A Likely Story

8 of the Eleventh Month 5768

Here is the latest on the activities of the YeSh"A Council, which should really change it's name to Ye"Sh already. The "A" stands for Azza (Arabs call Gaza). I sincerely doubt the Ye"Sh Council is doing anything in particular at the present time to encourage settlement there. We all know how they "helped" prevent the 5765 (2005) expulsion of Jews from there: K'far Maimon and Mr. Goldstein's "stage performance" among other "helpful" activities.

My comments are interpursed amongst Hillel Fendel's clear and concise story on Arutz 7 (Israel National News).

Yesha Council Denies Outpost-Dismantling Report
by Hillel Fendel, 7 Shevat 5768/January 14, 2008 5:40 PM

(IsraelNN.com) Danny Dayan, head of the Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea/Samaria, denies reports that an agreement has been reached regarding the peaceful dismantling of Jewish outposts.

A Monday report in Haaretz quoted sources close to Defense Minister Ehud Barak as saying that an agreement had been reached between his office and representatives of the Yesha Council. The purported agreement stipulates that no resistance would be offered by Jewish residents to the dismantling of 18 outposts throughout Judea and Samaria. In exchange, Barak reportedly agreed to allow some construction - currently frozen throughout Yesha.

OK, so who is lying? Dayan? Baraq? Or Ha'aretz, trying to cause problems, or just being irresponsible?

My understanding of the Ramba"m's commentary on the concept of kaf zkhuth (giving benefit of the doubt), presented in Mishnah Avoth 1:6 would suggest that the Jew who is unknown is to believed over the know perpetrators of evil.

I am certainly not on any level to make such determinations on my own. I will let you decide if may understanding is applicable here, and if so, who mentioned above fits which category. Personally, until I here other direct statements from Dayan, I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even though there definitely seems to be an element here of "making the same mistake over again expecting different results," when it comes to showing any signs of trust in the YeSh"A Council.

Yesha Council head Danny Dayan told Arutz-7, however, that the above is simply not true. "There have been many negotiating sessions with Barak's people," Dayan said, "and it is possible to reach agreements - but this has not been done. It does not even appear that there will be any further talks in the near future."

What "agreements?" That's what I would like to know? What is there to agree upon?

26 Jewish Locations in Dispute
Hundreds of residents live in some 26 contested outposts throughout Judea and Samaria. Dayan explained to Arutz-7 that these 26 are on the chopping block "because they were built after March 1, 2001" - the date ex-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised U.S. President George Bush that no new communities would be built. The ultra-left Peace Now organization has long demanded, in its quest to de-Judaize Judea and Samaria, that these and other Jewish outposts be destroyed.

Dayan tells us that these 26 "outposts" are on the government's list for destruction, apparently due to U. S. pressure. No surprises here.

This coming February 6 is a significant date, because the Supreme Court is expected to rule then on the legality of one of the largest Jewish outposts in Judea and Samaria - Migron, with some 45 families. Though some of the land was definitely purchased by Jews, the Court is expected to rule that other parts of the community are situated on private, Arab-owned land. It could be, however, that the Court will, as it has done several times in the past, postpone a final ruling on the matter.

Migron
Migron is considered a strategically-critical Jewish town, situated on a hilltop overlooking the main highway from Jerusalem to Beit El, Ofrah, Shilo and other towns in Shomron. Its 45 families have not been permitted to increase their numbers over the past several years.

No one expects the dismantling of Migron to go over without an Amona-style fight. Two years ago, Amona was the scene of a very violent clash between police and army forces, on the one hand, and many hundreds of Land of Israel supporters who came to protest the government's eviction of nine Jewish families from their homes. Amona is situated just above the veteran community of Ofrah; Migron is located less than ten kilometers directly south of Amona.

Setting my criticism of the YeSh"A Council, and warnings to be wary of it, aside for a moment, I call your attention to the town of Migron.

Many of Migron's residents are followers of Rabbi Tzvi Tau, founder of the Har HaMor Yeshivah. Rabbi Tau has come out against the participation of soldiers in expelling Jews from their homes. He has even been critical of Rabbi Sedan of the B'nei David pre-IDF Mekhinah program for being too much on the side of the State on this issues. However, Rabbi Tau is still known to be a mamlakhti rabbi, trying to walk that tight rope of loyalty to Torah, without shunning the increasingly non-Torah oriented State.

It will be very interesting indeed how Rabbi Tau will react, and instruct his followers to behave, vis-a-vis their "brothers" (IDF soldiers and riot police Yassamkiqim who have come to thrown them out of their homes. I believe that this will be a critical juncture for the Jewish People. All eyes should be on Migron to see how this community and its spiritual leaders react when push comes to shove. May the Almighty show them, and all of us, mercy.

Possibly the second-largest of the 26 contested outpost neighborhoods is Givat Assaf. Its 18 families live in another vital strategic position - along the Jerusalem-Ofrah highway, at the turnoff to Beit El. The neighborhood is named for Assaf Hershkovitz, who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in 2001 just past the site of the present-day neighborhood. Just three months earlier, Assaf's father had been murdered in a similar road-side terrorist shooting, near the Atarot airport in northern Jerusalem.

The Solution
Dayan said that he and his colleagues in Yesha demand that all outposts on state-owned land - which are most of them - be immediately approved, and that an acceptable relocation solution be found for the others.

Gotcha! What acceptable location? ALL of the Land is ours. The self-created, and funded directly from the Office of the Prime Minister, YeSh"A Council, is supposed to have the goal of encouraging the settlement of the Land. Apparently, it's real goal is just to get what it can, and call it a day. It fails to see that the government doesnotplay by the rules. Whenever it sees that its enemies are winning according to the rules, the Supreme Court just steps in to change them. The likes of the YeSH"A Council fail to see any alternative in strategy, and carries on with its fruitless lobbying and public relations activities.

Its vision seems to be one not guided by the Torah's explicit statements that it is forbidden to relinquish land to non-Jews.

We can debate this statement another time. The purpose of mentioning this concept here is to expose the hypocrisy of the so-called religious Zionist organization known as the YeSh"A Council. Come to think of it, are any Torah concepts even mentioned in the YeSH"A charter? So perhaps my use of the term "religious" is inaccurate. It is no secret that most Israelis and Jews and non-Jews around the world see it as such. In any event, the remaining residents of YeSh"A (now Ye"Sh) who still trust in the YeSh"A Council need to wake up to the realization that they have been duped. Otherwise, the Jewish presence in Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samamria) will diminish, if not disappear altogether. May the Almighty forbid!

Olmert and Barak
Tensions between Prime Minister Olmert and Defense Minister Barak on the issue of the outposts have recently surfaced. Olmert said on Sunday that it is a "disgrace" that the "unauthorized outposts" have not been dismantled all these years - while Barak staffers say that whoever suggests dismantling outposts without dialogue with the "settlers" reveals signs of "light-headedness."

It will be recalled that one of Olmert's first acts as Prime Minister two years ago was to order the violent destruction of the nine Amona houses, leading to hundreds of wounded.

I will leave you with a video presentation of what happened in Amona almost a year ago. Many videos can be found on the Internet covering this catastrophe. It is important to keep this memory fresh. This particular video focuses on the "trampling of democracy." Ask yourselves this question, where was the YeSh"A Council? What were they doing? Many of the powers that be, not all but many, were trying to convince the protesters at Amona to go quietly. They don't get it. There is no more "going quietly." Keep your eyes on Migron.




Carl at Israel Matzav reminds us of Google's willingness to report on blogger's identities. Last fall a candidate running in local Shomron elections actually went down this road.

Batya at The Eye of the Storm also warns us to be wary, and of whom.

If you do not see any activity on this blog all of a sudden please e-mail me. I do not want to be another one of those Shomron residents who has mysteriously disappeared, temporarily or otherwise.