by Hillel Fendel, editor, author and translator.
The contrast is acute: While the newest generation of hilltop
"settlers" has gained a bad name because of media reports of alleged
violence against Bedouin shepherds, they are in fact saving the Land of Israel
for the State of Israel.
Not only do recent reports by left-leaning media outlets omit the Arab
violence of which the young Jewish pioneers have been the victims, but they do
not showcase the tremendous contribution they are making on behalf of the
Jewish People's hold on vast areas of our Biblical homeland and strategic
security expanses of Judea and Samaria.
A long article in Haaretz last week, for instance, makes essentially
one point: Extremist Jewish settlers are harassing Bedouin farmers, sometimes
violently, and the latter are either forced to leave their homes, or have no
place to leave to. In fact, however, these tear-jerking stories are the tiny
exception to the rule – which is that Jewish pioneers are frequently violently
attacked, and then are often arrested to boot.
A year ago, 14-year-old Binyamin Achimeir was found murdered after
taking a flock of sheep out to graze from Malachei HaShalom, an outpost in the
Binyamin region. PM Netanyahu called Achimeir's death a "heinous
murder."
But let us focus on the positive. Elisha Yered, 25, formerly of Disengagement-destroyed
Sa-Nur and now of Ramat Migron between Beit El and Psagot, explained the
concept of the new farms and hilltops:
"Simply speaking, we're saving the Land of Israel for the Jewish
People. Even those who don't buy into the Divine promise of the Land and the
like, certainly comprehend that, security-wise and politically speaking, we
have a very simple axiom: It's either them – the Arabs – or us."
"If we allow them to build here and spread out over the plains and
mountains, a Palestinian state can actually be established here – and then the cities
and towns in next-door Israel will be directly endangered, just as we saw in Gaza
a year and a half ago."
Yered notes with enthusiasm that "there are many large areas
throughout Samaria, and elsewhere, that have been illegally commandeered by
Arabs, or are in danger of being so taken over. What we do is locate a hilltop,
send a family or some youths, or both, to live there, with a flock of sheep or
the like – and thus we can control thousands of dunams [quarter-acres] at a
time. This prevents Bedouins and other Arabs from taking over this land. Little
by little, the outpost becomes a 'young neighborhood,'" and can be on its
way, even if it takes years, to becoming a full-fledged community."
There has been great success over the past two years. Traveling along
the north-south Alon Highway, east of the Judean/Shomron Mountains, one can see,
with sharp eyes, the major change that has come over the area. No fewer than 30
new young farms and hilltops form Jewish territorial contiguity all the way
from Shaar Binyamin (on the well-traveled Route 60 between Beit El and
Jerusalem), to the northern Jordan Valley.
This has been the below-the-radar Jewish response to the PA's Fayad
Plan to isolate Jewish communities in Yesha by surrounding them with Arab farms
and structures. In total, some 290,000 new dunams are in Jewish hands.
I mention to Yered that there is a truly huge area outside the new
Jewish hilltop named A'ira Shachar [I Will Awaken the Dawn] that appears to be
empty of Bedouin. Yered laughs: "Hah! Now there are over 20 families in
A'ira Shachar, but when I got there about eight years ago, we went through tough
times with the Bedouin there. They used to come up and attack us, while we
grazed our sheep in the expanse and caused them, little by little, to leave. That's
why it looks like the whole area is empty!"
Another of the new outposts is Sdei Yonatan, not far from Maaleh Michmash,
overlooking and safeguarding the all-important intersection of Route 60 and the
Alon Highway. It was started by Oz Yehuda Rom when he was single, and he now
lives there with his new wife, Tamar. "When we first came," he told
the Srugim website, "there were two Arab encampments [whose residents]
used to cross Route 60 on a regular basis – and they even attacked a few Jewish
youths. Ever since we’re here, they realize that something has changed."
But he emphasizes: "Even if the Arabs leave, we’re staying to
settle the area. It's not just a question of security. We want this area to be
farmed by Jews even 200 years from now."
Oz Yehuda said that the Israeli authorities were very rough on them,
"destroying what we built here and taking our stuff" no fewer than 12
times in the course of 18 months. The situation has improved somewhat, and
Arabs have largely stopped attacking them with gunfire and the like - but it's
still not simple: "What motivates us is the desire to settle our Land; if
we don't do it, no one else will. We're here for the same reason that motivated
all the generations of Jewish settlers in the Land of Israel."
Articles like the above-mentioned Haaretz piece do not report, for
instance, that late last month a Jewish shepherd was grazing his sheep in the
Gush Etzion area when he was attacked by Arabs with clubs and was taken to the
hospital. The attackers were six Arabs from the illegal encampment Um Shabin in
eastern Gush Etzion. Many other similar attacks also go largely unreported.
The Israel Prize, No Less
Yaakov Ketzaleh Katz, Chairman of the Board of Bet El Institution, who
himself has taken a foremost role in helping to found Beit El and building up
Judea and Samaria, specifically when he served as Deputy to the Housing
Minister in the early 90's, says simply: "I love the new hilltop settlers,
they are our true heroes."
He said that there are no fewer than 82 new farms and hilltops in Judea
and Samaria, "all because of their fearless dedication to live there with
their families, and of course with their flocks of sheep. This grants our
security forces control over huge expanses of land. Even the IDF now recognizes
their importance."
Ketzaleh adds: "While the anti-Semites of the European Union
invest billions to encourage the Arabs to build illegally in these areas, even
in Areas B [under Israeli security control] and C [Israeli civilian control],
often leading to additional centers of terrorist activity – our young men and
women on the hilltops are making every effort to thwart them, and are
succeeding. Unlike in the past, when even our own public did not appreciate
these brave pioneers, there is now a real understanding of the importance of
their actions. Yesha leaders such as Yossi Dagan, Yisrael Ganz, and many other
municipality heads are supporting them."
Bottom line, according to Ketzaleh: "These pioneers deserve to be awarded
the Israel Prize [considered Israel's most significant cultural honor]."