This open letter is addressed to: the national chairman, the regional heads, the members and the counselors of the Bnei Akiva youth movement; to students, teachers and directors of yeshiva high-schools, ulpanot, Hesder yeshivas and midrashot; to leaders of the national-religious community - rabbis and Knesset members; and to all those of the national-religious community. And to all those who think that we must not only "settle in the hearts" of the people, but on the hilltops, as well.
God be with you.
A little more than a year ago, the government uprooted the communities in the Gaza Strip and in northern Samaria. That uprooting was possible because of the relatively small number of families that were evicted. Had there been in those communities not 9,000 souls, but 40,000, then it would have been impossible to carry out the deed, considering the resistance, the magnitude of forces that would have been necessary and the prohibitive cost to the economy.
In the wake of the war in the north, and the political situation that has been created as a result, the Convergence Plan has been temporarily removed from the government's agenda. However, it is obvious to anyone with a clear vision of reality that, sooner or later, a new diplomatic plan with some name or another will be proposed (even if the administration will be led by Binyamin Netanyahu or Avigdor Liberman).
As there is no majority among the people and in the Knesset for a return to the 1967 borders, the proposed plan will be more or less like the Convergence Plan, with some changes here and there. In other words, most of the Jewish population in Judea and Samaria would remain under Israeli sovereignty, and the rest would be evicted from their homes.
The problem with such a plan is two-fold:
1. It would have the support of most of the nation, or at least most of the Knesset;
2. It would concede most of the communities in Judea and Samaria, along with most of the territory; essentially, the heartland of the Land of Israel.
At this very moment, every day and every hour, the terrible separation fence is being erected. Aside from the fact that it doesn't prevent terrorism, that it destroys the natural environment and creates more hatred, the fence also cleaves our land for generations with an insane scar that will take tens, if not hundreds, of years to heal (once the fence is demolished).
What can be done to prevent all of this?
All the communities on the eastern side of the fence must be strengthened. And now. Only if we create a situation in which there is a sizable Jewish population living in the heart of Judea and in the heart of Samaria will we be able to prevent the looming expulsion plans. To reiterate: we are talking about a large number of communities in Judea and Samaria - a majority of the towns, which comprises a numerical minority of the total population.
I call upon everyone who understands the momentousness of the hour and the seriousness of the task to move to communities on the eastern side of the fence.
You are surely saying to yourselves that this call is a bit of a fantasy. True, but without fantasies we would not have returned to this land after 2,000 years. So, there is no choice - we must arise and act.
There is no shortage of excuses: "I am only interested right now in finding a groom."
"What? You expect me to leave Ra'anana?"
"Are you nuts? How can I live in a trailer?"
"It's way dangerous."
"I am employed in Tel Aviv."
"It'll be too cold for me. I'm used to the heat."
"It'll be too hot for me. I'm used to the cold."
And on and on and on.
And that is how we will lose the country. Pay attention, this is not speculation; to my great sorrow, it is a certainty. And afterwards, it will touch you, too.
So, briefly, what do we do?
First of all, distribute this letter as much as possible. Second, begin the process of conceptual realignment. In this regard, I come to you, members, counselors and leaders of Bnei Akiva. You can be the Nachshon, the vanguard, that makes the first move, after which many others follow.
It starts with Shabbat activities, and continues every Tuesday with going to assist a town or outpost - building terraces, planting trees, clearing rocks and the like. It means that field trips and summer camps take place throughout the land, not just within the Green Line. Return to Ouja and Herodion and the Judean desert and the Zif desert and Gush Etzion and Sebastia - even if the Ministry of Education does not approve. And every Shabbat, come to Judea and Samaria to show your support, after which you organize groups of single people or young couples to join the communities there. Because there is no choice.
You may be reading this open letter and saying to yourselves, "Wow. He's right." So, you call and come for Shabbat (Welcome!), or maybe for a week of work (Beautiful!). But even that is a drop in the ocean. We need a dramatic shift that will bring here and elsewhere hundreds, or thousands, of families. We must change the tune.
I live in an outpost called Ma'aleh Rechavam. It is a community that I and a friend established five years ago; and today, we number 27 souls - five families and 10 bachelors. We and other outposts need help in construction, in agriculture, in gathering a minyan (public prayer quorum) on Shabbat, in bringing more families to live here, and more.
Because the government is trying to dry us out as much as possible, we have no organized funding aside from minor assistance from the regional council, which is also legally constrained. We are pretty much on our own. Until a year ago, we depended on a generator and until a few months ago, we had no phone lines. Even at this point, five years after the establishment of the place, we still have no paved road into the village and we are without a permanent synagogue. And there are other outposts in our situation.
In Bnei Akiva, there is (or at least, there was) talk of "fulfillment". What is "fulfillment" today if not settling the land? And where is the "fulfillment" if we don't have a minyan every Shabbat night in our community?
What I am about to say may be grave, but if any of you think that I am right, and that it is a duty to settle, and that it is the call of the hour, and you do not act upon it, then you are sinning against yourself. And if you are in a position of any public responsibility, then you are sinning against the community and, essentially, failing to do your job as a counselor, a teacher, a rabbi, a yeshiva dean, etc.
I call upon the Judea, Samaria and Gaza Council, and upon Amana, the settlement movement of Gush Emunim, to pick up the glove and launch a giant settlement campaign. But generally, that is not happening, unfortunately.
I call upon anyone who can, and who understands the seriousness of the hour, to take action and come to live in one of the communities on the eastern side of the separation fence. Whoever cannot do so should come for a period of time, in order to encourage and add strength. Whoever cannot move and can help financially will be blessed.
With the blessing of comrades in Torah, labor and settling the land,
Drori Bar-Levav
God be with you.
A little more than a year ago, the government uprooted the communities in the Gaza Strip and in northern Samaria. That uprooting was possible because of the relatively small number of families that were evicted. Had there been in those communities not 9,000 souls, but 40,000, then it would have been impossible to carry out the deed, considering the resistance, the magnitude of forces that would have been necessary and the prohibitive cost to the economy.
In the wake of the war in the north, and the political situation that has been created as a result, the Convergence Plan has been temporarily removed from the government's agenda. However, it is obvious to anyone with a clear vision of reality that, sooner or later, a new diplomatic plan with some name or another will be proposed (even if the administration will be led by Binyamin Netanyahu or Avigdor Liberman).
As there is no majority among the people and in the Knesset for a return to the 1967 borders, the proposed plan will be more or less like the Convergence Plan, with some changes here and there. In other words, most of the Jewish population in Judea and Samaria would remain under Israeli sovereignty, and the rest would be evicted from their homes.
The problem with such a plan is two-fold:
1. It would have the support of most of the nation, or at least most of the Knesset;
2. It would concede most of the communities in Judea and Samaria, along with most of the territory; essentially, the heartland of the Land of Israel.
At this very moment, every day and every hour, the terrible separation fence is being erected. Aside from the fact that it doesn't prevent terrorism, that it destroys the natural environment and creates more hatred, the fence also cleaves our land for generations with an insane scar that will take tens, if not hundreds, of years to heal (once the fence is demolished).
What can be done to prevent all of this?
All the communities on the eastern side of the fence must be strengthened. And now. Only if we create a situation in which there is a sizable Jewish population living in the heart of Judea and in the heart of Samaria will we be able to prevent the looming expulsion plans. To reiterate: we are talking about a large number of communities in Judea and Samaria - a majority of the towns, which comprises a numerical minority of the total population.
I call upon everyone who understands the momentousness of the hour and the seriousness of the task to move to communities on the eastern side of the fence.
You are surely saying to yourselves that this call is a bit of a fantasy. True, but without fantasies we would not have returned to this land after 2,000 years. So, there is no choice - we must arise and act.
There is no shortage of excuses: "I am only interested right now in finding a groom."
"What? You expect me to leave Ra'anana?"
"Are you nuts? How can I live in a trailer?"
"It's way dangerous."
"I am employed in Tel Aviv."
"It'll be too cold for me. I'm used to the heat."
"It'll be too hot for me. I'm used to the cold."
And on and on and on.
And that is how we will lose the country. Pay attention, this is not speculation; to my great sorrow, it is a certainty. And afterwards, it will touch you, too.
So, briefly, what do we do?
First of all, distribute this letter as much as possible. Second, begin the process of conceptual realignment. In this regard, I come to you, members, counselors and leaders of Bnei Akiva. You can be the Nachshon, the vanguard, that makes the first move, after which many others follow.
It starts with Shabbat activities, and continues every Tuesday with going to assist a town or outpost - building terraces, planting trees, clearing rocks and the like. It means that field trips and summer camps take place throughout the land, not just within the Green Line. Return to Ouja and Herodion and the Judean desert and the Zif desert and Gush Etzion and Sebastia - even if the Ministry of Education does not approve. And every Shabbat, come to Judea and Samaria to show your support, after which you organize groups of single people or young couples to join the communities there. Because there is no choice.
You may be reading this open letter and saying to yourselves, "Wow. He's right." So, you call and come for Shabbat (Welcome!), or maybe for a week of work (Beautiful!). But even that is a drop in the ocean. We need a dramatic shift that will bring here and elsewhere hundreds, or thousands, of families. We must change the tune.
I live in an outpost called Ma'aleh Rechavam. It is a community that I and a friend established five years ago; and today, we number 27 souls - five families and 10 bachelors. We and other outposts need help in construction, in agriculture, in gathering a minyan (public prayer quorum) on Shabbat, in bringing more families to live here, and more.
Because the government is trying to dry us out as much as possible, we have no organized funding aside from minor assistance from the regional council, which is also legally constrained. We are pretty much on our own. Until a year ago, we depended on a generator and until a few months ago, we had no phone lines. Even at this point, five years after the establishment of the place, we still have no paved road into the village and we are without a permanent synagogue. And there are other outposts in our situation.
In Bnei Akiva, there is (or at least, there was) talk of "fulfillment". What is "fulfillment" today if not settling the land? And where is the "fulfillment" if we don't have a minyan every Shabbat night in our community?
What I am about to say may be grave, but if any of you think that I am right, and that it is a duty to settle, and that it is the call of the hour, and you do not act upon it, then you are sinning against yourself. And if you are in a position of any public responsibility, then you are sinning against the community and, essentially, failing to do your job as a counselor, a teacher, a rabbi, a yeshiva dean, etc.
I call upon the Judea, Samaria and Gaza Council, and upon Amana, the settlement movement of Gush Emunim, to pick up the glove and launch a giant settlement campaign. But generally, that is not happening, unfortunately.
I call upon anyone who can, and who understands the seriousness of the hour, to take action and come to live in one of the communities on the eastern side of the separation fence. Whoever cannot do so should come for a period of time, in order to encourage and add strength. Whoever cannot move and can help financially will be blessed.
With the blessing of comrades in Torah, labor and settling the land,
Drori Bar-Levav