Not all is as we would hope here in Eretz Yisroel - Originally written 19 October, 2009
Two weeks ago, Chava and I went on a tiyul (tour) of the Shomron (Samaria) region. This is the northern part of the territories formerly known as the “West Bank”, but known for thousands of years previously as Shomron. This was my first excursion in years into the “territories”, although I have a number of friends who have lived in some of the larger neighborhoods of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) that were built after 1967, and some friends who live in some of the “yishuvim” (settlements). I really did not know what to expect, as we were told that we were traveling in an armored bus.
Did this mean we were likely to be shot at? Hmmm… The truth is we had an incredibly peaceful, interesting and educational experience.
We headed north out of Jerusalem toward our northernmost destination: Sh’chem (renamed by the Romans as “Nablus”.) Biblically, Sh’chem is the first place that we find Avraham Avinu (our forefather, Abraham) after he enters the land to which H”S (HASHEM = G-d) sent him. B’reishit (Genesis) tells us that the land had been conquered from the Shemites (ancestors of Avraham) by the Canaanites. It is here that H”S makes the promise to Avraham that the land will belong to him and his descendents in perpetuity. This covenant by H”S to Avraham was sealed by an altar of sacrifice that Abraham built there.
When the Israelites came back to Eretz Yisroel after their Egyptian captivity, they gathered on two mountains near Sh’chem, Har Gerizim (Mount of Blessing) and Har Eival (Mount of Cursing.) Here the entire nation of Israel renewed their covenant with H”S. - “Now Joshua built an altar to the HASHEM, G-d of Israel in Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of HASHEM had commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses: ‘an altar of whole stones over which no man has wielded an iron tool.’ And they offered on it burnt offerings to HASHEM, and sacrificed peace offerings” (Joshua 8:30-31). While we did not have the opportunity to see it, archeologists have uncovered what is now believed to be the site of this ancient altar!
The bones of Joseph are buried in Sh’chem. As a part of the Oslo agreement, control of Sh’chem and certain other parts of the Shomron, were ceded to the Palestinian Authority. The building over Kever Yosef (Joseph’s tomb), without Jewish protection, has been frequently vandalized by locals. Jews are no longer permitted to pray at this holy site, despite the promises made in Oslo that all holy sites would be respected and that visitation would be permitted. We did have the opportunity to look down on Kever Yosef from the top of Har Gerizim, from a distance of ~1.5 kilometers.
On the way to Sh’chem, we passed Beit-El, the site where Ya’akov (Jacob) built an altar to H”S and where both Avraham and Ya’akov resided. In addition, we passed Shilo, where the Aron haKodesh (Ark of the Covenant) resided for 400 years and from where Dovid haMelech (King David) removed it to Yerushalayim.
As we traveled down the road, what we mostly saw were vast expanses of unpopulated land, with scattered villages, Jewish and Arab, dotting the landscape. The main differences between the Jewish villages and the Arab villages, is that the Jewish villages were fenced in, and surrounded by fenced fields, whereas the Arab villages had no fences and whose olive trees were planted without surrounding fences. In addition, we were surprised that of all the homes we saw in the Shomron, hands-down, the largest plots of land and the largest houses were in the Arab villages. These were not ancient family estates… most of these enormous homes were less than 10 years old, some still under construction. Clearly, these were not owned by poor people and definitely not by Jews.
We asked our guide about this and he informed us that while the Israeli government is very strict with Jewish residents of the Shomron about expanding onto non-private lands, the Arab villages have been systematically creating “facts on the ground” by building illegal homes and expanding their olive orchards onto publicly owned land.
After we visited the overlook of Sh’chem, our bus climbed up to one of the surrounding mountains, past a number of what were described as unfriendly Arab villages, to a lone, legal settlement called Yitzhar. Yitzhar is not large, and it has suffered a number of attacks over the past years. However, its residents are proud of their land and their community. They are making it clear that Jews have every right to this land, every bit as much, if not more, than the Arabs.
They do so legally and without violence.
Many of these residents are refugees from the eviction of the Jews from Sh’chem in 2000, including students from the Yeshiva (Jewish learning academy) that was formerly housed at Kever Yosef. For now, a stunning Yeshiva building has been built overlooking the grapevines planted by the Yitzhar winery. (VERY good wine, by the way! In fact, award winning!)
Hodesh tov! (Have a good month!)
