Fast and furious developments in the Disengagement-destroyed town of Homesh: continued Jewish presence, a new yeshiva, a Knesset lobby, and more.

Two years after the IDF destroyed four towns in the Shomron in Ariel Sharon's Disengagement, one of them - Homesh - is once again the site of a thriving Jewish presence.

There are no buildings, running water, electricity, or much of anything else, but there are Jews - a recent average of 30-40 Jews a day comprising an uninterrupted Jewish presence for the last five consecutive weeks.

The site really comes to life on Sabbath, with several families and many dozens of singles coming each week to mark the holy day at the site.  This past Sabbath, six families and 100 singles spent an inspiring weekend there - though their ascent on Friday afternoon was delayed until close to an hour before sundown by "police activity."  Participants said the police took action late Friday afternoon to destroy signs of the Jewish presence in Homesh, and that only afterwards were the Sabbath visitors able to ascend.  They spent their "waiting" time in the neighboring community of Shavei Shomron.

"To reach the site just an hour before the Sabbath," one participant said, "and then to start setting up tents and tables, and connecting Sabbath hot-plates to the generator, and a place for prayer, and the like - that was quite a memorable experience.  But the spirit overrides everything else, and there was plenty of that."

New Yeshiva

On Sunday, a new yeshiva started classes at the ruins of Homesh, atop a mountain overlooking much of central Israel.  Lectures were delivered by Rabbi Yisrael Ariel of Yitzhar and Rabbi Gadi Ben-Zimra of Maaleh Levonah.

New Knesset Lobby

Last week, the 10-member Homesh Knesset Lobby convened for the first time, headed by MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union).  The lobby's mandate is to work to promote the reestablishment of Homesh - as a first step towards the return to all the places from which Jews were expelled under Sharon's Disengagement of 2005.

The forum will coordinate all Knesset activity relating to Homesh, and will strive to enhance the legitimacy of the Homesh First group and the concept of resettling the northwestern Shomron.  In adition, the lobby's MKs plan to visit Homesh in the coming weeks. 

Homesh First leader Yossi Dagan expressed satisfaction at the formation of the lobby, saying it is a "significant milestone towards the return to Homesh."

"The lobby will supplement our ascents to Homesh," Dagan said.  "Until now, PM Olmert and the architects of the expulsion have been trying to silence our demand to return with all sorts of military and legal excuses, but now the MKs and Homesh First can clearly demand the rectification of this historic mistake."

Four towns in the Shomron - Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim - were destroyed, and their Jews expelled, by then-Prime Minister Ariel Shomron in the summer of 2005.  Unlike Gush Katif in Gaza, whose 21 Jewish towns were similarly destroyed, the Shomron areas were not turned over to the Palestinian Authority, and the IDF is still in control there.