A new initiative to strengthen the northern Shomron community of Sa-Nur is well on its way to fruition. Yossi Dagan of Shavei Shomron explained the 'past, present, and future' of the idea to Arutz-7:
"The story in northern Shomron is a bit different than in other areas such as Hevron or the Elon Moreh bloc, because there simply were not enough strong forces - religious and Torah-based groups - who settled in that area. The results of this could be seen clearly in the maps of Oslo and Wye, where the areas given to the PLO were largely in northern Shomron, leaving only pockets of communities, such as Ganim-Kadim, Hermesh, Sa-Nur, Chinanit, and others, in our hands. When the Oslo fighting started, naturally a process of weakening started [i.e., families began to leave] - though it is important to emphasize the heroic efforts they made to live there. But they began to lose their jobs, etc. Though many left, many stayed, and others are anxious to return...
"My connection began with my studies in the yeshiva in Shavei Shomron, which has been a real pioneer in recent settlement efforts in this area. For instance, we started an agricultural yeshiva in Chomesh, a town that suffered greatly from Oslo. Now Sa-Nur is our next 'target.' Sa-Nur was an artists' colony of Russian sculptors and artists, but little by little most of them left as the conditions became difficult and dangerous; only 4-5 remain, a few days a week. We have now gathered together a nucleus of seven religious-Zionist families - from Rehovot, Kiryat Arba, Eli, Yitzhar, and elsewhere - and this Sabbath we will be holding a get-together weekend in Sa-Nur. Last year, a Chabad group was formed in Sa-Nur; one of their major enterprises, a charity organization for needy families in the area, is still running, but only one family remains to live there...
"It's important to emphasize the location of Sa-Nur, between Chomesh and Mevo Dotan. The Arabs have targeted Sa-Nur, because if it falls, this will then split Jewish Shomron into two, which will basically mean the establishment of a terrorist state there. The army, too, has begun to evacuate its bases from there. We are confident that the religious-Zionist public realizes the importance of living there, and strong ideological families are beginning to come to the area, and this will help the entire enterprise march forward."
"The story in northern Shomron is a bit different than in other areas such as Hevron or the Elon Moreh bloc, because there simply were not enough strong forces - religious and Torah-based groups - who settled in that area. The results of this could be seen clearly in the maps of Oslo and Wye, where the areas given to the PLO were largely in northern Shomron, leaving only pockets of communities, such as Ganim-Kadim, Hermesh, Sa-Nur, Chinanit, and others, in our hands. When the Oslo fighting started, naturally a process of weakening started [i.e., families began to leave] - though it is important to emphasize the heroic efforts they made to live there. But they began to lose their jobs, etc. Though many left, many stayed, and others are anxious to return...
"My connection began with my studies in the yeshiva in Shavei Shomron, which has been a real pioneer in recent settlement efforts in this area. For instance, we started an agricultural yeshiva in Chomesh, a town that suffered greatly from Oslo. Now Sa-Nur is our next 'target.' Sa-Nur was an artists' colony of Russian sculptors and artists, but little by little most of them left as the conditions became difficult and dangerous; only 4-5 remain, a few days a week. We have now gathered together a nucleus of seven religious-Zionist families - from Rehovot, Kiryat Arba, Eli, Yitzhar, and elsewhere - and this Sabbath we will be holding a get-together weekend in Sa-Nur. Last year, a Chabad group was formed in Sa-Nur; one of their major enterprises, a charity organization for needy families in the area, is still running, but only one family remains to live there...
"It's important to emphasize the location of Sa-Nur, between Chomesh and Mevo Dotan. The Arabs have targeted Sa-Nur, because if it falls, this will then split Jewish Shomron into two, which will basically mean the establishment of a terrorist state there. The army, too, has begun to evacuate its bases from there. We are confident that the religious-Zionist public realizes the importance of living there, and strong ideological families are beginning to come to the area, and this will help the entire enterprise march forward."