A shack between Hebron and Kiryat Arba

A shack between Hebron and Kiryat Arba  

Aug 4, 2003

Shalom.

Late yesterday afternoon my sixteen year old son approached me and asked that I show up at the Hebron Heroes neighborhood with my camera at about ten o’clock in the evening. He told me that another attempt was being made to reestablish the site, which has been created, destroyed and evacuated three or four times – I’ve lost count.

The neighborhood, (labeled an ‘outpost’ by various political groups) was originated following the murder of twelve men – nine soldiers and three Kiryat Arba emergency squad civilians, on November 15 of last year. The day after the deadly attack Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited the location and immediately declared that a new neighborhood, connecting Kiryat Arba and Hebron, should be created. Of course, this is the same Ariel Sharon who, a few years ago, publicly stated that Israeli youth should ‘grab hilltops and settle them.’ We know the fate of ‘hilltops’ settled by Israeli youth during the Sharon administration. Just as we know the fortune of the new neighborhood founded by Hebron and Kiryat Arba.

Thank G-d, youth don’t give up fast. Persistence is the name of the game. Time after time, winter and summer, youngsters, mostly from Kiryat Arba, have tried to reestablish the Hebron Heroes neighborhood. They pitch tents, build temporary fences, find some old furniture, and build some kind of make-shift hut in an attempt to establish a presence on empty land between Hebron and their homes in Kiryat Arba. Sometimes near the road, other times closer to the fence surrounding the Kirya, wherever, never giving up.

The last time they were evicted was only a few days ago – when, at about four in the morning I received a beeper message, requesting my presence, with my camera, to record the inevitable. By the time I arrived the males had already been removed, but I was in time for the girls, who too, were pulled, pushed and carried away. Soldiers and police removed Israeli flags hung from short poles, flags, which more than anything else, signify our attachment to our land. The furniture, mattresses and other belongs were dumped on the ground in a pile, and from there, onto an awaiting army truck.

It took only a short time for the kids to regroup, and last night they did it again. Small groups walked through the south gate of Kiryat Arba, carrying small sheets of corrugated metal, lined with wooden planks. Others carried down the tools, nails, etc. It didn’t take much time until the new dwelling was standing, complete with the flag, hanging from the roof. 

Of course, the Kiryat Arba-Hebron youth weren’t the only ones to moblize. A short time later IDF jeeps, officers, soldiers, and police had invaded the area. One of the officers, a Lt. Colonel name Tzachi, speaking to others surrounding him, showed his total ignorance of  the events unfolding in front of this eyes. He said, “I despise the use of young children who have no idea what they are doing.”  This officer, presently a גדוד

Shalom.

Late yesterday afternoon my sixteen year old son approached me and asked that I show up at the Hebron Heroes neighborhood with my camera at about ten o’clock in the evening. He told me that another attempt was being made to reestablish the site, which has been created, destroyed and evacuated three or four times – I’ve lost count.

The neighborhood, (labeled an ‘outpost’ by various political groups) was originated following the murder of twelve men – nine soldiers and three Kiryat Arba emergency squad civilians, on November 15 of last year. The day after the deadly attack Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited the location and immediately declared that a new neighborhood, connecting Kiryat Arba and Hebron, should be created. Of course, this is the same Ariel Sharon who, a few years ago, publicly stated that Israeli youth should ‘grab hilltops and settle them.’ We know the fate of ‘hilltops’ settled by Israeli youth during the Sharon administration. Just as we know the fortune of the new neighborhood founded by Hebron and Kiryat Arba.

Thank G-d, youth don’t give up fast. Persistence is the name of the game. Time after time, winter and summer, youngsters, mostly from Kiryat Arba, have tried to reestablish the Hebron Heroes neighborhood. They pitch tents, build temporary fences, find some old furniture, and build some kind of make-shift hut in an attempt to establish a presence on empty land between Hebron and their homes in Kiryat Arba. Sometimes near the road, other times closer to the fence surrounding the Kirya, wherever, never giving up.

The last time they were evicted was only a few days ago – when, at about four in the morning I received a beeper message, requesting my presence, with my camera, to record the inevitable. By the time I arrived the males had already been removed, but I was in time for the girls, who too, were pulled, pushed and carried away. Soldiers and police removed Israeli flags hung from short poles, flags, which more than anything else, signify our attachment to our land. The furniture, mattresses and other belongs were dumped on the ground in a pile, and from there, onto an awaiting army truck.

It took only a short time for the kids to regroup, and last night they did it again. Small groups walked through the south gate of Kiryat Arba, carrying small sheets of corrugated metal, lined with wooden planks. Others carried down the tools, nails, etc. It didn’t take much time until the new dwelling was standing, complete with the flag, hanging from the roof. 

Of course, the Kiryat Arba-Hebron youth weren’t the only ones to moblize. A short time later IDF jeeps, officers, soldiers, and police had invaded the area. One of the officers, a Lt. Colonel name Tzachi, speaking to others surrounding him, showed his total ignorance of  the events unfolding in front of this eyes. He said, “I despise the use of young children who have no idea what they are doing.”  This officer, presently a גדוד