View of neighborhoods south of the Temple Mount,center is the area that was the Ancient City of David and the King’s Garden,to the right,the eastern slope of the Kidron Valley,is what,in the early 1900’s was the Jewish Yemenite neighborhood,yet today is referred to as Silwan by the Arabs. During the Arab riots of the nineteen-twenties and thirties the Jewish owners of these homes were pushed out or killed. Today Jews proud of their heritage are moving back into these communities restoring The Land to it’s rightful owners.
Sandra and I recently visited Israel in an effort to encourage the Faithful standing in The Land. From Hebron to the Golan we met with those who are putting their faith into action. We will be adding the videos of some very meaningful discussions with those who are on the front lines to this site as time permits.
- Outside Beit HaShalom only hours after the ruling to evict the residents the army and the police activity around the apartment building is already increasing and reporters are gathering. The families inside begin to strategize what their reaction to the eviction ruling shall be. The following Shabbat tens of thousands gather in support of the families.
During our time in Israel a politically motivated judge ruled that the families living in Beit HaShalom (the peace house) located in Hebron could be evicted within three days. The home had been sold to the new Jewish owners a couple of years ago and the families have lived peacefully in the apartment building for more than a year. In the areas controlled by the pLO it is against their laws for an Arab to sell property to a Jew,the penalty is death. The Arab who sold this building to a Jewish buyer is claiming,not surprisingly,that he never sold the property and the case has been held up in court.
Though the Jewish owners of Beit HaShalom have presented the courts with video taped evidence of the transaction and records of the monetary transfer the courts,being politically motivated,have allowed the case to drag out for more than a year. This latest decision that the residents vacate the premises until the case is eventually decided is unprecedented and has drawn much criticism from another jurist.
Support in Israel for the families living in the Beit HaShalom is strong. The Shabbat following the court’s ruling tens of thousands visited Hebron for the reading of the Torah portion that week,Chayei Sarah,which recounts Abraham’s purchase of the Hebron field and cave Sarah was buried in.
Jewish hands building Jewish homes on the Mount of Olives. Using all Jewish labor for their construction projects,these Faithful Jewish Believers are truly builders of Zion.
We spent some time visiting Jewish home sites in what is referred to as “East” Jerusalem by the media. The Jerusalem Reclamation Project is working to re-establish Jewish life in the old Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem. In these areas where half the homes are Arab occupied there is now an upswing in Jewish residents.
Daniella Weiss arives at Beit HaShalom to organize the response to the impending eviction and upcoming efforts to help the families remain in their home.
On the Mount of Olives we met up with a construction company who is building Jewish homes using exclusively Jewish labor. For many years now,Sandra and I have held the view that Jews must not use Arab labor,the results have proven deadly many times. Some Israelis have rebuffed our comments on the labor issue stating that using Arab labor is necessary because it is not affordable to build otherwise. The reality is proven that Jews can afford to hire Jews to perform the task of building up Israel.
Arabs working in Israel do work,typically,for less money than their Jewish counterparts,but the consequences of saving money in this way have proven deadly. Allowing Arabs to cross the security checkpoints to work has provided opportunity for many of the homicide bombers in the past. Recently an Arab construction worker took a front-end-loader on a killing spree down a Jerusalem street killing several Jews before he was stopped.
Ed discusses the Maccabean Resistance with one of the young men (face disguised to protect the identity of the youth) at the Federman homestead. Across Israel there is a movement becoming known as the “Hilltop youth.” New home sites spring up,hilltop by hilltop,the youth hold on with tenacity. When the government tears down their buildings these Hilltop Youth just re-build another one.
Arab labor may be less expensive,but,it comes with a much higher price when you consider the loss of the connection of Jewish hands building up The Land. The builders we met believe that Jews building up The Land is a Holy task. As a builder myself,I could not agree more with this concept.
In Hebron we found a strong Jewish Nationalist spirit and evidence of a leftist government agenda trying to break the will of the Nationalists. Noam Federman and Sianai Tor had built homes for their families on a section of land on the outskirts of Kiryat Arba. After living in their home for two years the Federmans were awaken just past midnight by government forces bursting into their home through the windows,they began brutally dragging the children out of bed,arrested Noam and proceeded to demolish their home with all their possessions still inside. The Tor family was provided seven minutes to gather their valuables before the destruction of their home proceeded.
Standing amidst the rubble these young men are not disheartened.
During our visit to the homestead we walked through the remains of the Federman and Tor homes,the demolition was so complete that nothing of the original structures was of any use to re-build from. The degree of devastation is no deterrence,twice the army has returned to tear down structures that were erected on the site by dozens of supporters and the local youth.
Among the youth in Israel there is a movement growing known as the Hilltop Youth. The number of youth in this movement is unknown,estimates are that they can be counted in the hundreds of thousands. Daniella Weiss is purposing to provide leadership to this vast group of young people rising up from all areas of the country. We were able to spend time with Daniella,the former mayor of Kiddumim and one of the first to establish a homestead in Sammaria. Daniella decided to retire her position as mayor so she can concentrate her efforts on leading the Hilltop Youth.
The community of Sderot,quiet and peaceful until kassam rockets rain down from Gaza hardly one mile away.
We also visited Sderot,the city constantly under rocket attack from Israel’s peace partners now residing in Gaza without any restraint. We will also be showing some video Sderot. The day we were in Sderot the rockets were quiet,the next day seven katyushas rained down on this otherwise peaceful town. The large number of bomb shelters sprinkled around this town are a silent reminder that any moment the serenity can be shattered.
There are several more points and people of interest we will be bringing to the pages of this site as we are able to devote our time to editing and writing. Continue to check back,we will be loading stories and video as they are available.
To sum things up,there is genuine Faith on the mountains of Israel. We had no problem finding Brothers and Sisters who seek to serve G-d without reservation,heeding the call to stand in the face of much adversity,standing on the hills of Judea and Samaria. Stand with us as we purpose to be a support and a blessing to the Faithful in Israel.
