Very powerful programs produced in Hebron (in Hebrew) for:

Holocaust memorial day:
Part 1 http://www.vimeo.com/4293100
Part 2 http://www.vimeo.com/4308527

Memorial Day: http://www.vimeo.com/4371828

New video about Professor Ben-tzion Tavger z"l, who uncovered the Avraham Avinu shul in Hebron:
http://www.vimeo.com/4308910

All new videos and other information at: http://profile.to/hebron.jewish.community

For anyone who understands some Hebrew, very very worthwhile!

Pesach 1968 - Jews return to Hebron to celebrate Pesach.

Erev Rosh HaShana 1971 - Jews move from the Hebron Military Compound to the newly founded Kiryat Arba

Erev Rosh Hodesh Iyar 1979 - Jews Return to the city of Hebron

A week and a half after Pesach a group of 10 women and 40 children left Kiryat Arba in the middle of the night, driven in a truck through the deserted streets of Hebron. They made their way to the abandoned Beit Hadassah building, originally built in the 1893 as a medical clinic for Jews and Arabs in Hebron, abandoned since the 1929 riots.

The women and children, assisted by men, climb into Beit Hadassah through a back window, bringing with them only minimal supplies. They swept some of the decades-old dust from the floor, spread out some mattresses, and went to sleep.

When they awoke in the morning the children began singing: v'shavu banim l'gvulam - the children have returned home. Soldiers guarding on the roof of the building, coming down to investigate, were astounded at the sight of the women and children. Quickly they reported to their superiors, and soon the "Beit Hadassah women" were a national issue.

Prime Minister Menachem Begin was not in favor of Jewish settlement in the heart of the city, but opposed physically expelling the group. He ordered the building surrounded by police and soldiers, and decreed that nothing, including food and water, be allowed into the building. Begin was soon visited by Rabbi Moshe Levinger, whose wife Miriam and many of his children were among those inside Beit Hadassah.

"When the Israeli army surrounded the Egyptian third army in Sinai during the Yom Kippur War, we gave the enemy soldiers food, water and medical supplies. If this is what we supplied Egyptian soldiers who had attacked and killed our soldiers, at the very least allow the women and children in Hebron the same."

Begin had no choice but to agree. The women and children lived like this, under siege, for two months. No one was allowed in and anyone leaving would not be allowed to return.

One day a little boy in Beit Hadassah had a tooth-ache and left for a dentist in Kiryat Arba. When he arrived back at Beit Hadassah the soldier guarding at the entrance refused to allow him back in. The little boy started crying, saying, "I want my Ema (mother)." At that time the Israeli cabinet was in session, and a note was relayed to the Prime Minister that a little boy was crying outside Beit Hadassah because he wasn’t allowed back in. Following a discussion by the cabinet, the little boy was permitted to return to his mother in Beit Hadassah.

After over two months the women and children were allowed to leave and return, but no one else was allowed in. They lived this way for a year.

On Friday nights, following Shabbat prayers at Ma'arat HaMachpela, the worshipers, including students from the Kiryat Arba Nir Yeshiva, would dance to Beit Hadassah, sing and dance in front of the building, recite Kiddush for the women, and then return to Kiryat Arba. In early May of 1980, a year after the women first arrived at Beit Hadassah, the men were attacked by terrorists stationed on the roof of a building across from Beit Hadassah. The Arab terrorists, shooting and throwing hand grenades killed six men and wounded twenty. Later that week the Israeli government finally issued official authorization for the renewal of a Jewish community in Hebron.

On June 11, 2000, exactly twenty years after the murder at Beit Hadassah, a new building in memory of those men killed was dedicated in Hebron. Beit HaShisha, the House of the Six, will house six new families. This beautiful structure will eternalize the names of six young men who gave their lives in Hebron, and who deaths led to the return of Jews to the heart of the city. Hebron's Jewish community had to wait twenty years to memorialize these men, but that dream is now a reality.

See photos of:
Beit Hadassah: http://www.hebron.com/english/article.php?id=274
Beit HaShisha: http://hebron.web.aplus.net/english/article.php?id=228
The Six: http://www.hebron.com/english/article.php?id=273

Found this in the Baltimore Jewish Times [http://tinyurl.com/c9vtcw] and enjoyed - thought you would too!

The Two-State Solution
Owings Mills, Md.
Leonard Bloom
Special to the Jewish Times

For true peace in the Middle East, there must be two states living alongside each other in peace and security. It’s the only solution.

First, Israel must retreat to its pre-1967 borders, and its capital will be in Tel Aviv.

Second, a new state will be declared in the so-called “West Bank”. The new state will be called Judea, and its capital will be in Hebron. [Hebron, after all, was King David’s first capital; see I Kings, Chapter 2, verse 11.] And for strategic reasons, the Golan Heights would be incorporated into Judea.

These two states, Israel and Judea, will be under a federation called Jewish United States Territories in Common Era (or simply “JUSTICE”) and its capital will be in Jerusalem. [Like Maryland with its capital in Annapolis; Virginia with its capital in Richmond; and with the overall federation—- the U.S. A.—- having its capital there between in Washington, D.C.

JUSTICE will be responsible for common matters, such as military defense, foreign relations, monetary policy and immigration control.

Each of the two states in the JUSTICE federation, Israel and Judea, will be responsible for local matters, such as police and fire departments, education, health and social welfare programs.

In Israel, the predominant culture will be secular; and in Judea, the predominant culture will be according to Torah Judaism.

All of the citizens—- whether Jewish, Christian, Moslem or whatever—- will be requested to pledge allegiance to JUSTICE. Moreover, at age 18, they will be requested to devote two years to government service and, thereafter, one month per year until age 50. The government will determine the type of service rendered—- be it military, environmental, health, social services, infrastructure, etc.

Remember, both are requests, not mandatory requirements. If any citizen refuses either request (or both), that individual citizen may still reside in JUSTICE, own property, have businesses, and enjoy all civil rights and protections. However, they will no longer have a right to vote, nor hold any public office, nor have a government job. If they don’t pledge allegiance and agree to serve the government and its people, why should they have any input and/or control over the government?

Wait, have we forgotten something? Oh yes, the so-called “Palestinians” in the “West Bank”.

Why should they be refugees for 60 plus years? Why should three generations live in squander in refugee camps, relying upon handouts from a UN agency? Why shouldn’t they participate in a government and a culture that is much more familiar and comfortable for them, not alien?

There is something like 3 million Arab people in the “West Bank”, give or take, and there is something like 100 million in various Arab states. Those Arab states, on the surface, have been vociferous champions of the “Palestinians” for many years, so let them take in the “Palestinians” on a pro-rata basis (amounting to a roughly 3 percent population increase per Arab country). And if you extend it to all Moslem countries—- with a population of around 1.5 billion—- that amounts to a very minimal 0.2 % population increase per Moslem country. Like a drop in a bucket.

In leaving Judea, the “Palestinians” must be totally compensated for the fair market value of their land and property plus full reimbursement for relocation expenses; and all of the Jewish people in present-day Israel and throughout the Diaspora will be asked to raise sufficient funds to take care of relocating the “Palestinians” out of Judea.

Haven’t population transfers occurred throughout history? And a fair number relatively peacefully?

Compare that with the Jewish experience. In Israel’s defensive wars initiated by the Arabs, approximately 800,000 Jews were evicted (or fled in terror) from a variety of Moslem countries—all without compensation—and Israel took in those refugees and integrated them into their society. Why shouldn’t the Arabs and/or Moslems do that?

Now, upon floating this proposal, there will be a tremendous hue and a cry—an uproar from all of the Arab and/or Moslem countries, the E.U., Russia, China—- all over the world—- and likely from our own State Department.

They will all say it’s racist, ridiculous, absurd, barbaric. But isn’t it at least as logical as the position taken by the Palestinian Authority for Israel to absorb some three million Jew-hating Arabs into their country and after Israel is substantially truncated)?

Why shouldn’t Israel state this position to the PA: “You’re asking us to commit national suicide. Were asking you to agree to a different population transfer, one more conductive to your own people; and we will even pay for it completely. Isn’t that much more reasonable?”

Again, the objective should be two states of similar cultural and religious backgrounds going back around 3,000 years and united, yet independent—where one state is not obsessed with hatred and the feverish desire to kill the other and push them into the sea—but rather, a free people with an open border there between and all living in peace and security.

Truly, an ideal two-state solution.

Leonard Bloom writes from Owings Mills.

Sign petition against opening of Zion Road in Hebron to Arab traffic

 

After Avigdor Lieberman’s introductory statement yesterday as Israel’s new foreign minister I started thinking about writing this article. This morning, seeing one of the headlines in the Jerusalem Post, that thought was reinforced. However, after the brutal murder of a 16 year old at Bat Ayin, the thought transformed into words on paper.

You may not have picked up Lieberman’s remarks yesterday, being that most of the major internet news networks didn’t mention the fact that Bibi Netanyahu was sworn in as Israel’s new Prime Minister. I watched CNN, MSNBC and Foxnews all day. The event was totally ignored. What did Lieberman say? That Israel is not obligated by any agreements enumerated in the Annapolis Accords, because they had never been voted on in the Israeli cabinet. He did say that Israel was obligated by Bush’s ‘roadmap,’ but one would imagine that he also believes that the Arabs must also keep their part of the agreement before Israel makes any further concessions. That doesn’t look too promising.

What about the headline in the Jpost: PA: Death to those who sell land to Jews. Khaled Abu Toameh writes, “The Palestinian Authority has issued yet another warning to Palestinians against selling their homes or properties to Jews, saying those who violate the order would be accused of "high treason" - a charge that carries the death penalty. The latest warning was issued on Wednesday by the Chief [Islamic] Judge of the Palestinian Authority, Sheikh Tayseer Rajab Tamimi, who reminded the Palestinians of an existing fatwa [religious decree] than bans them from selling property to Jews.”

This is nothing new. I’ve been repeating this to tourists and journalists for years. (The latter very rarely believe me.) This became an issue following Hebron’s purchase of Beit HaShalom, when the Arab owner screamed that he’d never really sold the property. He had no choice but to make this claim; anything less would have led to his immediate torture and death. His initial statements denying the sale came when he was sitting in an Arab jail in Jericho. However, now we have it again, officially, from the mouth of the “Chief Rabbi – Chief Justice” of the Arab terrorist authority, aka, the PA. Can you imagine what would happen if the Israeli chief justice, Dorit Beinish, or one of the Chief Rabbis of Israel would make a similar statement, saying that any Jew selling property to an Arab was to be summarily executed?!

The previous government, with Olmert at the reins and Barak in Defense, tried very hard to convince the Israeli public that ‘times had changed.’ The atmosphere seemed to be more relaxed. Abu Mazen was behaving himself, and Israel needed to do everything to strengthen him against continued attempts by Hamas to take over all of Arab-occupied Judea and Samaria. Unfortunately, these attempts to continue to deceive the Israeli public started to explode in their collective faces. Two police were killed in the Jordan Valley. A terror-tractorist tried to kill cops in Jerusalem. A car-bomber terrorist almost brought down a mall on hundreds of people in Haifa.

Here in Hebron we are told that everything is wonderful. Life with the Arabs has become tranquil Real lovey-dovey. So the IDF has notified us that soon the only road leading to Hebron, passing by the western entrance to Kiryat Arba will soon be open to Arab traffic. The last time this happened two Jews were killed on the same day: David Cohen and Hezzy Mualem. Other roadblocks are being opened, ‘gestures’ to the ‘moderate’ PA leadership. Gestures that inevitably lead to bloodshed and loss of Jewish life.

That brings us to today – a few hours ago. An Arab terrorist (‘militant’ in the language of all journalistic channels) with an axe broke into the municipality building in the Bat Ayin community and starting swinging. Two people were struck: Sixteen year old Shlomo Nativ was killed and a seven year old injured. I don’t know the family of the murdered youth, but his sister studied in high school with one of my daughters and his brother is a student in a Yeshiva where one of my son’s-in-law is his Rabbi. It hits close to home.

Bay Ayin really is a picture of tranquility. We have friends that lived there for a while and we spent a couple of Shabbats there. Surrounded by the Judean Hills, it’s quiet and picturesque and a lovely place to live. Maybe fifteen minutes south of Gilo, Jerusalem, the population is a mixture of religious Jews who practice their religion with their way of life.

So, what do you say to people whose teenage son goes out for a little while and comes back home, dead, a week before Passover? The Jerusalem Post quotes Hamas sources, “For its part, Hamas called the attack a natural response to the "occupation." "This attack was committed in the framework of the resistance," Ayman Taha, a spokesperson for the group said. "This is a reaction to the continuing occupation and the continued building of settlements. This is a natural reaction," he said, "especially against the backdrop of Israel attacks. We are a people occupied, and it is our right to defend ourselves and to act in every way and with every means at our disposal in order to defend ourselves."

So let’s go out and kill some kids.

So, as we approach the Passover holiday, with the advent of a ‘new government’, let’s start anew. Israel has no obligations to the Americans, the Arabs, the Europeans, or anyone else. Some 3,500 years ago G-d gave birth the Jewish people by taking us out of Egypt and leading us to the Promised Land, to Eretz Yisrael. He created us, He made the rules, and He commanded us to follow those rules. First and foremost, to live in our land. Our first responsibility is to those rules, to freely in our land as a free people. Our government’s first commitment is to its people, to ensure their safety, to ensure their lives in their land.

Israeli governments have always been very good at shirking this responsibility. Hebron’s Jewish residents were abandoned to their fate when then Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu gave our Arab neighbors the hills surrounding the Jewish neighborhoods, leading to Arab shooting at Hebron for over two years. A few days ago Hebron marked the eighth anniversary of the murder of 10 month old Shalhevet Pass, shot and killed by a sniper from those very hills.

Gush Katif came under Arab mortar fire for years on end, with virtually no attempt to end the attacks by the Israeli government. So, too Sderot, hit by rockets for years and years; despite the Olmert-Livni-Barak supposed attempt to put an end to these attacks, they continue. Need more be said?

The question is what will Bibi do now – ten years later? Bibi has always said the ‘right’ thing, but done the wrong thing. Will he change his ways and start acting as a proud Jewish leader should? Prior to the elections he espoused the ‘right’ thing – opposition to a ‘two-state solution.’ Any normal human being with eyes in his head and a semi-working brain understands that a ‘palestinian state’ can only be catastrophic. Lieberman’s comments yesterday were greeted with consternation by staff of the Israeli foreign ministry. Lieberman’s first job should be to find those who expressed dismay at his statements and fire them. It’s time that Israeli policy changed, and there is no need to hide the truth behind locked doors. The Israeli government must encourage land purchases such as Beit HaShalom in Hebron, working to further such deals rather than trying to squelch them.

And last, but certainly not least, this administration must act quickly and decisively following today’s brutal murder of a sixteen year old at Bat Ayin. The response to such attacks must be immediate and equally brutal. The first reaction to the Hamas statement must be an unequivocal decision refusing to release Hamas murderers from prison in exchange for Gilad Shalt, killers who will surely return to their old ways once released from Israeli custody. Other measure, which need not be enumerated here, must be implemented, letting all know, Israeli lives cannot be, and will not be, trampled on. Our children, our women, our families, our citizens, are not cattle fodder, and any and all attempts to harm us will be answered appropriately.

Let the truth hang out!