Thursday, June 29, 1995

Yizhak, Shimon, Yossi and Shula offer condolences

Hebron-Past, Present and Forever
by David Wilder
Yizhak, Shimon, Yossi and Shula offer condolences 
June 29, 1995

Dear Mrs. Kafisha,

The Israeli cabinet, meeting in special session, offers its deepest condolences on the tragic death of your son Tier this morning. He was undoubtedly another victim, a sacrifice of the peace process. It is too bad he couldn’t have held out a little longer. If the situation would so allow it, we would express our sorrow publicly. Presently that is not possible and for that I am truely sorry.
From all we were told, he was quite an amazing fellow. Extremely active and very thorough. Had he been Jewish we would have gladly accepted him in the army. I’m sure he would have made a fine officer, an example to all his fellow soldiers.
As you are surely aware, there are many Israeli’s who did not like your son. He allegedly participated in a number of "terrorist attacks" against civilians in the Hebron region of the West Bank, popularly called Yehuda, by the Jewish settlers. His missions resulted in the deaths of Mordechai and Shalom Lapid, Sarit Prigal, Yehuda Partush and Raphael Yairi from Kiryat Arba, Rabbi Ami Ulami from Otniel in the Southern Hebron Hills Region, Margolit Shochat from Ma’ale Levona, Ephraim Iubie from Kfar Darome, and Nachum Hoss from Hebron. Of course, many others were wounded. All in all, he is known to have partaken in over 14 offensives over the last year and a half. This is quite an impressive record, which will surely be remembered in the annuls of your people. Such courage usually has a tragic ending. Unfortunately it was almost inevitable.
You may be interested in knowing what happened. The intelligence forces, not all of whom fully understand our true goals, uncovered Tier’s whereabouts. Once he was discovered, we had no choice but to allow them to continue. We had hopes that his luck might hold out, that he might abscond into the night. Actually we weren’t far off the mark. Two of his companions escaped. But Tier, the warrior that he was, couldn’t give up without a battle. Actually he should have known better: shooting at civilian settlers is one thing; shooting at IDF forces is another; Having critically injured one of our fighting best, he signed his own death certificate. There was no way that they were then going to let him get away. He made his way through the vineyard, (which unfortunately we were forced to uproot following the incident), into a nearby house, and from there into another house. The IDF Commandos opened up on him, and shortly thereafter it was all over. You should be proud. He died a hero’s death.
Had Tier been just a little more careful, he would have been able to escape the long arm of the Israel Defense Forces. Very shortly we will begin retreating from cities in the conquered territories of the West Bank. Once we leave, we will never come back. According to the agreement to be signed with your fine leader, our soldiers will be forbidden to enter these cities, under any circumstances. Tier would have found safe refuge, probably within a matter of months, of perhaps ever weeks. Who knows - he might have even been able to follow in the footsteps of his accomplished predecessor. My friend and colleague Yassir started out the same way. Look where he is now.
However, I think you can take comfort in knowing that Tier was very successful. He helped us more than you will ever know. His activities were exactly what we needed in order to justify our "orderly withdrawal" from land belonging not to us, but to you. Limiting his actions to the other side of the "green line" was extremely wise - guerrilla action in the West Bank may be justified and understood, but such actions in Israel proper is harmful. Besides, a few less settlers, especially those of such an extreme ideology, religiously and politically, never hurts.
If you are in touch with any of Tier’s friends and companions, please ask them not to give up. Tell them that if they hold out just a little longer, they’ll be home free. It won’t be long now. And you can also mention that once the army pulls out, those stubborn settlers will remain there almost unprotected. And they really don’t have anything to worry about. We have no intentions of risking the lives of our precious soldiers for those settlers. After all, they’ll all vote against us in the next election. Who needs them.
But please, please, warn them, we beg of you, warn them not to take any actions in Netania or Kfar Saba, or in any of the other border cities. Any deaths there, as a result of guerrilla actions, will almost certainly lead to our downfall. I am only too well aware how enticing it will be, but they must learn to control themselves. We promise, and you can trust us a hundred percent - we haven’t let you down yet, have we? - if you stay on your side of the border, we will stay on ours.
Keep the faith.

Sincerely yours,
Yitzhak, Shimon, Yossi, Shula
and the entire Israeli Cabinet

Friday, June 16, 1995

Special Report


                                                                     
                                                                     
Special Report
June 16, 1995

This morning, several minutes after 10:00AM, 19 year-old Avraham
Ariel, a Jerusalem resident living in Hebron for the last half a
year, was stabbed while walking from Beit Hadassah  towards the
Avraham Avinu neighborhood in Hebron. He was stabbed in the chest
and wounded seriously. After managing to reach soldiers, Waldman
collapsed.  He received life-saving first-aid on the spot and was
rushed to Jerusalem's Hadassah hospital by an Intensive Care
ambulance.

Yesterday, I walked the same route that Avraham Ariel walked. 
Although I am usually armed with a 9mm Beretta pistol, yesterday
I didn't have with me while strolling down the street.  Today, I
ask myself what I would have done had Avraham's attackers been a
day earlier.  

A word about weapons - I know that after the last sentence, the
one about carrying a pistol, many of you are thinking, "those
armed bloodthirsty fanatics..." 
I first came to Israel in the summer of 1974, less than a year
after the Yom Kippur War.  As much as I enjoyed wondering around
the streets of Jerusalem, I had a very difficult time adjusting
to one facet of Israeli life: all around me I saw soldiers armed
with Uzi's.  For a 19 year-old American, arriving from a small
New Jersey suburb, the sight of automatic machine guns on city
street corners was shocking.  It took quite a while to get used
to the it, and that only happened with development of a deeper
understanding of what was actually happening in the State of
Israel.   "Newspaper account" understandings are too superficial
to allow any kind of true comprehension of what goes on in this
country.  It's difficult enough for those who live here to
understand what's going in Israel.  As a matter of fact, a great
percentage of the population in Israel doesn't understand what's
going on here.  So much for all the "newspaper account" experts
living abroad.
Even after moving to Kiryat Arba, 14 years ago, I refrained from
purchasing a gun - the thought revolted me.  Only when I had no
choice, when I found myself daily waiting for a bus at night, by
myself,on a dark stretch of  road across from the city of Efrat,
near Gush Etzion, did I buy a pistol.  
Today, with the military-political situation the way it is, a
weapon is an unmitigated MUST.  There is no way a person can
defend himself if he is unarmed.  And for all those who believe
that we need weapons not for reasons of self-defense, but in
order to attack "poor, defenseless Palestinians", excuse me, but
your ingnorance is second only to your blindness.  The
"Palestinians" are neither poor nor are they defenseless.  And
the initiative to attack is not Jewish, it is Arab. And it is
being orchestrated by Feisal-El-Hussaini and Yassir Arafat.  The
terrorists belong to Arafat's "moderate" Fatach until they act,
until they attack.  Then they are magically transformed into
"extremist Hamas".  Until they repent.  Then they are whisked
back into the fold, good little boys, Fatach.

Unfortunately the Israeli government is an active participant in
this continuing farce.  They use whatever tools they deem
necessary in order to achieve their aims.  However, a detailed
article concerning the real aims of Rabin's three ring circus is
not my present concern.  Maybe next week.  But for the time
being, it should be plainly noted that it is very easy to attack
and comdemn from afar.  Even those who support Hebron's continued
settlement speak too fast, before KNOWING the facts, before
receiving details of what is really going on, what is really
happening.  It is of the utmost importance to speak only after
examining the events - from all directions.  Events don't happen
in a vacuum - there is always a reason.  Think before you speak.

Thursday, June 8, 1995

What s it all about...Yitzhak?


What s it all about...Yitzhak?
June  8, 1995
Rabin and Peres are still at it, promising  changes  in  IDF
deployment throughout Yehuda and Shomron in the   very  near
future.    The  target date of July 1, supposedly  signaling
agreement of the  next phase  of the Oslo  piece accords  is
around the corner, three weeks away.
      Where does Hebron stand in this massive confusion?  If
Jerusalem  s  status was to be officially determined  during
the   interim  period  then Jerusalem would most  definitely
constitute  the  heart of the present  situation.   However,
being that  officially  Jerusalem is not yet on the chopping
block,  Hebron remains the  major obstacle to  piece.   Why?
It  is  very simple.  According to the Oslo agreement, Rabin
promised  Arafat  to  redeploy  the IDF in all  major  Arab-
populated  cities  in  Yesha, i.e., to  evacuate,  i.e.,  to
withdraw, i.e., to surrender. He also promised (BEWARE: when
Rabin  promises to Arafat he complies - when he promises  to
Israelis,  he  lies!) not to pull the  IDF  out  of  Jewish-
populated  areas,  as well as not to evict  Jews  or  uproot
Jewish  settlements during the  interim  period.   The  ONLY
major  Arab-populated city, which is also populated by Jews,
is  Hebron.   If  Rabin keeps his promise  to  Arafat,  what
happens  to the Jewish Community of Hebron?  If Rabin  keeps
his promise to the Jews, what happens to Arafa and the piece
plan?
      Judging  by Rabin s record, he is more concerned  with
appeasing  Arafat than the Jews.  On the other hand,  if  he
attempts  to  uproot the Hebron Jewish Community,  he  knows
that  thousands of Israelis throughout the country will come
to  Hebron s aid.  And even though it was Rabin who shot  at
the  Altelena, he isn t presently interested in beginning  a
Civil War.
      So what is Rabin s solution?  He is attempting to make
life  as  difficult as possible for the Jewish residents  of
Hebron hoping that eventually people will leave of their own
accord. (He has no idea how wrong he is.) He has brought  in
a  huge  police  force to protect the poor  Arabs  from  the
rampaging, bloodthirsty Jews.  As a matter of fact, many  of
these  police  are not Jewish - some are Arab and  some  are
Druse.  Why bring in non-Jews?  Simple - it s much easier to
order a Goy to hit a Jewish woman or child, than a Jew. They
have  absolutely  no  compunction about carrying  out  their
orders  - and why should they?  Not that their aren  t  Jews
that  would  do the same thing - and have.  (At  the  moment
there  are  four indictments pending against  policemen  for
police  brutality against Jewish Hebron residents, including
one  against  an officer who purposely ran his  car  into  a
pregnant  woman, causing her to give birth two weeks  before
she  was supposed to.)   The new police unit responsible for
Yesha, called  Mifkedet Shai (Shomron and Yehuda) has asked
General  Ilan  Biran,  commander of the  Central  Region  in
Israel,  to sign an order allowing police to arrest children
from the age of 9, and not 12, as the law presently permits.
Alek Ron, Commander of this special force has been quoted as
saying  that  Hebron s children  commit the  most  atrocious
crimes  of  all children in Israel.   They therefore  demand
special  treatment.    (It seems that  he  never  reads  any
newspapers  or hears the news - (lucky fellow)  and  hasn  t
heard about the drug problems infesting the country, or  the
prostitution rings, etc. etc. (He s not the only  one.  Last
Succot,  after  several  youth  were  arrested  by  Ma  arat
HaMachpela and brought before a judge, he said,  if they had
been  in Tel-Aviv and not Hebron, they wouldn t be here  [in
my courtroom] today. )
      In  any  case,  this  example  of  discrimination  and
persecution  of Jews, and of Hebron residents in particular,
must not be allowed to continue.  And not just because it  s
happening  in  Hebron.  That s the problem -  because  as  I
mentioned  at  the  beginning of this article  -  officially
Jerusalem   isn  t  yet  on  the  chopping   block   -   but
unofficially...- and anything that the present junta can get
away  within  Hebron will seem like child play if  and  when
they  move on - to the Golan, Jerusalem...  We must not  let
them.  Send your protests to:
They  must be stopped now, before it s too late - and don  t
fool yourselves - these people are serious.

Friday, June 2, 1995

First Fruits


First Fruits
June 2, 1995

The holiday of Shavouth honors the anniversary of the giving of the Torah to Am Yisrael. However, in
the Torah, this holiday is not referred to as such; rather, it is referred to as the holiday of the first fruits. 
Thousands of years ago Jews living in Eretz Yisrael would parade to Jerusalem, celebrating the renewed
growth of the first fruits of the year.  Why should we, in the 20th century, continue to celebrate this
holiday?
     There are many kinds of fruits.  There is fruit that grows on trees, fruit that nourishes our bodies. 
However, there are other kinds of fruit.  There is "the fruit of our stomach, ", i.e., our children, a part of
ourselves, our continuance.  There is "the fruit of our labor" - the results of our doings, our work.  There
is almost always something special about the "first" - be it the "firstborn" or the "first dollar" earned in the
a new business.  
     The first fruit of the Jewish People is the Patriarch Abraham. The first fruit in the Land of Israel
is the city of Hebron.  Hebron, representing the roots of the Jewish People in the Land of Israel, has
nourished the spirit of the Am Yisrael throughout the centuries.  But Hebron, the first capital of King
David, is not only the roots, it is also the fruit.  For Hebron today, the Hebron of 50 Jewish families living
amidst 80,000 Arabs,  is the result of the yearnings of generations.
     One of the major landmarks in Hebron is the tomb of Ruth and Jessie at Tel Rumeda.  Ruth, the
great-grandmother of David, King of Israel and grandmother to Jessie, David's father, also represents the
first fruit - the desire to be a part of Am Yisrael in Eretz Yisrael.  On the holiday of Shavout Jews from
Hebron-Kiryat Arba gather at this ancient site, the original Hebron, and read Megilat Ruth, the story of
a young woman who realized the holiness of Israel and joined the People of Israel of her own free choice. 
The result of her decision was the eternal Kingdom of David - "David Melech Yisrael - Chai v'kiam" -
David, King of Israel, lives through eternity.  David began his reign in Hebron, where he absorbed the
strength and sanctity of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, preparing him to continue onward to Jerusalem,
the eternal capital of Israel.
     Hebron today is a continuation of the original Hebron, marking the first settlement in Judea and
Samaria after the six-day war, and the springboard for the continued building and settlement in these
areas.  Hebron still represents the first fruit - viewed as a pioneer, to be the first, to set the example.  The
residents of the Jewish Community of Hebron, together with the citizens of Kiryat Arba are doing their
best to fulfill this mission, the roots of which are thousands of years old.  We too, are the first fruits of the
return of Am Yisrael to Eretz Yisrael after 2,000 years of exile.  We pray for the strength, both physical
and spiritual, to be worthy of this honor and responsibility.  It is from Hebron that we will continue
forward to a united Jerusalem, forever.

Happy Shavouth.