You shall again plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria - by Michael Freund

More than 2,500 years ago, the Prophet Jeremiah (31:4) foretold, "You shall again plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria." With the stroke of a pen, and a healthy dose of national pride, the government of Israel can and must do its part to help bring that vision to life.

Michael Freund..
Pundicity/JPost..
30 May '19..
Link: http://www.michaelfreund.org/22756/time-to-rebuild-northern-samaria

In recent weeks, a growing chorus of voices has emerged calling attention to a painful episode that took place 14 years ago in the hills and plains of northern Samaria, when four Jewish communities were pointlessly uprooted and destroyed as part of Ariel Sharon's so-called Disengagement Plan.

Sensing that the time may finally be right to correct this grievous wrong, prominent members of parliament, including Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, have spoken out in favor of the passage of a bill that would undo the injustice that was wrought. Such a move is long overdue and should be a top priority for the next government.

The withdrawal from Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim is the "forgotten expulsion," one largely overshadowed by the simultaneous pullout from Gaza which occurred in the summer of 2005. Hundreds of Jews who had built their lives in the communities, some of which dated back to the late 1970s, were traumatically forced out of their homes with little or no explanation.

Indeed, why Sharon decided to bulldoze the four flourishing villages in northern Samaria, which had no connection at all to Gaza, remains largely a mystery until today. Some suggest that he did so to send a signal that his aim in destroying Gaza Jewry was not merely a feint in order to save all of Judea and Samaria.

But to fully appreciate the folly of the move, consider the following. Whereas Gaza was emptied of Jews and turned over to hostile Palestinian forces, the four Samarian towns were emptied of Jews yet remained under full Israeli control, which is still the case today.

In other words, the Jews living there were expelled not because Israel was handing the territory over to our foes, but for no apparent reason at all. This was a senseless and cruel act, driven by politics yet devoid of morality and logic.

And with benefit of hindsight, many have come to acknowledge this.

The Shomron - Samaria - Israel's Higher Ground

Haivri
Mar 11, 2011

The Shomron Liaison Office was established to provide the local, regional and international community with information on the Shomron.

In an effort to increase and enhance our informational services, the Shomron Regional Council has initiated exciting new programs including guided tours in the Shomron, providing participants with a firsthand perspective of the growing communities, diversified residents and dynamic developments in the region.



Highlights of the tours include: Boutique wineries and vineyards on the peeks of the mountains, organic farms in Ithamar, Ariel Universtiy (whose student body is 12,000 strong), among many others. Participants are taken to Barkan and other communities where they get a scenic view from "Israel's Balcony". It is called "Israel's Mirpeset" because from these spots can be seen the Gush Dan Region, including Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport and various other coastal cities.

We look forward and welcome you to our home, the Shomron!

David Ha'ivri
Executive Director
The Shomron Liaison Office

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Lies about Samaria

Jamie Glazov
frontpagemag.com
01 December '10

Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Michael Gottlieb, an oleh (immigrant) from the US who is a man on a mission. After moving from New York’s suburbia to Israel’s bucolic Samarian (Shomron) heartland region, he has joined the battle to save the Land of Israel in general and the Shomron in particular. His weapon of choice: his “Shomron Central” hasbarah blog.”

FP: Michael Gottlieb, welcome back to Frontpage Interview.

I would like to follow up a bit on our recent interview, The Dire Importance of Samaria.

Let’s start with Israelis’ lack of awareness, understanding and appreciation for their Shomron heartland. What are the consequences?

Gottlieb: It is true that most Israelis today are painfully unaware of the unique asset they have in Samaria. They haven’t been exposed to the immense strategic value of the Samarian mountain ridges, the important depth it adds to their tiny country, nor the crucial airspace it provides overhead. No one’s telling them about the Samarian Mountain Aquifer, Israel’s largest and most significant source of fresh water. They don’t realize how much cheap land and affordable living space is available out there, how close it is to the big cities nor do they have a clue that by Biblical, historical and legal right, it’s all theirs.

The consequences of all this are obvious. If the vast majority of Israelis don’t appreciate what they have in the Shomron; if they don’t understand its multi-faceted importance for the Jewish State; its people; its identity; and its future, then they can’t value it and they can be persuaded to give it away. What should be non-negotiable becomes negotiable. And that is what we’re seeing today. The Israeli government, with the support of many Israelis, is on the verge of capitulating to world pressure because they don’t understand why they should be saying “No”.

FP: Samaria is so close to Israel proper, yet most Israelis never venture there. Why is that?

(Read full interview)

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Two Samarian incidents

Arnold/Frimet Roth
This Ongoing War: A Blog
26 July '10

Two small reminders of the enduring nature of this ongoing war, and what it means to confront terrorists.

This past Friday, as reported in Haaretz, a reserves unit of the IDF, patrolling near Nablus in an area controlled by the PA, encountered burning tires on the road. Experience of many such situations says look around, check who is in the area and take precautions. And indeed, figures were spotted hiding by the roadside. The soldiers quickly flanked and caught the group of men off guard and found they were equipped with handguns and fire bombs. After Shin Bet questioning they acknowledged their plan was/is to ambush passing Israelis and attack them with pistol fire and fire bombs.

The same day: a different incident and a separate report (APF this time). IDF soldiers are said to have fired on a Palestinian Arab acting supiciously inside the confines of the community of Barkan. The man was unarmed (it appears after the fact) and probably "only" trying to steal. Sadly, as happens in warfare conducted according to the rules of terror, the men with the guns and the men who only want to steal don't have flashing signs on their t-shirts announcing the difference.

(Read full post)

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Israeli Demonstrations (1999)

Today's Golden Oldie is from December 1999. Ten years ago this month.

Question: What should the citizens of a democracy do when their government ignores the will of the people?

Answer 1: When the government willingly defies the will of the people, the citizens should demonstrate against the government and its policies.

Answer 2: When, the government ignores the will of the peoplebecause of outside pressures, the citizens should demonstrate against the government and its policies in order to support it.

As it was in 1999 with the Golan Heights issue, so it is now in 2009, with the Obama Settlement Freeze. It's the dilemma of democracy in a small and beleaguered country.

Disturbing absence of compensation provisions in settlement freeze

Weekly Commentary
Dr.Aaron Lerner
IMRA
03 December 09

It could have been different.

It should have been different.

The announcement of the construction freeze in Judea and Samaria could have already established both the mechanism and formula for compensating Israelis expected to suffer a financial loss as a result of the freeze.

And this with steps taken so that sufficient funds were already earmarked from the budget to cover the projected compensations.

But that's not what happened.

Israeli property owners, possessing all the necessary permits to build their homes, will now face the costs of having the completion of their homes delayed by ten months.

And the building contractors and others associated with the construction activity that has been frozen will also face various costs through no fault of their own.

One might debate if the Government of Israel has the right to impose a building freeze on private Israeli housing construction in Judea and Samaria, but the unspoken assertion that such a move might be taken without the provision of appropriate compensation is something that deserves condemnation regardless of one's position on the freeze itself.

That's why I, as an Israeli, am embarrassed, disappointed - and yes - concerned - that my government had no qualms seriously impacting the property rights of Israeli citizens without making provisions, in advance, to compensate those harmed by its decision.
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Painting Israel into a corner

Moshe Dann
Israel Opinion/Ynet
02 December 09

Israel is being duped into a classic negotiating trap – and, it seems, quite willingly.

Forcing Israel to negotiate over Jerusalem neighborhoods, like Gilo, and dithering about threats from Iran, sets up Israel for strategic concessions. Moreover, temporarily freezing Jewish building in Judea and Samaria accomplishes nothing.

This bartering is calculated to divert Israel's attention away from the dangers of a second Arab Palestinian state and the obstacles that prevent that from happening.

By making it seem that Israel is getting something, e.g. reducing pressure against building in Jerusalem, the US is leveraging against Israeli interests elsewhere.

PM Netanyahu knows this game well, but is faced with a difficult choice: alienating an openly hostile American president, or turning against his own constituency. Tying to achieve some balance, he wants to appear that he is gaining something, and, that he is the victim of American pressure. In the end, he satisfies no one.

Agreeing to freeze Jewish building in Judea and Samaria, even temporarily, simply to get the PA to resume negotiations sets a dangerous precedent, one that will make it harder to withstand opposition to resume building after the time has elapsed.

Meanwhile, hilltops north of Ramallah are covered by new Arab housing projects, funded by the Overseas Private Investment Corp (OPIC), a US government agency, and the Middle East Investment Initiative (MEII), a project of the Aspen Institute, which has put up half the money (about a half billion dollars), and the Palestinian Authority's Investment Fund, International Finance Corp (World Bank) and local banks putting up the rest.

The Aspen Institute, World Bank, and other forums bring together political and economic elites at the highest levels, pursuing policies behind the scenes, for example, the two-state delusion. They were the active elements (along with Peres, Beilin, etc. on a local level) behind the Oslo Accords, the withdrawal from Gaza, etc.

(Continue reading ...)
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Bibi's bad week

Caroline Glick
carolineglick.com
27 November 09

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu weakened Israel this week. And he did so for no good reason.

Thursday's headlines told the tale. The day after Netanyahu bowed to US pressure and announced a total freeze on Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria for ten months, Yediot Aharonot reported that the Obama administration now wants Israel to release a thousand Fatah terrorists from prison.

The Americans also want Israel to allow US-trained, terror-supporting Fatah paramilitary forces to deploy in areas that are currently under Israeli military control. Moreover, the Americans are demanding that Israel surrender land in the strategically crucial Jordan Valley to Fatah.

And these are just American preconditions for starting negotiations with the Palestinians. According to Yediot, if those talks ever begin, the White House will demand that Israel accept a Palestinian state in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and Gaza and agree to ethnically cleanse all the areas of Jews.

So far from winning American support or at least causing the White House to ease its bullying, US President Barack Obama sees Netanyahu's decision to implement a militarily irrational, bigoted policy of prohibiting Jews from building in Israel's heartland as a drop in the bucket.

THE TRUTH is that Israel should not be in the business of negotiating the right of Israeli cities and villages to exist and prosper. The notion that it is acceptable to demand that Jews not be permitted to live in Judea and Samaria - or anywhere else in the world - is not a notion that Israel should countenance.

That being said, putting the so-called "settlements" genie back in the bottle is a tall order. After all, Israel agreed to place it on the table in the 1993 Oslo agreements and made its willingness to dry out Jewish communities explicit with its acceptance of the so-called road map in 2004. To take Israeli communities off the agenda it would be necessary to repudiate these deals.

Given what it will take to remove Jewish communities from the negotiations chopping block, it makes sense that Netanyahu has not moved in that direction since taking office. But willingness to discuss these communities is not the same as giving them away for nothing. In discussing the dispositions of these towns and villages, at a minimum Netanyahu should have taken advantage of the fact that the Americans, the Europeans and the Arabs all consider the so-called "settlements" to be the most important obstacle to peace.

(Continue to full article)
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Our base is broader

Yisrael Medad (My Right Word)
Green-Lined/JPost Blog
22 November 09

A recent op-ed penned by Michael Freund promotes the idea of an immediate annexation of all the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria to Israel. His reason, and seemingly his sole reason, is that "these areas are ours by Divine right ... the Land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel because the G-d of Israel said so."

He further writes:

...annexation is justified for the simple reason that this land belongs to us, and to nobody else. The act of asserting Israeli sovereignty over the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria would mark the closing of an historical circle, reviving our formal dominion over these areas after an interlude of nearly 2,000 years ... Who knows - maybe if we finally stand on principle and start affirming our faith, then perhaps we will at last begin to earn the respect and support that we so rightly deserve."

I also consider a religious right a justification for claiming territorial rights (after all, the Temple Mount, once it becomes the Haram E-Sharif, is then Muslim property, right?) and I would never ignore the primary formative element of Jewish nationalism which, as Professor Harold Fisch discussed in chapter two of his The Zionist Revolution: A New Perspective, is the Covenant.

There is a contractual configuration between the Jewish people and the ideals which define them as a people, a community, a religio-ethnic group. "Israel's strange existence," writes Fisch, "is defined by the Covenant ... [it] is the central experience of Israel ... it became, for Israel, the key to the understanding of all reality: political, social, historical ... it endowed the whole people with a common task, a sense of unity and purpose ... [and it] has a bearing on the moral history of the world as a whole...."

A Jew's relationship to his homeland is different than any other community-nation-people and, in fact, Menachem Begin never employed the term "annexation" for, as he said, "how can one annex one's own country?." True, that relationship is intrinsically religious with commensurate ritual obligations, commandments and practices, some which are kept solely as a searing reminder even though their source no longer exists, as in the case with many of the Temple rites. Most of all, there is the most unique of all realities in the definition of the physicality of the land as a sacred and holy element.

(Read full article)

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Thunder and Lightning

Marc Prowiser
Yesha Views
11 November 09

Thunder and Lightning, or in Hebrew – Rahm and Barak, can either bring rains of blessing or a damaging storm.

Rahm Emanuel spoke to the General Assembly of Jewish leaders regarding Israel and US involvement in achieving peace between Israel and the Arab occupants of Judea and Samaria. He spoke of his family’s connection to Israel, President Obama’s dedication to peace in the region and how what started in 1967, must end.

What exactly started in 1967? Israel was victorious over the Jordanian Army after we were attacked, and ended the JORDANIAN occupation of the region, this is what started back in 1967. Jewish communities were reborn from the ashes, once again Jews were allowed to live in places they were once evicted from, and places where they were massacred. What started? Mr. Emanuel? Jews returned to their biblical heartland, you know this as you were brought up with a religious education. The Chief of Staff spoke of how his Father took the name “Emanuel” in honor of his Uncle who died fighting for Israel, will he show the same courage when the Arabs once again deny the existence of a “Jewish” state?

I could not help but notice the lack of heart Mr. Emanuel had while speaking, his lack of conviction, his detachment from the truth and real situation on the ground in Israel. How easy it is to speak to an assembly full of “yes men”, whose lives are not endangered by the political duels going own. Mr. Emanuel mentioned how the “Two State Solution” enjoys bi-partisan support among US Jewry. I ask myself, whose sons and daughters are serving in the armed forces of Israel and putting themselves on the front lines, defending a people and country with their lives.

Rahm, mentioned not to let “settlements” stand in the way of peace, who is he to decide what is good for Israel, who will clean up the mess he makes, definitely not his sons. Yes, he is the President’s Chief of Staff, a very powerful politician and possibly the mastermind of the current US strategy to endear itself to the Arabs and Muslims of the world. If he believes that the dismantling of the Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria will solve the Israeli-Arab problem, then he probably feels that Major Nidal Malik Hasan is a common criminal and not a terrorist.

It hurts to hear the cheers of the audience as Rahm mentions the issue of “ending” the communities of Judea and Samaria, most of those at this convention have never been out to any of these places and regard the populous as extremist lunatics, how unfortunate that they don’t even realize who these people really are and how their “Heroes” in the IDF are made up of these people, that these places are theirs also. Such is ignorance. I challenge them to come out here to visit and see what is really going on and meet the people of Judea and Samaria, but to come out with an open mind, sans the poison that they are being fed by the opponents of a strong Jewish nation.

I also extend this invitation to Mr. Emanuel to come out and meet us, not through the eyes of the government, but through your heart and mind. Maybe for your son’s Bar Mitzvah, after he reads the Torah at the Kotel (in the capital of Israel today), take him also to Hevron to see where his forefathers are buried, then to Shilo which served as the first capital of Israel, home to the Mishkan (Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant) for 369 years (even older than the United States).

You spoke how important your history is to you, here is a chance to show your family and supporters that you mean what you say.

Mr. Emanuel, you are a source of pride to the American Jewish Community, your patriotism, your dedication and your loyalty. I would like to bless you that you also become a source of pride to all of your people, all over the world using the same characteristics.

The Goldstone Report - Using Terminology in Service of Deception

Eli E. Hertz
Hudson New York
27 October 09

Justice Richard Goldstone and the United Nations Human Rights Council, sought to rewrite history by labeling Judea and Samaria (Known as the West Bank) "Occupied Palestinian Territories" [Paragraph 11], calling Israeli Arabs "Palestinian citizens of Israel" [Paragraph 111], referring to Israeli Arab villages as "Palestinian Israeli communities" [Paragraph 110] and calling Arab inhabitants of Gaza "Palestinian People in the Gaza strip" [Paragraph 1859]. Essentially Goldstone is endowing Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza with an aura of bogus peoplehood and statehood, as well as a false history as if title or ownership could be assigned out of thin air.

No legal binding authority has empowered Goldstone or any UN organ, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or the Human Rights Council to decide that the territories of the West Bank, known as Judea and Samaria, and Gaza could be transformed into "Occupied Palestinian Territories" or "Palestine." Goldstone's use of these dishonest, loaded terms empowers terrorism and the Palestinians with the right to use all measures to expel Israel.

Palestine is a Geographical Area, Not a Nationality

Arabs, the UN and its organs, and lately the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as well, have repeatedly claimed that the Palestinians are a native people - so much so that almost everyone takes it for granted. The problem is that a stateless Palestinian People is a fabrication. The word Palestine is not even Arabic.

Palestine was never an independent state belonging to any people, nor did a Palestinian People distinct from other Arabs appear during 1,300 years of Muslim hegemony in Palestine under Arab and Ottoman rule. During that rule, local Arabs were actually considered part of, and subject to, the authority of Greater Syria (Suriyya al-Kubra).

Historically, before the Arabs fabricated the concept of Palestinian peoplehood as an exclusively Arab phenomenon, no such group existed. This is substantiated in countless official British Mandate-vintage documents that speak of the Jews and the Arabs of Palestine - not Jews and Palestinians.

In fact, before local Jews began calling themselves Israelis in 1948 (when the name "Israel" was chosen for the newly-established Jewish State), the term "Palestine" applied almost exclusively to Jews and the institutions founded by new Jewish immigrants in the first half of the 20th century, before the state's independence.

Some examples include:

· The Jerusalem Post, founded in 1932, was called The Palestine Post until 1948.

· Bank Leumi L'Israel, incorporated in 1902, was called the "Anglo-Palestine Company" until 1948.

· The Jewish Agency - an arm of the Zionist movement engaged in Jewish settlement since 1929 - was initially called the Jewish Agency for Palestine.

· Today's Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1936 by German Jewish refugees who fled Nazi Germany, was originally called the "Palestine Symphony Orchestra," composed of some 70 Palestinian Jews.

· The United Jewish Appeal (UJA) was established in 1939 as a merger of the United Palestine Appeal and the fundraising arm of the Joint Distribution Committee.

There Has Never Been a Sovereign Arab State in Palestine

The artificiality of a Palestinian identity is reflected in the attitudes and actions of neighboring Arabs who never established a Palestinian state or advocated one prior to the Six-Day War in 1967.

Only twice in Jerusalem's history has it served as a national capital. The first time was as the capital of the two Jewish Commonwealths during the First and Second Temple periods, as described in the Bible, reinforced by archaeological evidence and numerous ancient documents. The second time is in modern times as the capital of the State of Israel. It has never served as an Arab capital for the simple reason that there has never been a Palestinian Arab state.

The rhetoric by Arab leaders on behalf of the Palestinians rings hollow. Arabs never established a Palestinian state when the UN in 1947 recommended to partition Palestine, and to establish "an Arab and a Jewish state" (not a Palestinian state, it should be noted). Nor did the Arabs recognize or establish a Palestinian state during the two decades prior to the Six-Day War when the West Bank was under Jordanian control and the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian control; nor did the Palestinian Arabs clamor for autonomy or independence during those years under Jordanian and Egyptian rule.

So much for facts and accuracy.
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Why Have a Forced Marriage?

Ted Belman

israpundit.com

23 September 09

Sultan Knish suggests Why Israel is Losing the Military and Media Wars

The answer is simple enough. Defensive PR, like defensive warfare, never works. And Israeli PR and Israeli warfare has been on the defensive for decades now. If you break down Israel’s message to a single sentence, it’s “We didn’t do any of the things we’re accused of.” That is the kind of message you expect to hear from criminal defendants, and it’s a message that impresses no one. The only thing it does is produce a debate about the validity of the accusations themselves, which is to PR what Stalingrad was to the Russian front.

I go further. Our diplomacy, if it has any chance to overcome the demonization of Israel and win us a better deal, must be rights based.

Rather than resist the demanded freeze with the argument that such settlements must be permitted internal growth, we should have been asserting our right to build because it is our right.

Rather than hide behind the necessity for Palestine to be demilitarized or to recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, we should be claiming our right to Judea and Samaria.

Rather than stand by failed agreements which have been honoured only in the breach, such as Oslo and the Roadmap, we should be discarding them.

Rather than wait passively for the next peace initiative to broadside us, we should have an initiative of our own. We must take matters into our own hands.

In a way, Netanyahu, with his economic plan for the “Palestinians”, is doing just that, but it is the wrong plan. It is premised on the basis that as the Palestinians develop a greater stake in peace, they will be more wont to preserve it. That may or may not be so. Essentially he is investing in a marriage, believing that it will work to our advantage in the long run. By doing so, he forecloses the option of squeezing the Arabs out of Judea and Samaria.

Many accept it as inevitable that we will have to live with them and must make the best of it. Others reject such a marriage, or separation or divorce if that’s what it leads to. They don’t want to get married in the first place.

Why struggle to share a house? Why not get one party to move out.
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the Tricky Part (1999)

Today's Golden Oldie is from September 6, 1999.

A cartoon from ten years ago that is as fresh as the latest pressure on us coming out of the Obama White House.

Netanyahu's Road Map

According to YNET:

Agreement reached between PM, defense and housing ministers to freeze building starts in settlements blocs and east Jerusalem until early 2010 enrages settler leaders. 'If Netanyahu implements Livni's policy – government's days are numbered,' Ariel mayor warns

"Settler leaders were furious Tuesday morning after learning of the agreement to freeze building starts in the territories, including in the settlement blocs and east Jerusalem" -more

Your thoughts?