Israel Hayom..
25 October '17..
Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/stand-up-to-agricultural-terrorism/
The first time I met Yoel Zilberman was in 2008 in Mitzpe Sando in the Galilee. My wife and I had come to the farm, a little place on a hilltop, and we saw the silo that was black as coal, two days after it was deliberately set on fire, along with the hay bales and tractor. It was a sight typical of the 1930s, the lawless days that predated the founding of the state.
Zilberman, an officer in the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit, had taken unpaid leave from the army to save his father's Galilee farm, which was vulnerable to theft and destruction perpetrated by the local Arabs. Zionism's fight for its life in the Galilee and the Negev doesn't play out in murders, but rather in "minor," daily acts of economic and agricultural terrorism. Fences are destroyed, herds and crops are subject to constant theft, irrigation systems are wrecked, and protection money is demanded – a combination of crimes that ultimately serve nationalist goals of keeping Israeli farmers down, making the profession unprofitable, and in the end ousting them from the land so it can be taken over.
Zilberman's success in saving his family's farm through presence and guard duty led him to found the group Hashomer Hachadash, out of the understanding that agricultural crime is a widespread national problem rather than a localized spat between neighbors. The group attracted civilians from all sectors and of all political orientations who were ready to donate their time and spend days and nights guarding fields and herds. My wife and I volunteer for guard duty and are pleased with the thanks from the farmers and the smile of relief on their faces at the knowledge that they'll be able to get a night's sleep, for a change.
"We're finally able to sleep at night"; "the farm has finally stopped losing money"; "I was about to get rid of the herd and then Hashomer Hachadash showed up" – these are some of the reactions I heard from the farmers whose livelihood was saved by the volunteers whose shirts read, "My brother's keeper," a kind of reference to Cain, who killed his brother Abel and played innocent, asking, "Am I my brother's keeper?"
We volunteers came to give and wound up the recipients. We don't get a dime, not even gas money, but a smile of thanks from those who felt abandoned and then a brother appeared and helped save his livelihood so he could continue to hold onto the nation's land and our future in this country. We volunteers are thankful for the opportunity to contribute, both to the farmers and to the wonderful grassroots organization that came from the people, not the government, and now coordinates fully with the Israel Police and the Border Police.
The wholesale theft that 70 residents of the village Beit Awwa committed in the fields of Moshav Shekef in the Lachish region illustrates the extent of the problem. A gang of thieves that will stop at nothing, vs. a weak police and indifferent courts, have made agricultural theft and sabotage into an easy, risk-free sport. Indeed, after some of the thieves were caught, the police released the minors. Why?
The incident at Moshav Shekef reflects what happens when there is no security, not to mention that an incursion for the purpose of theft could wind up leading to murder. On the other hand, dozens of farms that have been assigned security by the Hashomer Hachadash volunteers are already breathing more easily. Anyone who thinks that mutual aid, volunteerism and contributing to society without expecting anything in return are old-fashioned values that have vanished, is wrong. The old, good Israel is alive and kicking, right now.
Boaz Haetzni is a publicist and a member of Hashomer Hachadash agricultural organization.
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