In an act of mesirus nefesh, a number of Jewish families on Thursday 12 Elul took up residence in the Shiloach area of the capital, known more commonly in the news as Silwan. The effort is part of a struggle to reclaim Jewish property by purchasing it from Arabs and then moving in to reestablish and strengthen the Jewish presence in those areas of the capital, which have been overridden by Arabs. The new homes are part of the area’s Beit Rachel complex that was owned by a Yemenite hekdesh. The Yemenite community was forced to flee following the bloody Arab riots of 1929 and those who tried to return were later ousted by the British occupation during the mandate period.
What often occurred is the Arabs moved into the homes and became de facto owners of the Jewish properties. They are repurchased in many cases at great expense for the families who sell must relocated elsewhere for selling homes to Jews carries a death sentence in the PA (Palestinian Authority). The homes have been Arab occupied since the liberation of Jerusalem’s Old City in the June 1967 Six Day War.
The driving force behind the land reclamation is spearheaded by the Ateret Kohanim Yeshiva and backed the philanthropists who have funded the ongoing effort over recent decades. Complicating the matter is the attitude of the governments of Israel since 1967, which still refer to these areas as “East Jerusalem”, setting the stage for the international community to view it as “occupied” by Israel. This categorization of “occupied” is also applicable to many Jewish neighborhoods of the capital in the eyes of the international community, home to hundreds of thousands of people. This includes but is not limited to Ramat Eshkol, French Hill, Pisgat Ze’ev, N’vei Yaakov, Gilo, Talpiot, Armon HaNatziv, Ramat Shlomo, and Ramot.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
1. It would be nice if they paid the owners. The zionists have for years managed to “buy” property from those who didn’t own it, and often disregard hereditary tenants (similar to a New York Rent Controlled apartment with non-evictable tenanats).
2. Consider how we would feel if a bunch of Indians decided they wanted Boro Park or Lakewood or Monsey? Do you understand the “tachlis” of why one of our gedolim warned against trying to reclaim Eretz Yisrael at this time?
I would correct the first paragraph to read ” in an act of meabet atzmom l’dass, and putting all of klal Yisrael in a jeopardy”
REMEMBER EVERYONE: These were former JEWISH homes, owned and lived in by Jews over eighty years ago. Would you sit passively while others steal your homestead, live in it and act as if they are the owners!!!
Kol Hakavod to these Giborim…..
@3. History logic doesn’t work so well, because it Eretz Yisrael used to be Eretz Canaan.
@4 DikDukDuck: How do you know there was ever a Eretz Canaan? Oh, the Torah told you. The Torah also told you that God gave the the land to the Jews.
It’s very likely that because of people like Comment # 4, Hashem commanded that the “Canaanites” be completely wiped out (humanely).
Not only just because they were inherently wicked and evil, but also because there should be no future “Bleeding hearts” or “Oiyber Chachomim” that will say “The land really belongs to the indigenous Canaanites”.
Well, the truth is:
a)They Canaanites were really not indigenous. They too originally conquered the land from a nation of previous inhabitants.
b) There ain’t no more Canaanite people!
bklynmom: Absolutely right!!! Foolish comments by the likes of akuperma and DikDukDuck, especially DikDukDuck, who forgets who gave us this Land to begin with.
All they are demonstrating is that they stand for nothing and are unwilling to demonstrate to Hashem that we actually want this Land and desire the Geulah Shleima.
#2 HERSHELTZVI, Very wall said.