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      Blessings from Hebron
      by David Wilder
      Personal Reflections on Hebron, Eretz Yisrael, Friends, Family and anything else that comes to mind.
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      David Wilder was born in New Jersey in the USA in 1954, and graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a BA in History and teacher certification in 1976. He spent 1974-75 in Jerusalem at the Hebrew University and returned to Israel upon graduation.

      For over sixteen years David Wilder has worked with the Jewish Community of Hebron. He is the English spokesman for the community, granting newspaper, television and radio interviews internationally. He initiated the Hebron internet project, including email lists of over 15,000 subscribers who receive regular news and commentaries from Hebron in English and Hebrew. David is responsible and continues to update the Hebron web sites, portraying various facets of Hebron, utilizing text, audio, video and pictures. He conducts tours of Hebron's Jewish Community and occasionally travels abroad, speaking at Hebron functions.

      David Wilder is married to Ora, a 'Sabra,' for 32 years. They lived in Kiryat Arba for 17 years and have resided at Beit Hadassah in Hebron for the past thirteen years. They have seven children and many grandchildren.

      Links to sites David recommends:
      www.davidwilder.net
      www.hebron.com (English)
      www.hebron.org.il (Hebrew)
      www.machpela.com
      www.ohrshlomo.org (Hebrew)
      www.ohrshalom.net (Hebrew)
      www.womeningreen.org
      www.zoa.org
      (others to be added)


      Sivan 7, 5770, 5/20/2010

      The Saba from Netanya - Rabbi Yosef Schwartz, in Hebron




      Sivan 4, 5770, 5/17/2010

      Stand4Reason: Sign petition countering JCall insanity



      Pushing Israel to concessions without rewards, simply means to surrender the enemy
      "STAND FOR ISRAEL, STAND FOR REASON" 
      Fiamma Nirenstein - www.petitiononline.com/israel48/petition.htm

       


      The attack against Israel by the Jcall document is inspired by a short-sighted view of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. In fact, the signatories of this appeal do not have the clear perception of the global physical and moral threat to which Israel is currently exposed. It is indeed incredible that intelligent and cultivated people like Alain Finkelkraut and Bernard-Henri Levy - instead of dealing with Iran that will soon keep the whole world under the threat of the range of its atomic bomb - play with the idea that Benjamin Netanyahu is the true hindrance to peace, that the essential obstacle to a resolution of the conflict is a reproachable attitude of Israel. The intellectuals who have signed the French manifesto ignore history and don’t care about the help that it will give and is already giving to the unprecedented delegitimization threatening the life of Israel. 

      Pushing Israel to concessions without rewards, simply means to surrender the enemy without any guarantee: the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza has produced disastrous consequences, the land Gush Katif inhabitants has been kicked out from, is since then a launching pad for missiles and terrorists; Ehud Barak’s concessions in Camp David, designed to give Arafat practically everything he was asking for, led to the horror of the second Intifada, with its two-thousand people killed by suicide terrorists, shootings and rocket attacks; the evacuation of Southern Lebanon in 2000 strengthened the Hezbollah, supplied them with more than 40,000 missiles and led to the 2006 war. 

      Finkelkraut, Henri Levy and their fellow signatories claim that they are concerned about the future and the security of Israel. But they actually ignore the basic element that has prevented success of any peace process, namely the Arab and Palestinian refusal to recognize the very existence of the State of Israel as a permanent nation-state in the Middle East. This all-encompassing rejection of Israel’s right to exist is reflected day by day in the Palestinian and pan-Arab media. 

      The attack against Netanyahu aims at breaking up his right wing coalition. But it actually never mattered whether an Israeli government was right or left wing: anyhow the Palestinians refused any proposal of peace. 

      Israeli land concessions like the ones the French intellectuals advocate, will never bring peace. Only a cultural revolution in the Arab world can achieve it, but nobody asks for that, not even Obama, who devotes US great strength to pressure only Israel. This is the current fashion. 
      Peace will not come because Israel becomes smaller


      Peace will not come because Israel becomes smaller. What will bring us closer to peace is if Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas stops naming public squares after mass-murderers like Hamas bombmaker Yehiya Ayash; if the Palestinians stop passing out candies when Jewish families are murdered by suicide bombers in restaurants; and when the Arab world accepts Netanyahu’s modest request to recognize the State of Israel as the State of the Jewish people. 

      This reality is ignored as well by the Israeli intellectuals who have signed a document attacking the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel, who wrote a very noble letter to support Jerusalem as the spiritual core and historical homeland of the Jewish people. 

      This sadly politically correct epidemic is probably designed to give some oxygen to the defeated pacifist movement that is actually able only to crash against the rock of the Islamist hatred culture and to defame Israel. But in this approach there is no contribution to any better future for the Middle East: the world must find the courage to face the new Islamist frenzy that springs from Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas and points to the destruction of Israel. Iran and its allies are of course arming themselves with lethal weapons, not with vain words, like those who signed “The Call for Reason”. But even words can kill and destroy. 

      The signatories of the J-Call manifesto show a blatant ignorance of the extended hand policy adopted by Netanyahu since his Bar Ilan speech in June 2009, the ten-months settlements freeze, the lifting of many check points and the adoption of important measures to ease the Palestinian economy. And you can clearly see that the “Finkelkraut document” has an Obama flavour, a prissy and respectable trendy attitude intellectuals are often unable to say no. This makes possible nowadays to the increasing number of Israel’s enemies to delegitimize the Jewish State by claiming that “even the Jews are with us”. If this was the signatories's goal, they have indeed achieved it.

      Sincerely,

      Click here to sign







      Sivan 1, 5770, 5/14/2010

      Raanana celebrates 20 years of monthly visits to Hebron


      Twenty years ago, according to Ilan Hirschfeld from Raanana, MK Uri Ariel, together with others, urged him to act and show solid support for communities in Judea and Samaria, Ilan began organizing monthly trips to Hebron, on the eve of every new (Hebrew) month.

      The buses arrived every month, regardless of rain, cold, or heat. Raanana never failed to appear, even during the most difficult days of the "Oslo War" shooting attacks on the community, for over two years.

      Last night Ilan and Raanana celebrated 200 trips to Hebron, twenty years of bond, friendship, support and love. The celebration included a guided bus tour through the Jewish community, participating in Hebron Talmud Torah children chanting the scroll of Ruth at the Tomb of Jesse and Ruth, and a festive meal outside Ma'arat HaMachpela, with speakers and participants including MKs Uri Ariel, Michael Ben Ari, Rabbi Yitzhak Peretz, and many members of the Hebron community.

      Mazal Tov and Yashar Koach!

       

      Photos from www.hebron.com







      Iyar 28, 5770, 5/12/2010

      The Nachshon Prize // Annual Bike Hike to Jerusalem


      The Nachshon Prize

      Yesterday  I witnessed a unique event. Early in the afternoon, following a visit to Hebron by Communications minister Moshe Kachlon, Noam Arnon called and asked if I’d like to take a ride out to Eshel Avraham.
       
      Simple question, right? Well, almost, but not quite. Eshel Avraham, a well known site in Hebron, has been off-limits to Jews for the past 13 years, since implementation of the Hebron accords, dividing our holy city into two sections, with about 80% controlled by the Arabs and off-limits to Jews. Every once in a while we have a chance to ‘take a look on the other side’ but not too often.
       
      Actually we visited Eshel Avraham about a year ago.  But never one to pass up an opportunity, I immediately jumped at the chance to participate.
       
      What was the occasion, why now? The answer I can supply while describing the actual event, after our arrival there.
       
      But first, what is Eshel Avraham. The site, really not too far from ‘the Jewish side of Hebron’ is home to a Russian Orthodox monastery. But it is famous for an extremely old tree, probably between 1,000 to 1,500 years old (at least), called Eshel Avraham.  The Hebrew word ‘eshel’ means, in English, ‘Tamarisk’ – which is a kind of tree or bush. In reality the tree is not an ‘eshel’ rather it is an ‘alon’ which, in English, is an Oak tree. The reason for the mix-up is rooted in a faulty translation, but the site has been known as Eshel Avraham, and legend has it that the tree has existed since the days of our Forefather Abraham.
       
      Unfortunately not too many years ago the tree dried up, but we still have photos of this magnificent tree while it was still alive.
       
      In any case, we drove out there, together with about two dozen IDF officers, including the commander of the Hebron Brigade, Col. Udi. Next week the Colonel is concluding his two year stint in Hebron, and actually, this was his farewell to his officers. In his words, usually such farewells center around food. But he preferred to do something special, and decided to take a short trip to this site, which is usually not visited by Jews, at least not in the past thirteen years.
       
      The main event was a fascinating explanation given by Noam, describing the history of the area, and its significance over the years. (The explanation will hopefully be posted on our web site (in Hebrew) in the next few days.)
       
      Two things set me off. First, and most importantly, that a high-ranking officer in the IDF, a man who does not walk around with a kippa on his head and is not outwardly religious, decided to bestow, again, in his words, a ‘parting gift’ to his officers’ staff, not by celebrating with wine and whiskey, rather by taking them on an educational jaunt, to a site in Hebron. I must admit, I was very impressed. And also very happy, that after two years of serving in Hebron, he viewed a visit to a special site in Hebron as a ‘treat,’ as a way to celebrate, not only for himself, but for his entire staff. Very special.
       
       
      I was also taken by the greeting we received by the local Arab caretaker, who’s been there for over 40 years. Noam, in the past, visited this place fairly frequently, and the caretaker knew him very well. When we arrived he was overtly happy, and when Noam stepped out of the car, the Arab man, really thrilled to see him, hugged him. And it wasn’t a show for the camera. He really was happy.
       
       
      The visit was short – we were there less than an hour, but it was enjoyable, educational, and impressive, none the less.
       
      An interesting prelude to Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day.
      ********************************************************************
       
      A couple of hours later I participated in another event, this time not in Hebron, rather at Bar Ilan University. Last night they awarded honorary doctorates to a long list of people, rewarded for years of service in different fields.
      I was there, together with some of my friends and colleagues from Hebron, to honor one woman, who was among the awardees. Actually she was there by herself, but I think it’s fair to say that she represented not only herself, but also her husband, who was not able to attend.
       
      Cherna and Dr. Irving Moskowitz deserve much more than an honorary PH.D. But I don’t know if there’s any reward in this world that can ever pay them their rightful due. Their philanthropy knows no bounds. According to the Bar Ilan web site, she received the award ‘for her unstinting support of educational and medical institutions, synagogues and social programs throughout the Jewish nation.’ At the ceremony , she was noted for contributing to a new university department dealing with nanotechnology.  
       
      Dr. Irving and Cherna, ’through the Moskowitz Foundation, have been an anchor in the resettlement of Eretz Yisrael, and most recently, with the creation of the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism, are recognizing individuals whose contributions to Israel are exceptional. Many of these people, who should be recipients of the prestigious “Israel Prize” will never be so honored due to ‘political considerations.’ The Moskowitz’ have rectified this problem and are now awarding people whose efforts for the Jewish people, Eretz Yisrael and Torah are outstanding.
       
      The only problem is, that those people most deserving of the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism are none other than Cherna and Dr. Irving, themselves.  But, as written above, there isn’t really any prize that can reward their contributions. I fully believe that these two righteous people will be remembered it the annuls of Jewish history as two others: they will surely be considered the modern day Montefiore, (Moshe Montefiore, whose philanthropy in Israel was second to none).
       
      But I think that this is only the beginning. Dr. Irving and Cherna Moskowitz must be acclaimed as the ‘Nachshon’ of this generation. Nachshon ben Aminadav, it will be remembered, was known to be the first person to jump into the Red Sea during the Jewish exodus from Egypt. Despite the inherent danger, without knowing how he could survive, his faith paramount, he did what had to be done. And as a result of his courage and faith, G-d split the sea and the Jews were saved. His actions have served as an example of faith and action for the past 3,300 years.
       
      So too, the Moskowitz’, following in the footsteps of Nachshon, have tread where others dared not. Their heroism, and heroism is not an exaggeration, is a paradigm of faith and action, no less than that of any before them. 
       
      I would, therefore, award them, not the Moskowitz Prize, rather the Nachshon Prize for initiative, faith, courage and action, on behalf of the Jewish people, especially but not exclusively in Eretz Yisrael.
       
      Happy Jerusalem Liberation Day and Happy Hebron Liberation Day!
       
      ---------------------------------------------------
      The annual Bike Hike from Kiryat Arba to Jerusalem on Yom Yerushalayim, in  memory of Yitzhak Buanish HY"D
       
       






      Iyar 27, 5770, 5/11/2010

      Tel Hebron: In honor of the liberation of Hebron