Park HaKomemiyut, Givat Assaf
Park HaKomemiyut, Givat AssafIsrael news photo: Flash 90

With the threat of a demolition still hanging over the community, a new park was dedicated on Sunday in the community of Givat Assaf in Binyamin.

The park is named Park HaKomemiyut (Sovereignty Park), and the dedication ceremony was attended by MKs, including Aryeh Eldad and Michael Ben-Ari (National Union).

Givat Assaf is one of several communities in the area that have been slated for demolition. The community was built more than ten years ago in memory of terror victim Assaf Hershkowitz, a young father from nearby Ofra who was murdered in a shooting attack. It is home to 25 families, including more than 120 children.

The community has faced demolition threats since the beginning. In November, Israel's Supreme Court accepted a request submitted on behalf of the Defense Ministry by the State Attorney to postpone a final ruling regarding the community until July 2012.

“The young idealistic families that live here are helping to build the land of Israel and they protect thousands of Israelis every single day just by being here,” David Rubin, founder of the Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund and a frequent op-ed writer for Arutz Sheva, said. “And that is the meaning of the idealism of the settling the land of Israel.”

“By settling the land of Israel, we are protecting Tel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport and the rest of the country,” added Rubin.

MK Eldad expressed hope that common sense will prevail among Israel’s senior leaders and that they will not send the bulldozers to demolish any communities in Judea and Samaria.

“We’ve offered reasonable agreements to settle the legal situation and the humanitarian situation here,” he said. “I hope that the government will adopt the suggestion.”

Eldad warned that if these communities are indeed demolished, the scenes from the violent eviction of Amona would repeat themselves and that it would be even worse.

“I hope that they will come to their senses and adopt the suggestions for a compromise on these settlements,” he said.