Boaz Albert repeatedly arrested (illustrative
Boaz Albert repeatedly arrested (illustrativeIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The father of a farmer from Samaria (Shomron) who has become notorious for his refusal to obey a distancing order says he is proud of his son.

Chaim Albert of Kibbutz Shomriya said his son Boaz, who has been arrested multiple times for entering his home despite the distancing order, is living up to the values that he and his wife taught their children.

“We taught our children that the mission is what’s important,” he told Arutz Sheva. “I’m proud of my son’s courage, and of his ability to stand up to pressure and do things that need to be done.”

“His perseverance is something I believe in. If you believe in your path, you’ll carry on even if there are difficulties,” he continued.

“As a father, of course I’m worried, like any father would be, over all the difficulties my son is facing,” he said.

He criticized the military officials who issued a distancing order to his son. “It’s obvious that the state doesn’t like the people who follow [our] ideology, and the system doesn’t like them,” he said.

Boaz was given a distancing order seven years ago, as well, he noted, “but [the authorities] quickly figured out the kind of person they were dealing with, and released him.”

Chaim Albert and his family were part of the fight to keep Israel’s communities in Sinai when the government decided to return the region to Egypt as part of the Camp David agreement. When Israel evicted its citizens from Sinai the Albert family decided to move from their home in Kibbutz Alumim to Atzmona, in Gaza. They were later expelled in the 2005 Disengagement.

He expressed hope that Boaz’s current struggle will serve as an inspiration to others. “It’s important that young people who are struggling take an example from Boaz. His conditions in jail are not easy, but he isn’t prepared to let the system hide behind an administrative order,” he said.

“We heard the judge’s harsh criticism of the orders,” he added, referring to a recent court case in which a judge took police to task for their treatment of Boaz Albert.