Meir Goldmintz, resident of the Yad Yair outpost that was illegally destroyed last week, tells the fledgling town's story.



Goldmintz recounts the story of the establishment of Yad Yair in memory of a terrorist victim, its abandonment by the army, the Arab vandalism it suffered, and its ultimate destruction by Israeli forces.

A week ago, on Sept. 18, Civil Administration bulldozers demolished the several structures standing in Yad Yair, just over two miles from the Binyamin town of Dolev.  Two days earlier, the first attempt to destroy Yad Yair was thwarted by some 300 residents of Dolev and other nearby towns, such as Neriah, Talmon and Nachliel, who arrived on the scene.

Last week, the army forces destroyed the Jewish site - even though, Goldmintz said, word of a Supreme Court ruling to delay the action until 4 PM that day had already been received. The army later claimed that the fax machine didn't work and that the order was not received until it was too late.

Propert Zionist Respone: New Town in the Land of Israel

Seventeen years ago, shortly before Passover 1991, Dolev resident Yair Mendelson was murdered by Palestinian terrorists.  His neighbors wished to establish a community on the site of the murder, in keeping with the tradition of "a proper Zionist response," but then-Defense Minister Moshe Arens of the Likud refused.  After a protracted struggle, it was decided to establish a military base there. 

"Over the years," Goldmintz said, "a park was also built there, on lands that were purchased from their Arab owners.  For years, the Yad Yair group worked on building up a live Jewish presence there: prayers, Torah classes, activities.  A monument to Yair was erected, as were a playground for children, a plaza, and a synagogue.  Cakes and other foodstuffs were given out to soldiers on Purim and other occasions, we lit Chanukah candles there, and more.  The high point was our yearly springtime event, in which hundreds of people would take part."

"About four years ago," Meir said, "the army abandoned the site. Thus began a period of constant Arab vandalism, which the army did not 'succeed' in preventing.  Over the course of time, the electric grid was destroyed, the synagogue was looted, the monument was defaced, and the synagogue was set ablaze no fewer than three times."

"Finally, we realized that we would have to do something, and we decided to actualize our right to the land - and start our own town there.  We did this several months ago, after a group of leftists and Arabs arrived on the scene, set fire to the synagogue, and even replaced the Israeli flags with PLO flags... 

"In response, our family [Meir, his wife Chana and four children] moved to the site, together with a group of students from Yeshivat Nachliel.  It required great self-sacrifice, as well as financial resources. The yeshiva helped out and held classes there, and nearby communities helped with fuel for the generator, guards, food for the yeshiva students, etc.  But we still had to deal with problems such as minimal housing conditions, getting back and forth to work and school, etc.

"We lived in a container of only 12 square meters (120 square feet), without showers and with no room for furniture; we left the refrigerator and table outside.  Every night we would spread out the mattresses on the floor, and in the morning we would pile them up again."

Meir said that most of the army officers recognized the importance of the location, "and they sent frequent patrols, and even held exercises there.  Don't forget, it's only 100 meters from the outlying homes of Ramallah..."

One of the hardships was travelling 20 minutes back and forth to their home community of Haresha, "for showers, laundry, and even for the children to be with friends."

The actual destruction of this budding Jewish neighborhood - four buildings and two more under construction - "was also illegal," Meir said, "in that a person may not be forcibly removed from his residence if he has been living there for 30 days, without a legal hearing beforehand.  In addition, they ignored the Supreme Court ruling ordering them to delay the demolition."

"But we still hope to return," his wife Chana added, from her new/old home in Haresha.  Activists have promised to do so quickly, but at present, an army force is standing guard in the area, and the road to Yad Yair is blocked.

The Goldmintz family car was taken to the Binyamin Police Station during the destruction, but they have been told that they cannot get it back without first arriving for a police investigation.  Regarding this and the seemingly illegal demolition, the Goldmintz family has been in touch with lawyers from the Honenu civil rights organization.

IDF Moves Property

Their other property that was confiscated was "taken to a nearby army base," they have been informed, "and we assume it is the main IDF base in Beit El."

Arutz-7's Oranit Netzer asked the IDF Spokesman's Office what is meant by "a nearby IDF base," to whom was this information given, and how was the Goldmintz family supposed to locate their property? No response has yet been received.