Forty years in the desert

In a few nights we will participate in one of Judaism’s most ancient ceremonies, and certainly one of the year’s most treasured events. We sit around a table and conduct a Seder – the annual recitation of the story of Israel’s redemption from Egypt.

Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook, Israel’s first Chief Rabbi, writes that that exodus had a two-fold purpose. On the one hand, it was a goal in and of itself, that being liberation from Egyptian bondage. However, he teaches that the exodus was also a means to an end, that end being the reception of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and eventually, observance of that Torah in Eretz Yisrael. The exodus as a stand-alone event was momentous, but its real significance came to pass only years and decades later.

We are currently marking the sixtieth anniversary of Israeli independence. The Jewish people have made tremendous leaps and bounds over the past six decades. Who could have expected, in May of 1948, the power and prestige a Jewish state would command at the beginning of the twenty-first century. This is especially notable considering the fact that the Jewish people, coming out of a 2,000 year old exile, had to virtually recreate its national being from scratch, having been totally removed from exercises in sovereignty for two millennium. On top of this we can never forget that Israel was reborn from within the ashes of Auschwitz. Jews have prayed, day in and day out for thousands of years for not only a return to Zion, but also for Techiat HaMetim, the revival of the dead. Israeli independence is no less than revival of the dead. For this, we rejoice and give thanks to the L-rd for have granted us this most magnanimous gift of national life.

That’s the up side. The down side is all too well known. From the very beginning there was a concerted effort made to oppress the foundations of Jewish being. The founding fathers, or most of them, were not great fans of observant Judaism. The kidnapping and forced resettling of over 1,000 Yemenite children is perhaps the quintessential example of attempts to eradicate Judaism from the Jews. Yet Ben Gurion was known to have answered, in reply to a question about Jewish legitimacy to settle in Eretz Yisrael, that the source of Jewish rights to the Land is the Bible.

The relationship between Israel’s leadership and our Land has been overtly problematic. Eretz Yisrael was almost viewed as a ‘card’ to be dealt at the proper time. This was explicitly felt both prior to and following the 1967 Six Day war, when Israeli leaders attempted to refrain from liberating Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, and following their liberation, expressed a desire to abandon them at the first possible opportunity. So it was that Israeli paratroopers, having captured the Old City of Jerusalem and Judaism’s most sacred site, Temple Mount and the Kotel (The Western Wall) were told to prepare to leave only a short time after the victory.

Yamit, Oslo, Hebron, Gush Katif and the northern Shomron all speak for themselves. Other words are superfluous.

Where does this leave us, after sixty years?

In my humble opinion, the state of Israel isn’t really sixty years old. Yes, if we count from 1948, to 2008, the result is sixty. But in reality, we couldn’t really call ourselves a full-fledged sovereign entity while our heart was still in captivity. That heart being Jerusalem and Hebron. They go hand-in-hand, together. David began in Hebron for seven and a half years before moving up to Jerusalem. Hebron was lost in 1929; Jerusalem in 1948. Jerusalem was liberated on the 28th of Iyar and Hebron the following day. Hebron was chopped into two parts in January, 1997. Ehud Barak offered Arafat 90% of Jerusalem only a few years ago. The fates of these two eternal, holy cities are inextricably combined and cannot be separated.

Following the Six Day war former Jerusalem residents, expelled during the 1948 War of Independence were repatriated. Moshe Dayan, then Minister of Defense, refused to speak to former Hebron Jewish homeowners who had lost their property to Arab marauders following the 1929 riots and massacre, and subsequent final expulsion in the spring of 1936. Only in 1968, exactly forty years ago this Friday, did Jews return to the first Jewish city in Israel.

As with many such stories, from close-up they seem almost ordinary. In reality, not only a physical reality, but also a metaphysical truth, such events are earthshaking, or perhaps better put, ‘heaven-shaking. ‘ The return of a small group of Jews, that 1968 Passover in Hebron, with the guidance of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook, with the participation of Rabbis Waldman, Druckman and Levinger, was the forerunner of a massive awakening, a returning to the heart of our land throughout Judea and Samaria. But this awakening too was not only a corporeal return to the land; rather, it was, primarily, a spiritual arousing, the voice of the Jewish people bursting through the ages, an almost primal expression of the faith buried so deep inside the souls of the Jewish people, who for centuries had cried out ‘next year in Jerusalem,’ whereby ‘Jerusalem’ was the keyword representing all our land, Eretz Yisrael. Without Jerusalem, without Shechem, without Hebron, we were as a body without a soul, a golem, whose bodily movements were predefined, perhaps classified as ‘natural.’ But the spirit, the inner essence, the heart, the soul, was missing. Only with the liberation of Jerusalem and Hebron and with them the rest of Judea and Samaria could we really and truly say, ‘we are back home – we have returned.’

That Passover, forty years ago, was the breaking of the ice – the trailblazer, the results of which are the authentic rebirth, physically and spiritually, of the Jewish people. As Jews began returning to their physical roots, so too did they commence the return to their spiritual roots; the numbers of Jews who have ‘returned,’ who have come back to observant Judaism in the past 40 years is beyond numbers. And that homecoming, as such, began with, and was initiated by our return to our land, our return to our heart – to Jerusalem and Hebron. The group of Jews who initiated and participated in that ‘Seder’ in Hebron in 1968 might not have known it then, and maybe some of them are still unaware of it today, but they were the sparks that set the fire of the return of the Jewish people to themselves after two thousand years.

Just as the exodus from Egypt had a double goal; one immediate and the other long-term, so too did our statehood in 1948 have a double agenda; one immediate – announcing before all the world, we, the Jewish people have not died out, we have escaped the bondage of galut, of exile, you have not been able to extinguish us; and also long-term – to bring the people back to all their land, to all their land and to all their heart and soul, physically and spiritually.

So as we celebrate sixty years and forty years, we can conclude that really, only now, are we beginning. The Jewish people spent forty years in the desert before entering the Land, forty years fraught with problem and crises. Now, we too have finished forty years, also filled with unimaginable predicaments. And just as then, when we came into the land the problems didn’t come to a swift end, we too, today, may still face unbearable situations. But those aren’t the key. The key is, we are home, we are in Israel, we have returned to Hebron and to Jerusalem, we have rediscovered ourselves, we have been granted the Divine gift of life, we are here to stay.

Happy Passover, Happy 60, Happy 40!

Why Can't Jews buy homes in Hebron?

Printed in the Jerusalem Post

Many events, despite their joy and festivity, may also have bittersweet shadows lurking behind them.

It is customary at every Jewish wedding, that under the huppa, or wedding canopy, the groom recites the words from Psalms 137:5-6: "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I remember thee not; if I set not Jerusalem above my chiefest joy." In some traditions the groom also places ashes on his forehead, recalling the destruction of the second Temple, and breaks a glass as an expression of loss. Even on the happiest of occasions, we recall the depths of sorrow at the loss of our most significant national enterprises, Jerusalem and the Temple.

ON THURSDAY night I attended a wedding. The daughter of one of Hebron's leaders was married in Jerusalem. As is wont at such weddings, the groom rubbed two sets of ashes on his forehead: ashes discovered in the Old City of Jerusalem, from the fire 2,000 years ago which destroyed the city, and also dust from Gush Katif, razed and obliterated almost three years ago, this summer. However, this past Thursday night had a particularly poignant significance. The groom was a graduate of Mercaz HaRav High School. He knew many of the young men killed there by an Arab terrorist just a few weeks ago. The night of his marriage was also the "shloshim" - the 30th day following the murders. That night there was also a large memorial service at the yeshiva in memory of the young victims.

So, when the groom recited the words, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem," all the people in attendance were remembering not only the Temple from two millennium ago, but the deaths of those eight students, only a short time ago.

This is, perhaps, the story of Judaism: a combination of sadness and happiness, mixed together, making for the Jewish people.

SOME EVENTS can be understood; others are difficult to fathom. We are currently celebrating the first anniversary of the conclusion of the purchase of Beit HaShalom in Hebron. Exactly a year ago attorneys gave us the green light, and in we went. This huge, 3,500 square meter structure, strategically located on the road between Hebron and Kiryat Arba, was the first property purchased outside of the borders of the original Jewish neighborhoods. The roof of the building serves as a lookout, with a view of Kiryat Arba to the east and the Hebron Hills to the south. It is an amazing sight; on the one hand, exceedingly beautiful, and on the other hand, a bona fide security asset.

Israel is on the verge of a 60th birthday. Since the birth of the state in 1948, despite all the problems encountered, Israel has made tremendous achievements. Who could have expected that a people being shoveled into ovens only a few years before, with over six million of their brethren exterminated, could overcome all odds and bring an ancient nation back to life, a feat unequaled by any other culture or nationality in the history of the world. It certainly does deserve to be celebrated.

However I cannot but sense that this celebration is somewhat bittersweet with the case in point an excellent example, a microcosm of issues continually encountered.

The Jews came back home to Israel; but to what kind of an Israel? Of course growth and development are measures of success. But do we remember where we've come from? Do we take into account the triumphs upon which modern Israel was born? Do we recall the bedrock which serves as the justification for the rebirth of our people in our homeland?

HEBRON WAS the first Jewish city in the land of Israel, home to our patriarchs and matriarchs. The Cave of Machpela is our people's second holiest site, after the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It was off-limits to Jews for 700 years, until Hebron came under Israeli control in the 1967 Six-Day War. As we celebrate 60 years of independence, so too we observe 40 years since the return of Jewish residency in Hebron during Passover of 1968.

Yet when Jews legally purchase a building in Hebron, 60 years after the rebirth of our statehood, such a transaction is automatically shrouded in controversy. So much so that the families in the building were prevented from installing glass windows throughout a snowy and rainy winter. At present they still may not install plastic shades on the windows, nor may they hook up the building to the city's central electric services. This is not due to any question of the legality of the purchase, but rather to a fundamental question: Can Jews continue to live, grow and develop freely in Hebron?

How can we, as a people, justify our existence in Tel Aviv or Haifa, if we do not recognize the validity of our presence in Hebron? If we cannot accept and respect the very pillars upon which our statehood lies, a peek into a crystal ball of the days and years to come looks dismal and bleak. A people with no past, or a people that refuses to recognize its past, has no future. A Jewish purchase of a building such as Beit HaShalom in Hebron should not be viewed as "problematic."

Instead it should be cheered on as a positive step in the renewal of Israel's oldest city.

The time has come for Jews throughout Israel and around the world to declare their allegiance to Hebron.

A Conflict of Cultures and Values

This morning one of the headlines adorning the Jerusalem Post reads, "Israel mulls PA troops in Hebron."

When called the previous evening for a reaction to this story, one of the points I made was, "Israel is allowing armed terrorists to 'legally' return to Jenin. After the number of soldiers we lost in Jenin cleaning out the terrorist nests there, I really don't understand how we can allow them back!"

In an article in HaAretz from March 28, by Amos Harel and Avi Yissacharof, it is written that the critical Kevasim junction is also slated to be opened. This junction, between Kiryat Arba and the southern Hebron Hills communities, is not far from the regional Judea command post, and leads to the area's industrial center, Fachs el-Masmas. Numerous terror attacks have occurred near this site. Should the junction be again opened, terrorists will have a clear escape route, leading to just about anywhere in Hebron.

Interestingly, but sadly, the article mentions that Barak may not hasten to open the junction because, "an attack which allows terrorists to pass though an area where there was a security barrier which was removed, will be negatively accredited to the Defense Minister."

And back to the Post: Hebron was a perfect place for the program (to deploy 'PA police'), (but) it was a sensitive issue due to the Jewish population in the city.

So what are we dealing with: security of the state of Israel and human lives, or politics?

A few weeks ago I met a man outside Ma'arat HaMachpela, who identified himself as a journalist, working for the Yisrael Post newspaper. When we began talking he told me, "you cannot image how much I hate you." As we continued to converse he said, "you really don't understand. I hate you more than you hate the Palestinians." I didn't give up, hoping to conduct a serious discussion with him. But in the end, just before he walked away, he concluded, "you know, I believe that a good settler is a dead settler." And with that he walked away.

I have no idea how many people in Israel think the above thoughts. More than likely, most of them would refrain from expressing them, especially to a 'settler' in Hebron. However, this particular man put all the cards on the table. Others have too.

The following was broadcast thirteen years ago on Kol Yisrael radio, on Friday July 14, 1995. I posted it in an article that same day [http://tinyurl.com/32mzzw]: "… Rabbi Rabinovitch had spoken to a reporter who had interviewed the Israeli Foreign minister a short time before. The reporter asked him, 'aren't you worried about what will happen to the 'settlers' in Judea and Samaria after the army pulls out?' He answered, "I have no problem with what will happen in Yesha. We will withdraw the army and then let's see what happens. They (the Jews) will either run away immediately, or the Arabs will massacre some, and then we'll see what happens."

By the way, in case you've forgotten, the Foreign minister in July 1995 is currently serving as President of the State of Israel, Shimon Peres. (And we also know what happened when the IDF retreated from areas in Judea and Samaria, and also Gush Katif.)

Hebron came under attack for almost two years, following the abandonment of over 80% of the city to the PA, including the hills surrounding the Jewish community. In a few days Hebron will mark the seventh anniversary of the murder of Shalhevet Pas, the ten-month old infant murdered by a sniper shooting from those very hills. Not too long ago another terrorist began shooting towards Beit Hadassah and hit two homes. Several bullets hit a baby's crib in an apartment on the building's second floor. Another bullet flew through my son's room, stopping in his clothes closet. And that is WITH the IDF still stationed in the hills, before renewal of an armed palestinian force in the city.

The question must be addressed: What are the goals of the so-called "Israeli leadership, and at what price?" If they consider it necessary to take 'calculated risks,' then at what cost? Who will have to pay the price should the 'calculated risk' backfire? Who will replace the mother or father, or son or daughter sacrificed to the god of 'calculated risks'?

But getting to the roots of the matter, do the so-called leaders care about Israeli life? Does it really make any difference to them if any of us live or die? According to Shimon Peres, circa 1995, or the gentleman mentioned above, who calls, 'dead settlers good settlers,' the answer would seem clear. But it's not only words that count; actions speak louder than words. Judging from the reactions of 'leaders' to the mortars falling on Gush Katif for years, or shooting attacks in Hebron or throughout Judea and Samaria, the answer would have to be a resounding 'no!' It might be expected that Israeli life in the 'cities' would be worth more than those of us living in Yesha. But judging from the reaction of rockets being shot at Sdereot or Asheklon, it seems that life there too, is considered to be cheap.

I have an idea.

I was just interviewed about the suggested compensation to be paid to those (Jews) expelled from Judea and Samaria. (Of course, such compensation to Arabs, when suggested by Rav Meir Kahane HY"D or Rehavam Ze'evi – Gandhi HY"D was considered racism. But when offered to Jews, it is considered a legitimate means to attain 'peace.') We should begin to collect funds to pay-off our present politicians, offering them money, homes, drink, anything they so desire, anywhere in the world, barring Israel. They will most definitely accept, being that nothing is more important to them than money. Once they have left we'll be able to start again, they way we should have in the first place.

Seriously, the objective is not to physically rid ourselves of those people, despite the fact that they are corrupt and dangerous to the existence of the State. But more treacherous are the ideas they espouse – human life is cheap while Eretz Yisrael and Judaism are worthless. Their despicable scorning of the three tenets of Judaism: Am Yisrael – the Jewish people, Eretz Yisrael – the Land of Israel and Torat Yisrael, while at the same time valuing only their own personal power and well-being, is abominable. Our primary struggle is not against our enemies from without; rather it is a battle against the enemy eating away at us from within; a conflict of cultures and values, the outcome of which will determine the face of the Jewish people for generations to come.

Three Cheers for Mercaz HaRav

This morning I must admit: I did something I'm not wont to do. I read an article called 'Heads to the right,' penned by Gideon Levy in Haaretz newspaper. Even stranger, I actually agreed with some of what he wrote. Not everything, of course, but bits and pieces.

For example, the 2nd paragraph: Mercaz Harav is the flagship of the last group in Israeli society still operating in the realm of ideas. Religious Zionists are the only group, aside from the ultra-Orthodox population, whose members are willing to lay down their lives for the collective and its worldview. Right on!

And he goes on to say: …without the Gush Emunim movement, supported by successive Israeli governments, there would be no settlements; and without the Mercaz Harav yeshiva, there would be no Gush Emunim. This institution, then, was the cradle of the settlement enterprise and its driving force. Right again!

But of course, it can't all be good. These last lines are prefaced with: Nor can anyone ignore the damage it has caused the country. Without the settlement enterprise, peace might have reigned here already… Oops.

And then, some of the lines are mixed: From Mercaz Harav emerged the rabbis that led the vilest move in Zionist history. Most of the delusional right-wing perpetrators and the mongers of hate for Arabs came from this flagship. Religious leaders such as Rabbis Moshe Levinger, Haim Druckman, Avraham Shapira, Yaakov Ariel, Zefania Drori, Shlomo Aviner and Dov Lior, all idolized by their students, raised generations of nationalist youths within those walls.

All of these lines can be analyzed, but the first words are really what interest me: Mercaz Harav is the flagship of the last group in Israeli society still operating in the realm of ideas.

Ah, those lofty ideals, which are today so blasphemed. So old-fashioned. Like these quotes:

It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical… In the meantime, I must hold on to my ideals. Perhaps the day will come when I'll be able to realize them! The Diary of a Young Girl, eds. Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler, p. 332

One needs something to believe in, something for which one can have whole-hearted enthusiasm. One needs to feel that one's life has meaning, that one is needed in this world. Hannah Senesh [http://www.wisdomquotes.com/001779.html]

I also seem to remember, even though I cannot presently find the source, that either the poetess Rachel or Hannah Senesh asked, 'what will happen to us, here in Israel, after we've achieved our present goals. What will happen to our ideals then?'

But for many, such ideals have lost their taste. Today their lives are based upon secular materialism, hedonism and money. And let's not forget peace. Even at the cost of survival.

The Rabbinic leadership and student body of Mercaz HaRav must be lauded and applauded. For at least three different things:

As we say – Sur me'ra v'aseh tov – first veer from evil and then, do good!

Sur me'ra – Veer from Evil:

Yesterday the so-called education minister, Yuli Tamir visited the yeshiva. When leaving she was verbally attacked by people there. Bravo. She deserved everything said to her, including 'murderer.' As 'education minister' Tamir has allowed 'nakba' (the Arab word for catastrophe, which they use to describe the 1948 War of Independence), to be taught in Israeli schools as a legitimate part of the curriculum. This is nothing less than incitement, inciting Arabs against Jews and the state of Israel. Such incitement can only lead to bloodshed. Jewish blood being shed.

Yuli Tamir, one of the founders of Shalom Achshav, (Peace Now), is the antithesis of everything Mercaz HaRav has ever stood for. Thank G-d she was chased away.

Sur me'ra number two: The yeshiva refused to allow Olmert to visit and pay his respects or condolences. This too is an act to be praised.

Olmert was one of the initiators of the expulsion from Gush Katif. He has publicly declared his willingness to expel tens and hundreds of thousands of Jews from their homes in Judea and Samaria, while abandoning our land to our enemies, allowing them to continue attacking our civilian population.

Despite continuing attacks on Israelis, Olmert stubbornly insists on continuing negotiations with the enemy, in an attempt to rid ourselves of our land. He plans on holding negotiations even during the week of the 'shiva' – the seven days of mourning for the yeshiva's murdered eight young students. He is ready to abandon Hebron and divide Jerusalem, leaving the holiest sites in the world in the hands of our enemy.

How could Mercaz HaRav allow such a defiled person to walk in its holy midst, who, while offering 'condolences' is preparing the ground for more Israelis to be killed?

And now, Aseh tov – Do Good: This morning, when speaking on Israel radio, Rabbi Haim Steiner, when asked why the Yeshiva was politicizing the death and mourning of its students, (referring to the decision to refuse Olmert's visit), he answered, 'this is not politics. We are people of Torah and 'yirat-shamayim' (G-d fearing.) In other words, there are issues which transcend such mundane subjects as politics. There is G-d. There is Torah. Those who study Torah, the word of G-d, those who fear and revere G-d, those who make ideas and ideals a way of life, have the ability to discern who and what surround them. Eretz Yisrael is transformed from earth to a spiritual value, far exceeding the obscure standards of life significant to the Levys, Tamirs, and Olmerts of this world. Refusing to shake hands with Olmert is not politics – it is Torah!!!

This is why it was so important to make these points clear, from the very center of religious Zionism, Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav, during one of its most difficult moments.

Da'at Torah – the way of Torah, is not weak and lackadaisical. Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook zt'l, son of Israel's first Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook, and leader of Mercaz HaRav and the return to Yehuda, Shomron and Gaza following the Six Day War in 1967 wrote about his trip to Yaffo in the winter of 1949, visiting the home and Torah study hall where his father had lived and where he had grown up:

…It was an awesome moment. I was filled and spiritually uplifted by the energy binding me during my stay at the Talmud Torah…and afterwards (I went) again to the study hall "Ohr Zoreach" which had been shelled and destroyed and ruined by the British, may their names be blotted out…and I forced myself to walk back and forth, with the many sacred memories of my childhood and later years…filled with the anger of G-d and I felt empty there, at this terrible time at this terrible place, with the deepest of thoughts and sharpest expressions and speech, from myself and from holy verses, of the abundance of curses and vengeance which should occur soon on the heads of the wicked, on the rulers of malice and its perpetrators, which G-d the redeemer will bring about and judge them as they've done to us, as they have destroyed and ruined here, so too swiftly will it be to their palaces and halls…" (Ohr l'Netivoti, 315-316)

Amen, may it be His Will, speedily in our days.

Behind the Windows

There are times when you (I) think you've seen everything. And then something new pops up and you (I) pinch yourself, trying to discover if it's real or just a dream.
 
I've been pinching myself a lot lately, and each time I'm shocked to discover that it's not a dream.
 
Let me preface the forthcoming story with three short introductions.

First, every once in a while I receive letters asking why I post such items. I can only go back to the first article I recall having written, following the murder of Nachum Hoss and Yehuda Partuche just outside Hebron in March, 1995. I remember writing then that it's important that people KNOW – that events shouldn't be the inheritance of the few – that they should be public knowledge, on the table for everyone to see, to judge, and to do something about. I still believe that, even more so today.

Two: Despite what I am going to write, yes, I still believe in the sanctity of the State of Israel, in the Land of Israel. The State is, in my opinion, (and I know there are many who disagree for various reasons), a Divine gift for which we waited for over two thousand years. The State isn't at fault for all the problems we have, rather it's us, the people, who are screwing it up. (In short.)

Three: I'm frequently asked, 'what can we do?' OK – we all know the standard answers: make phone calls, write letters, etc. etc. (Again, in my opinion) there are two major activities people can partake in today to make a difference, and I'm sure this isn't the first time you've ever heard this. First, you can give money, making contributions and donations to whatever interests you (like Hebron). The battles we are facing today are unbelievably expensive ($20,000 a month to heat Beit HaShalom and literally tens and more tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees). Very simply, we cannot afford do it without mucho dollars. And that means people like you, because we don't have a monopoly on money.
However, if people REALLY want to make a difference, they have to come here to Israel – not for vacations, but to comeLIVE here, breath here, work here and 'change the way it is.' And it really can happen – it can be done. I know people don't like Aliyah speeches, but what can you do – sometimes the truth hurts. If you really believe in something, act upon it. Do it.

After you read the next paragraphs you may ask (if you already haven't, at least a million time) why would anyone want to go live there? I relate to that as 'the Spy's question – the same thing asked by 10 of the 12 spies Moses sent to search out the land following the exodus from Egypt. They looked around and asked themselves, 'why would anyone want to live here?' We know what happened to them and the damage they caused us, up through today. We are here in Eretz Yisrael because G-d gave us this land, it is our homeland, He created to Jewish people in order that we should live here and fulfill here His commandments. Need more be said?
 
OK – that was just an introduction. Now on to the good stuff.
 
By this time you're probably familiar with the famous, or infamous Beit HaShalom windows. A couple of weeks ago, following a fierce snow storm, Minister Eli Yishai from Shas started banging on the cabinet-room table, demanding to know why Jews in Hebron had to live without windows. Barak finally gave his okay. Then, the fun started.

One of my colleagues here received a call from the local Chief (named Taryk) of the Civil Administration, a branch of the defense ministry. This was a couple of days before another expected snow storm. He informed us that we could install, in Beit HaShalom, 'wooden frames with plastic' to protect its residents from the cold and rain.
"Ha," my friend answered, "you think they're living there without any protection at all. That's what we already have there."
So a couple of hours later Chief called back and said, "you can install aluminum window frames WITHOUT glass windows."
My friend: "Do me a favor. I'm busy. In another day or so it's going to start snowing again. So either issue me the permits I need for windows, or leave me alone."
 
A few hours later Chief called back and finally agreed to installation of windows – period.
 
Wow, great – a real victory. The windows were ordered and arrived in record time. The simplest windows in Israel were ordered, in order not to upset Chief or any of his bosses. Installation began. And then the fun started. Again my friend received a call, an hysterical call, from Chief.
"What are you doing there?"

"Installing windows."

"But you are also installing 'trisim' – plastic shades. You didn't get a permit to install anything made of plastic – only aluminum frames and glass windows."

"OK, so we'll change them from plastic to aluminum."

"But then they won't be the simplest windows, which you promised to install."

…. – " Look, the standard for the simplest windows, set by the Ministry of Housing, demands that all windows come with shades. We are only following that."

One of the reasons the Chief and his bosses allowed the windows was a result the community's agreement to post bond, guaranteeing not take advantage ofthe window installation in order to make other earth-shattering changes in the building. A creature named Ronit Levy, a left-wing activist dressed in military garb who works as a prosecutor for the IDF, wrote a letter to the court saying that they should consider demanding payment of our bond guarantee because we had violated the agreement and installed plastic shades.
 
So, all the shades that had been installed were removed, and today the families live with glass windows in very sunlit rooms.
 
Behind the scenes, or as we say in Hebron, behind the windows.
 
(See another two stories, not directly related to Hebron, on my Arutz 7 – Israel National News Blog  - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Blogs/Blog.aspx/9
 

--
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It really is time to wake up

Have you ever wondered why, when you have an infection, it hurts. For example, if you have a tooth that's rotted, or you've cut yourself badly, but in a place where you don't necessarily see the wound, what would happen if it didn't cause you pain?

The answer is quite straightforward. The infection spreads, or if you're bleeding, you keep bleeding, and eventually you die. It's as simple as that. In other words, even though we go to great pains to avoid pain, such aches can save our lives.

Israel is hurting, but for some reason we don't feel the pain. Or perhaps we're ignoring it. How long have we been hurting for? I suppose I could go back hundreds and thousands of years. There's original sin, but back then there still weren't Jews. Perhaps though, as far as Jews are concerned, there's a second version of original sin: bowing down to the Golden Calf or the rejection by ten spies of Eretz Yisrael. Today, thousands of years later, we are still suffering from the identical afflictions.

Let's not go back so far. Let's start with the 'first intifada,' in the late 1980s and going into the early 1990s. There were numerous terror attacks which left many too many Jews dead and wounded. But that war is primarily remembered for 'rock-throwing,' which was not considered to be a very serious crime.

Aside from the fact that rocks can, do, and have killed people, the significance of that period was twofold. First, our enemy organized himself to rebel against the state of Israel and its Jewish inhabitants, with the set goal of eventually wiping Israel off the map.

True, rocks doesn’t seem that dangerous, but look at where they’ve led! That can be examined though point number two: That is, they attacked, they declared war, and we, collectively, the state of Israel, the prime minister, the defense minister, the cabinet, the armed forces, ignored them. In their eyes it was not a war, rather it was an 'uprising,' which could be quelled. However I remember quite vividly Defense Minister Moshe Arens, who then had the power and authority to do whatever was necessary, saying that 'it would take time.' Look how much time has passed and where we are today.

The infection had taken hold and was starting to spread. But where was the pain?

Then came Rabin-Peres-Oslo-Hebron-Wye. The disease had made its mark. Rather than fighting the infection with a good strong antibiotic to kill the illness, Israel's so-called leaders decided upon radical surgery: Amputation. Cut off a limb or two to save the rest. But sometimes the disease spreads faster than originally thought and local amputation isn't enough.

Israel kept hurting, the infection kept spreading. The pain continued but we insisted that it really didn't hurt. We offered to amputate more – Camp David II, version Barak, included a lobotomy. To no avail.

Intifada II. Major warfare. Hundreds and thousands of civilians and IDF personnel murdered in cold blood. Yet again our 'leadership' refused to accept the reality of the situation and continued to deny the throbbing of open, festering infections, swiftly spreading through the body of our country, our land, our people. Again they attempted major amputation. Gush Katif and the northern Shomron. Some ten thousand people expelled from their homes and their land, our land, abandoned to the cancer eating away at our souls.

But that too wasn't enough to eradicate the infection, the disease. Despite the tears of so many thousands of people, the pain of expulsion and destruction, the rest of the country was insensitive to their misery.

Where are we today? Rockets, falling by the hundreds and thousands on Sderot, fired from the same land we abandoned, shouldn't surprise anyone. Neither should the total disregard of the Israeli government shock anyone. After all, why shouldn't the terrorists shoot at us? When was the last time Israel reacted to attacks on its people? Mortars fell on Gush Katif for years and years, yet no one saw them, heard them, or felt the trauma and physical injury they caused. Gunfire was directed at Hebron and other communities throughout Judea and Samaria for two years, the source of which, again, was land that Israel GAVE to the enemy. For two years the Israeli government totally overlooked the suffering of its own people. Ditto Kiryat Shmona and other northern cities, who lived with Katusha fire from Southern Lebanon for years, yet had to watch as Israel fled, only to leave them again at the mercy of terrorists who utilized the vacuum to prepare and then shoot hundreds of missiles into Israel.

One more brief current example fresh out of Hebron. The Supreme Court recently ruled that, despite the continued rocket attacks on Israel, we must provide the 'civilian population' in Gaza with 'humanitarian aid.' Yet here in Hebron, twenty families in Beit HaShalom, legally purchased property, were not allowed to install windows or electric lines or tar the roof, despite the freezing winter weather. The windows have arrived but electricity still runs through a generator and apartments are full of puddles from water draining through the roof and walls to the floor.

Where do we stand today? The foreign minister, (an extremely apt title, because she is foreign to everything Israel ever really stood for) declares that we must continue to chop up our country for the sake of peace, even though the other side is incapable of keeping their side of the deal. We have a Prime Minister, (reminiscent of Chamberlain, holding an umbrella over the head of Abu Mazen), who insists that "Jerusalem is not on the table," or will only be discussed 'last.' But his counterpart denies this and proclaims, 'everything is being discussed.' Simultaneously, political parties such as Shas, continue to contradict reality, remaining in a government on the verge of amputation, stage III – this time the head and heart go.

Where are the people? Does anyone remember that only a few weeks ago a member of an official national committee of inquiry admitted that their conclusions were based, not on the virtues of a specific event, in this instance, the behavior of Olmert during the Second Lebanese War, rather on political factors: if he can bring 'peace' that must be a major consideration before any conclusions are reached.

Let's go back to our toothache. Such a small piece of bone, yet it can cause such excruciating pain. Sometimes, as first aid, the doctor or dentist will fill the area with some kind of temporary painkiller, to numb the pain.

It seems that this is what Israel has done to itself. I'm not sure if we have injected ourselves with some kind of Novocain which has totally dulled our senses, or have swallowed a large dose of sleeping medicine. But one way or the other, these 'medications' have seemingly killed all pain, thereby allowing the infection invading our body to run rampant, totally uncontrolled, bring us to an extremely dangerous threshold. Unfortunately there are times when the doctor, referring to a gangrenous limb, says, 'either the limb or the life.'

Many years ago, Rabbi Meir Kahane hy"d suggested transfer of Israel's Arab population from the State. He was called a racist, imprisoned and forbidden from running for Knesset. Another Jew, Rehavam Ze'evi, (Gandhi) hy"d, also suggested 'transfer' as a solution to the Arab-Israel conflict. He too was called a racist. The Arabs took both men seriously. Both were assassinated.

Presently Israelis, including ministers and MKs are offering payoffs to Jews, as incentive to transfer (expel) them from their homes in Judea and Samaria, in the name of peace. They are not called racists. They are called 'lovers of peace.'

The Jews in Judea and Samaria are, at present, the only people keeping Israel alive. They are the only ones who have not succumbed to the Novacaine-Sleeping Pill cocktail ingested by the rest of the country. But it is very difficult for a small number of people (percentage wise) to swim against the current of the rest of the population. We haven't been able to stop or prevent past catastrophes and I'm not sure that we'll be able to this time either. By ourselves. It is time for the rest of the Jewish world, in Israel and around the globe to stop the medicine, to arise, to feel the pain – no not the personal aches of individuals, but the pain of Am Yisrael over the ages, the pain of Eretz Yisrael, who seeing her children come home is now witnessing a process of self-destruction.

I highly suggest, as a way to start coming out of the stupor, that every single person reading this article find or purchase a DVD called 'Farewell Israel,' written and directed by Joel Gilbert. It can be ordered at http://www.hebron.com/english/www.farewellisrael.com. This is one of the most important, and also one of the scariest documentaries I've ever seen. I cannot recommend it enough. And after viewing it a few times, internalize it and pass it on to a friend. If this, together with present current events in Israel doesn’t stir you, I'm not sure if anything ever will.

It really is time to wake up.

A Full Cycle - A Brit at Tel Hebron

Photos: http://www.hebron.com/english/gallery.php?id=238
Video: http://www.hebron.com/english/show.php?id=83
More on Ohr Shlomo Torah Study Center: www.ohrshlomo.com

A few years ago I wrote about a special wedding which took place at Ma'arat HaMachpela. At that time Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook's grandson was married at that holy site. Rav Kook, Israel's first Chief Rabbi, was one of the most significant Rabbis and Jewish thinkers in the past few hundred years.
Following the expulsion from, and destruction of Yamit, Rav Kook's grandson, Rabbi Shlomo Ra'anan and his wife Chaya, moved to Hebron, to the Tel Rumeida (Admot Yishai) neighborhood. There they lived in a small caravan home for many years. Rabbi Ra'anan, a quiet and seemingly unimposing man was actually a great Torah scholar, whose modesty and humility characterized his life. Following in the footsteps of his father, Rabbi Shalom-Natan Ra'anan and his grandfather Rabbi Kook, he dedicated his life to Torah-study and dedication to Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. And, of course, his family.
Nine and a half years ago Rabbi Ra'anan was attacked and brutally murdered by an Arab terrorist who infiltrated into his caravan home at eleven o'clock at night and stabbed him to death. At the Rabbi's funeral the Rishon l'Tzion, Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu declared that a Torah study center should be established where the Rabbi was murdered. As a result "Kollel Ohr Shlomo" – the Ohr Shlomo (the Lights of Shlomo) Torah Study Center was established in the very room where the Rabbi was killed. The Ra'anan's daughter Tzippy and her husband, Rabbi Yisrael Shlissel moved to Hebron and Rabbi Shlissel became dean of the new Torah study center.
Until the Shlissel's had a place to live, the Rabbi drove an hour and a half every day from his home to Hebron and back. One morning, on the transJudean highway, a terrorist standing in the middle of the road opened fire on Rabbi Shlissel. The Rabbi literally ducked, and miraculously was not hit. He continued his daily drive until their new home in the Mitzpe Shalhevet neighborhood was ready for them. They moved to Hebron with their many children and became official residents of Hebron.
Almost three years ago, the Shlissels, together with eight other families, were expelled from their Mitzpe Shalhevet homes. The Shlissels moved to a large caravan home in Tel Rumeida, only meters from where Tzippy's father had been murdered only a few years before.
The Ohr Shlomo Torah Study center is a very special place of Torah study. Some fifteen young Torah scholars spend their days preparing to be Rabbis. They are limited to five years of study at the Center, during which time they study for Rabbinic examines allowing them to take positions as official Rabbis. Graduates from the study center today teach in such diverse places such as Netanya, Ofakim, and even Ma'arat HaMachpela in Hebron.
At the helm is Rabbi Yisrael Shlissel, an important Torah scholar in his own right. As was his father-in-law, the Rabbi is very modest. But his knowledge and character have molded the Ohr Shlomo Torah Center into special place of study.
The Torah study is enhanced by the fact that the center is located on Tel Hebron, home of all the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, and also King David, who lived in Hebron for seven and a half years before establishing Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel. Torah study in such an atmosphere is distinctly unique.
The Shlissel's themselves have a large family, with three married children, one of whom was married only a month ago. However, last week they celebrated another special 'simcha' – festive occasion. Tzippy Shlissel gave birth to her eleventh child, a little boy.
Due to the cold, snowy weather, the baby's brit milah, (ritual circumcision), the Shlissel's decided to conduct the event, not at Ma'arat HaMachpela, rather in the Ohr Shlomo study hall. Despite the closed roads, many people arrived and filled the room for the festivity. Among those attending were Rabbis Dov Lior and Eliezer Waldman, both of whom teach at the Torah study center. With Rabbi Waldman holding the baby in his arms, Rabbi Lior recited the special blessings prior to naming the child. At the appropriate time, Rabbi Yisrael Shlissel, the baby's father, leaned over and whispered the new baby's name to Rabbi Lior who immediately repeated it for all to hear: Avraham Yitzhak . Little Avraham Yitzhak was named for his great great grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook.
On the wall of the Shlissel's caravan home, not too far from the Ohr Shlomo Torah Study Center, are three pictures. On the left is Tzippy's uncle, Rav Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook. In the middle is Rav Shlomo Ra'anan, Tzippy's murdered father. And on the right is Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook.
These three men represent, perhaps more than any other people, the return to Eretz Yisrael. Rav Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook is arguably the father of modern Jewish religious Zionism. His teachings have led to generations of students and teachers, who continue today to imbue love of Torah, the Jewish people (Am Yisrael) and Eretz Yisrael to the masses. His son, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, led the 'settlement movement,' the return to the heart of Eretz Yisrael, to Judea, Samaria and Gaza following their liberation in the Six Day War in 1967. His students settled Hebron and Kiryat Arba and followed to build the Shomron and Gaza communities. And Rav Kook's grandson, Rabbi Ra'anan represents above all 'mesirut nefesh,' the dedication and determination to Torah and Eretz Yisrael, willing to give literally everything, even his own life, to achieve these lofty goals.
The Shlissel's, Rabbi Yisrael and Tzippy, continue in the footsteps of their illustrious forefathers, beginning with Avraham Avinu and Sarah Emanu in their Tel Hebron home, through Rabbis' Kook and Ra'anan. It seems that now the cycle has been completed: Avraham Yitzhak Shlissel, named for his great great grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook, should be blessed to learn and teach Torah in his father's study center in Hebron, and in his great great grandfather's yeshiva, Mercaz HaRav, in Jerusalem, spreading the light that the Kook, Ra'anan and Shlissel families continue to emanate to Am Yisrael, in Israel and around the world.
Mazel Tov.
With blessings from Hebron.

WinogKatif

WinogKatif

I recall, over twenty years ago, during and after the first Lebanese War, hearing the Chief Rabbi of Hebron-Kiryat Arba, speak about the bloody conflict in the north. He exclaimed, time and time again, ‘who knows if the expulsion in the south didn’t cause the war in the north.’

Most people have forgotten by now, that shortly prior to the beginning of the first Lebanon War, Israel, then led by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon, destroyed Yamit, Ophira, and all other communities in the Sinai, liberated by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War. All Jewish residents of these communities were brutally expelled from their homes, which were then destroyed by the Israeli government. The Camp David Accords were the predecessor of Oslo, The Hebron Accords, the annihilation of Gush Katif and two northern Shomron communities, and negotiations with our blood-thirsty enemy for the expulsion of multitudes of Jews from Judea, Samaria and extensive areas of Jerusalem, including Temple Mount. Of course, the process doesn’t end here; it only concludes the negotiating process. Following implementation of such an agreement, (G-d Forbid,) the enemy would undoubtedly continue pushing for the completion of the first stage of their goal: the use of war-terror to capture all of Eretz Yisrael, bringing about the final solution: the destruction of a Jewish state in the Middle East.

Why only the ‘first stage of their goal?’ Clearly, the aim of Islam is not only the end of Israel; rather it is the Islamization of the entire western world and culture, including a takeover of Europe and North America. That seeds of that mission have already been planted; England, France and Scandinavia are being overrun by Moslems. According to recent studies, ‘Muhammad’ is expected to be the most popular boy’s name in England in 2008 [http://tinyurl.com/26w5u7]. (I highly recommend viewing the DVD documentary “Farewell Israel [http://tinyurl.com/35p3cr], for a fuller comprehension of this fact.)

So too, following the horrible destruction of Gush Katif, Israel found itself embroiled, not in one war, rather in at least four military campaigns. The first, coming directly on the heels of Gush Katif, was again, as twenty five years ago, from the north. Not too long afterwards, from the south. And let’s not forget Iran. That too is war; similar to the others, one-sided. The enemy has proclaimed its goal of exterminating a Jewish presence in Israel. Israel is still twiddling its thumbs.

However there is a big difference between what happened two and a half decades ago and today. Then, the war was on enemy ground. The second Lebanon War, as well as the continuing war from Gaza, is being fought within Eretz Yisrael. The rockets fired by Hizballah, blanketing the north, and the rockets being shot into southern Israeli cities and communities, have moved the war into Israel proper. Not only are soldiers in uniform casualties. Civilians are being targeted, terrorized, wounded and killed.

But in reality, this is nothing new. I mentioned a few sentences ago, that Israel is involved in four military campaigns; the fourth being waged from within Judea and Samaria, a war fought for years, primarily against Israeli civilians, which continues today. Not only Hizballah and Hamas are attacking Israel. Abu-Mazen’s ‘moderate’ Fatah terrorists have not forgotten how to kill and they are doing their best to do just that.

The Winograd Commission report, issued a few days ago, is a drop in the bucket. One of the most headlined conclusions from the report was the failure of the IDF leadership. The head of the pyramid was then Chief of Staff, General Dan Halutz. He was clearly unqualified for the job of ‘RamatKal,’ Chief of Staff. A former Israeli Air Force commander, Halutz may have been an excellent fighter pilot, but knowing how to fly a plane didn’t necessarily qualify him to take charge of all the IDF. Did the Winograd Commission examine HOW Halutz came to be army chief, WHY former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon fired Moshe Ya’alon a year early and brought in Halutz? The answer to that is easy: Ya’alon wasn’t crazy about abandoning Gush Katif. He probably would have done as ordered had he remained in the top job, but he wouldn’t have done so enthusiastically. So, goodbye it was to Ya’alon and welcome it was to Dan Halutz, who promised to do the job with a smile on his face, getting the dirty work done quickly. That Halutz knew how to do; to expel Israelis from their homes, to trounce the Jewish foe, the opponent of peace; that he could accomplish with ease. But to crush an enemy, threatening to destroy the state, killing and kidnapping soldiers, shooting rockets into Israeli cities, that was too difficult a task for the former fighter pilot.

Winograd dealt with the unpreparedness of the army, an issue which didn’t begin during the Halutz tenure, rather years before. What lay behind this lack of readiness?

I recall, years ago, during the Rabin-Peres years, taking my children to Tank Hill, in (the settlement of) Ramat Eshkol in Jerusalem, where one of the bloodiest and most important battles of the Six Day war was fought. We wandered around the memorial, museum and then watched a movie about the miraculous war. When we left I remember commenting to my wife that the movie’s theme seemed to be one of apology for having fought, and having won the war. She agreed with me.

That is the heart of the problem. An army cannot be expected to be victorious if the soldiers and commanders are conditioned into believing that it is wrong to fight for your survival; that the land you are supposed to be defending really doesn’t belong to you; that many of your countrymen are really the enemy and the enemy is really your friend.

How much time and money did the Israeli government spend to brainwash tens and hundreds of thousands of officers and soldiers in preparation for the expulsion from Gush Katif? They psychologically rendered the best of our best brain dead. They destroyed their thought-processes. They turned them into robots with one programmed message: these people, this land, are evil. They are a hindrance to the continued existence of Israel. They must be destroyed for the rest of us to continue to exist.

And in they went – the Israeli storm troopers, uniformed in black, to ‘follow orders,’ to fulfill the mission they’d been programmed to complete. And so they did.

But then, a short time later, when the real enemy attacked, they had no idea what to do. Neither did the ‘leaders’ who had self-hypnotized themselves into believing that the Messiah had arrived; the days of peace were at hand; terror and war had come to an end, the end-of-days had arrived. Peace Now!

Nobody with eyes of truth in their head could be surprised at the results of the Second Lebanese war or the continued paralysis preventing Israel from ending the rocket attacks on Sderot. Our so-called leaders are the very antithesis of leadership. They are terminally ill, sick with a cancer of the soul, which has filtered into their brains and down into their bodies. Surely Olmert must go, but not alone. Many of the others, in Kadima, the Likud and other political parties contracted this ‘I hate Eretz Yisrael-I despise ‘settlers’’ disease, which has eaten away their hearts and souls, leaving them empty shells, who may look just like everybody else, but are, in reality, golems, whose continued participation in Israeli political society is endangering the existence of the State of Israel.

True Jewish leadership can only come from people imbued with faith, true Jewish faith, with roots in Torah, with roots in Eretz Yisrael, with roots in G-d.

These are the authentic results of what should be called the WinogKatif Commission. Let’s hope the Israeli people wake up fast and implement these conclusions ASAP, saving not only themselves, but generations of Jews in Israel for years to come.

A Building Freeze or a Freezing Building

It’s out of the theatre of the absurd. Yesterday a colleague of mine received a phone call from an officer in an IDF unit stationed in Hebron. He had a request/demand. Two soldiers are stationed outside Beit HaShalom for security purposes. The officer told my friend that the soldiers are ‘cold’ and requested/demanded that people in the building supply them with an electric line for a heater to keep them warm.

My friend could not believe his ears. Only days before, Defense Minister Ehud Barak refused Hebron’s request to allow humanitarian renovations in the building, including instillation of simple windows, electric current, and sealing of the building’s roof to prevent water leakage. The letter received from the Defense ministry stated clearly: If you’re cold, go live somewhere else.

The same defense ministry, who refused us electricity, was now demanding that we supply electricity to IDF soldiers. My friend’s answer was short and sweet – Go talk to the Defense Minister. If he gives us electricity, we’ll be happy to share it with you.

A little while later this information was passed on to an Israeli journalist, who requested a response from the IDF. ‘How can you ask for electricity from Jews in Hebron when you yourselves refuse to allow them electric lines?’

A little while later he received his response: ‘The entire episode was a mistake. The IDF unit requesting electricity was not supposed to call the Jewish Hebron municipality. Rather, they should have made contact with the Arab Hebron municipality and asked to receive electricity from them.’

In other words, the army can take electricity from the Arabs to keep their soldiers warm, but Hebron’s Jews cannot receive any more electric lines to keep their children warm.

This afternoon I spoke to one of the building’s residents who told me as follows: We don’t have enough electricity for ourselves, but we’ve tried to help the soldiers guarding at the entrance because it’s freezing there. We’ve given them two of our own electric heaters, but due to the lack of electric current, both of them have burned out.

Early this afternoon I visited Beit HaShalom with my cameras. My daughter, son-in-law and their three children, aged three to three months, have lived there for the past ten months. They live in a one room apartment, divided into parent’s space, children’s space, kitchenette and living room. Their windows are filled withsome kind of corrugated plastic sheets, somehow sealed onto the walls. Two small heaters keep the room from freezing.

Another family in Beit HaShalom just welcomed their seventh child a few days ago. They live in similar conditions to my daughter.

Last night winter finally arrived in Israel. Extremely strong winds pounded the Hebron area, and Beit HaShalom was quite adversely affected. Many of the residents had closed their windows with large sheets of plastic, which up until yesterday were sufficient. That changed in the middle of the night, when the strong winds literally blew the plastic window-coverings away. Families found themselves as if they were camping outdoors in the middle of the winter. Rain started leaking into people’s rooms from the walls and roof, and puddles formed in their apartments. For a good part of today many Beit HaShalom residents attempted to fix their windows, again hanging huge plastic sheets against the window frames, attaching them with screws and glue, hoping that tonight won’t be a repeat of last night. However, many of them expect it to be worse. Snow is expected in Hebron, starting tonight and ending sometime on Thursday.

One of the families has three heaters in their room, but can only use two of them, the two smaller ones. The larger radiator remains cold; it uses too much electricity. Each family has an ‘electric budget’ which they cannot go over, or else the generator which provides the building’s current will break down.

The Hebron Jewish Community is spending some $20,000 a month to keep the building warm. The generator works 24 hours a day, at full power, to heat up the family’s apartments. (You can help if you’d like, and your assistance would be much appreciated: [www.hebrontruma.com]) No one I’ve spoken to have any plans to leave. I interviewed Shlomo Levinger, who lives there with his wife and five children and asked him why he doesn’t find somewhere else to live, as Ehud Barak suggested. His answer: “This is my home, I live here. Just like anyone else in their home can install windows, so too I should be able to. We haven’t asked for very much, just to replace these plastic sheets with something a little more solid to offer us protection, on humanitarian grounds. Last night the wind blew so hard that it knocked the screws holding on the plastic sheets out of the wall. Each child needed at least three blankets; it was very cold.”

While I was there, Shlomo was attempting to repair the window space, hoping that tonight would be a little warmer in his children’s room.

(Short videos of Beit HaShalom, filmed today, can be seen on the Hebron home pages – http://www.hebron.org.il/ in Hebrew and http://www.hebron.com/ in English).

The Israeli government is doing its utmost to force Beit HaShalom’s residents to leave; Ehud Barak, the current Defense Minister, is acting like a Russian Cossack. As another friend exclaimed today: ‘This is acting like a Jew? This is the way one Jew acts towards another Jew?’

The other Ehud has the authority to overrule his defense minister. But at the moment he’s more concerned with surviving in the Prime Minister’s office follow tomorrows’ release of the Winograd Commission Report, dealing with his failures during the Second Lebanon War. That certainly takes precedence over a few dozen men, women and children in subhuman conditions in Hebron. Besides which, Olmert already declared a full building freeze in all of Judea and Samaria. So the situation in Hebron falls directly within that category: Windowless, electric-less Beit HaShalom, if not part of Olmert’s building freeze, is quite literally a freezing building.