DEAR LIST: equipment needed for reserve combat engineers battallion 8163, Infantry battallion 967 and the Aleksandroni brigade. A NEW WAVE OF RANDOM TERROR HAS BEGUN TO CAUSE GRAVE CONCERN THROUGHOUT WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE WEST BANK COMMUNITIES OF YESHA. A BRIEF OVERVIEW BY YISRAEL DANZIGER OF MISHMERET YESHA FOLLOWS MY UPCOMING COMMENTS. THIS PAST THURSDAY (ISRU CHAG) WE SPENT THE DAY JUST OUTSIDE OF EFRAT WITH TWO REPRESENTATIVES OF A RESERVIST (MILUIM GROUP). A GROUP OF APPROXIMATELY 80 RESERVISTS WILL BE LEAVING FOR SH'CHEM NEXT SUNDAY AND ARE IN NEED OF BASIC EQUIPMENT. THROUGH A DONATION THAT I HAVE PERSONALLY MADE IN MEMORY OF MY LATE FATHER AND A DONATION FROM TORONTO ZIONIST COUNCIL, WE ARE PROVIDING CLOSE TO 50 BULLET PROOF VESTS WHICH WILL BE USED AS WELL BY MEDICS IN THIS PLATOON. HOWEVER THE ONE MAJOR PROBLEM IS THAT THE PROTECTIVE FAMASTON SHIELDS THAT GO INSIDE WILL ONLY BE GOING INTO 8 OF THE VESTS AND WE NEED ANOTHER 70 ODD TO PROVIDE THEM WITH FULL PROTECTION. THIS RESERVIST GROUP WILL BE STAYING IN SH'CHEM FOR APPROX. 24 DAYS AND HAS A SPECIFIC TASK WHICH IS USING HEAVY EQUIPMENT TO CLEAR AWAY HEAVY BUSH SO THAT WELL ARMED TERRORISTS ARE NOT ABLE TO AMBUSH OR KIDNAP IDF PATROLING THE AREA. OUR COST OF THE LIGHT WEIGHT FAMASTON BULLET PROOF INSERTS ARE $450US EACH AND EACH VEST NEEDS A FRONT AND BACK. POPULAR QUESTION WOULD BE, HOW IS IT THAT THE IDF IS NOT SUPPLYING THIS LIFE SAVING EQUIPMENT TO OUR MILITARY. THE ANSWERS THAT I HAVE BEEN GIVEN ARE THE FOLLOWING. A. THE COUNTRY IS OUT OF MONEY B. THE SECURITY PRIORITIES IN ISRAEL ARE DIVIDED UP INTO THREE. FIRST PRIORITY IS THE NORTH OF ISRAEL WHICH IS DUE TO THE MOST SERIOUS CONFRONTATIONAL BORDER. SECOND PRIORITY IS THE SOUTH. MOST RECENT GAZA -CAST LEAD WAR. THIRD PRIORITY IS CENTRAL ISRAEL IN WHICH THERE SEEMS TO BE A PSYCHOLOGICAL ACCEPTANCE FACTOR OF LIVING WITH AN EXSISTING ARAB NUISANCE (MY WORDS). WE HAVE BEEN AT THIS JUNCTURE DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF THE FATEFUL OSLO ACCORDS AND WE ARE HERE AGAIN. TORONTO COMMUNITY CAN RECEIVE CHARITABLE RECEIPTS BUT AT THIS TIME ALL I NEED IS A SHOW OF HANDS FOR THOSE WHO ARE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE. ONCE WE HAVE COMMITTMENTS WE CAN ARRANGE TO GET CREDIT FROM THE SUPPLIER AND PAY THEM IN DUE TIME. PLEASE PASS ON THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILIES. CONTACT IN ISRAEL 052 448 9512 IZZY KAPLAN 052 468 9991 YISRAEL DANZIGER Update-Beit Chagai Erev Shabbat Parshat Shmini 17/04/09 This Friday morning at 6:30 an Arab, succeeded in infiltrating the community of Beit Chagai southwest of Kiryat Arba. His presence was immediately detected, the Rapid Response Team was alerted and he was quickly eliminated. This mornings attack follows a recent pattern that has occurred quite frequently of late. Fortunately, most of these attacks have failed, resulting in no one hearing about them. But,the attacks that result in injured and killed ( Bat Ayin,..) have made the news.This pattern we are referring to are individual Arabs with no "official"connection to any of the "terrorist organizations"and no financial resources, attacking any Jew ,anywhere ,anyhow, what the Shin- Bet describes as "random terror". This has manifested itself, over the last year in murder and attempted murder using bulldozers, tractors ,automobiles, gardening and construction tools. Anything that can be used to cause bodily harm .This situation, "random terror "is described by the government as something that lacks organization, cannot be foreseen, cannot be stopped and therefore something we must live with. Sound familiar, this is the same explainition given for the ongoing rocketing of the Negev over the last eight years.It is now clear that this government intends to continue the policies of the previous Kadima gov..This gov. has Ehud Barak as defense minister who has over the last year viciously destroyed small community outposts as Yad Yair pulverizing a beit knesset and uprooting every last tree. Those that believe there is some one to talk to,write to, appeal to are living in denial refusing to face the realities of our situation, ultimately doing nothing about it. The focus of our efforts, energies, resources must be towards doing battle on all fronts in order to ride out this next hellish wave until there is a real change in leadership, throughout. Mishmeret Yesha IZZY KAPLAN 416 824 2858 416 256 2858 Check out my new blog http://israelonisrael.blogspot.com |
Hundreds of people have begun a Passover holiday march to Yad Ya'ir, an 18-year-old neighborhood that was destroyed seven months ago by the Olmert-Barak government.
At 4 PM, a major event will be held at Yad Ya'ir, near Dolev in the Binyamin region of southern Samaria. Public figures including rabbis and Knesset Members will be in attendance. Monday is the 18th anniversary of the establishment of Yad Ya'ir, marking the murder of Dolev resident Ya'ir Mendelson by Arab terrorists.
March to Resettle
The area, which is owned by Jews, had been torched and vandalized by local Arabs several times before IDF Division Commander Brig.-Gen. Noam Tivon ordered the town's destruction last September. The marchers say they are paving the way for Jews to resettle the sight.
It took the IDF two days to demolish the tiny town. The army first arrived with a force of soldiers and demolition equipment, but called off its plans when it understood the size of the crowd standing ready to protect the town - some 300 Jews from the nearby Jewish towns of Dolev, Talmon, Neriah and others. Two days later, the army arrived in larger numbers and did the deed - even though word of a Supreme Court ruling to delay the action until 4 PM that day had already been received.
The army later claimed that the fax machine didn't work and that the order was not received until it was too late.
Test for the Netanyahu Gov't
"We still hope to return," a former resident stated recently. Monday's marchers are hoping to lay the groundwork for just such a return. "We have not given up on Yad Ya'ir," organizers of the march said, "and we plan to return and settle the area once again. This will be a major test of the Netanyahu government, to see if it puts an end to the leftist policies that allowed unrestrained illegal Arab construction while forbidding Jews to build legally."
Meir Goldmintz, a long-time resident of Yad Ya'ir, told the story of its establishment in memory of a terrorist victim, its abandonment by the army, the Arab vandalism it suffered, and its ultimate destruction by Israeli forces – despite ongoing negotiations for its peaceful relocation.
Shortly before Passover 1991, after Dolev resident Yair Mendelson was murdered, his neighbors wished to establish a community on the site of the murder, in keeping with the tradition of "a proper Zionist response." However, then-Defense Minister Moshe Arens of the Likud refused. After a protracted struggle, it was decided to establish a military base there.
Building the Site
"Over the years," Goldmintz said, "a park was also built there, on lands that were purchased from their Arab owners. For years, the Yad Yair group worked on building up a vibrant Jewish presence there: prayers, Torah classes, activities. A monument to Yair was erected, as were a playground for children, a plaza, and a synagogue. Cakes and other foodstuffs were given out to soldiers on Purim and other occasions, we lit Chanukah candles there, and more. The high point was our yearly springtime event, in which hundreds of people would take part."
The army abandoned the site circa 2004, Goldmintz said: "Thus began a period of constant Arab vandalism, which the army did not 'succeed' in preventing. Over the course of time, the electric grid was destroyed, the synagogue was looted, the monument was defaced, and the synagogue was set ablaze no fewer than three times."
"Finally, we realized that we would have to do something, and we decided to actualize our right to the land - and start our own town there. We [finally did this] after a group of leftists and Arabs arrived on the scene, set fire to the synagogue, and even replaced the Israeli flags with PLO flags...
"In response, our family [Meir, his wife Chana and four children] moved to the site, together with a group of students from Yeshivat Nachliel. It required great self-sacrifice, as well as financial resources. The yeshiva helped out and held classes there, and nearby communities helped with fuel for the generator, guards, food for the yeshiva students, etc. But we still had to deal with problems such as minimal housing conditions, getting back and forth to work and school, etc.
"We lived in a container of only 12 square meters (120 square feet), without showers and with no room for furniture; we left the refrigerator and table outside. Every night we would spread out the mattresses on the floor, and in the morning we would pile them up again."
Meir said that most of the army officers recognized the importance of the location, "and they sent frequent patrols, and even held exercises there. Don't forget, it's only 100 meters from the outlying homes of Ramallah..."
One of the hardships the family faced was travelling 20 minutes back and forth to their home community of Haresha, "for showers, laundry, and even for the children to be with friends."
Illegal Destruction
The actual destruction of this budding Jewish neighborhood - four buildings and two more under construction - "was also illegal," Meir said, "in that a person may not be forcibly removed from his residence if he has been living there for 30 days, without a legal hearing beforehand. In addition, they ignored the Supreme Court ruling ordering them to delay the demolition."
Dolev and Yad Yair are located just a few minutes' drive away from Beit El and other eastern Binyamin towns – but the trip now takes about an hour. This, due to the closing of the road linking them several years ago, because of security considerations. Children who learned in Beit El and workers with jobs in eastern Binyamin were forced to change their lives when access to these areas was abruptly cut off. The women of MachsomWatch raised no uproar at the "harm to the quality of life" of the Jewish pioneers.
