DISENGAGEMENT / EXPULSION - STAGE 2- HEBRON
...on the Re-Division of Jerusalem...Fulfilled his Function...
"Official Architect" in Coma, but Plans & Implementation Continues
Please Note: This is only a Mini-Stage II.
Actual Stage II begins ( & Continued) April 2006
Editorial: State Department Logic : Why It is important - (Sadly) for Jewish Leaders to be able to expel Jews
It is important to do this, because THIS is the test for Jewish Leaders to be able to receive the Approval of the American State Department that believes that the land of Israel...belongs to ISLAM and the ARABS.
Jewish leaders have a hard time standing up to the American State Department and actually promoting Jewish Sovereignty over any part of Israel, either Historic Israel, (Meaning Judea, Samaria & Galilee) or Israel as it exists since 1948.
The "theoretical" constituency of Jewish Leaders is
the Jewish people in Israel. The ACTUAL Constituency of Jewish Leaders in Israel
is the American State Department who are implementing the Condoleeza Rice Vision
of the Middle East. But this vision, is really only the latest incarnation of
the Albright-Clinton Oslo Agenda of 1993. In turn, THAT plan - is only the
Implementation of the Powell Plan from the Administration of Bush I. [But Powell
had mentors from Earlier days]. Most of the leaders of the current
Administration don't answer to Bush I, but actually to the Ford and Nixon
administration. And those plans for Israel were developed by Kissinger, who is
to American Diplomacy what Ratzinger is to Roman Catholicism.
So when Jewish Leaders expel Jews, this action demonstrates allegiance to the State Department Plans for Israel, and their willingness to take this kind of "risk" in Israel, is what allows Jewish Politicians to remain in Israel. Jewish leaders in the past were allowed to be strong ...temporarily. But the resources of the Middle East have trouble adjusting to the priority of PEOPLE over the priority of corporate Wealth and resource accumulation.
Israel removes Hebron protesters
BBC - Jan 17/06 - Dozens of Israeli police have started removing Jewish non-residents
[and others] in the West Bank city of Hebron after violent protests at a planned eviction.
The Israeli military had set a deadline for them to leave earlier on Tuesday.
Nine settler families have been squatting in Palestinian buildings in the city's market since 2001, when a Palestinian gunman killed a baby.
Israel's High Court had ordered troops to evacuate the families by 15 January because they did not own the buildings.
The settlers claim Jews owned plots in the market before the creation of Israel in 1948.
Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights are widely considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
'Decisive action'
The Israeli military set up road blocks and told non-residents to leave Hebron by 1000 local time (0800 GMT) or risk arrest.
The deadline came after Israeli Central Command head Gen Yair Naveh issued an order on Monday declaring the Jewish settlement there a closed military zone.
But more than 100 non-resident protestors defied the deadline to leave.
Police in riot gear then swept through the settlement and detained a number of youths continuing the protests after a brief scuffle.
Settlers watching the raid shouted insults at the police.
From Bible Times to Modern Times: History of HEBRON
Note: Avraham = Abraham
Hevron = Hebron
INN - Jan 24/06 - Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, selected Hebron as the first home for the Jewish people. There,
Abraham purchased the historic Cave of the Machpela. Other than Jerusalem,
Hebron is indeed the holiest location for the Jewish people. The city is mentioned in the Torah over 70 times:
"Avram removed his tent, and came and lived in the plain of Mamre, which is in
Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord." Hevron is the place where Sarah died and was buried.
Hebron was King David's first capital, even before Jerusalem.
Jewish archeologists in Hevron have uncovered pottery, jewelry and ancient homes from the time of
Abraham and Sarah. Unfortunately, Hebron, like all of the land of Israel, suffered under foreign occupation for 2,000 years. Even so, there have always been small populations of Jews living in this holy city.
Over the many centuries, while the Jewish people were exiled from Eres Yisrael (the land of Israel),
Hevron, like Jerusalem, retained a sparse Jewish population, fed by a small but constant stream of pilgrims. In 1166, at the young age of 31,
[the Jewish Scholar ]Maimonides wrote, "And on the first day of the week, the ninth day of the month of
Marheshvan, I left Jerusalem for Hebron to kiss the graves of my forefathers in the Cave of
Machpela. And on that very day, I stood in the cave and I prayed, praised be God for
everything."
It's interesting to note that the building over the cave was not built by the Arabs,
but by the Christians of the Byzantine church; it was only later converted into a mosque.
This is also true of the foundation under the gold dome that sits atop the Temple Mount; it was initially started as a church, and only later captured and transitioned into a mosque.
The early period of Arab conquest over the Byzantines (638-1099) was said to be a relief for the Jews of Eres
Yisrael. But then, in 1099, the Christian Crusaders invaded Hevron and renamed the city
Abraham. The name was changed back to Hevron after their defeat by Saladin, the Kurdish-Muslim warrior, in 1187. The Encyclopedia Judaica indicates that in regards to this period, there is evidence showing that it is "probable that there was a permanent settlement in Hevron at that time. The testimony of historians from an earlier period and documents discovered in the course of time... give a fairly clear picture of the continuity of the Jewish settlement in
Hevron."
One of the earliest pieces of evidence that an Arab named Omar gave permission to the Jews to build a cemetery and a synagogue near the cave of
Machpela is corroborated in both Christian and Muslim sources. The Mamluk warrior Arabs took control of the city and kept it for 328 years. The Mamluk rulers created their armies by collecting non-Muslim slave boys, converting them to Islam, and training them as soldiers. The Mamluks lost
Hebron to the Ottoman Empire in 1516.
Jews born in the Diaspora desired to live in the holy cities of the land of Israel for generations. In their desire to get to Eres Yisrael in the 14th century, Jews dangerously traveled on Christian ships from Spain to the ports of Alexandria and Beirut. One man in particular, a Sephardic astronomer fleeing the island of Majorca in 1392, dreamed of seeing the "peaceful habitation" of Jerusalem. Jews left from Castille and made their way to the ports of Catalonia and Valencia. Jews from Saragossa were actively involved with helping their fellow Jews travel to Eres
Yisrael. The literature mentioned Jews from Spain going to Damascus and Jerusalem. As early as 1333, there is an account from Hakham Yishak Hilo of Larissa (Greece), who arrived in Hevron and observed Jews working in the cotton trade and glassworks. He noted that in Hevron there was an, "ancient synagogue in which they prayed day and night."
The most notable influx of Jews into Hevron and Jerusalem came in 1517, after the Ottoman Turks had taken control of the land of Israel. With this change in administration came an influx of Iberian Jews from Salonika to Jerusalem and the surrounding cities. These were Jews who had been forced out of Spain in 1492, only 25 years earlier. For those Jews who, when in Spain, could only dream of living in the Holy Land, this was a life-changing opportunity. In fact, those Spanish refugees who had been dwelling in Ottoman Salonika could now legally travel to Ottoman Palestine, where they could start a new life in Jerusalem, Hevron or other ancient Jewish cities. This would be the commencement of the influx and rebuilding of serious Jewish community life in Eres
Yisrael.
During this period of great change, a certain Menahem ben Moshe Bavli, author of the book Ta'amei HaMisvot (The Reasons for the
Misvot) migrated from Ottoman Baghdad and became one of the pioneers that settled in Hevron after 1492. With the large resettlement of Jews into Hevron in 1540, led by Hakham Malkiel Ashkenazi, the Avraham Avinu Synagogue was built. This location became a center of study for
Kabbalah. The synagogue was restored in 1738 and enlarged in 1864. The influx of Iberian Jews in the 16th century raised the Jewish population of Hevron to a point higher than it had been during the Roman occupation nearly 1,500 years prior.
Upon making Aliyah from the Italian city of Bartenura, the great 15th-century Sephardic rabbi,
Ovadia, wrote, "Over the Cave of Makhpela is a large building of the Ishmaelites, who regard the sacred site with fear and awe. No person, Jew or Ishmaelite, is allowed to descend to the cave; and there is a small window in the outer wall of the building, which is above the grave of
Avraham, and there the Jews are allowed to pray. And in Hevron live 20 Jewish families, all of them scholars, some of them descendants of the
Marranos, who came to find refuge under the wings of the Divine Presence... I lived in Hevron for many months."
A famous scholar who migrated to Hevron was Moroccan-born Hakham Avraham Mordekhai
Azoulay, author of Hessed LeAvraham (1685). He also authored the Kiryat Arba', as well as an important source on genealogy and life in Fez and Eres
Yisrael.
Jews not only migrated to Hevron, but Hevron's Jews ventured away to other communities for the purpose of raising funds and teaching. This was the job of the Rav
HaKolel, the rabbi responsible for raising funds for the poor people in the community. From Casablanca to Halab (Aleppo) and from Alexandria to
Mosul, they traversed the dangerous highways and treacherous seas, as emissaries of their communities.
More than two centuries ago, Avraham Ruvio went abroad to raise funds for printing a book his father Mordekhai had written. Avraham's father was the head of the rabbinical court of Hevron in the 18th century. Mordekhai had written a religious manuscript that was eventually published at Livorno in 1793, and another printed in Salonika over 40 years later. Avraham Hayyim of Hevron was born in Fez, Morocco. As a rabbi of
Hevron, he traveled from community to community seeking sedaka (charity) for the Talmud Torah (Jewish children's school) in
Hevron. Sadly, while traveling on this most honorable mission in the Turkish city of Monastir (modern Greece), Avraham died.
From the Balkans came Moshe ben Avraham Ferrera of Sarajevo. Ferrera traveled to Eres Yisrael in 1823, and became head of the rabbinical court in
Hevron; he died four decades later, in 1864. Even though both Smyrna (Izmir) and Hevron were both considered part of the Sultan's empire, Smyrna could not compare to the holiness of Eres Yisrael for the spiritual Jew. For this reason, Sephardim migrated from one location of the Ottoman Empire to another.
From the icy mountains of Macedonia to the scorching deserts of Syria, and from the Maghreb to the Fertile Crescent they came. One notable was Hakham Yosef Rafael ben Haim Yosef Hazan who had relocated from coastal Turkey to
Hevron, later becoming the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem.
[Issued by the International Sephardic Leadership Council in light of the crisis in Hevron, Israel.]
htp://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=5960
Army declares Biblical City of Patriarchs a "closed military zone"
IsraelInsider - Jan 16/06 - The army declared Hebron, the City of the Jewish Patriarchs, a closed military zone forbidden to non-resident Israelis.
Israeli police seized buildings and rooftops in a Jewish settler enclave - Better
known as PRIVATE PROPERTY - in the holy city of Hebron on Monday, restoring order after three days of riots sparked by plans to evict Israeli squatters from an
abandoned "Palestinian" market.
The closure and scuffles could signal the opening salvo in a battle over the West Bank, if Israel follows its pullout from the Gaza Strip last summer with further withdrawals from territory that has far more biblical resonance.
Settler leaders and rabbis demanded that acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert back down and abandon his plan to dismantle the outpost in a Hebron market and several other unauthorized settlements across the West Bank slated for destruction in the coming weeks.
Olmert stood his ground, saying he ordered security forces to deal sternly with the defiant settlers.
"There will be no forgiveness or compromises with this unacceptable behavior," he said Monday.
EMINENT DOMAIN TAKEOVER - ISRAEL GOVERNMENT TAKES JEWISH
PROPERTY TO HAND OVER TO ISLAMIC MILITANTS (hoping this will quiet them down).
EXPULSION
OF HEBRON / HEVRON
JEWS HEBRON DECLARED A CLOSED MILITARY ZONE
Authorities prepare to evacuate Jewish [falsely called] squatters; illegal outposts
ICEJ- Jan 16/06 - The Israeli army declared Hebron a closed military zone on Monday night after several days of rioting by Jewish squatters determined to resist government orders to evacuate from the city's abandoned vegetable market close to the Tomb of the Patriarchs
“ the second holiest site in Judaism.
Speaking on Monday morning Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told fellow members from Israel's governing Kadima party that the rioters are "a violent bunch," adding that he has instructed security forces to prepare a firm responses to their conduct.
"We will not put up with anyone lifting an arm against the security forces," Olmert said after three days of protests reminiscent of the violent exchanges that took place in the Gaza settlement of Kfar Darom during the Israeli summer pullout (pictured). Responding to reports of settler youths pelting police and soldiers with stones, paint bombs and eggs in the heart of bitterly disputed ancient city, Olmert was adamant. "There will be no compromise," he said: "It is not a game."
The IDF decision to impose a military blockade on the small Jewish settlement– itself surrounded by the city's largely hostile Palestinian majority – is a last ditch effort by the army to quell the clashes and prevent hundreds of additional protestors flooding the area from other settlements throughout Judea and Samaria.
Although the evacuation orders went into effect Sunday, the army has a month in which to carry them out, prompting a mass influx of settler youth seeking to stand in solidarity with the Hebron community and well prepared to use violence to thwart the eviction notices.
What is happening in Hebron "can no longer be called an escalation. It is a completely new situation," said one senior army officer. "We are facing Jews who are conducting pogroms against Arab property."
Based on the events of the past few days, the IDF and police now believe that thousands of soldiers and policemen will be needed to evacuate the squatters, according to Ha’aretz. The confrontation comes as Israeli authorities prepare to evacuate the illegal outpost of Amona, near the Ramallah-area settlement of Ofra, plus three more outposts outside Nablus as ordered by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz.
"In Hebron, a clear banner has been raised, which presages what will happen in the coming weeks," another senior army officer told the Israeli daily. "But the rioters are mistaken if they think they will manage to deter us in this fashion. We will devote as many troops as are needed to carry out this mission."
Mofaz also vowed Sunday that the state would keep its promise to the High Court to clear the squatters despite the riots and ordered the army to act forcefully against the rioters. He also urged Hebron settler leaders to try to calm the situation "before it's too late."
Passive Resistance: 5 Hebron Women Arrested for Refusing to Identify Themselves
INN - Jan 18/06 - Five women, Jewish residents of Hebron, have been arrested at this time by security forces for refusing to identify themselves or present ID cards when so ordered. The five were detained outside their homes and taken to the Hevron police station.
The Kol Rina news agency reports that the women have categorized the demand to present ID cards to enter their own homes as a "political act", with which they refuse to comply.
htp://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=96885
A Hebron spokesman - for the Hebrew Community of Hebron - issued the following statement January 17/06:
Today's events, as yesterday's, are totally incomprehensible. Hebron community leadership made tremendous efforts to calm the situation and prevent any and all violence in the city. Most of the youth which had arrived to help support Hebron already left. Despite this, decisions have been taken to continue an offensive against Hebron's community, and rather than reduce tension levels, they have only risen. Today's act of declaring Hebron a 'closed military zone' is reminiscent of Arab-British cooperation in 1929 and 1936, when Jews were expelled from the city. Now, in 2006, seventy years later, again Jews are being expelled from Hebron. However, this time Jews are expelling Jews. It is difficult to believe that the Israeli government is following in the footsteps of Mufti Nazi Jew-hater Amin el-Husseini and the British occupier. But this is exactly what they are doing. Very, very sad.We demand that these orders be immediately rescinded and that Jews again be able to freely walk the streets of the first Jewish city in Israel, the city of of our Forefathers, Hebron.
Source: htp://www.hebron.com/hebronews.htm / Jan 17/06
Hebron Police: Use All Means to Expel Jews from Their Homes
21:58 Jan 15, '06 / 15 Tevet 5766
By Scott Shiloh
INN - Jan 15/06 - The spokesman for the Israeli police in Judea and Samaria told Israel’s Channel 2 television station that police will use all the means at their disposal to expel Jews living in the Hevron
(Hebron) market.
Police and officials from Israel’s Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria have been attempting to evict Jewish residents from apartments located in a
[vacant] former Arab market that was built on Jewish property.
Though the Supreme Court has ruled that the property is in fact owned by
Jews, the court ordered the government to evict the Jewish residents because they entered the
PRIVATELY OWNED property without government authorization.
The threat of eviction has provoked disturbances among Hevron’s Jewish residents, many of whom are still traumatized by the forced expulsion of
10,000 Jewish residents from their homes in Gaza and northern Samaria last August.
Meir Indor, Yesha (Judea and Samaria) activist and head of Almagor, an organization that assists victims of Arab terror, said that he was
shocked by the police’s willingness to use all means to expel Jews from their homes.
IDF Police / Say one thing but do another
Indor said the police’s willingness to evict Jews stands in sharp contrast to the recent statement
by IDF Chief-of-Staff, Dan Halutz, that Israel cannot
use all the means at its disposal to prevent the firing of Kassam rockets on Jewish communities bordering the Gaza district.
Halutz said last week that stopping the Kassam’s would pose a moral dilemma for Israel, because the IDF’s response would negatively impact Gaza’s civilian population.
Indor used harsh words to describe the disparity between the way Israeli authorities relate to Jewish and Arab civilians in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Indor said that the police have become “the enemy of the Hebrew communities in Judea and Samaria,
in the service of (U.S. Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice and the radical left.”
Indor noted that police also threatened to harm Jewish civilians who were protesting the disengagement at the mass demonstration held at Kfar Maimon last summer.
Story Here
Issued January 9 - Jewish Community of Hebron - Call for Jews to flock to Hebron
1. Call for Jews to flock to HebronHebron's Jewish Community leadership has called upon Jews to flock to Hebron in order to protect the Mitzpe Shalhevet neighborhood from destruction.
The Jewish Community of Hebron is calling upon the public:
1. To come to Hebron tomorrow, the fast day, the 10th of Tevet, for a prayer rally:
15:30 – Psalms16:30 – Tefillat Mincha17:00 – Words of encouragement: Rabbi Dov Lior and Rabbi Moshe Levinger17:30 – Tefillat Arvit
2. To start flocking to Hebron on Wednesday, January 11 – 11 Tevet – in preparation for the possible attempt to expel Hebron families from their homes in Mitzpe Shalhevet.
Sharon Planned Massive Withdrawals
from Judea & Samaria
Reports are increasing that Prime Minister Sharon has drafted a plan for Israel's withdrawal from almost all of Judea and Samaria by 2008
Nov 27/05 - INN - Middle East Newsline (MENL) reports in the name of "political sources" that Sharon has begun briefing senior U.S. officials of his intention to withdraw unilaterally from more than 95% of Judea and Samaria. Sharon is hoping to be elected Prime Minister for a third time - this time not in the
Likud, however, but as head of his new Kadima Party.
One of the most valuable "acquisitions" of the Kadima Party, MK Chaim Ramon, formerly of Labor, said openly last week that Sharon will unilaterally
withdraw to final borders in Judea and Samaria if Palestinian terror continues. IMRA reported that Ramon said this on a live interview on Channel 10's "London and
Kirschenbaum" news program just hours after he announced his decision to join Sharon's
Kadima.
Ramon explained that Sharon will keep his plans secret until
the elections because he wants to give the Road Map a chance.
Many public figures said, both immediately before and after Sharon's decision to quit the
Likud, that this decision stems from his desire to carry out dramatic diplomatic moves that he knows the Likud would not approve. Among those who have said this are Binyamin Netanyahu, former Ashkelon Mayor and long-time Sharon confidante Eli Landau, Likud ministers, and others.
The MENL report indicates that Sharon would seek a U.S. and
international security presence in Judea and Samaria, as well as yet another commitment for the dismantling of Palestinian terrorist groups.
http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=93725
Settlers throw stones at Palestinians in Hebron, try to enter off-limits areas
By Associated Press January 15, 2006
Jewish settlers threw stones at Palestinian houses in the West Bank city of Hebron and tried to force their way into the town's market on Saturday before Israeli troops were called in to stop them, military and police spokesmen said.
On their way to the market, or casbah, settlers entered a Palestinian home to eject its inhabitants, but were removed by police, police said.
A soldier was lightly wounded in the eye in the stone-throwing incident, the military said. There were no injuries reported on the Palestinian side.
Channel 1 TV reported that some of the settlers were masked, and some threw paint and eggs as well as stones. Police and the military said they could not confirm the report.
Tensions have been high in the already volatile city since the government ordered eight settler families to evacuate a Palestinian market area they took over four years ago after Palestinian gunmen killed a 10-month-old Israeli baby. They have been given until Sunday to leave voluntarily and are to be expelled a month later if they disregard the evacuation orders, as they are expected to do.
Full Story
Here
[Note: That "Palestianian Market" was formerly the Home of a Jewish Rabbi for more than 150 Years. The property was confiscated by Islamists during the 1929 Riots encouraged by the Islamic Mufti of Jerusalem against Jews.]
Events in Hebron: Long Live the Youth of Israel!
By David Wilder
IsraelInsider - Jan 16/06 - The Jewish Community of Hebron has come under invasion by the Israeli police and other security forces. This morning, for the 2nd time in two days, dozens and dozens of police, border police and riot squad members invaded the Avraham Avinu neighborhood in Hebron.
The background: History
At present:
Two weeks ago an expulsion order ultimatum was issued: Be out of the homes in the Mitzpe Shalhevet neighborhood voluntarily by the 15th of January, or face forced expulsion, no later than the 15th of February. Hebron families refused to even consider evicting themselves from their homes.
Last week several hundred youth from all over Israel started coming into Hebron in order to show support and provide assistance to the community and the families threatened by expulsion. Being aware that the 15th of January was quickly approaching, and without any idea as to when the expulsion might be implemented, the Hebron community welcomed the youth with open arms. All help would be needed if the forces moved in. It is expected that thousands of police, soldiers and other special security forces will participate in the expulsion attempt, should it actually occur (G-d forbid.)
On Shabbat, the 14th of January, tensions ran high. The next day, Sunday, was the deadline. That next night could be D-Day. During the day several clashes were reported, between Israelis and Hebron Arabs, who started pelting people with rocks, and between Israelis and some of the security forces. During this incident an Israeli officer was hit and slightly wounded by a rock thrown by an Arab. This despite reports in the Israeli media that a Jew intentionally hit the officer with the rock. A weekly Shabbat tour of the Kasba was canceled at the last minute, with over 100 people waiting to participate. Some people started runing through the Kasba in reaction to the cancelation and this caused a brief confrontation with some of the security forces.
Saturday night: Some kids start a fire in an abandoned store. Hebron youth put the fire out.
Sunday: January 15 -- tension filled the air. Would nine families find themselves without homes the next day? Late Sunday morning: a group of youth, walking through Hebron, passing Beit Hadassah in the direction of the Tel Rumeida neighborhood find the road blocked by Israeli soldiers, who refuse to let them pass. Among the security forces: Hebron military commander, Col. Motti Baruch. A discussion quickly becomes heated, voices are raised, push comes to shove. The kids want to know: why can't they keep walking? The pushing and shoving between the two sides gets rough. And then, suddenly, Col. Baruch loads his M-16 rifle, and points it in the direction of the youth. All hell breaks loose.
Hebron leaders arrive at the scene and separate the two sides, pushing the youth away from the soldiers. Hebron police arrive and close off the street in both directions, declaring the gathering of youth 'illegal,' and threaten to start arresting people. The kids disappear and after a while the police leave. But the tension is so high you can cut it with a knife.
Sunday afternoon: Word filters out -- the troops are on their way. A group of over 100 security forces, accompanied by horse-bound police march from Ma'arat HaMachpela to the Avraham Avinu neighborhood. Marching in, they immediately take to the roofs of adjacent buildings and take down make-shift tents pitched in the neighborhood. They start chasing after some of the kids, snatching them, here and there. Several are arrested and dragged away. After a little while the action stops but the troops remain. It turns into a stand-off: the troops watching the kids on rooftops and the kids staring at the police. Every once in a while an egg lands close to one of the police. When some of the youth threaten to throw rocks, Hebron leaders call on them to stop. That's the way things remain for a few hours, until the police leave.
During the night: again, tense, but quiet.
Monday morning: January 16: calm and quiet blanket the Avraham Avinu neighborhood, site of the previous day's action. Some of the youth express a desire to head home.
Then, suddenly, late in the morning, again, word gets out: they're on their way again. The troops, the water cannon, the horses!
Brief History of The Jewish Community of Hebron
Murdered Twice?
by David Wilder
November 6, 2005
On March 26, 2001, an Arab sniper shot and killed 10 month old Shalhevet Pass. As a result of that murder, Hebron residents redeemed, renovated and repopulated Jewish property stolen from Hebron's Jewish community following the 1929 riots, massacre and expulsion. That neighborhood, "Mitzpe Shalhevet" is presently on the brink of obliteration, not by Arabs, rather by the Israeli government.
In 1807,[Yes- 1807] - Haim Bajaio purchased, on behalf of the Hebron Jewish community, a five dunam plot of land adjacent to the centuries old Jewish Quarter, for '1,200 grushim'. The deal was witnessed and signed by no less than 22 Hebron Arab notables. This property served Hebron's Jewish community and later accommodated the home and synagogue of Hebron Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Manni.
Following the Jordanian [read: Palestinian] occupation of Hebron in 1948, the entire Jewish Quarter, founded by Spanish-Jewish exiles in 1540, was razed to the ground. Among the structures destroyed was the ancient Avraham Avinu synagogue. In the early 1960s, an Arab fruit and vegetable market was constructed on the property bought by the Hebron community in 1807. Following the liberation of Hebron during the 1967 Six-day War, these structures continued to function, having been rented to the Hebron Arab municipality by the Israeli government. The property contracts for these buildings expired in the 1990s, and the site was gradually closed over a period of several years, due to security precautions. It was finally shut down
following an attempted terror attack: Arabs placed a
booby-trapped teddy bear in a plastic bag in the market near the entrance to the Jewish neighborhood, hoping a Jewish child, finding it, would play with it and be killed in the ensuing explosion.
Despite numerous Hebron Jewish Community requests to rent the structures, they were left vacant.
Following the murder of Shalhevet Pass at the beginning of the Oslo War, Hebron children began utilizing the structures as a place to play and take cover during the constant shooting attacks from the overlooking Abu Sneneh Hills. Over a period of time, the Hebron community invested tens of thousands of dollars to convert the former fruit and vegetable stalls into livable apartments. Presently, the former 'shuk,' renamed the "Mitzpe Shalhevet Neighborhood," houses Hebron families, and a Torah study hall opened in Shalhevet's memory.
Four years ago, in response to an Arab demand to reopen the market, the attorney general's office notified the Israeli Supreme Court that:
1) the Arabs no longer had any legal rights to the shuk and
2) the Israeli "trespassers" would be evicted from the site. The Israel supreme court
never ruled that the former market's Jewish population must be expelled from their homes.
The reason behind the Attorney General's decision can be summed up in his words: "The criminal must not be rewarded." The criminal, in this case, was not defined as the Arabs who murdered 67 Jews, decimated the Jewish Quarter, shot at Hebron Jews from the surrounding hills and killed Shalhavet Pass. Rather, the criminal, was defined as Hebron's Jews, who had 'usurped' vacant buildings belonging to the State of Israel.
Following issuance of an expulsion order, Hebron's Jewish Community appealed to the courts, claiming private Jewish ownership of the property. An appeals committee of three judges ruled, two to one, that the land did legally belong to a private Jewish organization, but that the buildings legally fell within the jurisdiction of the Israeli government. Concurrently, two of the three judges ruled that the optimal solution to the problem was to lease the structures to Hebron's Jewish community.
The Defense Minister delayed executing the expulsion order for over two years, due to security issues and other concerns. However, recently, following the successful expulsion of 10,000 Jews in Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron, the present attorney general, Manny Mazuz, has exerted tremendous pressure on Defense Minister Shaul Mufaz to execute the expulsion orders and evict Hebron's families from the Mitzpe Shalhevet neighborhood. Most likely, Mufaz is under the mistaken impression that the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the structures must be evacuated. This is, as previously noted, not true. To the contrary, the easiest and most just solution, as recommended by the judges, is to lease the buildings to Hebron's Jewish community.
Hebron 's Jewish Community asks: Who is the criminal and who should be rewarded? Following years of terror, shooting attacks and blood-shed, will Hebron's Arabs receive a prize for their aggression? Will they be privileged to again witness Jewish men, women and children being forcibly evicted from their homes? Will Jews again be expelled from their property in Hebron, this time at the hands of the Israeli government? Will Jewish land again become Judenrein, at the initiation of the Israeli government?
A Jewish-populated "Mitzpe Shalhevet neighborhood," filled with men, women and children, families dedicated to redeeming the Land of Israel for the Jewish people, living on one hundred percent Jewish-owned property, - this is the just response to Arab violence, blood-shed, theft, and destruction, whose goal is the annihilation of Israel.
In the words of Yitzhak Pass, Shalhevet's father, "eviction of the Mitzpe Shalhevet neighborhood will be, for me, as if they killed my daughter a second time."
Will Shalhevet be murdered twice : once by Arabs and once by Jews?
Source: http://www.hebron.com/articles/murderedtwice.htm
EMINENT DOMAIN - WHEN THE GOVERNMENT TAKES YOUR PROPERTY BECAUSE THEY WANT TO
The police against Fellow Jews in
Hebron –A History of Trouble
The police – at it again
This morning the Hebron police showed up at Beit Hadassah at 6:30. Bright and early, almost in time for Rosh Hodesh (New Month) morning prayer services. They had two targets: a mother of nine and a 13-year old girl.
First they started looking for the 13-year old. There were dozens of them, regular police, detectives, riot squad, and officers, including the Hebron city police chief and the regional police chief. All there, looking for 13 year old Chenia. And waiting down the street, across from the Avraham Avinu neighborhood, dozens more, waiting to be called. (An aside: Chenya is about as large as my pinky.)
The forces had only one problem: they didn't know were Chenya lived. So they searched for a while and then gave up, temporarily.
What was the awful crime Chenya is accused of? About a year and a half ago, when Chenya was 11, one of her neighborhood friends, arrested near Beit Hadassah, was to be taken to the Hebron Police Station. She asked Chenya to accompany her, so she wouldn't be alone. Chenya asked the police if she could come with her friend, and was answered positively. So, both of them climbed into the police van and traveled a few minutes to the police station. When they arrived Chenya found herself being accused, questioned, and booked for disturbing a policeman in the course of his duty. Today, the trial was supposed to begin. The police came to take Chenya, insuring that she would appear in court for the trial. But, as already explained, they couldn't find her apartment.
So, the police went after their next victim, mother of nine, Etti Meidad. The beginning of Etti Meidad's saga can be read at: http://www.hebron.com/news/emeidadarrest2.htm
The last time Etti was apprehended, in the beginning of August, she spent a month in jail with her 9 month old infant girl, before a judge released her, both from her cell and from her obligation to appear in court. However, the judge changed his mind and issued a warrant, which permitted the police to arrest her should she refuse to sign it, and deposit 1,000 shekels bond, insuring her appearance in court.
When the police knocked on her door at about 8:30 this morning, Etti was still asleep. The police, upset at being ignored, broke the door down, and marched into the apartment. About an hour later, Etti, accompanied by her husband Zangi (Director of Honenu), and a string of children, made her way down stairs to an awaiting police van. Together with infant Miriam, she left for Jerusalem, again, arrested and in custody.
When arriving in Jerusalem, the police immediately took their victim to court, to appear before the judge, who was quite surprised to see them. This, because he had signed a warrant ordering Etti Meidad to be brought before him tomorrow, not today. He immediately threw the police out of the courtroom and refused to listen to them. Rather than release Etti, they decided to keep her (illegally, it seems), in custody.
Israeli law demands that babies and young children, while in a car, be placed in a special car seat. Before leaving Hebron, Etti and Zangi requested that their baby daughter be so protected, in the police vehicle. However, the police, not being prepared to deal with infants, decided to take Etti and Miriam without a car seat. On the way back to Hebron from Jerusalem, they had an accident, and Miriam, flying from her mother's arms, was hit on the head. Fortunately, her injury is not serious.
For the time being, Etti is still in custody.
After Etti was taken away the police returned to their original goal: looking for 13-year old Chenya. By this time they had located her apartment, but, lo and behold, when they knocked on the door, no one answered. Here too, the door was in danger of destruction, but being massive, much more so than the Meidad's door, the police, surprisingly, decided to leave without breaking it down. So they gathered their tools and left, until next time…tomorrow, or the day after, or, maybe even tonight. Never fear, they will return.
HEBRON: A RELEVANT JEWISH COMMUNITY
Tens of thousands visit Hebron during Succot
Tens of thousands of people, Jews and non-Jews, visited Hebron during the Succot holiday, worshiping at Ma'arat HaMachpela, touring the Jewish neighborhoods, and participating in the Hebron Music Festival.
Jewish Holy Books Desecrated in Hebron
Oct 28/05 - City of Hebron - Hebron Arabs, celebrating the impending conclusion of the month of Ramadan, today desecrated dozens of Jewish holy books, at Ma'arat HaMachpela, the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. Hebron residents discovered the remains of the books, torn to pieces, in the garden behind the "Gutnick Center," which is in front of Ma'arat HaMachpela. Ripped-up books were discovered on the ground, spread out throughout the garden, and in a garbage pail.
Today and tomorrow Ma'arat HaMachpela is closed to Jewish visitors and open only to Muslims. Every Friday, for the past month, when the Ma'ara has been closed to Jewish worshipers, Arabs have vandalized Jewish property in the area. However, today's desecration of holy books is the most serious damage yet.
Hebron leaders demanded that the site be immediately closed to Arab worshipers, in response to the desecration. However, as of yet, this demand hasn't been fulfilled.
A Hebron spokesman issued the following statement: It seems that military and political leaders are more concerned with "Arab sensitivity" as opposed to desecration of Jewish holy books. One can only imagine the response had Arabs discovered 'desecrated Korans' in the vicinity of Ma'arat HaMachpela. It should be remembered that an Israeli woman, Tatiana Soskin, was jailed for two years for 'desecrating' a Koran. It is unheard of that such a desecration should be left unpunished. We demand that Ma'arat HaMachpela be closed to Muslim worship until the culprits responsible for this crime are apprehended, tried and
punished.
htp://hebron.blogspot.com/2005/10/jewish-holy-books-desecrated.html
Women Stand up for Evicted Families
Mother of nine incarcerated until conclusion of proceedings against her
City of Hebron - Aug 10/05 - Following the expulsion of widow Livnat Uzeri from her home on Hill 26, over two years ago, outside Kiryat Arba,
several Hebron women were tried for 'child neglect,' having brought their children with them to a spontaneous demonstration at the site of the destroyed home. Three of the women were convicted. A fourth woman, Etti Meidad, of Hebron, was acquitted due to lack of evidence against her. She did not appear in the police photograph of the women at the site, and a policewoman who could have been a witness, was traveling outside Israel.
At the trial's outset, Etti Meidad refused to attend, believing that the trial was a farce, following the eviction of a murder victim's widow and children from their home, and its subsequent destruction. After being forcefully brought to court for the first hearing, the trial judge granted her an exemption from attending the proceedings, and eventually acquitted her for lack of evidence.
The Israeli prosecutor appealed the acquittal to the Jerusalem Municipal court, claiming that the trial judge had erred by not waiting for the policewoman to return from her trip abroad, in order to question her and receive her as a witness. The municipal court accepted the appeal, and when the policewoman returned to Israel, a trial date was set. Then too, Etti Meidad refused to attend the hearing. However, the policewoman also did not show up, and the judge decided to close the file against Mrs. Meidad. Her attorney notified her two weeks ago that the case was closed and that the charges had been dropped.
The prosecution again went into action, and demanded that the court reopen the case. The judge agreed. The prosecution then demanded that the judge issue a writ of habeas corpus, forcing Etti Meidad to attend the hearing. This based on the previous occasions when she refused to appear. Again, the judge agreed.
Yesterday morning the Hebron police arrived at the Meidad home in Hebron, and demanded that Etti Meidad sign the writ, guaranteeing her attendance at the trial, or forfeit a sum of money, outlined in the court order. Mrs. Meidad refused to sign, and refused to leave the house with the police. A mother of nine, her youngest child, Miriam, is eight months old and is still breastfeeding.
Over fifty security forces were called into action, including police, border police and soldiers, who blocked off the Beit Hadassah neighborhood from east and west. After a two hour standoff, they finally removed Etti Meidad from her home, together with three of her children, who accompanied her to the Gush Etzion police station. At about ten o'clock in the evening, two of the children were forcibly taken from her, and crying, were placed with a family in Alon Shvut in Gush Etzion, until their father, Zangi (director of Honenu) came to take them.
This morning, at a court hearing in Jerusalem, the judge hearing the case ruled that Etti Meidad must remain in prison until the conclusion of proceedings against her, due to her refusal to attend court hearings. The next hearing is due to take place at the end of September. Her 8 month old daughter will remain with her, in jail.
Etti Meidad asked the judge, "the previous judge exempted me from attended the court hearings. Why don't you do the same?" His response was, "that was him and this is me."
The Meidad's have decided not to appeal the court ruling, and Etti will remain in prison. When asked why, Etti responded:
"I will not cooperate with the forces who are expelling David Hatuel, a close friend of ours (whose wife and four daughters were murdered by terrorists in Gush Katif a year ago) and with the forces who permitted the eviction of Livnat Uzeri and the destruction of her home. I will not cooperate with the forces who are planning to build a casino in Ali Sinai (one of the Gush Katif communities due to be destroyed in the coming weeks). I prefer to sit in jail, despite the suffering my family and children will face, than cooperate with and legitimize the evils perpetrated against our people. If this is the price we have to pay, so be it."
Postscript: Etti Meidad spent over a month in jail with her infant daughter Miriam, until finally being unconditionally released by the judge.
Pictures: http://www.hebron.com/news/ettimeidad.htm
Jewish Cemetery stolen by Moslems in Hebron
Sept 05 - City of Hebron - Earlier this week, Hebrew residents discovered that two 'caravan' structures had been placed on property belonging to the ancient Jewish Ashkenazi cemetery in the city.
The cemetery plot lies adjacent to the plot where Menucha Rachel Shneerson Slonim, granddaughter of the "Baal HaTanya" and daughter of the "Mittler Rebbi" is interred. The land was purchased by Chabad in the early 1900s and it is unclear whether or not any Jews were actually buried there. The plot has remained vacant for decades.
According to sources close to Hebron, Arabs plan on 'building a school' on the land where the caravans were placed.
When Hebron leaders notified military and civil administration officials, they were told, "There is nothing we can do - this land was transferred to the 'Palestinian Authority" (the terrorists) as part of the 'Hebron Accords' and it is under their jurisidiction. They can do there whatever they want."
Hebron resident, Rabbi Danny Cohen, a Chabad 'shaliach' in Hebron, pointed out the security danger, being that every afternoon a group of men study in a small room above the cemetery. However, this plea was also ignored.
A Hebron spokesman issued the following reaction: This is absurd. Both the Ashkenazi and Sepharadi cemeteries were destroyed by Arabs following the massacre and expulsion in 1929. Now, the Arabs are stealing Jewish property, 100% ours, right under our noses and we can't do anything about it? We demand that the caravans be removed immediately and that the land be returned to the Jewish Community of Hebron.
http://hebron.blogspot.com/2005/09/jewish-cemetery-stolen-by-arabs-in.html
75 years later - the 1929 massacre
in Hebron
by Toby Klein Greenwald (.pdf)
(Right Click - Save Target as)
THE MARTYRS OF HEBRON
Personal Reminiscences of Some of the Men and Women Who Offered up their Lives
During the Massacre of August 24, 1929, at Hebron
Hebron survivor Rabbi Dov Cohen returns to Hebron
Hebron in the Old Testament
Genesis
13:18 And
Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre, which are
in Hebron,
and built there an altar unto the L-RD.
Genesis
23:2
And Sarah died in Kiriatharba--the same is Hebron--in
the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
Genesis
23:19
And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of
Machpelah before Mamre--the same is Hebron--in
the land of Canaan.
Genesis
35:27
And Jacob came unto Isaac his father to Mamre, to Kiriatharba--the same is Hebron--where
Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
Genesis
37:14
And he said to him: 'Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well
with the flock; and bring me back word.' So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron,
and he came to Shechem.
Exodus
6:18
And the sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron,
and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were a hundred thirty and three
years.
Numbers
3:19
And the sons of Kohath by their families: Amram and Izhar, Hebron
and Uzziel.
Numbers
3:27
And of Kohath was the family of the Amramites, and the family of the Izharites,
and the family of the Hebronites,
and the family of the Uzzielites; these are the families of the Kohathites:
Numbers
13:22 And
they went up into the South, and came unto Hebron;
and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there. --Now Hebron
was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.--
Numbers
26:58
These are the families of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites,
the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, the family of the
Korahites. And Kohath begot Amram.
Joshua
10:3
Wherefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron,
and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir
king of Eglon, saying:
Joshua
10:3
Wherefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron,
and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir
king of Eglon, saying:
Joshua
10:23
And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave,
the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron,
the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon.
Joshua
10:23
And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave,
the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron,
the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon.
Joshua
10:39
And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof; and they smote
them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were
therein; he left none remaining; as he had done to Hebron,
so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof; as he had done also to Libnah, and
to the king thereof.
Joshua
11:21
And Joshua came at that time, and cut off the Anakim from the hill-country, from
Hebron,
from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill-country of Judah, and from all the
hill-country of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.
Joshua
12:10
The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron,
one;
Joshua
14:13
And Joshua blessed him; and he gave Hebron
unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance.
Joshua
14:14
Therefore Hebron
became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, unto this
day; because that he wholly followed the L-RD, the G-d of Israel.
Joshua
14:15
Now the name of Hebron
beforetime was Kiriath-arba, which Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.
And the land had rest from war.
Joshua
15:13
And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of
Judah, according to the commandment of the L-RD to Joshua, even Kiriath-arba,
which Arba was the father of Anak--the same is Hebron.
Joshua
15:54
And Humtah, and Kiriath-arba--the same is Hebron,
and Zior; nine cities with their villages.
Joshua
20:7 And
they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill-country of Naphtali, and Shechem in
the hill-country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba--the same is Hebron--in
the hill-country of Judah.
Joshua
21:11
And they gave them Kiriath-arba, which Arba was the father of Anak--the same is Hebron--in
the hill-country of Judah, with the open land round about it.
Joshua
21:13
And unto the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron
with the open land about it, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Libnah
with the open land about it;
Judges
1:10
And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron--now
the name of Hebron
beforetime was Kiriath-arba--and they smote Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.
Judges
1:20
And they gave Hebron
unto Caleb, as Moses had spoken; and he drove out thence the three sons of Anak.
Judges
16:3
And Samson lay till midnight, and arose at midnight, and laid hold of the doors
of the gate of the city, and the two posts, and plucked them up, bar and all,
and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain
that is before Hebron.
I
Samuel 30:31
And to them that were in Hebron,
and to all the places where David himself and his men were wont to haunt.
II
Samuel 2:1
And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of the L-RD, saying: 'Shall
I go up into any of the cities of Judah?' And the L-RD said unto him: 'Go up.'
And David said: 'Whither shall I go up?' And He said: 'Unto Hebron.'
II
Samuel 2:3
And his men that were with him did David bring up, every man with his household;
and they dwelt in the cities of Hebron.
II
Samuel 2:11
And the time that David was king in Hebron
over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
II
Samuel 2:32
And they took up Asahel, and buried him in the sepulchre of his father, which
was in Beth-lehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and the day broke upon
them at Hebron.
II
Samuel 3:2
And unto David were sons born in Hebron;
and his first-born was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess;
II
Samuel 3:5
And the sixth, Ithream, of Eglah David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron.
II
Samuel 3:19
And Abner also spoke in the ears of Benjamin; and Abner went also to speak in
the ears of David in Hebron
all that seemed good to Israel, and to the whole house of Benjamin.
II
Samuel 3:20
So Abner came to David to Hebron,
and twenty men with him. And David made Abner and the men that were with him a
feast.
II
Samuel 3:22
And, behold, the servants of David and Joab came from a foray, and brought in a
great spoil with them; but Abner was not with David in Hebron;
for he had sent him away, and he was gone in peace.
II
Samuel 3:27
And when Abner was returned to Hebron,
Joab took him aside into the midst of the gate to speak with him quietly, and
smote him there in the groin, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother.
II
Samuel 3:32
And they buried Abner in Hebron;
and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the
people wept.
II
Samuel 4:1
And when Saul's son heard that Abner was dead in Hebron,
his hands became feeble, and all the Israelites were affrighted.
II
Samuel 4:8 And
they brought the head of Ish-bosheth unto David to Hebron,
and said to the king: 'Behold the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul thine
enemy, who sought thy life; and the L-RD hath avenged my lord the king this day
of Saul, and of his seed.'
II
Samuel 4:12
And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands
and their feet, and hanged them up beside the pool in Hebron.
But they took the head of Ish-bosheth, and buried it in the grave of Abner in Hebron.
II
Samuel 5:1
Then came all the tribes of Israel to David unto Hebron,
and spoke, saying: 'Behold, we are thy bone and thy flesh.
II
Samuel 5:3
So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron;
and king David made a covenant with them in Hebron
before the L-RD; and they anointed David king over Israel.
II
Samuel 5:5
In Hebron
he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and in Jerusalem he reigned
thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.
II
Samuel 5:13
And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come
from Hebron;
and there were yet sons and daughters born to David.
II
Samuel 15:7
And it came to pass at the end of forty years, that Absalom said unto the king:
'I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the L-RD, in Hebron.
II
Samuel 15:9
And the king said unto him: 'Go in peace.' So he arose, and went to Hebron.
II
Samuel 15:10
But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying: 'As soon as
ye hear the sound of the horn, then ye shall say: Absalom is king in Hebron.'
I
Kings 2:11
And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years
reigned he in Hebron,
and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
I Chronicles 2:42 And the sons of Caleb the brother of Jerahmeel were Mesha his first-born, who was the father of Ziph, and the sons of Mareshah the father of Hebron.