Annapolitics

Annapolitics
by David Wilder
The Jewish Community of Hebron
November 28, 2007

During the early evening hours of March 19, some eight months ago, Hebron's Jewish community moved into a 35,000 sq. foot building, located on the main road between Hebron and Kiryat Arba. The building, purchased for over $700,000, was named "Beit HaShalom."

Initial police investigations led to a positive conclusion: the purchase is 100% kosher. The IDF commander of the Hebron region had no objection to a Jewish presence in the house; to the contrary, he regarded the site as a strategic asset and gave his blessings to the purchase.

However, members of the government, with then Defense Minister Amir Peretz at the forefront, demanded a solution to the new "Jewish problem" in Hebron. They didn't have long to wait. A recently invented military order, never before implemented, was pulled off the shelves: "An order against bothering usage." Hearings, based on this strange military order, began before a military appeals panel of three judges.

Twenty nine days after the Hebron community claimed the building, a Hebron Arab named Rajbi issued a claim in the Israeli Supreme court, saying that the building belonged to him and that he had not sold it to the Hebron Jewish community. (His claim was filed while he was being held in a Palestinian authority jail in Jericho. His lawyers claimed he was being held for his own protection).

The timing of the complaint must be noted. Squatters can easily be evicted for up to thirty days following their occupancy of a building. After that time period, eviction becomes much more complicated. Rajbi demanded that the Jews be expelled using this 'squatters' eviction law.'

Concurrently the police, who originally found the purchase documents to be in order, notified the court that they now had a suspicion that some of the documents were forged. Supreme Court president Dorit Beinish ordered the police to conclude their investigation within 45 days and report back to the court. (Justice Beinish, it should be noted, recently met with the American ambassador in Israel and discussed with him 'the settlers and the settlements.')

The police were unable to complete their investigation within 45 days; they delayed their report to the court four times.

A week and a half ago the prosecutor's office finally reported back to the Supreme Court: following conclusion of the police investigation, the prosecutor's office would support eviction of the Jews from Beit HaShalom, on the basis of the "squatters' eviction law.' However, they gave absolutely no reason for this conclusion. They made no mention of falsified documents, or of a fraudulent purchase. The impression left with the media was that the purchase was illegal, but no proof was offered.

Yesterday, during another hearing held by the military appeals panel, the judges demanded that the prosecutor explain their findings concerning eviction using the 'squatters' eviction law.' She responded: "…the position of the State is that the sale was kosher (i.e. legitimate)."

Yet, several hours later Hebron's attorney received an eviction notice stating that the building would be evacuated within 48 hours based on the "squatters' eviction law", during which time the decision could be appealed.

In other words, the sale of the building was legitimate, the documents are all in order, yet Jews still cannot live there. Why? Quite simply: Annapolitics.

Annapolitics has nothing to do with justice, fairness, objectivity, or basic human rights. According to various high-level sources, Israel, pre-Annapolis, promised the Arabs and Bush that the Jewish residents of Beit HaShalom would be expelled from the building in the very near future. The fact that the purchase was legal is irrelevant. The only factor which matters is appeasement: appeasing our enemies on both sides of the line: the Americans and the Arabs.

Make no mistake. The Americans are enemies. Under the leadership of Rice and Bush (in that order) the United States has been transformed into one of Israel's most dangerous foes. The policies being forced down our throats, including abandonment of virtually all of Judea and Samaria, as well as Jerusalem, is only the beginning. The Golan Heights are not far behind.

Why? It's likely that Rice and Bush are placing their history- legacy hopes on a miraculous Middle East peace accord. However, there's another reason - this is the price America is demanding of Israel to take care of the Iranian nuclear threat. But for Israel, this is like asking which do you prefer, to be murdered or assisted suicide?!

Israel's leaders aren't overly righteous either. Olmert: the results of 1967 will be changed significantly, and Foreign Secretary Tzippy Livni: 'it's no longer Arab against Jew, rather moderate against extremist.' These words leave little doubt as to the direction they are taking and how we, the residents of Judea and Samaria, will be defined (in one breath with Hamas and Hizballah).

What can we pray for? Also very simple. The lynchpin of this entire absurdity is Abu Mazen – Mahmoud Abbas, 'president' of the PA.

If Olmert goes, Tzippy, Barak and Bibi are waiting in the wings. Bibi – his reaction wasn't one of horror, rather that we conceded too much without getting anything in return. And when Bush concludes his presidency, who knows who will replace him.

But if Abu Mazen should disappear from the scene, the deal's off. So, maybe we should pray that Hamas get to him ASAP. They know how to do the job and he's more than likely in their sights. Why should the Jews of Hebron have to be the first sacrifice of Annapolitics?

Dirty Diapers

David Wilder
November 14, 2007

The first step is to dispel all illusions. There shouldn't be any false hopes or mistaken impressions. Yesha council leaders called it an 'impending tsunami.' Big mistake number one: it is not impending; it is already upon us.

There may be those who are unaware of what's going on. Hebron is a good place for a beginner's education.

The purchase of Beit HaShalom, that huge 3,500 square meter structure between Hebron and Kiryat Arba some eight months ago is history. Presently eight families, including lots of children, are keeping Beit HaShalom Jewish. If there were not living there, in almost subhuman conditions, the site would have been long lost to Hebron's Jewish Community. As it is, the powers-that-be are doing their utmost to have us expelled from here too, but the wheels of justice spin slowly.

Where do things stand at the moment?  Following purchase of the building, one of the neighborhood Arabs began dancing a war jig, claiming that the building belonged to him. Actually, he was involved in the purchase as a middleman, and had absolutely no idea who the actual buyer was. When the purchase was concluded, he had no choice but to scream bloody murder, otherwise his brethren would first torture and then kill him. During questioning by the Israeli police, he was shown a film of himself counting the money he'd received for the building. His response: I gave the money back and canceled the deal.

As a result of his loud denials and claims that the documents were forgeries, the Israeli supreme court ordered a police investigation to determine the legitimacy of the purchase. The initial police inquiries in March showed that the purchase was indeed legal, that the papers were in order. However that was not enough for the Supreme court. A second, in-depth investigation was necessary. The police were ordered to hand over their findings within 45 days. In the mean time, the Jewish residents of the building were forbidden to make any structural changes at the site. Any construction, or anything resembling construction, would necessitate a special permit, granted by the Defense ministry or the Israeli Civil Administration, a quasi-military organization under the jurisdiction of the Defense ministry, i.e., the government.

Forty five days came and went; the police returned to the court and requested an extension; the investigation was still under way. Since then, the police have requested numerous extensions, their job not yet completed.

In the meantime, winter approaches. Winter means wind, rain and cold. The residents of Beit HaShalom, perched on a hill overlooking Hebron and Kiryat Arba, began preparing for five or six months of winter. However, there were a number of issues to deal with. The building's windows were all open with no possibility of being closed because glass had never been installed. There was only one electric line running into the building, nowhere near the power needed to allow the residents to live normally. The third problem: the roof had never been sealed. Heavy rain would cause major leaks inside people's living quarters. 

Hebron's leadership requested a permit from the Defense ministry on humanitarian grounds to: tar the roof, close the windows, and install additional electric lines. This request reached the desk of Defense Minister Barak. Barak, in August, refused to allow negotiations and delay forced expulsion of two families from the Mitzpe Shalhevet neighborhood. He gave the final orders: send in 3,000 troops to throw out the 'settlers.' Barak remained true to form and refused the latest request: no tar, windows or electricity.

The community appealed this decision to the Civil Administration military panel. Last week the answer came in: No, no, and no. The windows and electricity were refused unanimously. The tar was voted down two to one. Such actions, taken by Jews in a disputed building, might be considered an 'act of ownership.' Children, rain, winter, humanitarianism aside: let them suffer.

I've been told that the Israeli courts ruled, concerning illegal Bedouin settlements in the Negev in south Israel, that the government must allow them proper infrastructures on humanitarian grounds. Bedouins yes, Hebron Jews, no

Make no mistake, we will heat the building, using a generator and portable heating units. The fuel is very expensive – at least $6,000 a month. (That's over $30,000 for the winter.) The equipment will cost over $5,000. The real problem will be the leaky roof. However, we'll find a way to deal with that too. That's not really the problem. The real issue is the attitude of those people called 'leaders' – running the country. 

It really shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, the government abandoned Yesha's Jews during the Oslo War, allowing people throughout Judea and Samaria to be shot at for over two years with almost no reaction or serious attempt to stop the attacks. So too in Gush Katif, where missiles fell for over five years. The reward for their heroism: expulsion and further abandonment. 

Again, the war drums are rumbling. A synchronized orchestra, conducted by the American Secretary of State, with the Israeli prime minister standing in the wings, acting as first violin, reminiscent of legends of Nero's fiddling as Rome burned.  

This being the case, what's the big deal, a few cold, wet Jews in Hebron?!

The big deal is that all of these instances are absolutely nothing compared to what's being planned. Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Jews expelled from their homes, with nowhere to go. The heart of Israel being abandoned to the deadliest terrorists on the face of the earth, disguised as 'partners for peace.' Hebron, Jerusalem, Beit El, Shilo, - all to be disposed of, like a dirty diaper. Not only the places; the people too. And that is exactly how they will relate to us: the like contents of a dirty diaper.

It's not yet too late, but the countdown is getting close to liftoff. Don't be fooled and don't be surprised: This is what's in store for us in Israel. And afterwards, when our 'partners' start shooting down planes flying into, or leaving Ben Gurion airport, don't say you weren't warned.

Happy winter.

 

n Open Letter to Sect'y Rice

An Open Letter to Sect'y Rice
Nov. 4, 2007

Change the direction in which you are heading.

From David Wilder

The Honorable Dr. Condoleezza Rice

Secretary of State

United States Department of State

Washington, DC 20520

USA

All your efforts and actions will cause the region and its residents much more suffering and bloodshed.

Dear Secretary Rice,

We notice that recently you have been pledging much effort and time to the Middle East. We are sure that you are doing this on behalf of those who live in this region, and that your efforts are meant to ordain a better future for the region and its inhabitants.

We might appreciate these intentions if we did not know clearly that all your efforts and actions will cause the region and its residents much more suffering and bloodshed. Moreover, the goals that you have established are totally contrary to justice, the Bible, and the rights of the Jews in this country.

We wish to remind you, Dr. Rice, that in the Bible, this land was promised to the Jewish people some 4,000 years ago. Abraham, the Jewish patriarch, purchased Hebron more than 3,800 years ago. The Jews left Egypt in order to go to their country, the Holy Land, the Land of Israel, 3,500 years ago. Here, they established a state 3,300 years ago. This state became the kingdom of the Jewish King David, 3,000 years ago. The Temple stood in the center of the country, Jerusalem, and, after being destroyed by the Babylonians, it was rebuilt some 2,000 years ago. In all of those generations, this land was the sole homeland of the Jewish people. Only the Jewish people gave it independence. Only they lent it a distinct identity.

Please bear in mind that by the time Arabs reached this country, it had belonged to the Jews for thousands of years. The Arabs destroyed the country and caused its inhabitants much suffering. They never established an independent state in this country and never contributed a thing to its development. Under Arab rule, most of the country was unpopulated and desolate, covered with marshes and deserts - as your countryman, the renowned Mark Twain, described in his unforgettable book The Innocents Abroad.

The Holy Land remained abandoned, as if loyally waiting for its offspring to return. The Jewish people, too, remained true to its land for millennia and aspired to return to it. Jews began to return to the Land of Israel about 140 years ago and started to make it blossom, cultivate its soil and build it.

Then, the Arabs woke up and embarked on acts of terror and murderous attacks. In 1929, lethal Arab terror brought on the destruction of the world's most ancient Jewish community, that of Hebron. Arabs butchered seventy Jews, brutalized and raped dozens of women, and banished the survivors. The mastermind of pogroms against the Jews of the Land of Israel in the 1920s, the Arab leader Amin Al-Husayni, the founder of 
The Holy Land remained abandoned, as if loyally waiting for its offspring to return.
Palestinian nationalism, went so far as to meet with Hitler during the Holocaust and to plan, in common cause, the annihilation of all Jews in the Land of Israel. He even established Muslim units in the Nazi army. These aspirations have been typical of the Palestinian leadership ever since.

Even if Arabs have personal human rights, they have never had any collective national rights in this country. This is clear to anyone who has average schooling. However, to secure national rights that they never had, the Arabs established terror organizations of which the PLO was the first. These organizations specialize in the murder of civilians - men, women and children, mainly Jews and Israelis, but also many others, including no few American citizens. From the moment Israel recognized the PLO and gave it land in certain parts of the country, these areas have become incubators of terrorism, suffering, and corruption.

Not long ago, it transpired that the PLO had become so corrupt and reviled an entity that the Arabs themselves gave rise to a much more murderous enemy, Hamas, which very easily seized power in the Gaza Strip by means of gruesome acts of terror. Your persistence in trying to hand further areas to the PLO will certainly inflict more terrorism, more suffering, and more bloodshed on the entire region and its inhabitants.

Moreover, you constantly ignore the rights of the Jews in this territory, their historical and sole country and homeland. The Jewish community has returned to Hebron and is revitalizing the Jewish quarter and the synagogues that the Arabs destroyed. We have full rights to these properties and buildings. Your policies are definitely leading to further destruction and killing. Is this how your country treats the property of Jewish communities on American soil?

You must be aware that Jews who remain in any territory that is handed over to the PLO will be easy prey for brutal murder - and a fortiori if the territory falls into the hands of Hamas, as is likely. How can you promote a policy that will deal the Jews so grievous a blow, in their homeland of all places, the historical Holy Land?

Your schemes plainly include the deportation of tens of thousands of Jews from their localities and homes. Therefore, we wish to inform you that we do not intend to leave our homes on any terms. You will have to use force against us in order to transfer the territory, free of Jews, to the murderers' organizations - the PLO and Hamas. This is the 
Is this how the United States fights for justice and against Islamic terror?
direction in which you are leading the Middle East. Is this how the United States fights for justice and against Islamic terror?

We hope you receive these remarks and change the dangerous direction in which you are heading. Please remember: many generations after you conclude your term in office, we, the inhabitants of this region, will still be here and will have to endure the consequences of your policies. Only Israeli control from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River will confer rights upon all people in the region, and maximize the peace and happiness of all inhabitants of the area.

Respectfully,

Noam Arnon, David Wilder

The Jewish Community of Hebron

We are part of the story

November 01, 2007

This morning I read an unusually positive and touching article about Hebron in the NRG (Ma'ariv newspaper) internet site. [http://tinyurl.com/2e2ye8] The article contrasts the usual texts citing the "violent, extremist, law-breaking Jewish settlers" who are preventing I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of Arabs from living a normal life due to their presence in Hebron.

Every once in a while it's nice to sit back and enjoy a well-written, truthful article about the city of Abraham.

Approaching Shabbat Parshat Chaye Sarah I cannot help but reflect back to the founders of our People and wonder what they would say about all that is transpiring today.

I've no doubt that Abraham and Sarah would really enjoy participating in this week's Shabbat events in Hebron. Tens of thousands will visit Hebron and Kiryat Arba, praying at Ma'arat HaMachpela, joining tours in English, Hebrew, and probably other languages too. The streets will be full, literally from sundown to sundown, with tents polka-dotting gardens, parks, and anywhere there are a few meters to throw down a sleeping bag or two. The thousands who have registered in advance will receive Shabbat meals, ready to be devoured. Probably during the days of our Matriarchs, registration wouldn't have been necessary. Sarah, Rivka and Lea would probably have whipped up food for the multitudes without any fanfare. That is part of their legacy and part of our heritage. Such is the main trait of Abraham – chesed: abounding loving-kindness and good deeds.

This is the common conception of our Forefather Abraham. So too the Torah relates to him, both on a simple level and also on a much deeper spiritual plane. Jewish Kabbalah explains that Abraham is an embodiment of chesed and uses him to exemplify this trait.

However, it cannot be ignored that there is another side to our father Abraham – Avraham Avinu, also very much a part of his character, yet stressed less.

In Jewish mysticism, next on the list of traits, following chesed, lovingkindness, is gevura. Gevura can be defined in different ways. It means courage. But courage can take on many faces. For instance, our Sages teach us, "who is a gibor – he who is able to conquer his desires." In other words, gevura can mean physical heroism, but it also connotates spiritual courageousness, in this case, being able to overcome. Overcoming demands tremendous inner strength. Whereas chesed is a seemingly outgoing trait, gevora can be the opposite, expressing an almost introverted characteristic.

Usually this trait is related to Avraham Avinu's son, Yitzhak. In Jewish thought he represents the idea of gevura. But in truth, the holy Zohar teaches us that Avraham's original personality reflected not chesed, rather Gevura.

Three brief examples: 1) When Avraham was informed that his nephew Lot was taken as a prisoner of war, he stopped everything he was doing, put together an army, and pursued those who had captured him. Only after prolonged warfare, when he defeated his enemy and rescued Lot, did he return home. And then, as is related in the Bible, he refused to take any financial reward for his efforts.

2) Last week we read how Avraham was commanded to take his son from Hebron to Jerusalem and offer him as a sacrifice to G-d on Har HaMoria – today known as Temple Mount – Har HaBayit.

Avraham's entire life was built around the rejection of such human sacrifice and belief in one G-d. He had been promised that Yizchak would be his inheritor and continue teaching the world a monotheistic faith. Yet, when commanded by that same G-d who he so believed in to cut his son's throat, he did not hesitate for a moment. Our Sages teach from the Bible Avraham's quickness, his willingness to follow G-d's orders immediately.

These two cases prove without any doubt Avraham's gevura – his courage and heroism, both physically and spiritually. Fighting a war against kings who were, at that time, the rulers of the earth, equivalent to the United States, Russia and the EU all wrapped up as one, is no small feat. Defeating these empires requires skill and cunning. And courage.

Blind obedience in a voice from the heavens, to seemingly destroy ones future, to carry out an act in direct contradiction to all you have been taught, and to all you have educated others to, requires tremendous inner spiritual strength.

Avraham accomplished both of these tasks.

The final example may well have been the most difficult. Having succeeded in fulfilling G-d's word, having fought the war, having taken Yitzhak to Jerusalem, one can only imagine how physically and spiritually exhausted Avraham must have been. It is written that he returned not to Hebron, rather to Beer Sheva. There he received word that his beloved wife Sarah had died suddenly.

A normal person may have questioned G-d: This is my reward for carrying out your commandment? But not Avraham. He travels to Hebron and purchases the caves of Machpela as a burial site for his wife and family.

It is difficult to imagine the depths of the scene. Sarah is lying dead, needing to be interred. Ephron the Hittite demands only a huge sum of money, four hundred silver shekels, perhaps a million dollars in modern currency. Avraham could easily have relented, saying 'let me use the cave, without actually purchasing it.' He could have found another site, certainly not as prestigious, but also not nearly as expensive. But Avraham, knowing the sanctity of the site, having discovered there the tombs of Adam and Eve, knowing that this is the entrance to Gan Edan – the Garden of Eden, knowing that only he could preserve this holy site for his people for all generations to come, withstood the pressures and put the money down on the table. Four hundred silver shekels. The first land transaction in Eretz Yisrael, made by the first Jew, Avraham Avinu.

Avraham's gevura, his courage, his spiritual faith, allowed him to overcome. He was able to risk his life, his future and his money, in order to implement his willingness to obey G-d, in order to prove his true, one hundred percent belief in G-d.

This is what is missing today. True Gevura – an authentic willingness to put it all on the table, to say, 'this is what I (we) believe, and we are not going to move one inch. No concessions, we don't backtrack on our land, our people, our fundamental beliefs! Stand up for it, fight for it, but don't back down. That's what Avraham Avinu would do and say today, no doubt about it.

One of the reasons the newspaper article I mentioned at the beginning of this article is very special is because the author describes the following scene: Walking down to prayer on Friday night at Ma'arat HaMachpela he relates, in a very dry fashion, the fact that they would be praying where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca and Leah are buried, the same people his teacher would tell them stories about in kindergarten. "The child opened his eyes very wide and exclaimed: So Daddy, we are part of the story?!"

Yes, little boy, we are part of the story. We have been for four thousand years, and we will be for the next four thousand years. The hundreds of thousands who flock to Hebron each year, the tremendous outpouring of support at Hebron functions, such as our annual dinner on November 18 in New York, the words and letters we constantly receive are proof: we are part of the story, carrying on in the footsteps of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, of Kalev and David, of generations who dreamt of Hebron and generations that lived and died in Hebron.

Yes, little boy, you are right: we are very much a part of the story.

Happy Shabbat Chaye Sarah.

With blessings from Hebron.