Meretz MK: Most Yesha Jews Will Never Leave

[based on an article by Yishai Friedman in Makor Rishon, translated and edited by Hillel Fendel]

MK Yair Golan (Credit: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Yes, other things are going on in the world aside from Corona. MK Yair Golan of Meretz, who has made some provocatively radical left-wing comments in the recent past, held a Zoom discussion last week with Meretz party activists. Golan presented his position on the evacuation and destruction of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, acknowledging that it does not jibe with that of most of his party colleagues. "A return to the pre-1967 borders is impossible," he said, "and the Palestinians [the Arabs living in Judea and Samaria – ed.] know this as well."


Golan surprisingly admitted that he has no ideological opposition to Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria. He said that, as a Zionist, he would not run to evacuate Jewish towns beyond the Green Line. "I have no enthusiasm for evacuating Jewish towns; I am a Zionist," Golan told his audience. "I don't think that our renewed Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel is something shameful."

What about international law? It doesn't concern him: "I know the relevant international law, and sometimes it is indeed problematic – but you also have to know how it was passed and by whom. Not everything there applies to the complex circumstances in which we live."

But hang onto your hats; Golan is still a left-winger who supports dividing the Holy Land and giving parts to our enemies. But he is clear that there are some areas that can definitely not be given away: "We cannot return to the pre-1967 borders. The [Arabs] know this too; they have agreed in the past to the principle of swapping territories." For instance, he said, the large Jerusalem neighborhoods built since 1967 will always remain Jewish: "Right after the Six Day War, we enlarged the Jerusalem municipal area by 71 square kilometers, of which the Old City and surrounding neighborhoods comprise only 6.4 kilometers. The rest of the area is [Arab] villages that we artificially incorporated into the Jerusalem municipality, and we built there Jewish neighborhoods in which no fewer than 215,000 Jews now live."

This number, incidentally, is actually quite a low estimate. Our very own West Bank Jewish Population Stats Report http://westbankjewishpopulationstats.com/ has found that the number is actually estimated as at least 300,000.

Golan said that "giant Jerusalem neighborhoods such as Gilo, Pisgat Ze'ev, French Hill, and N'vei Yaakov – you understand that all these areas cannot be emptied out; it is simply not practical. We can talk about it, but it can't be done. Or let's say: It can be done, but only at heavy and intolerable prices."

Golan later added several Jewish cities in Judea and Samaria to the list of places he admits cannot ever be emptied out and handed over to the Arabs: "In four cities in Judea and Samaria – Maaleh Adumim, Beitar Illit, Modiin Illit, and Ariel – 185,000 people live. [Ed.: Here, too, our numbers are much higher: at least 142,000 Jews in these cities.] I don't think that it is possible to clear them out."

Not only that, but he objects to the removal of Jewish towns adjacent to the Green Line: "A similar number live in [such] places such as Alfei Menashe, Elkanah, Oranit, the Hinanit-Shaked bloc in northern Shomron, and more. I think that we don't have to remove these places."
 "I understand one thing," Golan explained to his Zoom audience: "We have to divide [this land] – for if not, we will become a bi-national state at best, or doom ourselves to a never-ending civil war in the less-good case." Of course he then listed some areas that he believes have to go: "There are some very problematic towns on the mountain ridge, such as Eli, Bet El, Elon Moreh, Har Brachah, Pnei Chever, and more. They make it very difficult to ever divide the land in a logical geographic manner. Some 30,000 to 35,000 Jews live there, and in my opinion they will be the focus of the debate."