seeking soveriegnty
seeking soveriegntyMeir Elifur

In a lightning campaign conducted by members of the Sovereignty Youth Movement, more than one thousand signatures were gathered from teenagers and youths calling upon the Israeli government to apply Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley first. In the coming days, with the completion of the signature gathering, the petition will be submitted to the Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and the government ministers.

The signature gathering operation, led by Hod Fisherman, chairman of Sovereignty Youth, was launched several days ago and is already resonating with the encouragement of the Sovereignty Youth field coordinators. The youth are calling upon the new Israeli government to implement the promises made by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu many times in the past regarding his commitment to the application of sovereignty in the Jordan Valley. These promises, the movement mentions, have the broad support of all the members of the coalition, as well as the members of the opposition loyal to the Zionist vision.

The heads of the Sovereignty Movement, Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, note that this step of applying sovereignty over the Jordan Valley first constitutes a dramatic tie-breaking step in the political and security perspective of the State of Israel. “Applying sovereignty over the Jordan Valley is not the end of the story, but it is a crucial first step that enjoys a broad national consensus, which includes the Zionist left and the veteran Kibbutz and Moshav movement. The communities in the Jordan Valley were established by a series of Labor-Alignment governments, and the vision of settlement in this region has always been an integral part of the world view of its party leaders. Its representatives today, and all the more so, Knesset members identified with more central positions, will not be able to repudiate this political and Zionist historical truth.”

The youths’ petition reads: “To the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Binyamin Netanyahu, The Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land, and they are not conquerors in their eternal capital, Jerusalem. No United Nations decision can distort this historical truth.” This was your response to the United Nations request from the International Tribunal in The Hague for an opinion regarding the Israeli so-called “occupation” of Judea and Samaria.

Against the background of your just and resolute determination, we, the undersigned, call upon you and the members of your new government to respond as soon as possible with the necessary political step of applying sovereignty over the Jordan Valley as a first step that enjoys a broad national consensus. In that way you will provide a response to the United Nations manipulation and help realize the historical truth that this is our country. The time for sovereignty has come!

The signature gathering campaign received the blessing and encouragement of Colonel Moshe Peled, of the liberators of Jerusalem, a member of the board of the Sovereignty Movement, who participated in a special tour conducted in recent days by the Sovereignty Movement in the Khan al-Ahmar area to gain a close familiarity with the Arab erosion of sovereignty and governance in the area where the Arabs illegally gained control of many lands and established more and more Khan al-Ahmars with no response and no decisive Israeli reaction.

During the tour, Col. Peled publicized a video in which he addresses the youth with words of encouragement for the signature gathering operation and the advocacy regarding the necessity of sovereignty in the Jordan Valley. Peled states that the matter of Khan Al Ahmar is “one of the greatest disgraces in the State of Israel today. The High Court has already ruled five times to relocate Khan al-Ahmar, to no effect. Our governance is tending toward non-existence. Here, I turn to you, the youth, the fight for Khan al-Ahmar is a resolute and continuing public and media struggle, which begins in Khan al-Ahmar and continues down into the Jordan Valley. We must work on the issue of sovereignty over the Jordan Valley.” In his opinion, “if the State of Israel applies sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, that is not the ultimate goal, but everything would already be much better. The mountain ridge will be the next stage, but the Jordan Valley is first in order to establish the eastern border of the State of Israel.”

The Sovereignty Youth Movement note that the signature gathering campaign will continue in the coming days as well and calls upon additional youths to add their signature and support.

-------------------------

A link to the youths’ petition – The time for sovereignty has come! The Jordan Valley first!