These are hard times. And what can you or I do about it?
Some of us go and settle on a hill somewhere – the pioneers of our time. But most people can’t just drop everything and go and live on a hill. Others go to mixed Jewish/Arab cities, to strengthen the Jewish presence there. That’s not for everyone, either. But today, there is no longer a front line and a back line: the front is everywhere. And so, even those who cannot interrupt their daily lives can participate and can support the Jewish struggle. How can you do this? Donate to the "Honenu" association.
The Honenu association helps the victims of the Israeli legal system. This is mostly legal support. And who are the “victim of the Israeli legal system”? These are Jews who found themselves – by choice or otherwise – at the front of the struggle. And the front reaches us all. A few weeks ago Arabs have invaded the land of two farmers in the town of Alma, Galilee, and assaulted them. The legal system is accusing the farmers. They were arrested and are kept in custody until the end of the trial. Sadly, this is not unusual. Such cases rarely make headlines, but they occur almost on a daily basis. A few days ago Arabs have tried to kidnap a soldier in Jerusalem. The soldier had armed his gun but did not fire – because he was afraid of the Israeli legal system…
The Israeli legal system is acting methodically against Jews and in favor of Arabs.
If you think this claim is exaggerated or even ridiculous, I have one thing to say to you: thank god it hadn’t happened to you. Yet. I have always thought that if a soldier or a civilian is accused, he must have done something wrong. Until it happened to me… Now I donate to the Honenu association every month. And if, perhaps, you are thinking “it won’t happen to me” – S., A dentist, not a settler, made “Aliya” from the United States, had never thought anything like this could enter his life. Until he was attacked by a few Arabs. Some of them had knives. Fortunately, S. studied some martial arts, and defeated all the attackers while sustaining minor injuries only. Unfortunately, he then ran into the Israeli legal system, which accused him of assault and gave him 5 years in jail. None of the Arabs were accused of anything. I met him in the Ramla prison. If they gave him time off for good behavior, he should be out by now. And why was I in Jail? I was a member of the quick response team in my settlement. Arabs invaded into the village lands and attacked me and other members of the response team. Just like S., we also came out of the encounter in good shape – until we ran into the legal system… I was lucky: I only got seven months imprisonment.
Honenu have helped me a lot during the trial. Without their help, I would have come off much worse. When I was in jail, Honenu have helped my wife and kids. It is hard to describe the feeling of standing alone in front of a big, strong legal machine – and the great relief when someone comes and helps out.
Obviously the solution is to have an honest, decent, legal system, one that recognizes reality and supports the Jewish people; but until we have such a system, we need to defend against the harm that the current system does. And it is here that we all can help.
Honenu is dealing with hundreds of cases. Their budget is over $30,000 per month. And every cent of this money comes from donations. Donations to Honenu are tax deductible, both in Israel and in the US. This is almost the end of the year – you can get the tax rebate almost immediately.
Thanks, Danny Halamish, Gush Etzyon, Israel
P.S. If you wish to hear some more about Honenu or about my case specifically, feel free to email me at dindanny@gmail.com.
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