Jewish Settlement in the Galilee: A First-Degree National Necessity

 by Orit Strook, translated by Hillel Fendel

Our government has much to learn from the mission on which Moses sent the Spies, over 3,300 years ago, to scout out the Land.  He told them, among other things, to check if the inhabitants were "strong or weak, many or few," and whether "their cities are open or fortified." 

The classic commentator Rashi explains that Moses was indicating to them that if the cities were not closed in, this was a sign of their strength and confidence, but that if they fortified and closed themselves off behind walls, this meant they were weak, living with a constant sense of danger and fear. The scouts, the leaders of the Israeli tribes, were instructed to pay attention to this phenomenon when coming to evaluate the security situation in the Land of Israel. 

Today, the Jewish villages in the heart of the Galilee dwell in "fortified cities." And we [in the government], who have been sent to act as today's "leaders of the tribes," must take note of this difficult situation, and under no circumstances ignore or overlook it. We must act in accordance with this grave state of affairs, and advance every necessary measure to bring about a major change.

A recent report states: "The existing situation in the heart of the Galilee is that many Jewish villages, main traffic routes, and the roads leading to the towns themselves, are surrounded by dense Arab population centers… In order to provide the necessary security to the residents of the Galilee, and to allow freedom of movement in the area, a significant strengthening of rural [Jewish] settlement is necessary, as well as a change in the demographic balance."

This analysis, which appears in a booklet entitled, "Security and Governance in Israel, Beginning with the Galilee and the Negev," is signed on by tens of security personnel from all sides of the political spectrum. 

A recent gathering was held of the "Forum for Security, Governance, and Settlement" – sponsor of the above document – featuring former top figures in Israel's various security and defense bodies. Among them were former Police Commissioner Shlomo Aharonishki, retired IDF Generals Eyal Ben-Reuven, Moti Almoz, Amos Gilad, Amos Yadlin, and very many others. The above analysis was produced.

Also signed on the analysis are nearly every municipal leader in northern and southern Israel, as well as a long line of public figures, most of whom are far from being identified with the "right," including: Kibbutz Movement Secretary-General Nir Meir, former Justice Department Director-General Ami Palmor, Ben Gurion University President Prof. Daniel Chaimovitz – and the list goes on and on. 

They all stand behind the following statement: "A national program to encourage the settlement of an Israeli population [Ed. note: the lack of the word "Jewish" is glaring!] in the Galilee and Negev areas is a national and existential necessity of the first degree (emphasis added)." 

Also written there: "The program should include the thickening and establishment of new communities based on acceptance committees, incentives to those who served in the security forces or did civil service, encouragement for the relocation of business centers…" Of course, the paper also emphasizes that which should be self-evident but will certainly be the hardest element to implement: "The government's clerical framework and statutory authorities must be subordinated to the directives of the political level, and a clear government policy must be outlined to strengthen the outlying areas of the Israeli populace." 

All of this we started doing over the last few weeks, with a series of government decisions and laws that are currently making their way through the Knesset.

This past week, I was privileged to speak, at the Knesset podium, about an important bill submitted by MK Yitzchak Kroizer [of the Otzmah Yehudit (Jewish Strength) party]. The bill will enable Jewish communities in the Galilee and Negev to grow and expand to include 1,000 households, instead of the current legal maximum of only 400. 

This bill is already at a very advanced stage in the legislative process: under preparation for its final readings in the Knesset. It passed its first readings in the previous Knesset [before MK Kroizer became a Knesset Member], but he requested to co-sponsor the bill. I of course congratulated him for this, as it is always praiseworthy to join a mitzvah endeavor, and especially the mitzvah of settling the Land of Israel.  

I explained to the Knesset why it is so important to increase the number of families in this manner. First of all, most of the communities have already hit the 400 mark and can grow no further. The problem is that many of the original residents moved there in the 1980's or thereabouts, and are growing older – as are the communities themselves. Nurseries and kindergartens are closing up by the dozens. Many of the residents have retired, and soon we will no longer be able to speak of the number of batei av (households) there, but rather of the number of batei avot (assisted living centers). What this means is that younger families must be allowed and encouraged to join, while still retaining the critical need to ensure that the new members correspond to the character of the community. 

Of course, voices were heard in the Parliament calling this amendment "racist." To them, I responded very simply: "Zionism is not racism." Strengthening Jewish settlement is not racism, but rather a supreme national value of the State of Israel. It is our country's obligation to enable the communities to continue to grow, and to ensure that they do not wither away. This is a basic ethical obligation of a State towards its villages and towns, and this is also its Zionist obligation.

And in fact, this new amendment enjoys the support of a large majority in the Knesset, and not just from the coalition, but also from significant parts of the opposition. 

Were the State of Israel to abandon the Jewish settlement enterprise in the Galilee and Negev, it would be a breach of its most basic obligation and function, as well as of its right to exist. 

Not to support the Jewish settlement enterprises would be not only immoral from a personal standpoint vis-à-vis the residents there, which the State itself sent there to help develop our country. It would also be a betrayal of its task as the national State of the entire Jewish People. Promoting and bolstering Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel is a supreme Zionist value. 

The present government is determined to act in accordance with these values, and I am happy to see that many in the opposition are also not turning their backs on them; on the contrary, they are supporting it with their words, deeds, and even votes. 

This week, with G-d's help, we will move ahead with this important legislation in the Knesset Committee for National Initiatives headed by MK Ohad Tal (Religious Zionism). Working together and inspired by these Zionist values, we will accomplish and succeed.

Time to Take the Temple Rebuilding Prayers Seriously

  by Doron Nir Tzvi, translated by Hillel Fendel

The People of Israel are thick in the midst of the process of Redemption. What is the next step?

Jewish history over the past 150 years has absolutely no parallel in the annals of any other people on the face of the earth. No other nation has ever merited a redemption and renewal like we have. No other people has ever returned to its homeland after an exile of 1,800 years like we have. 

Following the beginning of the glorious and still ongoing Ingathering of the Exiles, the resurgence from the ashes of the Holocaust, the establishment of the State of Israel, the victories over the Arab armies, the liberation of parts of our homeland both west and east of the Jordan River, the settling of the Land in place of foreigners – the time has come to rise up one more level, and "prepare the hearts" for the construction of the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple. 

The Beit HaMikdash will advance us, with G-d's help, yet another step towards the dwelling once again of the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, in our midst. As the Torah states regarding the Tabernacle in the desert, which was the precursor to the Holy Temple: "They shall build me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell amongst them."

The Holy Temple is a foundational pillar of Judaism, and its location is the holiest place in Judaism. The destructions of both the First Temple and the Second Temple, respectively, marked the beginning of the end of Israel's independence and of national Jewish settlement and presence in the Land. But in addition, we must remember that the absence of the Beit HaMikdash renders irrelevant dozens of Torah commandments. These include the mitzvot of sacrifices, the special Yom Kippur service, certain tithes, and many more. 

Back in 1966, Naomi Shemer, one of Israel's most popular songwriters (Jerusalem of Gold, for instance) and who grew up in the secular Kibbutz Kineret, wrote what became a very well-known song expressing the desire to build the Holy Temple: 

If you hewed stone from the mountain for a new building /

Not for naught did you hew the stone, my brother /

For from these stones, the Temple will be built…

The last words – a declaration, a hope, or possibly a prayer – became a popular refrain among all strata of Israeli society: Yibaneh haMikdash, yibaneh haMikdash.

Since then, however, the general-secular public's ambition to build the Holy Temple has seen a significant regression, and is in fact practically non-existent at the current time. On the other hand, the numbers of people who wish to promote everything having to do with the Beit HaMikdash are growing, as are those who physically ascend "in purity" to visit the holy site atop the Temple Mount. ("In purity" means after having immersed in a ritual bath before ascending, in accordance with Biblical law.) Increasing numbers of yeshiva students and others are engaged in both the spiritual and physical aspects of the rebuilding of the Temple. Leading the charge, for nearly four decades now, is the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, headed by Rabbi Yisrael Ariel. The Institute has already prepared some of the holy utensils and Priestly garments that can be used, in their current form, in the actual Temple service.

However, we are well aware from previous campaigns, on "simpler" issues, that if we want to succeed, public opinion must be better prepared for the Mikdash than it currently is. We cannot deny that the current construction status of the Temple does not particularly concern most of Israel's right-wing leaders. 

Nor can we overlook the fact that the hareidi leadership prefers to shunt the matter aside. The latter apparently assumes that at the right time, the Temple will descend in fire from the Heavens – even though when it comes to building their own homes, they actively and eagerly take the necessary action to accomplish this... The hareidi leadership has apparently not learned the lesson of the early days of modern Zionism, when they chose not to encourage mass Aliyah, preferring instead to believe that the Talmud's Three Oaths - not to rebel against the gentiles and the like - were still in effect. [One of the oaths required the gentiles not to subjugate the Jews too strongly, and the Sages ruled that since this oath was not fulfilled, the entire package of oaths became nullified. See also below.] 

After the Balfour Declaration of 1917, when the gates of the Land of Israel were opened wide to all Jews, future Israeli president and then-Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann cried out, "Nation of Israel, where are you?" But the religious leadership did not arouse myriads of Jews to make Aliyah to the Holy Land, and the chance to provide a religious majority to the Jewish presence in the Land was lost until this very day. Only individual rabbis – though more than is often thought – made public calls for religious Aliyah. 

Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, for instance, who was known as the Ohr Same'ach, wrote that the oath referring to a "rebellion" against the gentiles was no longer applicable – given the 1921 San Remo Conference resolution in favor of the Balfour Declaration's recognition of the Holy Land as the site of a Jewish national home. 

However, the call of Rav Meir Simcha, as well as of others, was too little and too late, as written up sadly in the scholarly Torah work Eim HaBanim Smeicha by one of the leading rabbis in Hungary, Holocaust victim Rabbi Yisachar Teichtal. 

Today's nationalist camp also lacks courageous leadership that will enunciate the vision of building the Holy Temple on the Temple Mount without fear of the Gentiles. We are similarly in need of leadership that will champion the fact that our historic homeland stretches from the Nile to the Euphrates; neither of these causes are particularly politically correct. This, despite the call by nationalist leaders of previous generations: "The Jordan River has two banks – this one is ours, and so is the other;" today they seem to suffice with the two banks of the Yarkon River…

But every marathon begins with one stride, and every flood begins with the first raindrop. And so too, we must take initial steps and distinctly declare our vision for the establishment of the Holy Temple on the Temple Mount. The nations will condemn and the Arabs will yelp – but the truth must be stated strongly and clearly.

It must be the vanguard of the nation - the religious-nationalist public and its leaders - that will issue this call with confidence, strength, and persistence. The message will then trickle slowly down to the rest of the public, as occurred with the magnificent settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria.

Incidentally, tens of millions of Evangelicals in the United States and around the world will support such a declaration and its sacred objective. This is because even according to their beliefs, the construction of the Mikdash is part of the Redemptive process. In addition, the Prophets foresee that the Holy Temple "will be called a house of prayer for all the nations." Perhaps too this will be a realization of the prophetic call that "the nations will say that G-d has done great things with [the Jews]" (Psalms 126), followed immediately by the words of the House of Israel, "G-d has done great things with us." 

It should be remembered that in the past, great kings and leaders supported the construction of the Mikdash, such as King Cyrus of Persia, who allowed the reconstruction of the Second Temple. There was also Emperor Julian, known by the Christians as Julian the Apostate, who initiated the building of what would have been the Third Temple in the year 362; the project did not succeed. 

It is very possible that 18 months from now, a Republican-Evangelical administration will be voted into office in the United States. And just like a recent similar government in Washington moved its embassy to Jerusalem, recognized the Jewish presence in its homeland of Judea and Samaria as legal, and declared that the Golan is an intrinsic part of the State of Israel – so too we can anticipate that the new government will declare that the Temple Mount is the holiest location in the Jewish world and that it is the Jews' right to rebuild the Holy Temple there. 

It is incumbent upon us to prepare for this, to be people of vision, faith, and action – possibly regarding the Beit HaMikdash even more than in others. And in honor of this undertaking and the just-passed Jerusalem Day holiday, let us pray: "May the Temple be rebuilt and the city of Zion be filled, and there we will sing a new song and ascend in joy." 

Agent of Chaos: The PA is Working to Radicalize the Arabs of Israel

 by Achikam Himmelfarb, translated by Hillel Fendel

The original role of the Palestinian Authority, as defined in the Oslo Accords, was to act as a Palestinian government dealing with various civil matters in Areas A (under full PA control) and B (under Israeli military control) in Judea and Samaria.

It now appears, however, that the PA has taken upon itself an additional task: the continuation of the "struggle" against the Zionist "occupier." In their official speeches geared towards the international audience, especially in English, the PA leaders make sure to declare that their national aspirations are for a state only "within the 1967 borders." This can be understood to mean "only in Judea, Samaria and Gaza" which Israel liberated in its defensive Six Day War. However, the PA's laws, education system, speeches to its populace, and media incitement all prove that their actual aspiration is the entire Land of Israel, what they call "historic Palestine."

The PA bodies and leaders refer to the entire 1948 area – i.e., from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, most of which happens to be today's State of Israel – as "Palestine."  Consequently, the PA seeks to enlist into its ideological ranks the Israeli-Arab populace, what it calls the "inside Arabs."

In the national perception of the residents of the Palestinian Authority, the Arabs of Israel are Palestinians just like them, who are also expected to fight against the Zionists and the occupation just like them. The PA operates in various ways to strengthen this Palestinian identity of the Israeli-Arabs. Let us discuss three of them here:

Attracting Israeli-Arab students to study in PA higherlearning institutions in Jenin, Shechem, and other cities.

Recruiting Israeli-Arabs for terrorist activities, including paying them salaries and recognizing them as national heroes.

Nationalist propaganda and incitement to terrorism.

Let us begin with the PA institutes of higher learning. It has been well-known for years that the universities in the PA are centers for locating and recruiting terrorism activists. The youth movements (Shabiba) of the various terrorist orgs are very active there finding activists and disseminating propaganda. It is thus quite worrisome to Israel to see how many Israeli-Arab students turn to PA institutions. Research conducted by Lt.-Col. (res.) Avi Shalev in 2022 showed that the number of Israelis in PA universities is estimated at a whopping 13,000.

International Law expert Adv. Maurice Hirsch, Director of Legal Strategies at Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) and a researcher for the Bit'chonistim movement, explains that the PA "attributes great importance to the 'Palestinization' of young Israeli Arabs. The PA correctly identifies the period of academic studies – a formative period for older adolescents – as a perfect opportunity to influence their self-identity. If they study in Israeli colleges, they would likely find themselves integrating into Israeli society. But if they learn in PA institutions, they can be swathed with Palestinian ethos, narrative, and propaganda. The PA thus seeks to detach them from their Israeli-ness and strengthen their Palestinian leanings."

The PA also works to attract Arab-Israelis to engage in terrorist activities, or at least, terrorism-facilitating activities. The best examples are Karim and Maher Yunis, the most vetera Palestinian terrorist prisoners in Israel. The two cousins, despite their Israeli citizenship, have been considered national Palestinian symbols ever since 1980, when they abducted IDF solder Avraham Bromberg at the Hadera junction and murdered him. They were originally sentenced to execution, but their sentence was commuted to life imprisonment with no chance for parole. But in 2012, then-President Shimon Peres further commuted their sentences, and they were freed earlier this year.

The Yunis cousins' solidarity with Fatah, and their status as longest-serving terrorist prisoners, made them into PA national icons. Karim was even appointed a member of the Fatah Central Committee. After his release from prison, he returned to his hometown of Ar'ara, between Hadera and Um el-Fahm, where a nationalist mini-festival was held to celebrate his release – despite orders given by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to prevent this. Top PA figures took part in the festivities, including Chairman Abu Mazen's deputy, to show their veneration for the murderers.

Abu Mazen himself spoke personally by phone with the cousins upon their release. The call was electronically captured by PMW, and its translation appears here [on the PMW website] for the first time. Abu Mazen is heard gushing with praise: "We are proud of you [plural] and we say to you that Allah should grant you health. You are the beacon of light of this nation, you are symbols of the Palestinian nation, you Maher and also you Karim... Your 40 years [in prison] were glory for all Palestine."

One of them responded, "First of all, I want to bless you and your wonderful words… May Allah show us the entire liberated land." Abu Mazen said, "Inshallah [if Allah wills it], our meeting on the homeland is close, and we will liberate the land together."

The Yunis cousins did quite well financially while in prison, as is the case with other Palestinian terrorists. Each of the two cousins received from the PA a total of some 4 million shekels (roughly over $1.1 million) over the 40 years, as well as another $25,000 as a one-time grant. They will also be receiving 12,000 shekels each month for the rest of their lives. Israel's Defense Ministry has taken some steps to confiscate money and property that would otherwise be used for these "pay to slay" salaries. However, the fact that Israeli-Arab terrorists who commit murders are paid to murder, in keeping with their status as Palestinian heroes, was an important part of why the Knesset recently passed a law withdrawing their Israeli citizenship and expelling them to PA areas.

Thirdly, the Palestinian Authority seeks to influence Israeli-Arabs via its Musawa TV channel, whose target audience is the Arabs of the "Occupied Interior." The channel originally broadcast from Nazareth, an Israeli-Arab city in the lower Galilee. In 2016, then- Interior Minister Gilad Erdan ordered it closed, as it was operating on behalf of the Palestinian Authority with no Israeli permit. The station then moved to Ramallah, in Area A, with no Israeli control at all. The content is designed for the Arab-Israeli public, narrated and produced by Arabs of both the PA and of Israel.

Not surprisingly, the Musawa channel took part in the festivities marking the Yunis cousins' release. Here, for the first time, are excerpts translated by PMW into Hebrew from that broadcast. The female announcer is heard saying: "The greatest time in anticipation of freedom that the world has ever known! Karim Yunis is breathing freedom after 40 years that the symbol of this great struggle was a prisoner of the Israeli occupier's jails. This occupation that still pursues the Palestinian identity, represented today by Karim Yunis. For our nation has proven that it objects to all the plans of the racist right-wing and fascism. Karim Yunis has proudly defeated the jailer!"

We must pay great attention. This complex situation, in which parts of the Arab population identify with a narrative that is hostile to Zionism and is influenced by PA efforts to "settle in their hearts," is something that the Israeli security and political frameworks must be on top of. It is a priority security interest of the State of Israel to ensure that the young Arabs are kept away from incitement of the Palestinian Authority and are integrated into Israeli society. The spreading of the PA's ideology must be stopped, so that Israel will not find itself with a fifth column in its midst, wherein a large part of its population not only identifies with its enemies, but is actually activated by them and in their name.

The author is a Middle East expert studying in Bar Ilan University and a researcher on the part of PMW and the Bit'chonistim Movement.

Between Holocaust Memorial Day and Israel Independence Day: That Which Lasts

 by Lt.-Col. (res.) Udi Ben-Hamo, translated by Hillel Fendel

Where there is no truth, but only "narratives," the winners are only those with power 

In our post-modern world, in which identities are blurred, nations are trampled upon, and every border is breached both physically and morally – what remains is simply to pluck on the thin cords of emotion, and thus manipulatively squeeze out some points by demanding compassion and recognition as victims.

When there is no truth, but only narrow "narratives," the winners are only those who control the power centers. 

This is, of course, a great tragedy for human intelligence - because there is clearly no connection between one's economic status or expertise in a particular field, and whether he is correct or knowledgeable in another area. One can be a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, and at the same time be an absolute novice when it comes to ethics or political science or law. One can be both a high-ranking IDF general and a total beginner in other fields. 

In short, we see these days that picking on the cords of emotion is in overdrive, causing havoc throughout Israel. 

A number of years ago, I took a trip to Poland, joined by several bereaved families whose loved ones were murdered by Palestinian terrorists or killed in battle. I wrote at the time as follows: 

"What connection is there between bereaved families and a trip to Poland?

"One can say with cynicism that the families' role is to squeeze out of us a bit more tears and emotion, in order to overcome the coldness, skepticism and distrust of our lives.  

"But we can find a deeper explanation, if we wish, as follows: 

"The People of Israel heralded to the world the tidings of morality and the message of kindness as primary fundamentals, as the basis on which the world should be built. As the Psalmist wrote: 'A world of kindness will be built' (89,3) – words that are truly engraved upon our hearts, both individual and communal. 

"It is for this idea that we live, and it is in the name of the war against this concept that our forefathers were murdered, and it is for this idea that we established our State – and in its name we must, and do, maintain a well-trained and equipped military founded upon ethics. 

"It is also for this model that the choicest of our sons have fallen. They put on uniforms and took up the sword as representatives of this same profound and well-rooted point – for in order to instill it in the world, we sometimes must also fight and stand up for our very lives.

"In this light, one long thread or chain is seen to run through the entire course of our lives – at the tip of which are our Israel Defense Force soldiers, without whom this world-dependent concept would not be sustainable.

"And at the very point of that tip are the members of our bereaved families – they were never consulted as to whether they wished to join this club – as living testimony to the fact that the 'Eternity of Israel will neither lie nor change His mind, for He is not a human to [do so]' (Shmuel I 15,29). "

Rectifying History with a No to National Divisions!

by Yosef Achimeir, former Likud MK and son of Revisionist and Beitar leader Abba Achimeir, translated by Hillel Fendel

A divided nation spent last night and today remembering the six million Jews slaughtered by Nazi Germany and their evil allies during the Second World War. The official ceremony took place, as every year, in Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, and the heart-rending siren was heard around the country, as every year, at 10 AM. There had been a fear, for the first time, that certain elements would seek to disrupt the sanctity of this day. And the same fear still exists regarding next week's Memorial Day for Fallen IDF Soldiers and Terrorist Victims, which we will commemorate just before Independence Day. 

As of today, the consensus still appears to exist that we may not cross the line with protests and disturbances, at least during public ceremonies. These two days were/are the test of our ability to retain our unity beyond the disputes that have intensified in recent weeks.