Beit HaShalom - Victory at last

Beit HaShalom - Victory at last

March 11, 2014

WE WON WE WON WE WON 

I COULD KEEP WRITING THESE WORKS A MILLION TIMES AND IT STILL WOULDN'T BE ENOUGH.

This afternoon the Israeli Supreme Court rejected Arab appeals concerning  Beit HaShalom in Hebron, thereby paving the way for our return to the building.

It might be recalled: Mr. Morris Abraham and his family purchased Beit HaShalom for over a million dollars. The building, between Hebron and Kiryat Arba, was lived in by Jewish families for 22 months, before then Defense Minister Ehud Barak, expelled them, and had the building sealed.

The Israeli Municipal Court ruled that the building should be returned to its Jewish owners, ruling that the building had been legally sold. The Arabs appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, which today rejected the appeal. 

Presently, in order for us to return to the building, the Defense Minister, Moshe Bugi Yaalon, must sign a ‘permit,’ necessary to complete Jewish purchases in Judea and Samaria. This is a technical issue, and it is expected that the Defense Minister will sign the permits. Former Defense Minister Ehud Barak was quoted as saying that he (as Defense Minister) would sign the permits should the courts decide in our favor.

This is a huge victory for the Hebron Jewish Community. Innumerable prayers, hours, money, tears, and what not, were invested in this building.  Families with babies and small children lived in rooms without windows, through rain and snowstorms. Puddles of freezing water filled family apartments.

Yet dedication, determination, and faith, at its highest level were the name of the game. People refused, under any circumstances, to leave. Following a Supreme Court decision allowing the families to be expelled from the building, people’s determination increased.

Following the expulsion, people never gave up. The court case dragged on, but in the end, justice has prevailed. We will move back into Beit HaShalom.

And my friends, let it be known, this is just the beginning…..

All photos: David Wilder, Hebron