Video courtesy of Rivkah Rybak www.yeshabulletin.com
The deserted IDF base at Adorayim, west of Hevron, filled up with dozens of Jewish mothers and children from the Judea area Tuesday afternoon, in a grassroots event timed to coincide with the meeting between United States President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in the White House.
The base at Adorayim is a new focal point for Land of Israel activists after a successful campaign to restore a permanent Jewish presence to Shdema, another IDF base that had been abandoned and which was in danger of being taken over by local Arabs, who were allegedly helped by foreign political groups including the United Nations.
In a matter of seconds mats were spread on the ground and a story hour with puppets had the children riveted with attention. Another mat was covered with a white sheet that had the map of Israel sketched on it. The children received bowls of finger paints and began filling in the colors: blue for the sea, the mountains of Judea and Samaria in brown, Jerusalem in gold and Adorayim in blue and white.
On another mat, a balloonist made swords, kittens, crowns and other balloon shapes for the children.
The mothers, meanwhile, heard a lesson on the upcoming mourning day of Tish'a B'Av.
The IDF sent soldiers to the Adorayim base when it received information that the group of mothers had entered the abandoned base's perimeter. The soldiers wound up taking some refreshment from the mothers. “The base's abandonment by the IDF sends a very dangerous message – and the Arabs translated it very quickly into murder,” the event's organizers explained