Israel's Front Porch

Moshe Feiglin
Manhigut Yehudit
2 Cheshvan, 5771 (10 October '10)

Translated from Ma'ariv's NRG website.

I get to Elmatan almost every morning – on my mountain bike. The dried creek beds and mountains on the way there and back provide me with half an hour of solace and physical fitness that are the dream of every mountain rider. After ten years of riding here and playing catch with the sun's first morning rays, I thought that I had already seen all the different views from Elmatan. Nevertheless, it is important for me to share this picture of the Elmatan synagogue with you:

I get to Elmatan almost every morning – on my mountain bike. The dried creek beds and mountains on the way there and back provide me with half an hour of solace and physical fitness that are the dream of every mountain rider. After ten years of riding here and playing catch with the sun's first morning rays, I thought that I had already seen all the different views from Elmatan. Nevertheless, it is important for me to share this picture of the Elmatan synagogue with you:

Elmatan is a "mixed" outpost – a neighborhood of the Ma'aleh Shomron settlement that is open to everyone – with or without a kippah on his head. They built the synagogue pictured here about a year ago. Israel's Supreme Court has ordered the synagogue to be sealed off. Mosques are popping up like mushrooms after the rain in this entire area – which is under Israeli jurisdiction – and nobody dares touch them. But the synagogue within the boundaries of the Elmatan settlement unhinges the "rule of law" clan. Their norms dictate that the Arabs here are permanent while the Jews are a passing phenomenon. I am talking about Tel Aviv, of course.

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