Decades ago, when a horrendous fatal car accident halved a local family, the injured survivors were cared for in the same hospital room, where they sat shiva together. Many times since, I've seen pictures of hospitalized family members, of both sexes and various ages, in the same hospital room. It's a very humane and comforting policy, which doesn't exist in other countries.
The young couple, Shira and Amichai Ish-Ran, who as a result of an Arab terror attack outside of Ofra, not only were injured, but as a result of Shira's injury, their baby didn't survive. They are now together in Shaare Tzedek Hospital in the same room. Obviously, after such physical, medical and emotional trauma, they have a lot to deal with. Separation would have only made it worse.
According to Jewish Law, there's no mourning, shiva-all the usual restrictions, after the death of a tiny baby under a month old, so friends came to sing to them.
Do you see this in other countries? Only in Israel.
Showing posts with label Ofra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ofra. Show all posts
Monday, December 17, 2018
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Pray For Victims of Arab Terror
As Chanukah neared an end Arab terrorists attacked a roadside trempiada, hitchhiking post outside of Ofra in the most cowardly of ways. They shot at the innocent people waiting for rides. It's a place I sometimes find myself at, because people going to and towards Shiloh pass by. My practice is to check the bus app efobus to see when a bus to Shiloh should be arriving. And if there isn't a bus within a reasonable amount of time, I wait outside on the sidewalk, behind the barriers. The barriers can prevent a regular car from hitting people, but it won't stop bullets.
Over half a dozen people were injured including a young pregnant woman. Her baby was delivered prematurely as soon as she got to the hospital. They all need our prayers.
רפואה שלימה:
התינוק בן שירה יעל, שירה יעל בת ליאורה שרה
Complete recovery to:
Tinok (baby) ben of Shira Yael
Shira Yael bat Leora Sarah
No "peace plan" will stop terror, only physically eradicating the terrorists and their financial backing will be good first steps. It will take generations to change their belief in terror and hatred of Jews and Israelis.
Over half a dozen people were injured including a young pregnant woman. Her baby was delivered prematurely as soon as she got to the hospital. They all need our prayers.
רפואה שלימה:
התינוק בן שירה יעל, שירה יעל בת ליאורה שרה
Complete recovery to:
Tinok (baby) ben of Shira Yael
Shira Yael bat Leora Sarah
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| Prayers from the Holy Site of Shiloh |
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Life in Judea-Samaria No Longer Frontier Pioneering
In 1981, when we first moved to Shiloh the heart of Biblical Israel, Judea-Samaria, we were certainly pioneers. And you needed that old-fashioned frontier spirit to survive and enjoy life. We didn't live in tents, but the prefabricated cement home reached by a dirt path wasn't easy suburban living.
There were just a few dozen other families here in Shiloh. Electricity was provided by a tempermental generator; water was trucked in daily at best. And public transportation didn't reach our neighborhood. Actually, most of the buses only stopped on the main road, a few miles from us. And only after a few months was there a telephone, just one for the entire neighborhood.
It was a twenty minute drive to the nearest communities, and they were also struggling with the essentials of minimalist conditions. Forget about modern life.
During those early years, we were frequently visited by journalists who took for granted that we were just a temporary presence in the area, soon to be removed. Nobody imagined that in forty years Shiloh would be the center of a large bloq of communities, one larger and the rest smaller, stretching west, north and east all the way to the Alon Road and Jordan Valley.
Today's Shiloh is more suburban than rural, and we're not at all isolated. The city of Ariel is just ten minutes away and has a university, cultural center, government offices and a mall, among other things. Here in Shiloh there are two supermarkets, an enormous hardware/building supply store, clothing store, two clinics, two bus lines, schools and more.
The entire development of Jewish return to our Biblical Homeland, Judea and Samaria, is miraculous and I'd even say Messianic, as in the Jewish prophecies. Only those whose vision is distorted by Leftist ideology can cay that we're marginal or temporary.
It's hard to say when it all changed, but changed it has. In the more veteran towns like Ofra, Shiloh, Efrat, Kiryat Arba, Kedumim and more, there are many families raising second and third generations of children. Yes, to put it simply, we are here to stay, Baruch Hashem, thank Gd.
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Celebrating 37 Years in Shiloh, Memories of Day 1
On the Jewish Calendar yesterday was our "move to Shiloh" anniversary, the 2nd of Ellul. On the goyish calendar we moved on September 1, 1981. Our daughters came by bus the day before, so they'd be here for the opening of the school year.
When the girls, then aged ten 10, eight 8 and five 5, were sent on the bus alone by my husband, we didn't think it a strange thing to do. Never having owned a car, the girls were used to traveling by bus. In those days, private cars were rare, and the other passengers were mostly commuters going home to Beit El and Shiloh. I don't think there were any other stops on the route. The bus went through Ramalla; this predated today's Route 60. Most men, and a few women, had pistols for self-defense.
The girls slept at the neighbors who had been assigned as our "mishpacha ma'ametzet," adoptive family, who were responsible for helping us settle into our new life in Shiloh. I had packed the girls up with what they needed for the first day of school, 5th Grade, 3rd Grade and Kindergarten. They were all going to study in different places.
It was easiest for our youngest daughter, whose pre-school was located near where they were staying, though she didn't know any of the other children. Our eldest had to travel to Ofra for school. There was a van that took her and the other children 4th Grade and up every morning and then back to Shiloh at the end of the school day. She never missed it; there was no other way to get to and from school. Our second daughter was privileged to be able to study in Shiloh. The community had decided to open an elementary school to make Shiloh a more attractive and easier place to live in. Luckily, it had been decided to have a 3rd Grade class, and there were six children in it on September 1st, boys and girls together. She was the oldest girl. There were four children in the 2th Grade and eight in the 1st Grade. Over the next couple of months, one family left, a few moved to Shiloh, and the number of children in the school rose to about twenty.
The new school was in three empty prefabricated houses in the new neighborhood where we live to this day. Then it was brand new without a paved road, sidewalks etc. Forty small cement houses had been placed on the barren hilltop, over a mile from Tel Shiloh, where everyone else lived. I don't think there were a dozen families when our moving van, with my husband in it, pulled up that day. I came with our newborn baby son by bus a few hours later. Of course, the bus didn't come up the hill; Egged only travels on paved roads. I had to go up in a ride.
Not all of the houses had been hooked up to the electric generator, water and sewer. That had limited our choice of which to choose. During the first few days in our house, even though the toilets worked, we had to wash our hands in the kitchen sink.
Despite the obvious difficulties, I really enjoyed being part of the great Zionist experience/adventure. Our neighborhood/community became very close, and we were helped a lot by the more veteran families "down the hill." Even for a writer like myself, it's hard to clearly verbalize what attracted me to Shiloh, but I've never had a doubt that Shiloh is the right place for us. I'd say that the best decision I/we ever made was to make aliyah and the second best was to move to Shiloh.
When the girls, then aged ten 10, eight 8 and five 5, were sent on the bus alone by my husband, we didn't think it a strange thing to do. Never having owned a car, the girls were used to traveling by bus. In those days, private cars were rare, and the other passengers were mostly commuters going home to Beit El and Shiloh. I don't think there were any other stops on the route. The bus went through Ramalla; this predated today's Route 60. Most men, and a few women, had pistols for self-defense.
The girls slept at the neighbors who had been assigned as our "mishpacha ma'ametzet," adoptive family, who were responsible for helping us settle into our new life in Shiloh. I had packed the girls up with what they needed for the first day of school, 5th Grade, 3rd Grade and Kindergarten. They were all going to study in different places.
It was easiest for our youngest daughter, whose pre-school was located near where they were staying, though she didn't know any of the other children. Our eldest had to travel to Ofra for school. There was a van that took her and the other children 4th Grade and up every morning and then back to Shiloh at the end of the school day. She never missed it; there was no other way to get to and from school. Our second daughter was privileged to be able to study in Shiloh. The community had decided to open an elementary school to make Shiloh a more attractive and easier place to live in. Luckily, it had been decided to have a 3rd Grade class, and there were six children in it on September 1st, boys and girls together. She was the oldest girl. There were four children in the 2th Grade and eight in the 1st Grade. Over the next couple of months, one family left, a few moved to Shiloh, and the number of children in the school rose to about twenty.
The new school was in three empty prefabricated houses in the new neighborhood where we live to this day. Then it was brand new without a paved road, sidewalks etc. Forty small cement houses had been placed on the barren hilltop, over a mile from Tel Shiloh, where everyone else lived. I don't think there were a dozen families when our moving van, with my husband in it, pulled up that day. I came with our newborn baby son by bus a few hours later. Of course, the bus didn't come up the hill; Egged only travels on paved roads. I had to go up in a ride.
Not all of the houses had been hooked up to the electric generator, water and sewer. That had limited our choice of which to choose. During the first few days in our house, even though the toilets worked, we had to wash our hands in the kitchen sink.
Despite the obvious difficulties, I really enjoyed being part of the great Zionist experience/adventure. Our neighborhood/community became very close, and we were helped a lot by the more veteran families "down the hill." Even for a writer like myself, it's hard to clearly verbalize what attracted me to Shiloh, but I've never had a doubt that Shiloh is the right place for us. I'd say that the best decision I/we ever made was to make aliyah and the second best was to move to Shiloh.
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| Ohel Shiloh Elementary School 3rd Grade girls, spring 1982 |
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Nothing's New, All in the Bible/Tanach
I didn't get much of a Jewish education growing up. My parents weren't religious, so besides occasionally remembering to light the Chanukah Menorah and having the traditional, though shortened Passover Seder and a rare Friday night when my mother lit Shabbat candles, we did know we were Jewish...
We were always shul (synagogue) members. When we lived in Bayside, NY, we were founding members of the Conservative Oakland Jewish Center, which has since closed for business. Then when we moved to Great Neck, NY, we joined the Orthodox Great Neck Synagogue, though the choice of Orthodox wasn't for theological reasons. Even though I'm a graduate of the OJC Hebrew School, I didn't learn much, certainly not much Bible/Tanach. And then later as an active member of NCSY I learned living Judaism, not Bible/Tanach.
All the Bible/Tanach I know has been learned as an adult, and not when I was younger. Sometimes when I'm in a class, whether with hundreds of others in Matan, or the small senior citizens class in Ofra, I see so many parallels and similarities between what happened to the Jewish People thousands of years ago and today. It's really mind-boggling to think about it.
As in Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon, it has all happened before. Human nature, our intelligence and foibles haven't changed at all. In recent years I've been studying Ezra-Nehemiah, the time between the First and Second Temples, when the Jewish People returned in part from exile. The controversies, debates and problems of that time were so similar to today's among the Jewish People. That includes the controversy over "Who's a Jew?"
I have no doubt that we are in an era of Biblical significance, and Gd willing we will do what must be done to truly bring the Moshiach. We need leadership to fully build and develop the Jewish State of Israel. Build for Jews and BUILD THE HOLY TEMPLE!
We were always shul (synagogue) members. When we lived in Bayside, NY, we were founding members of the Conservative Oakland Jewish Center, which has since closed for business. Then when we moved to Great Neck, NY, we joined the Orthodox Great Neck Synagogue, though the choice of Orthodox wasn't for theological reasons. Even though I'm a graduate of the OJC Hebrew School, I didn't learn much, certainly not much Bible/Tanach. And then later as an active member of NCSY I learned living Judaism, not Bible/Tanach.
As in Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon, it has all happened before. Human nature, our intelligence and foibles haven't changed at all. In recent years I've been studying Ezra-Nehemiah, the time between the First and Second Temples, when the Jewish People returned in part from exile. The controversies, debates and problems of that time were so similar to today's among the Jewish People. That includes the controversy over "Who's a Jew?"I have no doubt that we are in an era of Biblical significance, and Gd willing we will do what must be done to truly bring the Moshiach. We need leadership to fully build and develop the Jewish State of Israel. Build for Jews and BUILD THE HOLY TEMPLE!
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
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:
Thursday, March 9, 2017
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...
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Davka, Ofra
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| Evacuation of Amona in 2006, Nati Shohat/Flash 90, Arutz 7 |
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.
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
The Regulation Law, Will It Make a Difference?
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| 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)
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.
Monday, February 6, 2017
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.
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?
*No city was or is "nearby" Ofra.
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Like The Loss of a Child, The Destruction of a Community A Permanent Pain
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| Israeli Shabbat Newspaper Written on Israeli Flag: AMONA- WE WILL RETURN |
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.
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| 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
Monday, October 31, 2016
Blame Shimon Peres for the Ofra-Amona Problem and More
Right after Shimon Peres died, and Israelis of the Right -Pro Jewish Rights in All of the Land of Israel- were looking for nice things to say about him, they credited him with his help in establishing the very first yishuv, Jewish community, in the Shomron, north of Jerusalem. But the truth is that his pushing for the location that is now Ofra was actually a way to sabotage the community, as I explained in my post, The Utter Irony of Shiloh for a Relocated Amona.
Peres pushed for a location that had a building. Either he ignored the possible ownership of the land in question or he, like many in the government, didn't take the settler movement, Gush Emunim, seriously as a potential power.
None of the politicians of any party, even the Right, had a clue that within a few decades there would be hundreds of thousands of Jews in Judea/Samaria. And if the government would solve the legal issues and give building permits, there would be more than double the number.
This should not be in the hands of the Supreme Court. Prime Minister Netanyahu is wrong in leaving those Leftist ideology-driven judges to make law. The Government and Knesset are supposed to make the laws, not the Judicial branch.
In the half a century since the 1967 Six Days War we periodically hear politicians talking about annexing the Land we liberated in that war for survival, like Naftali Bennett right now. All international legal precedent is that a country that wins a war, especially a war for its very existence and survival, automatically annexes whatever land it finds in its possession. That's the way of the world.
And, yes, of course, Peres was part of the ruling team that decided Israel should do the very opposite. He and his ilk had this totally fokokt idea that the Arabs would be willing to live in peace in exchange for those "territories." This was a mistake, the infant of his "New Middle East" fantasy, which made him the darling of those trying to find a politically correct way of destroying the State of Israel.
Now, we are stuck with horrendous politicians running the country. Gd willing, someone will get the wisdom and guts to fix this mess.
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| imemc.org |
Peres pushed for a location that had a building. Either he ignored the possible ownership of the land in question or he, like many in the government, didn't take the settler movement, Gush Emunim, seriously as a potential power.
None of the politicians of any party, even the Right, had a clue that within a few decades there would be hundreds of thousands of Jews in Judea/Samaria. And if the government would solve the legal issues and give building permits, there would be more than double the number.
This should not be in the hands of the Supreme Court. Prime Minister Netanyahu is wrong in leaving those Leftist ideology-driven judges to make law. The Government and Knesset are supposed to make the laws, not the Judicial branch.
In the half a century since the 1967 Six Days War we periodically hear politicians talking about annexing the Land we liberated in that war for survival, like Naftali Bennett right now. All international legal precedent is that a country that wins a war, especially a war for its very existence and survival, automatically annexes whatever land it finds in its possession. That's the way of the world.
And, yes, of course, Peres was part of the ruling team that decided Israel should do the very opposite. He and his ilk had this totally fokokt idea that the Arabs would be willing to live in peace in exchange for those "territories." This was a mistake, the infant of his "New Middle East" fantasy, which made him the darling of those trying to find a politically correct way of destroying the State of Israel.
Now, we are stuck with horrendous politicians running the country. Gd willing, someone will get the wisdom and guts to fix this mess.
Friday, October 21, 2016
Thousands in Amona, but Not in the News
Yesterday, on my way to Sha'ar Binyamin, there was an enormous traffic jam by the entrance of Ofra.
Also reports from my daughter, who lives in Ofra, was that the crowd supporting Amona was tremendous!
I tried finding news reports about it, but it seems to have been ignored, even on Arutz 7, at least in English. So, if you find some articles about it, please put the links in the comments here, thanks.
Also reports from my daughter, who lives in Ofra, was that the crowd supporting Amona was tremendous!
I tried finding news reports about it, but it seems to have been ignored, even on Arutz 7, at least in English. So, if you find some articles about it, please put the links in the comments here, thanks.
Saturday, October 8, 2016
The Utter Irony of Shiloh for a Relocated Amona
Before I go any further, I'd like to make it super clear that I am 1,000% and more opposed to the destruction of any home in Amona, Migron or any other Jewish community. I also think that these Leftist nuisance cases against Jewish homes which magnify and distort possible Arab ownership of land based on vague hearsay should be thrown out of court.
Amona is a lovely rural-like community next to Ofra. A few years ago, it underwent a horrendous trauma when the government destroyed nine homes, and in the process sent in riot police who brutally injured hundreds of protesters.
Nobody wants to see this ever again, and nobody trusts the Israeli Government to do what's best for the Jewish People and the State of Israel.
One of Moshe Ya'alon's ideas before being booted out of the position of Defense Minister was to build a "new Amona" in Gush Shiloh (the Shiloh Bloq,) east of Shvut Rachel.
Why do I see this as ironic?
There's a little known fact in the history of the "settlement movement." Ofra is the most veteran Jewish community in the mountains north of Jerusalem. (Immediately after the Six Days War, the government established a number of agricultural moshavim in the Jordan Valley.) Ofra was established by Gush Emunim in spring, 1975 after finally getting approval from the government and support from Shimon Peres. But the location that group of pioneering families was forced to accept as their only chance, was not the one they originally wanted. They davka wanted to establish that first Jewish community in Shiloh! For historic and symbolic reasons, they considered Shiloh to be the obvious choice, because Shiloh was the first Capital of the Jewish People after Joshua led us into the Holy Land.
But Shimon Peres rejected Shiloh as a potential settlement site. Peres would only allow Jews to live where there was already a "proper building," an abandoned Mandate or Jordanian army barracks/police station, and the area which became Ofra had that. In Shiloh there were some old stone churches and a possible synagogue, but nothing "modern enough."
I think that Peres had thought that a location with a relatively modern building wouldn't require much effort/investment and then would be easier to disassemble, because he really didn't think the Jews would remain there very long. The Jewish demonstrators/settlers would live in tents and trailers aka caravans which were to be trucked in and then trucked out, or so he had hoped. The barracks would be the communal structure, so the "settlement" wouldn't cost much. Gush Emunim then searched Judea and Samaria for empty barracks around which to establish communities, according to Shimon Peres's instructions. And the early yishuvim did have such barracks.
Here we are over forty years later, and there's a massive presence of Jews living peacefully in Judea, Benjamin and Samaria. There would be even more if the government would approve the requested building plans.
The reason why the proposed location for the "new Amona" is near Shiloh and not near Ofra is because there is very little public state land in the Ofra area. Ofra is getting "full," and some of the most recent housing projects are in former orchards, which had been farmed by residents.
Davka, Shiloh, as had been explained to us in one of our earliest visits is between the two main Arab cities, Shechem and Ramallah, far from both. That means that there is a lot of state land availble for Jewish communities. So, if the families who had established that first community had been allowed to make it in Shiloh, things would have been so different. There would have been plenty of room for growth.
But life isn't a computer game. We can't keep pressing "undo" to fix mistakes.
Amona wasn't a mistake, but the Israeli Government is making a mistake by trying to destroy it.
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| Amona PR division |
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| police brutality at Amona, 2006 |
Nobody wants to see this ever again, and nobody trusts the Israeli Government to do what's best for the Jewish People and the State of Israel.
One of Moshe Ya'alon's ideas before being booted out of the position of Defense Minister was to build a "new Amona" in Gush Shiloh (the Shiloh Bloq,) east of Shvut Rachel.
Why do I see this as ironic?
There's a little known fact in the history of the "settlement movement." Ofra is the most veteran Jewish community in the mountains north of Jerusalem. (Immediately after the Six Days War, the government established a number of agricultural moshavim in the Jordan Valley.) Ofra was established by Gush Emunim in spring, 1975 after finally getting approval from the government and support from Shimon Peres. But the location that group of pioneering families was forced to accept as their only chance, was not the one they originally wanted. They davka wanted to establish that first Jewish community in Shiloh! For historic and symbolic reasons, they considered Shiloh to be the obvious choice, because Shiloh was the first Capital of the Jewish People after Joshua led us into the Holy Land.
But Shimon Peres rejected Shiloh as a potential settlement site. Peres would only allow Jews to live where there was already a "proper building," an abandoned Mandate or Jordanian army barracks/police station, and the area which became Ofra had that. In Shiloh there were some old stone churches and a possible synagogue, but nothing "modern enough."
I think that Peres had thought that a location with a relatively modern building wouldn't require much effort/investment and then would be easier to disassemble, because he really didn't think the Jews would remain there very long. The Jewish demonstrators/settlers would live in tents and trailers aka caravans which were to be trucked in and then trucked out, or so he had hoped. The barracks would be the communal structure, so the "settlement" wouldn't cost much. Gush Emunim then searched Judea and Samaria for empty barracks around which to establish communities, according to Shimon Peres's instructions. And the early yishuvim did have such barracks.
Here we are over forty years later, and there's a massive presence of Jews living peacefully in Judea, Benjamin and Samaria. There would be even more if the government would approve the requested building plans.
The reason why the proposed location for the "new Amona" is near Shiloh and not near Ofra is because there is very little public state land in the Ofra area. Ofra is getting "full," and some of the most recent housing projects are in former orchards, which had been farmed by residents.
Davka, Shiloh, as had been explained to us in one of our earliest visits is between the two main Arab cities, Shechem and Ramallah, far from both. That means that there is a lot of state land availble for Jewish communities. So, if the families who had established that first community had been allowed to make it in Shiloh, things would have been so different. There would have been plenty of room for growth.
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| undo |
But life isn't a computer game. We can't keep pressing "undo" to fix mistakes.
Amona wasn't a mistake, but the Israeli Government is making a mistake by trying to destroy it.
Thursday, July 28, 2016
If The YESHA Soldiers are Good Enough to Fight in IDF...
Apparently, the fact that ordinary Israelis have donated the money to cover the expenses to make the home of wounded IDF soldier Yehuda Yitzhak HaYisraeli suitable for his handicaps isn't totally solving the problem.
The family is having trouble getting all of the permits. Even though they have lived in Ofra for many years, their house itself hasn't been approved....
Davka today, I had the news on and there was a big report about how the government is building a brand new town for the Bedouin who have been squatting in the Negev. The Bedouin never bought the land; they just put up shacks wherever they want. And the Israeli Government is rewarding them with a fully approved town. Nu, something really stinks!!
The irony of this mother's plea being televised the same day as a kippa-wearing official said that the Bedouin, who do not contribute positively to Israel deserve a town built by our tax money, just made me ill.
Mother of wounded soldier: My son deserves to go home
Knesset committee convenes to hear claims Defense Ministry failed in handling case of severely wounded Gaza operation veteran.
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| Yehuda Yitzhak HaYisraeli (photo: Ofer Amram) |
The family is having trouble getting all of the permits. Even though they have lived in Ofra for many years, their house itself hasn't been approved....
Davka today, I had the news on and there was a big report about how the government is building a brand new town for the Bedouin who have been squatting in the Negev. The Bedouin never bought the land; they just put up shacks wherever they want. And the Israeli Government is rewarding them with a fully approved town. Nu, something really stinks!!
The irony of this mother's plea being televised the same day as a kippa-wearing official said that the Bedouin, who do not contribute positively to Israel deserve a town built by our tax money, just made me ill.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Amona Back in The News
A few years ago the government's decision to destroy a few houses in the community of Amona turned into one of the most disgraceful displays of anti-civilian brutal violence by the Israeli government. Many demonstrators were injured by the armed forces including Knesset members and young children.
I was a high school English Teacher then, and my students were there and came back totally traumatized. They saw their teachers, rabbis being thrown out of windows as if they were garbage. That was in 2006, nine years ago. We thought that as awful as it was, at least it was over and Amona could resume as a community next to Ofra, just south of Shiloh.
But unfortunately we were wrong. The extreme Leftist anti-Jewish Rights to the Land of Israel faction has again gotten the approval of the far Left Supreme Court, and now they want all of Amona to be history.
They were demonstrating for the continued existance of their community.
May G-d turn this all around and give true wisdom to our earthly judges!
I was a high school English Teacher then, and my students were there and came back totally traumatized. They saw their teachers, rabbis being thrown out of windows as if they were garbage. That was in 2006, nine years ago. We thought that as awful as it was, at least it was over and Amona could resume as a community next to Ofra, just south of Shiloh.
But unfortunately we were wrong. The extreme Leftist anti-Jewish Rights to the Land of Israel faction has again gotten the approval of the far Left Supreme Court, and now they want all of Amona to be history.
Israeli Supreme Court President Asher Grunis ordered the government Thursday to evacuate Amona, the largest outpost in the West Bank and the center of drawn-out legal battles, within two years.When I was in Jerusalem last night I was surprised to see a large demonstration of young children, the children of Amona.
Read more: Supreme Court orders removal of Amona outpost | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/supreme-court-orders-removal-of-amona-outpost/#ixzz3Pcal8iMd Follow us: @timesofisrael on Twitter | timesofisrael on Facebook
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| Amona, The Land of Israel is for The People of Israel |
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| Amona, Do Not Evacuate (Destroy) Jewish Communities! |
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| Pro-Amona Demonstration in Jerusalem |
They were demonstrating for the continued existance of their community.
May G-d turn this all around and give true wisdom to our earthly judges!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
That Ofra Picture, More Than One, But Still Doesn't Seem Real
Last Shabbat we were in Ofra, and while sitting high up in the main synagogue's Ezrat Nashim, Women's Gallery I looked out and tried, very, very hard to figure out how, from what angle, direction some very popular in the media pictures of Ofra could have been taken.
I first blogged about one of the pictures six years ago, Wednesday, June 6, 2007, no way that's the real thing.
For those who don't know, Ramallah is southwest of Ofra, behind a mountain range. And these homes in southern Ofra, meaning that the photographer had to have been facing north. So the Jerusalem Post Photo Editor, or whoever identified the picture, obviously does not know geography. One of those commenting on that first post, Evan, thinks it may have been taken from the east, but there are no high buildings to the west of Ofra.
Here's a much newer version of that picture.
One of the reasons I find the picture suspicious is that Ofra is not lower than the nearby hills/mountains. I just can't picture/reproduce this view in real life.
This week, while traveling on the bus going home to Shiloh we passed Ofra. Since I had a front seat I figured I could try to reproduce the picture somehow.
Maybe I got it all wrong. Things do look a little different from the entrance of Ofra, which isn't the highest point in Ofra.
The very highest point is where I was sitting on Shabbat in the shul/synagogue, and I had a birdseye view of the north and northeast of Ofra. Is there a way to photograph Ofra, outside Givat Tzvi that shows the Arab town to the north as if it was overlooking Ofra? If it's really possible, could someone please take me there so I can reproduce the shot. Otherwise I'll keep on claiming that these pictures are photo-shopped, meaning fake.
I first blogged about one of the pictures six years ago, Wednesday, June 6, 2007, no way that's the real thing.
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| The settlement of Ofra with the outskirts of Ramallah in the background Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski |
Here's a much newer version of that picture.
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| The Jewish community of Ofra, 15 kilometers (10 miles) north of Jerusalem.
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Photo credit: Reuters |
This week, while traveling on the bus going home to Shiloh we passed Ofra. Since I had a front seat I figured I could try to reproduce the picture somehow.
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| Ofra from the road going north -photographed by Batya Medad |
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| Ofra from the road going north -photographed by Batya Medad |
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| Ofra from the road going north -photographed by Batya Medad |
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