Yesterday, we visited a place called “Maoz Esther” or the “Fortress of Esther”.
Esther Gallia, mother of seven, was murdered by “Palestinian” Arabs in 2006 near her home in a drive by shooting. We don’t know if the murder weapon was one of thousands that Israel ceremonially issued to mega terrorist, Arafat’s colleagues in 1993 (as part of the ill-conceived Oslo Accords which led to the Arab instigated terrorism called the Oslo War in which over one thousand Israeli civilians were murdered by suicide bombers, etc.).
Maoz Esther, near the site of the murder, was subsequently established in her memory.
The residents of Maoz Esther acted from emotion, and did not ask for permission from the authorities to establish the newest Jewish presence in the lands liberated by Israel in 1967, knowing full well they would be refused.
Since the 1993 Oslo debacle, no such permission has been granted. At the same time thousands of Arab homes and infrastructure are built against all official government zoning laws, with almost no government response.
Jews know that they suffer an embedded disadvantage versus Palestinian Arabs when it comes to the scrutiny and the determined fist of the authorities in Judea and Samaria, and that while most of the land is unclaimed or government land, leftist organizations help Arabs come up with ownership claims which are often accepted at face value.
Maoz Esther is a few shacks, including a synagogue (which is waiting for a roof)
In one shack live eight teen age girls. In another one just a few hundred meters away live some teen-age boys.
The boys herd sheep. Their daily presence in wide ranging areas creates an ongoing Jewish presence beyond their shack or community, thus securing even more for the Jewish people. If they were not there, the Arabs would quickly move in and yet another parcel of the Land of Israel would be lost. They want to prevent this.
The boys are the ones who keep a sharp eye out for local Bedouin intruders as they guard their own and the girl’s shacks.
The girls, up at the crack of dawn, divide their time between farming, working in neighboring Jewish communities, housekeeping and study.
I saw a large pile of debris lying next to the path up to their shack. I asked what it was.
It seems that every few months, after the police swarm to demolish their shack (and brutally drag them out of their beds in the middle of the night), the girls pile the ruins in one spot. Then they rebuild.
I thought, one day that pile will be a monument to Israel’s great folly: Instead of persecuting these idealistic and pioneering youth they should have been given assistance - and later, medals.
Ahuvia Sandek lived in the boy’s shack and fulfilled his dream of following his father and grandfather in settling the land of Israel. They faced their challenges in fulfilling the dream; now it was his turn to do so.
A few months ago, Ahuvia was killed when a police car, chasing his, rammed it to make it stop. The car flipped and Ahuvia was killed. The police suspected - only suspected - him of throwing stones at Arabs.
The police are now trying to prevent an investigation of the event and there have been many protests against them as a result
In the decades of daily Arab stone throwing at Jews, some of it resulting in fatalities, there has never been a case of hot pursuit of Arab stonethrowers and ramming of their vehicles. This seems to have been reserved only for enemy number one!
The so-called “hill top youth”.
I met them.
They are the best we have. Yes, some of them are school or societal dropouts, but the vast majority are not. Some have a kind of brashness as pioneers throughout history have always had, along with great love of the land - almost like those who settled the West.
However, in great contrast to my visit at Maoz Esther, the Israeli political establishment and media are waiting eagerly for the words of Mansour Abbas. The head or the “Ra’am” party (a party supporting the “Muslim Brotherhood” who stone Gays and do not believe Israel has a right to exist) gave a speech last night.
Since half the Jewish politicians will not sit with the other half to form a government due to clashes of personality, ego and ambition (not the welfare of the state, unless they equate themselves with that concept), it may have fallen to Mr. Abbas to choose which government will rule the Jewish state. The lone, and therefore villified, voices against Ra'am joining the government or serving to back a minority government are from the Religious Zionist party.
This is indeed a first in Israeli politics and history.
Much of the media sings his praises and sees this as an opportunity to involve Israeli Arabs in the government - ignoring the Muslim Brotherhood plans to destroy the Jewish state - and much of the political establishment is also preparing public opinion to accept this as not just an unexpected result of democratic election but a welcome "enlightenment" of Israel as a society.
The youngsters holding on to the land of Israel represent the opposite. Abbas, to the media, represents progress and enlightenment and the “hilltop youths” are the ones preventing it from happening.
But for the still sane amongst us, perhaps it is just the opposite?
Shalom Pollack is a veteran tour guide, who says: "I have the oppportunity to observe many sides of our beloved country. As a Jew who has come home, I am passionate about sharing my observations and thoughts." He can be reached [email protected]