Featured Post
Free The Hostages! Bring Them Home!
(this is a featured post and will stay at the top for the foreseeable future.. scroll down for new posts) -------------------------------...
Nov 19, 2008
Heading for a fight
As the government and the Supreme Court continue headstrong into their upcoming pre-election anti-right wing, anti-settler positions, they are heading into a serious clash in Hebron.
Why this is so important to be done now, can only be answered with one word - elections. The left wing government, and the Supreme Court, need to retain their control of the country. They see the populace turning more and more to the right, and that means they are losing control, and their agenda will lose its momentum. The only plan they have to thwart that is by engendering hatred for the "violent settlers who are anti-state".
How do you get people who send their kids to the elite army units, people who are involved in every aspect of the state, people who are involved in settling the land, to appear as anti-state?
The easiest way seems to be by riling them up by knocking down their homes, destroying their villages, and ruining their lives. They never really turn anti-state, as we saw after the Disengagement. They continued to send their kids to the most elite combat units, they continued serving faithfully despite threats and concerns that they would not. But at least for a few days if they can be upset, and shown in the media as being violent, and get some salient anti-government quotes said in the heat of the conflict, then they can easily be branded and portrayed as being anti-state and violent.
So the Supreme Court decides it is time to throw out a bunch of people who paid for their house, with video proof and full documentation. The government says they are going to do it. The residents and their supporters (of which I count myself) start getting upset and defending their position and themselves as being persecuted, and we are heading for a violent clash.
The leaders of the families at Beit HaShalom are warning that the upcoming fights will make Amona look like it was a cakewalk.
And you know what? I hope they break some heads.
The government is very selectively enforcing the law. Their is tremendous illegal construction going on all over the country, some by jews, and most of it by Arabs and Bedouin. As a matter of fact, there is a report by a comittee appointed by Interior Minister Meir Shitreet recommending today that tens of thousands od dunams of land stonlen by Bedouins in southern Israel and illegaly built upon be formally and retroactively approved, even though nobody went through any process of apllying for permits and making it legal. Just wave your hand and make all that illegal construction, and land theft, legal.
Yet here a few people go and pay full price for a house in a city, and nobody has argued that what they did was invalid or illegal, and the governemt is going out of its way to evict them.
If they think this will be a cakewalk, they are wrong.
The problem is that the residents of Beit HaShalom are playing into the hands of the government. The government is trying to get images of violent settlers into the media right before elections. That is the only way to get the left wingers, and even more centrist people, to hate the right wing, call them violent, condemn them and the like right before elections.
But what else can the residents do? Just walk away peacefully? They cannot. If they do that, then there will be more razings, evictions and disengagements around Yehuda V'Shomron.
They need to fight back. They have to defend themselves against the governments selective enforcement and the governments redifa of the settlers. If I had any courage myself, I would go down there and move in with the residents of Beit HaShalom (Kol Hakavod to MK Nissim Zeev for doing just that the other day), and fight alongside them.
More strenght to the residents of Beit HaShalom. Do not stand down. Do not be intimidated. We support you!
Why this is so important to be done now, can only be answered with one word - elections. The left wing government, and the Supreme Court, need to retain their control of the country. They see the populace turning more and more to the right, and that means they are losing control, and their agenda will lose its momentum. The only plan they have to thwart that is by engendering hatred for the "violent settlers who are anti-state".
How do you get people who send their kids to the elite army units, people who are involved in every aspect of the state, people who are involved in settling the land, to appear as anti-state?
The easiest way seems to be by riling them up by knocking down their homes, destroying their villages, and ruining their lives. They never really turn anti-state, as we saw after the Disengagement. They continued to send their kids to the most elite combat units, they continued serving faithfully despite threats and concerns that they would not. But at least for a few days if they can be upset, and shown in the media as being violent, and get some salient anti-government quotes said in the heat of the conflict, then they can easily be branded and portrayed as being anti-state and violent.
So the Supreme Court decides it is time to throw out a bunch of people who paid for their house, with video proof and full documentation. The government says they are going to do it. The residents and their supporters (of which I count myself) start getting upset and defending their position and themselves as being persecuted, and we are heading for a violent clash.
The leaders of the families at Beit HaShalom are warning that the upcoming fights will make Amona look like it was a cakewalk.
And you know what? I hope they break some heads.
The government is very selectively enforcing the law. Their is tremendous illegal construction going on all over the country, some by jews, and most of it by Arabs and Bedouin. As a matter of fact, there is a report by a comittee appointed by Interior Minister Meir Shitreet recommending today that tens of thousands od dunams of land stonlen by Bedouins in southern Israel and illegaly built upon be formally and retroactively approved, even though nobody went through any process of apllying for permits and making it legal. Just wave your hand and make all that illegal construction, and land theft, legal.
Yet here a few people go and pay full price for a house in a city, and nobody has argued that what they did was invalid or illegal, and the governemt is going out of its way to evict them.
If they think this will be a cakewalk, they are wrong.
The problem is that the residents of Beit HaShalom are playing into the hands of the government. The government is trying to get images of violent settlers into the media right before elections. That is the only way to get the left wingers, and even more centrist people, to hate the right wing, call them violent, condemn them and the like right before elections.
But what else can the residents do? Just walk away peacefully? They cannot. If they do that, then there will be more razings, evictions and disengagements around Yehuda V'Shomron.
They need to fight back. They have to defend themselves against the governments selective enforcement and the governments redifa of the settlers. If I had any courage myself, I would go down there and move in with the residents of Beit HaShalom (Kol Hakavod to MK Nissim Zeev for doing just that the other day), and fight alongside them.
More strenght to the residents of Beit HaShalom. Do not stand down. Do not be intimidated. We support you!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Related Posts
Don't you think passive resistance would be better?
ReplyDeleteIt won't help anyone if the settlers throw rocks at the soldiers.
passive resistance is only good for the Arabs. With settlers it is pointless. The idea of passive resistance is that you afterwords get pictures n the media of soldiers cracking heads of people sitting down and doing nothing but holding flowers and singing Beatles songs.
ReplyDeleteThe media would be happy to publish pictures of soldiers cracking heads of settlers who are thwarting peace with their takeover of Arab lands. The passiveness would lose its effect.
And passive has already been tried, and failed miserably. The Disengagement was completely non-confrontational by the disengagement, and the government was surprised by how easy the whole thing went down, and how much quicker than expected.
Maybe another solution needs to be found, but between passive and active resistance, the only option right now is to fight for your home..
I'm also stumped. This is really a damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don't situation.
ReplyDeletePassive resistance is disheartening as Rafi well points out: the disengagement did absolutely nothing good for the PR of the settlers. All it did was make them look like pushovers, and increased the momentum for more expulsions.
OTOH, it's gonna look really bad if C"V any soldiers or police get injured, or worse.
One thing I can suggest for sympathetic readers is to add tons of talkbacks on the news sites, Hebrew and English, exposing this disgusting ploy for what it is. Perhaps if we can swing public opinion, the government will have to have second thoughts... forlorn hope though that is...
Why not announce that there will be a Gay parade in front of the house in Chevron. Then get the Edut Charedit down there to stop it. That seemed to work in Jerusalem.
ReplyDeletePoint is, that somehow the Charedim know how to "riot" and win.
Whats the secret?
1) Reigious Zionist are very concerned about good PR. The Charedim don't care about getting bad press - they get it no matter what they do.
ReplyDelete2) Religious Zionists regard Israeli institutions such as the army and police with a great deal of awe, respect and honor. The Charedim do not have any particular respect for Zionist institutions, and by and large regard them in the same was as they would have regarded the institutions of Czarist or Communist Russia - only with a lot less respect and fear.
3) The Charedim believe very, very strongly in what they do - or more accurately, what their Rabbis tell them to do. When you blindly and unflinchingly follow "daas torah" there is no room for the self-doubt that plagues the Religious Zionists. What's there to doubt if the "gedolim" are infallible?
Put all the above together, and you can see why the Charedim get their way using civil unrest and the Religious Zionists do not.
Shaul's answer is good, but I think your question is better.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the guys sitting in beit Hashalom are plagued with self-doubt and uncertainty.
Perhaps int he general public that might be the case, but I do not think it is true of the people involved in the actual settlements and subsequent fights.
I dont know why there is a difference, but there is. Perhaps it is an issue of political power? Haredi power has been on the rise - UTJ has been growing (slowly but surely), Shas has grown. Seeing a growing entity in front of you makes you consider the future. The NR influence has shrunk tremendously over the years. Perhaps that is why the government considers that public as fodder that can be stepped on...
But your question is still better.
The good news arising from this is that we can rest assured that Betar Illit and Immanuel are safe from ever having to be evacuated!
ReplyDeleteI just worry that the teenagers will be 'sent in' again to be beaten up by the troops. Our idealistic youth are being used as pawns by the settler leadership to do their dirty work.
ReplyDeleteFollowing the disengagement, we are left with youngsters with a criminal record and an aptitude for civil disobedience, who are seen as outcasts by mainstream Israelis- is this what we want for the next generation?
shaul, you have discovered the answer! Provide inexpensive housing for charedim in chevron and other settlements.
ReplyDeleteanon - I like it!
ReplyDeleteanon 17:45 - That takke might be the solution... and I'm not even joking!
ReplyDeletePhysically, for exactly the reasons I've mentioned before... and spiritually, because it would mean that the charedim and the dalim would be living side by side, hopefully in peace! Would that picture not evoke Hashem's middas harachamim?
RW,
ReplyDeleteNo youth are "sent in" I was in gush katif, amona, chevron expulsions and dozens more.. there were plenty of adults in amonah.
Fact is, I spent 2 days in amonah which made the beating I got inevitable (at least I got to go home, shower and sleep.. and bail out my roomate for 2500 shkalim the next day)
Most adults cant spend a few days in freezing winter on a outpost, many came and left, i'm sure many attempted to come but were too late as the army blocks off roads.
So the fact is, its mostly the youth that can come early, sit around, sing songs, smoke, drink cofee, shmooze and wait for the sh^& to hit the fan.
If Rafi can get the keys to my apartment in kiryat arba, he's welcome to sleep there as long as he likes..
Your welcome to pack my 2 bedroom apartment with 50 people!!
You can get to beit hashalom by using the gates and cutting accross the field..
In the WORST case, you can walk to the industrial area, exit by eddie dribin's place, then walk through the arabs, and link up at worshipers path.
I would ONLY do this if the 2 gates from kiryat arba is locked and you are either with a large group or heavily armed guys!
Other ways to get there include exiting the kiryat arba area between the ashmerot yitzchak neighberhood and charsina and walking down the field between the road and kiryat arba..
I can think of 20 ways to get there.. get a hikers / army map and link up with a group of guys that know the terrain...
elchonon... if you really mean that about packing your apartment with people to help, then please contact me at 0525935700..
ReplyDeleteshmuel sokol (ps- rafi can vouch for me)