advisers, and now they've lost their homes and are discovering that the "new Migron" is not much sturdier than the "fake town" in Blazing Saddles.

"We've been suckered in." Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles

The "new Migron" may look pretty impressive from the road, but...

It hasn't even rained yet, and the earthwork is already crumbling.  People who have tried the electricity have found that systems don't work, and water tanks are seriously leaking.

Photo by Batya Medad

Necessary community structures like pre-schools, synagogue etc are not ready, not at all. The residents are scattered in a number of locations.  They followed the advice of "experts" and got "suckered in" for sure.  Some angry and disappointed residents are wondering why they hadn't gone the way of Givat Asaf which not only hasn't been moved and destroyed, but is even growing.

In the beginning they had lots of political visitors, veteran, powerful Knesset Members, including from the coalition, who promised to help and support them, but when push came to shove, the only ones with them are MK Dr. Arye Eldad and MK Michael Ben-Ari, both from the National Union, Ichud Le'umi.

Coalition MK's are held on a tight leash by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. This is proof again that it is extremely important to vote for a party that holds principles above all else and doesn't aim to be in a coalition.  The larger and stronger the NU is, the better the Likud will be.  Right now, the opposition form the Left is pulling him Left.  We need a strong and large opposition on the Right!

There's  a very important lesson to be  learned.

Vote Ichud Le'umi, National Union!!

Migron, Who Owns It? The Test of the Court's Justice

Simple at least to my mind's logic:

Migron, Lior Mizrahi

• The Israeli Supreme Court decided that Arabs own the land which is Migron.
• Therefore Jews are forbidden to live on the land they call Migron.
• Those same Arabs sold the land to some Jews who met their price.
• Then the new Jewish owners have the right to decide who can live on that land.

OK, yes, that's how I see it.  I'm not getting into the earlier issue about whether or not that first court decision was really kosher, meaning based on Israeli or international laws.

At present, the case is going back to the court in light of the Jewish purchase of the land.  This new aspect of the case is the litmus paper test on the Israeli Supreme Court to see if their judgements are truly biased against Jewish Rights.  Unfortunately, in most cases they judge against Jewish civil rights in favor of the Arabs.  The court doesn't demand the same burden of proof of ownership that Jews must bring.

The court doesn't start with acceptance of basic Jewish or state ownership of land here in Judea/Samaria or even a minimal "blank slate."  The vast majority of Israeli Supreme Court Judges are unabashed Leftists who have their agenda and consider their jobs as judges to make decisions according to their visions of "justice" and not the Law.

Israel does not have a simple to read and study constitution.  It has a hodge-podge of Turkish, British, Jewish, international and Israeli laws and judicial precedents by which we're supposed to be governed and according to which the judges are supposed to decide.  And don't forget to add the politicians' and justices' tendency to always be looking over their shoulders wondering what international public opinion may say.  Unfortunately and sometimes tragically they're playing to the wrong audience.

It's very easy for people to say:

"Israel must have a constitution."

Composing one, editing, deleting from what has been considered "Israeli Law" for over sixty years would not be simple.  And it wouldn't just be a job for legal experts.  As all things here, it would be a political mine field. That's why it has never been done.

In the case of Migron, the government has tried to come up with a compromise, reminiscent of the settlement process of over thirty years ago, when Gush Emunim would publicly choose a spot, the government would refuse to allow it and then would recommend a different location and then the new residents ("settlers") would happily relocate and build a town.  A generation later, we don't consider ourselves foreigners to the Land.  Most of the young families in Migron grew up in other communities of YESHA.

My source in Migron said that not only don't people want to move, but they are getting lots of calls from others who want to move into the new neighborhood the government has established as Migron2.

Migron2, the replacement for Migron. 
Photo I took when approaching from the south.

"Yeah, Me Too"

"Yeah, Me Too"
by Sara Layah Shomron

9:30 PM and the phone rings. The pleasant, young woman's voice: Ani mitkasheret m'taam hayishuv Migron laazor l'ham... (I'm calling for the community of Migron that recently had three homes destroyed, leaving three Jewish families homeless).
Me: "You too? We're from Gush Katif; we also had our home destroyed by the government. How can I help you? I don't live near Migron."
Young woman: "Well... actually we're collecting money to help the families"
Me: "Yes, we also lost our jobs with the destruction of Gush Katif and are still unemployed."
Young woman: "eh.. b'hatzlacha,(success to you) and Shana tova".

By coincidence we're calling one another from different parts of the country asking for help from fellow victims. Yeah, me too! We must help strengthen each other...and not allow the destruction of Jewish homes to become a growth industry!

Big Question!

Will Avi Ro'eh fulfill his campaign promise to be different from Pinchas Wallerstien. Pinchas preceded him as head of the Benjamin Regional Council, and now Pinchas heads Moetzet YESHA.

Mateh Binyamin voted against the removal of Migron and the deal the government offered. Moetzet YESHA voted in favor of the deal. Not only did they vote in favor with any true debate. According to the press, it was unanimous. That proves that Moetzet YESHA is no more than a rubber stamp for the government and all of Adi Mintz's claims of a "new Moetzet YESHA" are the lies I accused him of when he was campaigning against Avi Ro'eh.

I ended up voting for Avi Ro'eh, not that I considered him my ideal candidate. So far I haven't seen any real improvement, nor the changes I was hoping for. This is his chance to show leadership and idealism. G-d willing, but humans have free will, so it's up to Avi.