Despite the difficulties faced by residents of Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) over the past two years, its population has increased at a faster pace than that of the rest of the country. Arutz-7's Haggai Segal spoke today with one of the newer residents, Dr. Gideon Ehrlich of Bar Ilan University, who moved to the relatively-isolated community of Negohot, west of Hevron, close to a year ago:
A-7: Up to about two years ago, the only way to travel to Negohot was through [PLO-controlled] Area A?
Ehrlich: To tell you the truth, I don't exactly recognize Areas A, B, or C; they have no significance for me. In general, there are definitely many Arabs in this area... I don't agree with the use of the word Palestinian. I myself was born in Palestine, etc. Creating [from nothing] a concept of a 'Palestinian nation' causes us only trouble, and there is no point in using the word over and over... We moved here about a year ago from Kiryat Ono, near Petach Tikvah.
A-7: Why?
Ehrlich: It started from a gathering organized by the Southern Hevron Hills communities entitled "Together on the Mountain." We saw there a few things that seemed to emphasize a differentiation between two types of population - those who lived in Yesha and those who didn't. For instance, they put on a play showing a girl who was preparing her Bat Mitzvah celebration, and little by little her relatives called with various excuses about why they couldn't attend... In addition, when the event was over, we all drove away, many cars together on the road, and suddenly we reached an intersection, and all the cars with us turned right to the various communities of the southern Hevron area, while we were the only ones to turn left, the only ones going towards the "other" part of Israel... We felt the separation very strongly at that moment, and we said to ourselves that if so, we choose to be with the "Yesha" population... We began to look for a place to live in Yesha where we could bring some benefit - not just to [a place] where we would just increase the statistics - and we found that Negohot could be that place. At the time, it only had about 12 families; now there are about 22-24.
Q. The families there are pretty young... Are you the oldest?
Ehrlich: Yes, we're the oldest, but the difference is really not that great; almost everyone here is at least ten years older than our grandchildren…
Q. Do your own grandchildren come to visit you?
A. Yes, certainly. By the way, most of them also live in Judea and Samaria.
Q. What did your colleagues in the Computer Science Department at Bar Ilan University say about your move?
A. They saw it as something very natural. Most of them support that which helps the People of Israel hold fast onto their Land, and some of them live in Yesha, and in general it was quite natural.
Q. How do you see the future?
A. My view in general does not differentiate between the two sides of the 1949-1967 ceasefire lines [see below]. When [former Prime Minister Menachem] Begin ceded the Sinai, this was the beginning of a process of collapse - the opposite of what we had been doing until then of establishing ourselves in the Land. But the Arabs will not stop exactly at the borders that were agreed upon in Lake Success in 1949 [the post-Independence War ceasefire lines, known today as the Green Line]. This was not a line that anyone really agreed upon or recognized; there was even a dispute shortly afterwards about whether Israel should settle the Lachish region [between Ashkelon and Judea]... Once the Arabs get to the Green Line, they'll continue further towards the 'Blue Line,' i.e., the coastline; the Arabs simply do not accept our presence here... We must go forward with the confidence that this country is for the Jews to come back home to - a true Ingathering of the Exiles..."
A-7: Up to about two years ago, the only way to travel to Negohot was through [PLO-controlled] Area A?
Ehrlich: To tell you the truth, I don't exactly recognize Areas A, B, or C; they have no significance for me. In general, there are definitely many Arabs in this area... I don't agree with the use of the word Palestinian. I myself was born in Palestine, etc. Creating [from nothing] a concept of a 'Palestinian nation' causes us only trouble, and there is no point in using the word over and over... We moved here about a year ago from Kiryat Ono, near Petach Tikvah.
A-7: Why?
Ehrlich: It started from a gathering organized by the Southern Hevron Hills communities entitled "Together on the Mountain." We saw there a few things that seemed to emphasize a differentiation between two types of population - those who lived in Yesha and those who didn't. For instance, they put on a play showing a girl who was preparing her Bat Mitzvah celebration, and little by little her relatives called with various excuses about why they couldn't attend... In addition, when the event was over, we all drove away, many cars together on the road, and suddenly we reached an intersection, and all the cars with us turned right to the various communities of the southern Hevron area, while we were the only ones to turn left, the only ones going towards the "other" part of Israel... We felt the separation very strongly at that moment, and we said to ourselves that if so, we choose to be with the "Yesha" population... We began to look for a place to live in Yesha where we could bring some benefit - not just to [a place] where we would just increase the statistics - and we found that Negohot could be that place. At the time, it only had about 12 families; now there are about 22-24.
Q. The families there are pretty young... Are you the oldest?
Ehrlich: Yes, we're the oldest, but the difference is really not that great; almost everyone here is at least ten years older than our grandchildren…
Q. Do your own grandchildren come to visit you?
A. Yes, certainly. By the way, most of them also live in Judea and Samaria.
Q. What did your colleagues in the Computer Science Department at Bar Ilan University say about your move?
A. They saw it as something very natural. Most of them support that which helps the People of Israel hold fast onto their Land, and some of them live in Yesha, and in general it was quite natural.
Q. How do you see the future?
A. My view in general does not differentiate between the two sides of the 1949-1967 ceasefire lines [see below]. When [former Prime Minister Menachem] Begin ceded the Sinai, this was the beginning of a process of collapse - the opposite of what we had been doing until then of establishing ourselves in the Land. But the Arabs will not stop exactly at the borders that were agreed upon in Lake Success in 1949 [the post-Independence War ceasefire lines, known today as the Green Line]. This was not a line that anyone really agreed upon or recognized; there was even a dispute shortly afterwards about whether Israel should settle the Lachish region [between Ashkelon and Judea]... Once the Arabs get to the Green Line, they'll continue further towards the 'Blue Line,' i.e., the coastline; the Arabs simply do not accept our presence here... We must go forward with the confidence that this country is for the Jews to come back home to - a true Ingathering of the Exiles..."