Heavy hearts, frustration and anger are some of the feelings that best describe the residents of Beit El’s Ulpana neighborhood as the nation’s High Court of Justice on Monday, stated emphatically that the illegal homes must be destroyed by the state no later than July 1, 2012.
One of the residents who may soon be homeless is Didi Dickstein, whose parents and a sibling was murdered by terrorists in 2002. He told Yisrael HaYom “from my perspective, this is an injustice. This neighborhood was built with the encouragement and assistance of the government. We received mortgages and the government simply must act to legalize the situation. What is worse is that a despite court is in the middle of a case addressing the ownership of the land in question, but the High Court did not even wait for that decision. There is a heavy feeling among the residents who fear what will occur”.
On July 26, 2002, St.-Sgt. Elazar Lebovitch, 21, of Hebron; Rabbi Yosef Dickstein, 45, of Psagot, his wife Hannah, 42, and their 9-year-old son Shuv’el Tzion HY”D were killed in a shooting attack in the Southern Hebron Hills district. Two other of their children were injured. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Brigades boasted responsibility for the attack.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu finds himself in a most difficult situation, aware of the rapidly approaching deadline as he seeks ways to circumvent the court’s decision and legalize the homes in question.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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13 Responses
We don’t destroy Fogel murderer’s homes – but we destroy our Jewish family’s homes ?? Olam Hafuch.
#1, yes, this is pure antisemitism. There is no logical explanation that does not involve the assumption that Jews are strangers and invaders in Eretz Yisroel, and Arabs are the natural owners.
Everyone who moved in to this neighborhood knew that it was built illegaly. There is plenty of room in the Galil and Negev to be mikayem mitzvas yishuv haaretz. There is no mitzva to start up with the Arabs and provoke world opinion against us.
All it takes is a simple vote of the kenesset. Don’t blame the Israeli Supreme Court, which is just following Israeli law in the matter. It’s a political decision, and with his enhanced majority, the decision maker is Netanyahu.
#4, What law is the court following? What law makes these buildings illegal? There is no law, just an Arab’s claims that have not yet been tested before any court.
“Crazykanoy”, how should residents have known that one day some Arab would make up a claim that he owns the land?
Jews are entitled to live & build anywhere in Israel.Look what happened when Jews moved out of Gaza.
crazykanoiy…
You are wrong on several counts.
First of all this area originally DID have government approval. Secondly, why do you talk about the galil and the Negev?!? To the arab mind, those areas are equally theirs just as much as this neighborhood is, and just as much as Tel Aviv, Netanya, and Haifa are.
Your comment “There is no mitzva to start up with the Arabs and provoke world opinion against us” reminds me exactly of an old, dark-humor Holocaust ‘joke’…
Two Jews had been rounded up and were being taken to the train station by two German soldiers. One Jew whispers to the other “Moishe, I know they have rifles, but there are only two of THEM, and there are two of US, let’s try to jump them and then escape!” Moishe turns to Yankel and says “Yankel, don’t make trouble for us!”
Yes “crazykanoiy” – we certainly wouldn’t want to provoke world opinion against us (when the world is so in love with us.)
Like they say, the only thing we learn from history is that most people don’t learn ANYTHING from history.
These homes were built illegally. The High Court of Israel has found this development to have been built illegally. Democracies must abide by the rule of law, and the law of the state of Israel as it now stands states that these homes must be demolished.
Whether we like it or not the world recognizes the claim of the Palestinians to the land that was conquered after the 67 war. Building on land that is officially subject to negotiation is a provocation to the Arabs and to the rest of the world.
There is plenty of land in pre ’67 Israel to build on. These people build in the post ’67 areas to make it impossible for the land to be returned in a peace deal.
It would be wise to remember that Rav Shach and many Gedolei Yisrael were against any settlement building.
#9, there was nothing illegal about it. If the High Court wakes up one morning and decides retroactively that it was illegal, who cares? That is not the rule of law, it’s the rule of men, unelected men who are pursuing an anti-Jewish agenda.
What business is it of the “world”; what authority does this “world” have to “recognise” squatters’ “claim” to land that does not belong to them? And if building on land that is subject to negotiation is a provocation, then how are you OK with Arabs building all over the place? If all Arab buildings are demolished, then you can talk about demolishing Jewish housing; without that you are exposed as an antisemite.
There is no difference between “pre-’67” and “post-’67”. And land can’t be “returned” to people who never had it in the first place; when have the Arabs ever ruled the Shomron? It was ruled by the Ottomans, and then by the British, and then illegally occupied by Jordan for 19 years, and now by Israel. There was never a period of legal Arab rule.
#10 First point: In a Democracy courts decide if an act is legal or not. The Israeli High Court has found this development to be illegal. Hence it is illegal under Israeli law. This is basic civics 101.
Second Point: Every recent Israeli government, including the current one professes to be in favor of a two state, land for peace solution to the current quagmire. Hence building on post ’67 land is hypocritical and provocative.
Many Gedolei Yisrael have held that building on post ’67 land is wrong and counterproductive.
Third point: Do you think that the Ottoman’s were Christian, Jews, or Buddhists? They were Muslim and they ruled what would be current day Israel for almost 400 years.
#11, There is nothing democratic about the Israeli High Court. When people moved in to this neighbourhood it was perfectly legal. The government promoted and supported it. How can you claim it was illegal, just because the High Court woke up one morning and decided to say so?
I don’t care what the current government says about future deals. They have no right to expel Jews from their homes. But in any case no government has or ever can accept going back to the pre-’67 borders, so what difference does it make if a government is in favour of giving something away? How does that make the ’49 armistice line a legal border?
No gedolei yisroel have ever held as you say; the one whom you quote is not a godol and not a chochom.
The Ottomans were not Arabs. So what have they got to do with the so-called “Palestinians”? What difference does it make what their religion was?
Netanyahu personally swore at the fresh graves of Etta and Efrayim Tzur that this neighbourhood would “never, ever be evacuated”. If he breaks that oath he will have forfeited any right he ever had to hold public office, or to show his face before decent human beings.
All he has to do is tell the High Court “no”. It’s as simple as that. Just tell them he is not going to obey their order, and they can scream as long as they like.