A few days ago, Mayor Shai Alon of Beit El heard his phone ring. He looked down and saw on his screen, "Defense Minister – cell." Though he was in the midst of an important meeting about the upcoming struggle to save two apartment buildings from Supreme Court-ordered destruction, it's not every day that a direct call comes in from Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon – and so he answered.
"Listen, Shai," he heard. "Don't take the destruction of these two buildings so hard. They were built illegally, no one's living there, the Supreme Court gave its ruling and we have to respect it."
"So what do you propose?" asked Mayor Alon, hoping to hear a promise to finally fulfill the government's pledge to build 300 housing units – the promise it made the last time buildings were destroyed in Beit El, three years ago. Well, not quite: "I propose that you guys not put up any resistance to the destruction… OK, I have to go now."
There are two ways to relate to the new reality now developing in Judea and Samaria: Either we can see the upcoming destruction in Beit El, and those scheduled for Ofrah, Amona, Kokhav Hashachar, Adei Ad, Eli and many other towns in Judea and Samaria, as a series of unfortunate incidents caused by technical blunders… Or, we can look at it with open eyes and understand that a strategic campaign is underway to destroy the Jewish presence in all of Judea and Samaria (Yesha). We can realize that it is being run by a strong array of internationally-funded forces, that knows how to use Israel's justice system to destroy the Jewish towns and cities in Judea and Samaria. That which they were unable to do politically and diplomatically, they will now do based on so-called "law and justice."
As if we needed further proof that this is the direction, we heard Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu say openly last week: "Fulfillment of the promise to build 300 units is not on the table at present, and the settlement enterprise will not be expanded or developed."
In short, whatever few apartments that have been built recently, or whose construction is underway, are the last drops from a faucet that has been closed. Even the government's Settlement Division has been closed. The Jewish presence in Yesha is no longer an internal Israeli issue, but has been turned into a matter of international law. We, the Jews of Judea and Samaria, are, simply put, a thorn in Israel's side.
Let us therefore open our eyes. We are being dried out. It is not a question of a missing form or other procedural issues. The question is: Will Jewish settlement in Yesha continue to exist, yes or no? Behind every lawsuit against a house or community in Judea and Samaria lies a left-wing organization with a clear agenda and goal – and the Supreme Court goes along with it, each time: The Arab petitioners – even if they are nameless – are always right, and the Jews must always lose. Nor may the Jews pay to keep their homes, as elsewhere in the world; the buildings must be razed.
If once the Supreme Court demanded that the purported Arab land-owners submit their own petitions, that is true no longer: any left-wing organization can do the work for them. And if once the Supreme Court would not rule that existing construction must be razed, that is true no longer: Even populated homes must be erased.
And even though they keep changing the rules, we keep on playing, submitting counter-suits, buying small properties here and there, and similar activities – but we really have no chance. It's their playing field, and their laws.
Real Democracy: Manning the Barricades
Residents of Judea and Samaria: We must wake up and change our strategy. The one and only way for us to get out of these straits is by using democracy to our advantage. Just like the truck drivers in France manned the barricades when their pensions were being cut; and just like the miners in Ireland who knew how to fight when their rights were harmed; like the protestors in Greece; and like the hareidim fighting for the Sabbath and against autopsies; and like everyone else who fights for their rights – we, too, must man the barricades.
Our fight in Amona in February 2006 – when thousands of us came out and fought tooth and nail to stop the destruction, and succeeded in stopping many future destructions – did not happen by chance. It happened because the residents of Amona prevented the then-heads of the Yesha Council from diverting and stoppering the public's wrath. We refused to engineer any short-term deals that would hurt us in the future, we refused to hear anything other than "no destruction, period," and we fought valiantly to preserve our Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria.
"Uncontrolled Public Fury"
This is precisely the type of struggle that we must wage now in Beit El, and everywhere else they want to destroy our homes. There must be "uncontrolled public fury." This is the method, and this is the only way to stop the destruction of the settlement dream and vision.
As of now, we have still not made the switch in our mindset. Our consciousness is still shackled by the allure of short-term agreements; they looked so good at the time, back in Givat HaUlpena, and Migron, and elsewhere, but now we see the bitter fruits they have brought us. We are also shackled by our feelings of total and unshakeable loyalty to the State of Israel – though the time has come that we grow up regarding this as well and understand that we can fight the State's crimes and also remain loyal to it when the need arises. We know that no manipulator can take from us our undying loyalty to the State of Israel.
For the sake of our own personal future, and the sake of the entire settlement enterprise, we must focus on the essential problem that is facing us. We must confront it on the public front with an unprecedented protest. We must use all the political tools at our disposal as well. We must make it 100% clear: The Jews of Judea and Samaria will no longer be second-class citizens of the State of Israel.
Our dream is: Continued dynamic Jewish life here, where we can buy apartments, duly register them in our own names, bring up children who can do the same, and grow by the hundreds of thousands so that we can continue to build up these areas of the State of Israel. With total dedication and self-sacrifice, we will yet fulfill this dream.
Ami Boaron is the Chairman of the Amona Committee and a 'settlement' activist. The Supreme Court has ruled that Amona (located just east of both Ofrah and Beit El) and its 50 families must be erased from the map within a year and a half.