Doc's Talk: Building Israel; The Original Zionist Vision

Friday, April 30, 2010

Building Israel; The Original Zionist Vision

Nurit Greenger

"...And He will make her desert like Eden, and her wilderness like the garden of Gold"

The State of Israel is a national Jewish treasure.

One hundred and fifty years ago a number of Jews already lived the first Zionist vision, which was to restore their independence in their ancient land of Israel. Jews from Russia to Yemen decided that there is no other place for them to live but in the biblical Jewish Homeland, now known as the State of Israel. And so they packed up their few valuables and a handful of belongings and by foot or by horse they traveled the distance, for months or years, to finally arrive to the desolated Promised Land. They had one state of mind, which was to establish their home in the ancient Jewish Homeland and to never leave it again. And so it was. Those Jewish pioneers who arrived to the Middle East Wild West knew that the local Arabs will be a stumbling factor in their aspiration to make the Land of Israel their home but that did not deter them. They were decisive; they vowed that from the Jewish Homeland no one will remove them again. If, for whatever reason, they were to be uprooted from the place where they lived, then they would simply move elsewhere on the land and build three others homes. No matter what, 'we do not move', they said and did.

The modern State of Israel was established to serve as a home for the entire Nation of Israel wherever it is, no matter if he or she is a religious or secular Jew, reform orthodox.

Sadly,62 years after it was founded, the State of Israel is now facing existential threat. The only way to remedy this peril is to do exactly what the Jewish pioneers did one hundred and fifty years ago; at a grassroots level work endlessly to build, build, and build.

Mistakenly or not, the Israeli leadership can continue doing what they want to do. However, the people of Israel, with the help of Jews everywhere, must follow the only the one goal the first pioneers had and the only solution there is that will save Israel: build!

When one arrives to Israel one may get the impression that Israel is overly congested and there is not much spare land on which one can build. This is a great misconception. The Negev, which is Israel's southern region, makes 60% of the entire country's land from which only 8% of this 60% is inhabited. That means that 50% of Israel's land is ready to be turned into a land of milk and honey. All it needs is to ride the building fever wave. All the land is yearning for is to be judaized!

In recent years Israel's leadership had adopted 'remove the Jew from his land' policy. It is time for the Nation of Israel to tell its leadership they want to be left alone and away from politics. "Our way," they must say, "is the early Jewish pioneers' way and the only way. We are here to build and stay, stay and build."

From the days of biblical Joshua Ben Nun till approximately two hundred years ago, there was a Jewish community in Gaza Strip. Any Arab claiming otherwise is propagating a lie. The most ancient synagogue mosaic floor was found in Gaza. (Gaza Synagogue Mosaic, 6th century CE: http://cojs.org/cojswiki/Gaza_Synagogue_Mosaic,_6th_century_CE)

About two hundred years ago, for unknown reason, Jews stopped living in the Gaza Strip. However, for not too long. One hundred years ago Jews returned to Gaza and founded Kfar Darom *[1] on 250 Dunams of land which Tuvia Miller purchased in 1930 for the purpose of growing fruit orchard on the site of an ancient Jewish settlement of the same name, mentioned in the Talmud. Following the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, in 1946 Miller sold his land to the Jewish national Fund (JNF). In October 1946, Hapoel HaMizrachi Kibbutz Movement established a community on the same land as part of the Israeli government 11 points Negev settlement plan. The community was named [again] Kfar Darom, after a Talmudic-period village of the same name that was located near the site.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, following the Egyptian army three months siege on Kfar Darom, after numerous battles, in the summer of 1948, Kfar Darom community was abandoned

Following Israel's victory in the miraculous 1967 Six-Day War and Israel's subsequent occupation of the Gaza Strip, in 1970 a military outpost was established at Kfar Darom site. In 1989, the Israeli national unity government of Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Shamir permitted the outpost to be converted to a civilian community.

At the 2005 Israel's unilateral disengagement from Gaza, the Israeli 'settlers' and their supporters made Kfar Darom their symbolic last stand in Gaza. At the point of the disengagement plan, Kfar Darom consisted of about sixty families, totaling about 330 people, who earned their living from the free working professions and agriculture with a central packing center for the world renowned insect-free vegetables the Gaza Jewish communities produced. The village also had an elementary school, a religious school for adults married men students and the "Torah and Land" Institute, for research into religious laws relating to agriculture in Israel. The village Visitor Center contained the Garden of Commandments Museum, which illustrated commandments relating to the Land of Israel.

Kfar Darom has become the symbol of the return of Jews to Gaza one hundred years ago. The same community was built and destroyed four times, to now remain destroyed. Israelis cannot allow this type of history to be repeated.

Now is the time for Israelis to tell their government that it is not their duty to clean up the ongoing trail of mess it always leaves behind; the citizens see their only duty to clean up Zionism misconceptions and follow the Zionism grassroots narrative of building Israel everywhere.

The Negev region has a great national interest. Nowadays, when Israel is gasping for oxygen the Negev could become Israel's lifeline.

Ordinarily, one seeks the service of an attorney after the fact not before; it is called defense not preemptive action; it is taking action against the past. Now is the time for Israel to look forward, not backward. When Jews were locked in the Auschwitz concentration camp they deserved pity Today, Am Yisrael-the Nation of Israel is not to be pitied; it is free, independent and carries a humongous responsibility to protect and build the Land of Israel to its maximum capacity. The task at hand is challenging, the least to say.

No too long ago I have established an opinion theory that the only remedy to Israel's leadership ongoing faulty policy is to establish a private army, the army of the people, the citizens' militia that will fervently protect those who are farming on and building the land.

There may come the day when Israelis will have to pay a dear price for their leadership's mistakes. They may even have to fight again in order to take back Gaza and even Jerusalem.

Through Zionism Jews returned to their Promised Land, the Romans, Turks, Islamists, British and others in between stole from them.

It is now for the Israeli citizens to regroup and embark on building thriving communities in Israel's south, the Negev, Galilee to the north, Judea and Samaria to the east, Jerusalem and its outskirts in the country's center and to the west, wherever there is still some vacant land; not one stone unturned. Amen!

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Reference: *[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kfar_Darom

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

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