Threat to our democracy

Unwarranted Jewish home demolitions symbolize our failure as a democracy


Moshe Dann
Israel Opinion/Ynet
16 May "10

Six months ago, 11 ministers approved a decision by Prime Minister Netanyahu to halt construction starts in Judea and Samaria for 10 months. The "freeze" applied only to buildings that had not begun.

"…this suspension will not affect the construction already underway. It will not include schools, kindergartens, synagogues and public buildings necessary for the continuation of normal life over the period of the suspension,” the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Defense Minister Barak apparently interpreted this administrative decision differently, directing the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria to destroy buildings which have permits and were begun before the freeze was announced -- a clear conflict with fundamental civil and humanitarian law, as well as the freeze order itself.

Where Jews can and cannot build in Judea and Samaria is not easily defined, since national as well as local authorities are involved, although final decision-making is the hands of the Israeli military administration. This complicated puzzle played out last week in Ganei Modiin, home to 250 families. Although access to Ganei Modiin is through Hashmonaim, with 540 families, the two communities, under the authority of the Binyamin Council, are distinct.

Hashmonaim (also known unofficially as Ramat Modiim), half of whose residents are English-speaking, is only a few kilometers beyond the Armistice Lines of 1949. Ganei Modiin is part of Modiin Illit (Kyriat Sefer), with over 30,000 residents, among a thriving, bustling group of Jewish communities in the Modiin Valley area, in which 150,000 Jews live - not an isolated, insignificant enclave.

Driving through Hashmonaim, at the end of the road, three giant "buggers" (heavy-duty wreckers) were destroying a large, nearly completed home. Onlookers perched in other half-built homes nearby. The police had already finished destroying one home earlier that morning. The owner of that home, who lives in Ashkelon, heard of the destruction, and raced to the site with papers showing that he had permission to build, but the police and wrecking crew refused to stop.

Small groups of teenage boys from schools in the community were scattered around the site, talking with scores of border policemen and riot police. It was 11 am and the wrecking crews had taken a break. A few kids tried to get into the half-crushed building, and were dragged out. Earlier, the family that owned the building had tried this, but was quickly removed.

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