Beth-El: Where Jacob Dreamed, and his Children Fight

י"ג לחודש החמישי תשע"ה

בראשית כח, י״ב-י״ט
וַיַּחֲלֹם, וְהִנֵּה סֻלָּם מֻצָּב אַרְצָה, וְרֹאשׁוֹ, מַגִּיעַ הַשָּׁמָיְמָה; וְהִנֵּה מַלְאֲכֵי אֱלֹהִים, עֹלִים וְיֹרְדִים בּוֹ וְהִנֵּה יְהוָה נִצָּב עָלָיו, וַיֹּאמַר, אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיךָ, וֵאלֹהֵי יִצְחָק; הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה שֹׁכֵב עָלֶיהָ--לְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּה, וּלְזַרְעֶךָ. וְהָיָה זַרְעֲךָ כַּעֲפַר הָאָרֶץ, וּפָרַצְתָּ יָמָּה וָקֵדְמָה וְצָפֹנָה וָנֶגְבָּה; וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ כָּל-מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה, וּבְזַרְעֶךָ. וְהִנֵּה אָנֹכִי עִמָּךְ, וּשְׁמַרְתִּיךָ בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר-תֵּלֵךְ, וַהֲשִׁבֹתִיךָ, אֶל-הָאֲדָמָה הַזֹּאת: כִּי, לֹא אֶעֱזָבְךָ, עַד אֲשֶׁר אִם-עָשִׂיתִי, אֵת אֲשֶׁר-דִּבַּרְתִּי לָךְ. וַיִּיקַץ יַעֲקֹב, מִשְּׁנָתוֹ, וַיֹּאמֶר, אָכֵן יֵשׁ יְהוָה בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה; וְאָנֹכִי, לֹא יָדָעְתִּי. וַיִּירָא, וַיֹּאמַר, מַה-נּוֹרָא, הַמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה: אֵין זֶה, כִּי אִם-בֵּית אֱלֹהִים, וְזֶה, שַׁעַר הַשָּׁמָיִם. יח וַיַּשְׁכֵּם יַעֲקֹב בַּבֹּקֶר, וַיִּקַּח אֶת-הָאֶבֶן אֲשֶׁר-שָׂם מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו, וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתָהּ, מַצֵּבָה; וַיִּצֹק שֶׁמֶן, עַל-רֹאשָׁהּ.  וַיִּקְרָא אֶת-שֵׁם-הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא, בֵּית-אֵל; וְאוּלָם לוּז שֵׁם-הָעִיר, לָרִאשֹׁנָה.

Genesis 28: 12-19
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood beside him, and said: 'I am the LORD, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. The land where you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed. And your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. And in you and in your seed you, will all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back into this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.' And Jacob awakened from his sleep, and he said: 'Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.' And he was afraid, and said: 'How full of awe is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.' And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of that place Beth-El, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

There is actually more than one opinion as to where Ya'aqov (Jacob) dreamed his dream. Nevertheless, the connection between Ya'aqov and Beth-El is traditionally strong.

YNET: 200 settlers clash with police in Beit El
Officials join families in defiantly repopulating Sa-Nur, a settlement abandoned in the disengagement, as youths battle security forces for control of Beit El near Ramallah.

Itay Blumenthal, 07.28.15

Violence erupted in the settlement of Beit El near Ramallah late Monday night when a group of approximately 200 young adults took control of the so-called Draynoff buildings, two housing structures which the High Court ordered be torn down Sunday night.

Security forces arrested 50 of the activists according to Honenu, an organization that offers legal help to Israelis. The rest of those protesting in Beit El were removed using riot control measures. The activists claimed that security forces used tear gas was inside the buildings in an attempt to remove those present.

The area was designated as a closed military zone and Israeli Border Police occupied the Draynoff buildings in order to prevent the return of the violent protesters.

Meanwhile, some 250 people, including dozens of families that were removed from the Sa-Nur settlement in the West Bank during the disengagement in 2005, returned to the village overnight without approval from Israeli security forces.

Government officials joined the group, including Bayit HaYehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich and former MK Professor Aryeh Eldad. The entered the fort-like structure that remains standing in Sa-Nur with the intention of permanently returning to the settlement.

"Ten years after the disengagement, it's about time to fix things. And that begins here, in northern Samaria," said Smotrich in a press release. "Families have begun settling into the rooms of the fort with the intention of staying for some time. We don't intend to move from here."

Security officials offered Smotrich and the others in Sa-Nur nothing but an ultimatum that they would be removed by force if they had not left of their own free will by 2pm.

Political Storm
The events in Beit El also led to a political storm Tuesday, with leaders on the political right claiming they were doing their utmost to strengthen settlements and prevent the destruction of the Draynoff buildings.

PM

"Our stance on this issue is clear," said Netanyahu. "We oppose their destruction and we're acting through the courts to prevent this step."

While making similar comments himself, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon's decision to send troops into the settlement drew criticism from his political partners from Bayit Yehudi and former foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman who called for Ya'alon's resignation.

From the other side of the settlement debate, Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid called for the full support of IDF troops on the ground in Beit El.

Esser Agaroth (2¢):

Rabbi Zalman Melamed

After the Israeli governments last shenanigans in Beth-El, the town's Rabbi Melamed himself said he had felt betrayed by the government.

So, why are Beth-El residents repeating the thing over again, trusting the government, expecting different results?

The last time there were major clashes in Beth-El, they were between residents, misguided, State loyalists, and those defending Jewish settlement of Israel. Now they are back to being between the police and residents. Does this mean that Beth-El is waking up?

Nothing exciting to see here, except that the Israeli Border Police do not seem to like being videotaped very much, do they?

(Video: Beth-El Spokeswomen)

No. Apparently not.

What in the heck are these kids from Beth-El doing, handing out drinks to the same security forces, there to expel their neighbors from their homes??!!

Arutz 7 TV
(Screen Shot)

Anyone involved at all in these kids' education should be fired, and that includes their mamlakhti (diehard, State loyalist) parents!

The message has been clear for ages, Arab testimony is held on a higher level than Jewish testimony, even when the Arabs do not have any documents to support their claims, but the Jews do.

Equal enforcement of the law towards Jews, as suggested by Defense Minister Ya'alon and MK Lapid? I think not.

Who is running the country? The legislature, elected to enact the will of the people? Or the courts?

We have met the enemy, and they are the Erev Rav courts,...those officials allowing this travesty to continue, and those of us standing idly by.

I think that we Jews need to get over this whole democracy thing, and fast. There is a reason is not working.

It's not Jewish.

The Torah is the only justification Jews have for laying claim to Eretz Yisra'el (Land of Israel), ALL of Eretz Yisra'el. Yet, it is very rare, indeed, that an MK will ever quote from the Torah, to point out this justification.

I am the LORD, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. The land where you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed. And your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. And in you and in your seed you, will all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back into this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.' (Gen. 28:13-15)

PLO Emblem

Mahmud Abbas's Pseudostine

There is no difference between Beth-El and Har HaBayith (Temple Mount) and Tel-Aviv. Not only does all of it belong to us, but the Arabs want it all.

The Palestinian Pseudostinian Liberation Organization's [PLO] emblem and Palestinian Pseudostinian Authority President Abbas's map speak for themselves.

When will our government finally get that through its thick skull?

When we will finally get it through our thick skulls, that the government never will?