UNM Israel Alliance

From einshalom.com
I asked a friend, Zimra, who lives in Haresha, what’s happening there? What’s the status of the court decision about whether their homes will be demolished or not? Zimra lived in Gush Katif, in Neve Dekalim before the expulsion in 2005. She and her family moved to Haresha after that. Below Zimra’s letter is an article from the Haresha website giving an explanation of the background of the town, and the nature of the battle it faces, as well as contact information for any person of good conscience who would like to help. If Haresha were all that were at stake it would be enough to get excited over, but the battle for Haresha is the battle for all of the towns in Judea and Samaria and eventually, all of Israel.

Here is Zimra’s letter about how it is in Haresha right now.

Regarding the hearing in the Supreme Court – Praklitut hamedina [state attorney] just never showed up on the 28th – then, miraculously, on Tuesday, the court officially announced that they can answer until THE END OF JANUARY – which gives us another month.

What we found disturbing was that the State did not just come out and say that we are in the retroactive authorization process – as they did in Netiv HaAvot (about 2 months ago). What is their reason for stalling? We do not know what to make of it. Do you have any connections in misrad rosh hamamshala [prime minister's office] who can help us find out what the ?!@#$?? is going on???

The ironic thing here is that on one hand, Haresha’s homes are under serious threat of being destroyed and serving as a legal precedent for thousands more homes in Yehuda and Shomron – basically this is disengagement #2.

On the other hand – davka [paradoxically] now there is great potential for Haresha to grow. If the state actually does go through with the authorization we will finally be able to build here.

There are hosts of other problems that could disappear too such as discounts in the Day Care, school buses, and much more because ever since Shalom Achshav [Peace Now] turned us into an “illegal” settlement, we no longer are entitled to all sorts of funds that every other yeshuv has – busing our children to school is a real problem because we do not really exist…

Also, we are in dire need of another building for the Day Care, and Misrad Hatamat [health department] refuses to give our maon [building] a “semel” [certificate] under crowded conditions, but we are forbidden to build not only because of the freeze, but also because even our own regional council will not help until the legal issues “clear up” – please Gd… – this is also, of course, without mentioning that we cannot fund the structure to begin with… so the families are not able to get the standard discounts that every other citizen in this country gets, and a few of the women here have just had to leave their jobs because they could not afford the maon…

Also, families that are living in very crowded conditions (I live here in a caravan too) would finally be able to build a home. I would love so much to build a home here in Haresha, but how could I when I know there are chances of it being mowed down??? Been there. Done that. It is just too hard for me to do again after having gone through that once already in Neve Dekalim, although I wish I had the strength to do it…

We are trying to bring Eli Yishai to Haresha. We have had quite a few ministers and MKs here, but we still do not know how instrumental they will be in helping.

The Battle Against the Silent Expulsion

Background

Haresha was established in 5749 (1999) during the last days of Netanyahu’s first tenure as prime minister. With the help of the Binyamin Local Council under the leadership of Pinchas Wallerstein and his successor Avi Roeh as well as residents of the nearby yishuvim of Talmon and Neria under the leadership of Rav Daniel Hershkovitz, the initial garin of Mercaz HaRav graduates struck roots. Today the community numbers over 40 families.

The families were originally housed in caravans. After some years the Housing Ministry began developing the permanent infrastructure for the yishuv, including laying the groundwork for permanent housing. The investment of the Housing Ministry was supplemented by the support of other governmental offices and ministries, including the Defense Ministry, who appreciated Haresha’s strategic importance overlooking Ramallah to the south and east and all of Gush Dan to the west.

Once the Housing Ministry had laid the groundwork for the permanent housing, the families invested their private funds to build their homes. Like almost everywhere in the country where ownership of land is not private, the final permits weren’t obtained before construction began. As is typical throughout Israel, the eight houses were built with the expectation that the final permits would be granted at the end of the long bureaucratic process. As is also typical, the Civil Administration automatically issued destruction orders on the buildings, which are then retroactively cancelled once the approval process is completed.

Peace Now Gets Involved

Peace Now discovered this technicality and turned it into a weapon in its war against the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria. It initiated a continual and ongoing campaign to have the “illegal dwellings” throughout Judea and Samaria destroyed. And it found an eager and willing partner in the Israeli Supreme Court. About four years ago, Peace Now filed a petition to force the state to execute the destruction orders pending on the permanent houses in Haresha. The State responded to Peace Now’s appeal with weak equivocation. True, it asserted, the houses are illegal, but it isn’t high on the State’s list of priorities to destroy them for many and varied reasons. . . . It was the same answer that the State gave to Haresha’s identical appeal against illegal Arab building in the neighboring village.

And wonder of wonders, the Supreme Court accepted the State’s position regarding the Arab building, but not the Jewish building. On July 7, 2009, the Supreme Court issued a precedential decision to intervene in the State’s management of state-owned lands by ordering it to set a time for the evacuation of the families and the destruction of their homes within four months.

The decision’s blatant discrimination in favor of Arab defendants and against Jewish ones is yet another stone in the long road the Supreme Court and its Leftist collaborators have paved leading the State along their preferred political path against the will of the people and their elected representatives.

A Simple Solution

There is a simple solution that would frustrate the fond wishes of Peace Now: the signature of the Defense Minister as the final remaining step in the long approval process for the yishuv. This is a simple procedural step since the land on which the yishuv is built is “adamot sekker”, ‘surveyed’ land that becomes state land when there are no private claimants to ownership. The land upon which Haresha sits is indeed uncontested. Unfortunately, Defense Minister Ehud Barak shares the goals of Peace Now and is unwilling to affix his signature due to political considerations.

Ma Nishtana?

How is this struggle different from other struggles? The nationalist public has become very familiar with this drama and its unchanging cast of characters: the vicious and dishonest leftist organizations, the hostile and hypocritical Supreme Court, the dissembling government issuing its doublespeak, the hostile and hypocritical media, and the embattled and noble settlers. The public has also grown weary of the spectacle: because the ending doesn’t vary, it has started to seem like the characters are just going through the motions. Once again, the weak are overcome by the mighty because everyone realizes – especially after Gush Katif – that this is a battle that can’t be won. So the settlers are put in their place by the establishment, but leave the field vowing to fight another day – a cry that rings more and more hollow as the days pass.

Here in Haresha, we are not weary. We are not shrugging our shoulders and saying, ‘well, what do you expect from the Supreme Court?’ We recognize that the cooperative venture between Peace Now and the Supreme Court will turn into a stealth “disengagement” if left unchallenged and unchecked. We recognize that the small fissure made by the Supreme Court’s decision will turn into a wide canyon through which the heavy bulldozers will roll to dismantle settlement after settlement. We are treating our houses as the House of Israel, Beit Yisrael, and our struggle as the struggle of the Jewish People’s right to their homeland.

Every single member of Haresha is committed to wage this battle with total determination. We are well organized and we are serious. We will not back down, we will not make deals, and we will not compromise since we will not be on the defensive. While we will use all the tools at our disposal, including traditional lobbying and political pressure tactics, our strategy will be different.

Preventing the Destruction by Attacking the Root Cause

Haresha has joined hands with the Regavim organization to attack the problem at its root: the hijacking of the Israeli justice system to serve the ends of the Far Left political elite, effectively bypassing the democratic process.

Though the financial cost is onerous (a mere pittance for Peace Now but a staggering sum for us), we intend to file petition after petition demanding that the Supreme Court treat illegal Arab building the same way as “illegal Jewish building.” (In truth, the two are not the same as the Arabs rarely take steps to comply with the law, whereas the Jews do everything in their power to comply.) While the Supreme Court and the media can sweep one or two such cases under the carpet, if the double standard becomes too flagrant and too stark and too public, the matter will come to a head. The Court will either have to stop playing ball with Peace Now or it will lose so much of its legitimacy that the government will be forced to step in and act.

For our legal strategy to be effective, we will need to inform the public about our campaign and to arouse their active support. To this end, we will and are employing traditional lobbying and public relations tactics.

We Need Your Help

1. By being politically active – Anyone with access to people with political influence can help by contacting those people on behalf of Haresha.
2. Creating a public storm – Pass on the word in whatever way you can: by contacting the media, spreading the message on email lists and internet forums, etc. Even a simple conversation with the people you come in contact with on a daily basis can make a big impact in unexpected ways. Also, please participate in the public events that we will be holding. The perception of widespread public support for our cause has a big influence on politicians.
3. Fundraising – Please contribute to this cause that is the cause of all of us. Ask your families and friends to contribute. If you know of philanthropists who might be willing to help us, please pass on their names. The legal war that we’re embarking on entails significant sums.
4. Share your ideas with us – If you have new ideas or a different angle on how to conduct this struggle, we are happy to hear from you.

Aloh na’aleh . . . ki yachol nuchal la.

With G-d’s help – and united – we can do this!

The Residents of Haresha

For Contributions, call 054 6235818

To contact the Residents’ Committee: El-Ad 052 6071277 Nachum 052 8119726

by Yoram Ettinger on the Republican Jewish Coalition website
Demographobia – the illogical fear of Arab demography – has become a central element shaping Israel’s state of mind in general and the attitude toward Judea & Samaria in particular. However, all projections dooming Jews to become a minority between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean have been crashed at the rocks of reality. From a minority of 8% and 33% in 1900 and 1947 respectively, Jews have become a solid majority of 67% west of the Jordan River (without Gaza), benefiting from a demographic tailwind.

In March 1898, the leading Jewish historian/demographer, Shimon Dubnov – who opposed Theodore Herzl’s Zionist vision – projected that in the year 2000, there would be only 500,000 Jews west of the Jordan River. But, in 2000 there were five million Jews west of the Jordan River.

During the 1940s, Professor Roberto Bacchi, the founder of the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and the mentor of the current Israeli demographic establishment, projected that in 2001 there would be only 2.3 million Jews, constituting a 34% minority between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean. But, in 2001, there were five million Jews – a 60% majority!

In 1967, Prime Minister Levy Eshkol was advised that by 1987 there would be an Arab majority. But, in 1987 Jews maintained a 60% majority between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean.

Israel’s demographers have traditionally underestimated Jewish fertility, idolized Arab fertility, ignored Arab emigration and minimized the potential of Aliya (Jewish immigration). Hence, they dismissed the prospect of a massive Aliya in the aftermath of the 1948/9 War. However, one million Jews arrived. They projected no substantial Aliya, during the 1970s, from the Communist Bloc. But, almost 300,000 Jews arrived. During the 1980s they ridiculed the expectation for an Aliya wave from the USSR, even if gates might be opened. Nevertheless, one million Jews returned to the Homeland from the USSR.

In 2009, in defiance of fatalistic projections, there is a robust 67% Jewish majority west of the Jordan River, excluding Gaza. The Arab-Jewish fertility gap has shrunk from 6 births per woman in 1969 to 0.5 births in 2008 (3.4:2.9). According to the UN Population Division, the average global Muslim fertility rate has declined as a result of modernization, urbanization and family planning. For instance, Iranian fertility rate decreased to 1.7 births per woman, Egypt – 2.5 births, Jordan – 3 births, Algeria – 1.8 births. In addition, annual Arab net-emigration from Judea and Samaria has escalated since 2000 (the 2nd Intifadah) and shifted to a higher gear in 2006 (PLO-Hamas war). At the same time, the number of annual Jewish births has increased by 45% from 1995 (80,400) to 2008 (117,000), while the number of annual Arab births during the same period – in pre 1967 Israel – has stabilized at 39,000.

An 80% Jewish majority in the combined area of Judea, Samaria and pre-1967 Israel is attainable in light of the current demographic trend. It would be advanced by the implementation of a long overdue demographic policy: highlighting Aliya, returning of expatriates, establishing a Jewish National Fund to support global Jewish demography, migration from the Greater Tel Aviv area to the periphery, converging school and working hours, etc.

The upward trending Jewish demography has critical national security implications. It proves that anyone claiming that Jews are doomed to become a minority west of the Jordan River, and that the Jewish State should concede Jewish geography, in order to secure Jewish demography, is either dramatically mistaken or outrageously misleading.

This is not a new video, it was an interview with Bishara on Israel’s Channel 2 before he became an MK.
Everybody knows what he is saying is true. It’s common knowledge, and historical record. It’s a scam that appeared and overtook the world in the lifetime and memory of everyone over 50 or 55, especially those who pushed the scam. For this scam, that everyone knows is a scam, Israel is being dismantled and Jewish homes, businesses and lives are being destroyed.