For those who are home, and for those who are on the way. For those who support the historic and just return of the land of Israel to its people, forever loyal to their inheritance, and its restoration.
Michael D. Hirsch..
The Times of Israel..
13 May '12..
This past Shabbat, my wife Jane & I had the occasion to stay in a friend’s 777 caravan on Hill above Itamar. Having seen so much about this locale in the media, I was totally taken aback by the reality. Most particularly, by its size, or lack thereof. For the entire community consists of thirteen families, period. Judging by the spotlight focused on the likes of Hill 777 by such organizations as Peace Now, I was expecting to find a fully-developed community, with dozens upon dozens of homes, shopping facilities, etc. To encounter 13 families, some in homes, some in caravans, no commercial facilities—no grocery stores, no newsstands, no public transportation—left us aghast.
The second chasm between perception and reality was the composition of the “populace.” Virtually every newspaper story, every television report, regarding settlements/settlers is accompanied by a photo of ultra-Orthodox men & women, the women with their hair covered, dressed modestly; the men with long side locks (peiyot), tzitzit worn outside the shirt. The reality? The majority of the families residing on Hill 777 are secular; the others are what I term Modern Orthodox—knit kippot, tzitzit worn inside the shirt, no long sideburns.
And perhaps most noteworthy of all regarding the residents of Hill 777—the fact that there was less than a quorum of religious men did not preclude there being Shabbat services both Friday evening and Saturday morning! There were twelve men, including myself, in the modest, makeshift synagogue on Saturday morning; meaning, there were almost as many secular men attending as observant ones! The age-old dream of what it means to be a part of “Am Yisrael” coming to fruition. The realization of the Talmudic concept—every Jew is responsible for every other Jew. I cannot recall ever sitting in a Beit Knesset with such a warm feeling in my heart.
“Settlers in Itamar were outraged Sunday morning after Palestinians from Awarta arrived in Itamar for their annual olive harvest in the settlement. According to the settlers, among the Palestinians who arrived in Itamar were the family members of brutally stabbed and murdered five members of the Fogel family six months ago.
The settlers claimed that the Palestinians shouted “We’ll Fogel you” and drew their fingers across their necks indicating slaughter. [emphasis mine]
Dozens of women and children from Itamar protested against the move, including Tamar Fogel who lost her parents and three siblings in the heinous terror attack. “
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The story of the Liberian-flag ship Victoria is dramatic enough but few will understand, at least immediately, that it opens a new era in the region’s history. It is a period when, for the first time [in] more than thirty years … Egypt will not be a reliable force for regional peace and stability.
Here in America, the intrepid Lori Lowenthal Marcus sat through hours of boring video from the recent J Street conference, finding this gem, uttered by J Street co-founder Daniel Levy — already famous for telling an Al Jazeera panel that the creation of Israel was an “act that was wrong” (although “excusable”). This time, he provides no excuses. If they hate us no matter, what, he says, then
Maybe, if this collective Jewish presence can only survive by the sword, then Israel really ain’t a good idea.
Wouldn’t you like to slap this guy? I would.* Note that there is no gasp of surprise from the attendees when he says it. They certainly have given new meaning to ‘pro-Israel!’
When the IDF arrived at the scene of the horrific massacre of the Fogel family in Itamar, they found footprints leading to the nearby Arab village of Awarta. So naturally, they clamped a curfew on it. And yet again, caught in the middle of the conflict were a group of ‘international activists’ from the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), (and see also here) the folks who specialize in being human shields for the peace-loving cadres of Hamas and Fatah.
In the breathless prose that characterizes these self-important idiots, they describe their predicament (h/t: Israel Medad):
Today the village of Awarta, near Nablus, is facing the second day of a severe curfew imposed by the Israeli military, following Friday morning’s murder of a settler family in the settlement Itamar. Three ISM activists–Cinda, 23, Chad, 25, from Sweden, and Cissy, 53, from Norway–are currently trapped in the village. Anyone caught stepping outside of their house is arrested. Soldiers have said that they’ll maintain the curfew until they’ve apprehended the settler family’s murderer. The army hasn’t presented any evidence that the murderer was from Awarta, and villagers have said to the ISM that they strongly doubt the murderer was even Palestinian as the settlement is so heavily guarded it would be impossible to break in.
Soldiers are beating people and continuing their house raids: destroying houses from the inside, cutting off electricity, and polluting the drinking water by throwing mud in the water-tanks. 30 homes were occupied by soldiers last night. Computers and phones have been destroyed and money and property were stolen by the soldiers. In the last two days soldiers have been throwing sound grenades inside and outside the houses, and shooting in the air. The ISM activists may be arrested soon, but they intend to stay as long as possible because they feel their presence improves the behavior of the soldiers, and villagers have asked them to stay.
Palestinian sources have suggested that possibly the murderers were crazed foreign workers from Thailand. Because a Palestinian Arab would never, ever, do anything like that.
After all, how would Palestinian society look at them?
___________
*Legal note: this is not a threat, merely a description of the feelings evoked by this remarkable dickhead.
If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page. .
I visited Hevron in November 2000 after the outbreak of the Rosh Hashanah War to see what could be done to assist in the face of the growing daily attacks on the community. After returning to work for the community in the summer of 2001, a bond and a love was forged that grows to this day. My wife Melody and I merited to be married at Ma'arat HaMachpela and now host visitors from throughout the world every Shabbat as well as during the week. Our goal, "Time to come Home!"
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