Thursday, November 16, 2017

Stop Demolition of Homes in Netiv Avot. A Letter from a Cousin....

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Dear Ohev Yisroel, 

Please forward this letter to Rabbanim and Askanim and Jewish Leaders.  We must all unite to stop this horrendous decree.  With strong leadership it is doable. No one is exempt.   

After the destruction of the 22 communities of Gush Katif on Tisha Baav 2005 and 800 homes were demolished and their families displaced, and disturbing pictures were in the news, there were Tehillim rallies organized with the theme "we share in your pain".  Great sums of monies were collected for emotional counseling and for food and clothing and basic necessities of the displaced families.  It was a drop in the bucket.

These families have now suffered for 10 years. The pain is diminished yet engraved in our consciousness and still raw. Many of the children went OTD (Off The Derech) , the breadwinners were demoralized, the families suffering great emotional and financial pain, sometimes physical as well..

Following the expulsion of these families, the entire southern Israel was under Kassam rocket attacks.  Sderot, Ashkelon and Ashdod as well as the neighboring communities.

This past year,  homes in Amona and Ofra were once again pointlessly demolished and families once again displaced due to a nonsensical and baseless ruling of the Israel Supreme Court.  The emotional trauma and pain for the pointless destruction of peoples homes and communities were barely publicized here in the Diaspora and left to each and every suffering family to shoulder the burden and injustice on their own. 

We know in advance of the senseless suffering that is in the planning for Netiv HaAvot.. Israeli politicians engage in platitudes but nothing of substance to stop the demolition.  If we stand by and do nothing we too will be held accountable in a Heavenly Court, Chayav BeDinei Shamayim Lo Taamod al dam Rei'acha, The Torah (Vayikra 19:16) states "lo ta'amod al dam rei'echa," do not stand idly by your brothers blood. The Gemara, Sanhderin 73a, cites a Beraita that states that this verse teaches that if one sees someone in a life-threatening situation (e.g. he is drowning in a river or being dragged by wild beasts), he has an obligation to save him. http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/_lectureshiurtext.cfm?shiurid=721717

The Chofetz Chaim (Beer Mayim Chaim, Rekhilut, beginning of Klal 9) maintains (based on the Gemara and Rishonim) that the Biblical prohibition of "Lo taamod al dam reiekha," (Vayikra 19:16 – Do not stand idly by while your friend's blood is spilled) applies not only to death but also to loss. In other words, it is prohibited to watch a potential financial loss coming upon another and not prevent it.   http://midreshetrachel.com/permissible-lashon-hara/

In addition,  We pray each and every day Hoshiva Shofteinu (Return Our Judges) keVarishona (Like the Ones We had) .  https://shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com/2016/10/hoshiva-shofteinu-kevarishonaatem.html

Is this prayer mere lip service? 

The people, Am Yisroel are ready for change.  We are waiting for the Leaders of Am Yisroel to act. and demand that this senseless ruling be overturned and for an Israeli Supreme Court which is not engaged in Judicial Tyranny corrupt and self perpetuating.  We want a Judicial System consistent to the teachings of Torah. 
 
We have heard so many inspiring lectures on Ahavas Yisroel.  

Let us serve Hashem with Thought, Speech and Action.  

So after saying some Kepitlach of Tehillim for Eretz Yisroel, let us follow up with real Action.  

If it were our homes at risk, wouldn't we be more proactive?

"First They Came..."

They came for the others...

"Then they came for me --- and there was no one left to speak for me"

                                                                                    Martin Niemoller

Niemöller was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1938 to 1945.[6][7] He narrowly escaped execution. After his imprisonment, he expressed his deep regret about not having done enough to help the victims of the Nazis.[4] 


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Steven Rodan <stevenrodan@yahoo.com>
Date: Nov 12, 2017 1:22 PM
Subject: Re: Hamodia.com - A Crusading Lawyer's Battle for Restitution
To:

I need your help to save the Jewish community of Netiv Avot, located in Elazar. We are trying to get our friends and relatives in the U.S. to contact members of Congress to inquire regarding Israeli government plans to destroy Netiv Avot, with at least 50 families. The first stage is for the demolition of 15 homes -- all of them permanent. You might have fostered good contacts with your member of Congress and perhaps others as well. Even if you didn't, your congressman will listen to you and respond quickly. Can you make some phone calls so that the members of Congress contact either Bibi or the Israeli embassy? We know for a fact that every phone call from a member of Congress to the embassy warrants a cable to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. If the ministry knows that there are questions being asked, they will think twice or more before destroying Jewish homes and lives.

Here is a sample e-mail that I have distributed that could help you.

Sample letter for member of Congress from constituents on Israeli government plans to destroy Netiv Avot

Dear Member of Congress,

We're communicating with you out of deep concern for our relatives and friends in Israel threatened with the destruction of their communities by the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Initiated by well-financed anti-Jewish elements in Europe and the United States, non-governmental organizations have petitioned and won judgments from the Supreme Court to destroy the entire community of Netiv Avot, established nearly 20 years ago with government support. The court has ruled that certain homes in the community, located around 10 minutes south of Jerusalem, were built on farmland claimed but never proved by local Arabs. The court has rejected all offers of compromise, including demolishing sections of homes that intrude only meters within the farmland. Although the government supported the community, outlined building areas, installed infrastructure and collected taxes, officials have abandoned Jewish residents to the bulldozers of the police and military. The first stage of the plan is to demolish 15 homes imminently, followed by additional police and army operations that would eventually destroy a law-abiding community of nearly 500 people.

We are appealing to you to seek clarifications from Prime Minister Netanyahu, who met Netiv Avot residents three times and repeatedly pledged not to destroy Jewish communities around Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria. The most troubling aspect is that the entire demolition campaign is based on U.S. military aid -- including U.S.-made police and army vehicles, bulldozers and anti-riot equipment. They have been used repeatedly against unarmed civilians, a violation of the Arms Export Control Act, which authorizes the sale of U.S. defense articles and services for "legitimate self-defense." Over the last few years, there have been several Jewish communities destroyed by Israeli forces with U.S.-made equipment. We believe that U.S. aid to Israel was never meant to hurt its citizens.

We wish to stress that we and our relatives in Netiv Avot are loyal citizens and enthusiastic supporters of the Jewish homeland. But we cannot keep quiet with a government policy meant to destroy scores of Jewish communities as well as the lives of their law-abiding residents. We appeal to you for immediate help.

Sincerely,

May Hashem bless you and your family and all Klal Yisrael.


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BACKGROUND VIDEOS AND NEWS 

Video of beautiful Netiv HaAvot slated for destruction by Israel Supreme Court while illegal Arab building is protected due to intense pressure of hostile NGO's. 

The Amona Catastrophe by Joseph Frager 06/02/17
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Message.aspx/9515  
...This should not have happened at all. With the Trump Presidency,  Amona should have and could have been saved. Prime Minister Netanyahu and others may have thought they would be rewarded in other ways if the Amona expulsion took place. This is entirely wrong and dangerous thinking. Now the struggle is that much harder. This was a bad precedent to set especially at the beginning of a friendly President's term. It should never have happened. The Jews of Amona tried very hard but were let down by major Jewish Organizations who did not raise an outcry.
I know for a fact that President Trump was spoken to about Amona. He could not be both President of the United States and Prime Minister of Israel. He did not want to see Amona torn apart. This was not his wish.
The Eviction Begins by Eliran Aharon, Amona, 01/02/17 
Watch: Amona evacuation underway
Hundreds of protesters prepare to confront security forces as Amona evacuation begins. 15 policemen reportedly wounded.


Watch: The Ofra eviction as it unfolds
See albums from evacuation of nine houses in Ofra, Tuesday 2nd of Adar 5777

15 homes in Netiv Avot slated for destruction Prime Minister Netanyahu. 

Netiv Avot residents petition Supreme Court Elul 9, 5777 , 31/08/17
Residents of the Netiv Avot neighborhood of Elazar in Gush Etzion have petitioned the Supreme Court to allow them to saw off the problematic parts of their houses and leave the houses standing. At present a demolition order hangs over 15 houses in the neighborhood, parts of which are deemed to have been built on private land.

Is Netanyahu words to be taken seriously? 

IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Excerpt from PM Netanyahu's Remarks at Ceremony Marking 50 Years of Settlement in Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, this evening (Wednesday, 27 September 2017), attended a ceremony marking 50 years of settlement in Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley. Following is an excerpt from the Prime Minister's remarks:

"We have brought about magnificent settlement in Judea and Samaria that we are maintaining and strengthening – responsibly, wisely and persistently. Settlement is important to you my friends. It is no less important to me and therefore, I tell you clearly and before anything: There will be no more uprooting of communities in the Land of Israel! It is not just a question of links to the homeland, though it is certainly that, but first of all, that is not the way to make peace. We will uproot neither Jews nor Arabs. We did not receive peace; we received terror and missiles! We will not go back to this. That was just the promo, that uprooting, to what is currently going on in the Middle East: Any area that falls to radical Islam becomes a base for destruction, violence and death. Therefore, we will not abandon our national home to danger. Instead we will strengthen the home, with momentum. When I say momentum I mean not just words but also momentum, movement."







--
Sincerely,

Robin Ticker

Activist emails sent to my list  are L'Ilui Nishmat Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan) and Howard Chaim Grief great activists and lovers of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichronum Baruch.  May their memories serve as a blessing. 

Most of these emails are posted on Shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com 

Personal emails to individuals will not be posted to my blog. 

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