Honorable President of the State, Mr. Moshe Katzav,
I wanted to tell you about us, Ma'aleh Rechavam, a small community on the edge of the Judean desert, at the foot of the Herodian, about a kilometer east of Nokdim. Around us there are herds of deer, amazing flora and among the prettiest of sunrises.
We are about 20 folks, religious and secular, who came to make the desert bloom and to establish a new town in the Land of Israel. We have been categorized as an "illegal outpost". Oh, yes; in case you didn't know, Jews are not allowed to settle in Judea.
The community is based on Hebrew labor, a Jewish atmosphere, a large living space for each resident and no perimeter fence. Officially, this place is a neighborhood of Nokdim, and it was established with the knowledge of all the appropriate authorities: the regional council, the IDF, the Ministry of Housing, the Settlement Administration, and with the knowledge and blessing of the prime minister at the time - Mr. Ariel Sharon. The neighborhood was established on 13 Tishrei 5762 - September 2001 - and takes its name from Rechavam Ze'evi, H.y.d., who was murdered close to that date.
The community contributes to the region's security, including in the views of military sources, who expressed to us privately that our presence in the area saves them the deployment of troops. For if we weren't here, the Bani Ta'amara tribe - not known for its love of Zion - would be. ...Prior to our presence in the region, it was a lawless area, which led, among other things, to the murder of two children from Tekoa, who had their skulls crushed. All the residents of Ma'aleh Rechavam serve as reservists in combat units.
We have invested our souls into this place. I personally have a grove of 150 olive trees that I planted myself, a vineyard with muscat grapes, an almond grove, a grove with 60 fruit trees (35 varieties!) - and there are other residents like me.
It all was established, as I mentioned, while in constant contact with the authorities; and we even resisted expanding beyond the "blue line" (which defines state-owned land). All of a sudden, one fine day, I open the newspaper and discover that I am in an "illegal outpost".
Of late, there is again talk of "dismantling the illegal outposts" (a politically correct term for destruction, demolishing and uprooting), so allow me to expose something for you. This has nothing to do with legality! There was a promise made by Dov Weisglass to Condoleezza Rice to evacuate anything established after March 21, 2001. That is to say, there could be a completely illegal community established on private land or in a nature preserve, which disregards the law, and no one will discuss it if it was established on March 20, 2001. On the other hand, a place established in coordination with all of the appropriate authorities one day later will find itself in the list of "illegal outposts".
In general, there is no legal way to establish a community in Judea or Samaria; Jews are even forbidden to settle in the Jordan Valley, which is supposedly within the consensus. If you want to settle there, you can not do so legally; and those who have done so in recent years have been listed as living in an "illegal outpost" just like ours. Furthermore, the State of Israel has forbidden the settlement branch of the Word Zionist Organization, the Jordan Valley regional council, and any other official body from assisting those settlement outposts. Those who do so, thereby essentially fulfilling their mission statement, are in violation of the law.
The fact that in Judea and Samaria, in area C, there are thousands of new construction starts by Arabs, and that no one intends to enforce the law against them, does not indicate that the issue at hand is "law enforcement".
...As of now, we are in a situation wherein we set down roots with the permission of the prime minister, in our ID cards our place of residence is Maaleh Rechavam, the part of the state in the establishment of the community is clear (700,000 shekels from the Ministry of Housing according to the Talia Sasoon Report), yet there is the intention to expel us without compensation, without passing legislation, and without protecting the most basic rights preserved even in the case of enemies of Israel.
What is the purpose of uprooting people from their homes when the status of the area has not even been decided? I don't know if it is evilness or stupidity or both of them together.
As mentioned, the neighborhood sits on state land within the "blue line" of the town of Nokdim, and the neighborhood's territory is included in the general development plans of Nokdim. All that's missing is the signature of the defense minister.
Aside from all of the legal and bureaucratic phraseology, which lowers everything by several notches, whoever comes to visit us feels "the old, beautiful and forgotten Land of Israel, which holds out its hand to give and not to take." And I am sure that if you come to visit us, you will feel the same thing: that there is still hope, and that there are places in which settlement, agriculture, Hebrew labor, partnership and Land of Israel folksongs are not curse words, nor are they empty of meaning.
The new defense minister, Mr. Amir Peretz, has been speaking recently in every possible forum about the destruction of the outposts, and about how our existence shames the State of Israel. We shame the State of Israel? We who are among the last of the people who still work the land and are continuing the vision of our forefathers (and of the founders of the Labor party), in spite of all the dangers? We who continue to report for reserve duty in combat units even though we belong to a sector that the state treats like second-class citizens?
What can be said? One feels like shouting, "Open your eyes! Take a look at what is happening here! You have inverted everything!"
Perhaps it is still possible to halt the impulsive destruction of national myths and the surrender of values.
The foregoing was abbreviated and translated from a lengthier Hebrew-language letter sent to President Moshe Katzav.
I wanted to tell you about us, Ma'aleh Rechavam, a small community on the edge of the Judean desert, at the foot of the Herodian, about a kilometer east of Nokdim. Around us there are herds of deer, amazing flora and among the prettiest of sunrises.
We are about 20 folks, religious and secular, who came to make the desert bloom and to establish a new town in the Land of Israel. We have been categorized as an "illegal outpost". Oh, yes; in case you didn't know, Jews are not allowed to settle in Judea.
The community is based on Hebrew labor, a Jewish atmosphere, a large living space for each resident and no perimeter fence. Officially, this place is a neighborhood of Nokdim, and it was established with the knowledge of all the appropriate authorities: the regional council, the IDF, the Ministry of Housing, the Settlement Administration, and with the knowledge and blessing of the prime minister at the time - Mr. Ariel Sharon. The neighborhood was established on 13 Tishrei 5762 - September 2001 - and takes its name from Rechavam Ze'evi, H.y.d., who was murdered close to that date.
The community contributes to the region's security, including in the views of military sources, who expressed to us privately that our presence in the area saves them the deployment of troops. For if we weren't here, the Bani Ta'amara tribe - not known for its love of Zion - would be. ...Prior to our presence in the region, it was a lawless area, which led, among other things, to the murder of two children from Tekoa, who had their skulls crushed. All the residents of Ma'aleh Rechavam serve as reservists in combat units.
We have invested our souls into this place. I personally have a grove of 150 olive trees that I planted myself, a vineyard with muscat grapes, an almond grove, a grove with 60 fruit trees (35 varieties!) - and there are other residents like me.
It all was established, as I mentioned, while in constant contact with the authorities; and we even resisted expanding beyond the "blue line" (which defines state-owned land). All of a sudden, one fine day, I open the newspaper and discover that I am in an "illegal outpost".
Of late, there is again talk of "dismantling the illegal outposts" (a politically correct term for destruction, demolishing and uprooting), so allow me to expose something for you. This has nothing to do with legality! There was a promise made by Dov Weisglass to Condoleezza Rice to evacuate anything established after March 21, 2001. That is to say, there could be a completely illegal community established on private land or in a nature preserve, which disregards the law, and no one will discuss it if it was established on March 20, 2001. On the other hand, a place established in coordination with all of the appropriate authorities one day later will find itself in the list of "illegal outposts".
In general, there is no legal way to establish a community in Judea or Samaria; Jews are even forbidden to settle in the Jordan Valley, which is supposedly within the consensus. If you want to settle there, you can not do so legally; and those who have done so in recent years have been listed as living in an "illegal outpost" just like ours. Furthermore, the State of Israel has forbidden the settlement branch of the Word Zionist Organization, the Jordan Valley regional council, and any other official body from assisting those settlement outposts. Those who do so, thereby essentially fulfilling their mission statement, are in violation of the law.
The fact that in Judea and Samaria, in area C, there are thousands of new construction starts by Arabs, and that no one intends to enforce the law against them, does not indicate that the issue at hand is "law enforcement".
...As of now, we are in a situation wherein we set down roots with the permission of the prime minister, in our ID cards our place of residence is Maaleh Rechavam, the part of the state in the establishment of the community is clear (700,000 shekels from the Ministry of Housing according to the Talia Sasoon Report), yet there is the intention to expel us without compensation, without passing legislation, and without protecting the most basic rights preserved even in the case of enemies of Israel.
What is the purpose of uprooting people from their homes when the status of the area has not even been decided? I don't know if it is evilness or stupidity or both of them together.
As mentioned, the neighborhood sits on state land within the "blue line" of the town of Nokdim, and the neighborhood's territory is included in the general development plans of Nokdim. All that's missing is the signature of the defense minister.
Aside from all of the legal and bureaucratic phraseology, which lowers everything by several notches, whoever comes to visit us feels "the old, beautiful and forgotten Land of Israel, which holds out its hand to give and not to take." And I am sure that if you come to visit us, you will feel the same thing: that there is still hope, and that there are places in which settlement, agriculture, Hebrew labor, partnership and Land of Israel folksongs are not curse words, nor are they empty of meaning.
The new defense minister, Mr. Amir Peretz, has been speaking recently in every possible forum about the destruction of the outposts, and about how our existence shames the State of Israel. We shame the State of Israel? We who are among the last of the people who still work the land and are continuing the vision of our forefathers (and of the founders of the Labor party), in spite of all the dangers? We who continue to report for reserve duty in combat units even though we belong to a sector that the state treats like second-class citizens?
What can be said? One feels like shouting, "Open your eyes! Take a look at what is happening here! You have inverted everything!"
Perhaps it is still possible to halt the impulsive destruction of national myths and the surrender of values.
The foregoing was abbreviated and translated from a lengthier Hebrew-language letter sent to President Moshe Katzav.
