The "Homesh First" movement says it has building materials ready and is calling upon the public to make their way to Homesh Tuesday – to rebuild and rectify the mistake of Disengagement.
For almost a month, posters have appeared throughout the country inviting Israelis to purchase bricks in order to rebuild Homesh – one of the 25 Jewish towns in Gaza and northern Samaria destroyed during the 2005 Disengagement. Organizers say the response has been very encouraging, with thousands of bricks ready for Tuesday’s ascent.
They are calling on individuals who come Tuesday to literally bring bricks with them in their ruck-sacks and bags. “Each and every person that comes will be a real partner in the rebuilding and the shifting of direction out of the mud we have sunk into since the expulsion,” says Homesh First’s Yossi Dagan. For Dagan, a former resident of Homesh, the rebuilding of his town is particularly emotional. “Tuesday we are returning home,” he declared.
Undeterred by Threats
The leaders of the grassroots project say they are not concerned by security officials' promises to press criminal charges against participants in the event, nor are they impressed by claims that the army's preparations for war are being adversely affected.
"The spin regarding military training is a flawed political decision by a cold-hearted government that prefers to hurt the country's security interests over correction of the error of the expulsion [from Gush Katif and northern Samaria]," a statement by the group read. “We don’t recall considerations of IDF preparedness being taken into consideration when training was put on hold for a year an half in order to [prepare for the Disengagement and –ed.] expel us from our homes.”
Police and IDF officials made similar threats and arguments prior to the three other unauthorized ascents to Homesh by the movement.
A recent addition to the threats is that youth who participate in the attempt to rebuild Homesh will not be allowed to join the IDF in the future. “The IDF needs the youths who ascend to Homesh no less than they need it,” a Homesh First spokesman told Arutz-7. “If they don’t draft the youths who return to Homesh, maybe instead they will draft the deserter sons of the prime minister.”
Arutz-7 was informed that Judea and Samaria Police are, in fact, carrying out criminal investigations against the organizers of Homesh First. During interrogations, activists were told that talking to the media about Homesh is a criminal contravention of the Disengagement Law. When questioned about such a claim, senior police officials admitted that was inaccurate.
Homesh First insists that they will not back down from their clear stated mission of returning to Homesh in order to stay and rebuild the bulldozed town. “The threats from the government only demonstrate that it is feeling the pressure from the ascents and the growing demand to rectify the error of expulsion,” Homesh First says. “The police investigations merely demonstrate that the state’s breaking point is even closer than we thought.”
MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud) condemned the police actions in a letter to Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, saying the threats were an attack on freedom of expression. "Unfortunately, this behavior reminds me of other police in our not-so-distant past," wrote Edelstein, a former Prisoner of Zion in the USSR.
Yesha Council Requests Authorization
The most recent ascent to Homesh, organized by the Yesha Council of Judea and Samaria Communities and populated by students of the B’nei Akiva school system, was authorized by the government and IDF. Reports at the time said it was an attempt to empower the council at Homesh First’s expense, as the government sees it as a force more willing to coordinate activities and less likely to publicly disobey the law.
Yesha Council Chairman Bentzy Lieberman send a letter earlier this week to incoming IDF Central Commander Gadi Shamni and Judea & Samaria Police Commander Shlomo Katabi requesting that they authorize next week’s Homesh ascent next week.
“In the coming days thousands of Jews are expected to once again ascend to Homesh,” Lieberman wrote. “We are of the opinion that it is the right of Jews to travel and even live in all areas of the Land of Israel. The past two years have proven to all that there was no benefit from the destruction of the town and uprooting of its residents – only damage to the national security of the State of Israel. The experience of the past year have shown that there are no security considerations that should prevent the ascent to Homesh, located just kilometers from Shavei Shomron and is already within the security detail of the IDF, which is in control of all of northern Samaria.”
The letter asked for authorization and expressed concern that violence similar to that used against protesters in Amona last year could be used against protesters and called upon police to refrain from using such violence, even if authorization is not granted.
Homesh First Publishes Letter to Soldiers and Officers
An ad published by Homesh First calls upon police officers and IDF soldiers to “refuse to carry out anti-Jewish policies” and to “at least look the other way” as Homesh is rebuilt.