Twenty years ago, a group of pioneering Jews, primarily affiliated with the National Religious Party (NRP), went to the top of an empty hill north of Jerusalem in the Binyamin region and transformed a small military outpost into a Jewish civilian community. Psagot celebrated its twentieth anniversary yesterday.
Psagot has been one of the most embattled communities during the past ten months of the terrorist war on Israel, with shots regularly fired at the city from neighboring El Bireh (Ramallah). But, says Professor Amos Ehrlich, one of the founders of the city, “when people hear the shooting, they no longer get excited. When we heard the shooting last night towards the end of the [anniversary] party, some people applauded a bit when they heard the return fire [of the IDF]. There was an announcement on the loudspeakers not to disperse in large groups in the direction of the homes which face El Bireh. But agitation? Not at all.”
Professor Ehrlich explained to Arutz 7 the importance of a Jewish presence on the hills of Psagot, which overlook the Arab town of El Bireh: “You can’t hold on to the Land of Israel unless you control the important and centrally-located areas.\" \"With the Arabs of El Bireh,\" Professor Ehrlich recalled, “we definitely had good, friendly relations. We would shop there…. There were not a lot of mutual visits, but certainly good relations.”
Professor Ehrlich concluded saying, “Psagot will remain large and strong -- El Bireh will come to accept our existence. The fact that it might not happen tomorrow afternoon, that it might take ten years, is okay. We have the patience.”
Psagot has been one of the most embattled communities during the past ten months of the terrorist war on Israel, with shots regularly fired at the city from neighboring El Bireh (Ramallah). But, says Professor Amos Ehrlich, one of the founders of the city, “when people hear the shooting, they no longer get excited. When we heard the shooting last night towards the end of the [anniversary] party, some people applauded a bit when they heard the return fire [of the IDF]. There was an announcement on the loudspeakers not to disperse in large groups in the direction of the homes which face El Bireh. But agitation? Not at all.”
Professor Ehrlich explained to Arutz 7 the importance of a Jewish presence on the hills of Psagot, which overlook the Arab town of El Bireh: “You can’t hold on to the Land of Israel unless you control the important and centrally-located areas.\" \"With the Arabs of El Bireh,\" Professor Ehrlich recalled, “we definitely had good, friendly relations. We would shop there…. There were not a lot of mutual visits, but certainly good relations.”
Professor Ehrlich concluded saying, “Psagot will remain large and strong -- El Bireh will come to accept our existence. The fact that it might not happen tomorrow afternoon, that it might take ten years, is okay. We have the patience.”