Dozens of activists arrived in the Yad Yair outpost late Wednesday night despite the army’s attempts to stop them. The army destroyed Yad Yair three months ago, but the activists assert they will return and rebuild the outpost. Yad Yair is located three kilometers from Dolev in the Binyamin regional council, and only a few hundred meters from Palestinian Authority-controlled Ramallah.
Arabs have pressured the army to allow them to travel through Yad Yair.
Early Wednesday afternoon activists set out from Dolev to Yad Yair to light Hanukah candles, but were stopped on the way by the army. The activists decided to light the candles where they were stopped and burst out into spontaneous song and dance. “The dances came from the depths of the Jewish heart that yearns to settle all of the land of Israel,” one participant said. Afterwards they distributed jelly doughnuts and went home, only to return later in the night and successfully arrive in Yad Yair.
The story of Yad Yair began 17 years ago when a resident of Dolev, Yair Mendelssohn, was killed by Arabs not far from the community. The residents of Dolev wanted to respond by building an outpost in the place Mendelssohn was killed. The Minister of Defense at the time, Moshe Arens, agreed instead to build an army base there. The residents of Dolev set up a park and a memorial to Mendelssohn close by, and afterwards built a synagogue for prayer and study.
A change occurred four years ago when the army base closed down. Arabs and leftist provocateurs vandalized the memorial and synagogue. In May 2008, the Goldmintz family and the Nachaliel Yeshiva decided to settle the spot and prevent its further desecration. For five months the family and yeshiva students worked to develop the outpost, adding buildings and bringing in electricity and water.
In September 2008 their efforts in Yad Yair ended when the army came and destroyed the outpost. Army tractors destroyed the buildings at the site, as well as the memorial for Mendelssohn. All of the Goldmintz family’s belongings were hauled away and the family had great difficulty afterwards locating them. The evacuation of Yad Yair occurred despite the fact that the Supreme Court ordered it delayed until a proper hearing could be held in the matter.
Activists explained that now the army refuses to allow any events at the spot of Mendelssohn’s murder. “The Brigadier General in charge of the Binyamin area will not listen to anything regarding Yad Yair, nor allow any event to occur there,” they said. They added that the Arabs have pressured the army to allow them to travel through Yad Yair and have gained permission to do so. Jews, on the other hand, are not allowed to go to the outpost.
Despite Yad Yair’s difficult past, activists were buoyed by their success at arriving in the outpost Wednesday night. “We are certain that we will return and settle Yad Yair through our determination and patience,” they said. “The army will not frighten us, nor prevent us from reaching [Yad Yair].”