AFSI travellers on May 2010 Chizuk Mission

Another inspiring AFSI Chizuk mission ended this May 16 with all the participants marveling at the wonders of Israel. In addition to the beautiful hills of the Shomron with its cities named after the biblical Eli, Shilo, and Beth-El, the glories of Yerushalayim, the mysteries of the desert, are the remarkable Jews who people this land of Israel and persist in making it thrive, regardless of the slings and arrows thrown at it.

David Ha'Ivri

David Ha'Ivri met us with Avi Zimmerman, Executive Director of American Friends of Ariel. They took us to visit a dear friend, Prof. Hanokoglu, who teaches at the University of Judea and Samaria in Ariel. He draws on his knowledge of molecular biology to establish a relationship between the science and values based on tradition and fear of HaShem. Lunch at Nir Lavi's amazing restaurant on Har Bracha, adjacent to Har Greezim which overlooks Shechem, was our next stop. Ner and his wife live the Zionist pioneer life, enjoying the fruits of their labor and their boutique winery. Boaz HaEtzni, son of the remarkable Elyakim HaEtzni, is following in his father's footsteps and gave us an inspiring talk on the settling of the land. Lenny Goldberg from Kfar Tapuach, a special friend, gave us a beautiful Dvar Torah about shmitah, the fulfilled promises of HaShem, and the need to banish fear and have faith in HaShem.

Group picture at Yeshiva in Lachish

        

In Yitzhar we visited the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva which is threatened with destruction by Israel. Rabbi Yitzchak Shapira, the spiritual head, believes that the government is afraid of Jewish ideology and authentic Judaism. There is no rationale that excuses the destruction of this Yeshiva, already transplanted from Kever Yosef.

Rabbi Schmidlek & Lenny Goldberg at Shavei Shomron

At Shavei Shomron, a community of 170 families, we met with Rabbi Schmidtlek and his wife. The Rabbi and his students had been beaten up by the Israeli police while trying to prevent the destruction of caravans, originally from Yamit, then Homesh, which served as dormitories for the Yeshiva boys. Six homes that had been under construction were destroyed. We marveled at the resiliency of the community.

Alice Ziman, a convert from Germany who had been living in Homesh for seven months before being expelled in August, 2005, now lives in Shavei Shomron in a community of ten caravans taken from the destroyed Homesh. The story of her expulsion left many in the group in tears.

Eliana Posentine

Eliana Posentine met us in Eli and took us to her beautiful home in Givat HaYovel. This is the community where the families of two of Israel's fallen IDF heroes have their homes - now threatened with destruction. Although Ro'i Klein and Eliraz Peretz gave their lives for their country, their beautiful homes, in a tranquil, lovely setting, are seen as "obstacles to peace" which must be fed to the insatiable Arab appetite.

Eliana explained that their homes were not "illegal outposts" and that all legal work had been finalized except for the final stamp from Ehud Barak. Living under the uncertainty of their status from day to day is agonizingly painful.

Helen and Batya Medad

in Shilo

Batya Medad was our guide in Shilo, the first capital of Israel for 369 years. Batya told us the ancient history of the city, and then described the growth since she and her husband, Yisrael Medad, moved to the community. From 1981, when there were 18 students in the school, it has grown to house 400 students from all over the district.

Helen, Carol, Cheryl & Ben Bresky at A7 Headquarters

Arutz Sheva headquarters in Beth-El was our next stop. There we met Yehuda Cohen who gave us a talk about the history of A7 and Ben Bresky, who interviewed many of our group for his radio program. Yishai Fleischer, who had interviewed AFSI's Chairman, Herbert Zweibon, then met the group, took us up to a vantage point where we could view the entire city and see its proximity to Ramallah, and spoke about the need to promote the campus program, www.zionistfreedom.org.

Yom Yerushalayim at the Kotel

We then drove on into Yerushalayim, exhilarated by the excitement of the beginning of Yom Yerushalayim. We drove to the beautiful Mt. of Olives, overlooking the Old City, to the Yeshiva Beit Orot.  Shlomo Zwickler, the Director, had arranged for us to join with the Yeshiva students and hundreds of guests for prayers, dinner and dancing in celebration of the reunification of Jerusalem. It was a glorious and joyous night.

Rabbi Richman leading tour on Temple Mount

At 7:30 AM on Wednesday morning, Yom Yerushalayim, we joined Rabbi Richman of the Temple Mount Institute to ascend Har HaBayit. He is a saintly man who withstands the indignities heaped on him by the Israeli police on an almost daily basis. Every time he is scheduled to bring a group of Jews up to the Temple Mount there are questions as to whether or not they will be permitted to enter, while Christians stream past them on line and Muslims enter freely to enjoy the Mount as their playground and soccer field. Only Jews have to submit passports, and Rabbi Richman is always in danger of being refused entry personally, because of his devotion to his task. Fortunately, we were all admitted and had an extremely meaningful visit to the Mount.

Chaim Silberstein at Ammunition Hill

Chaim Silberstein, head of the Jerusalem Capital Development Fund, along with Judy Grossman, met us at Ammunition Hill, taken back by Israel on June 6, 1967 in a bloody battle. Twenty-four soldiers were lost there and fifty were injured. Chaim emphasized the point that there is no need to give away land acquired in a defensive war.

He and Judy then boarded our bus, driven by our trusty driver, Ami Dadon, and we began our tour of "East" Jerusalem. We passed the Shepherd Hotel, owned by the Moskowitz family, but waiting for permits, and Wadi Jos, an Arab area named after Jehosophat. At the Mount of Olives, or Har HaZaytim, Israel's second oldest cemetery with 200,000 graves, we visited Gilad and Shira Gans who have their home on the outskirts of the cemetery. We enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch there and listened to Gilad and Shira tell the story of their move to the home with their four children. We learned that there are 225,000 Jews in East  Jerusalem and about the same number of Arabs. From 1844, when there were about 5,000 Muslims living there, a 500% growth occurred since 1967. One wonders why so many Arabs would stream into Jerusalem if the "occupation" and "discrimination" were so insufferable. There must be another side to the story.

The Shimon HaTzaddik neighborhood was our next stop where we visited Avital Shoham, her husband and children in their home. Avital told us of her life in Shilo, the terrorist murder of her eight month old child, and their move to Shimon HaTzaddik. Obviously, the family is one of tzaddikim, righteous ones, who put country above themselves.

Cherna Moskowitz

The evening was capped at Ir David where the 2^nd Annual Moskowitz Zionism award ceremony was held. On a gorgeous Jerusalem night, we descended the many steps to the assembly area, saw the spectacular stage set-up, heard the music, saw many friends in the huge crowd, and enjoyed the congeniality of the event. Mrs. Cherna Moskowitz, as founder of the prize with her husband, Irving, welcomed everyone, and Brigadier General Avigdor Kahalani offered greetings.  Minister Moshe (Bogie) Ya'Alon gave a stirring speech, and the three recipients of the $50,000 per person Zionism award were called to the stage. Brigadier General(retired) Dr. Aharon Davidi, IDF hero and creator of Volunteers for Israel was first, followed by Rabbi Yoel Schwartz who created IDF's Nahal Haredi Unit. Soldiers from the Unit were present and marched down the aisle to the stage to celebrate the rabbi. Anita Tucker, our beloved friend from the destroyed Gush Katif community of Netzer Hazani was the third recipient. We, who had come to the ceremony in our orange shirts precisely in honor of Anita, cheered loudly when her name was called, as did so many others in the audience. It was truly a night to remember.    

Israel Danziger & group at S'Dai Boaz

The next day, Israel Danziger, head of Mishmeret Yesha, took over as our guide in our exploration south of Jerusalem. We drove through the beautiful community of  Neve Daniel in order to reach S'Dai Boaz, 3,000 feet above sea level and the highest point in Gush Etzion. We learned that this community is on the list of illegal outposts scheduled for removal. Izzy informed us that 3% of Israeli state land is settled by Jews and the Arabs have taken the rest. As we drove through Beit Jalla, the community that became famous when it was firing on Gilo, we saw a new U.S. AID sign. Such signs seem to be proliferating everywhere. The old distinction between Areas A (Arab), B (Israeli security control with Arab municipal control), and C (sole Israeli control) is being lost as eleven B+ areas have been created, allowing for PA military presence.

AFSI receives warm welcome from Nadia Matar and Women in Green

Tree planting in Netzer

We drove to Netzer, on the outskirts of Elazar and Alon Shvut, where Arabs are planting on land between the two communities. Steve Rodan, Director of the Middle East newsline was standing in for Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katzover of Women In Green, and greeted us warmly. Our trusty driver could not maneuver the bus over the unpaved, rocky road, so we walked up the hill to the lean-to that had been erected there by Nadia and her helpers in the early hours of the morning. To our surprise there was a huge sign created by Nadia, welcoming me and the AFSI group to Netzer. Steve gave us a heartfelt talk about devotion to the land of  Israel being the key to Israel's survival. His complete lack of faith in the government was reflected in the remark that the leaders of Israel will be on the "last helicopter from Saigon," saving their own necks while the government collapses. We finished on a high note by planting trees. I'm pleased to say that AFSI has planted LOTS of trees throughout Israel. It would be fun to map the locations and visit them on one of our future trips.

Illegal Arab Mansion

Continuing to drive on Route 60 in Area C, we saw that Arabs have built everywhere. We learned that although areas A and B+ are off-limits to Jews, Arabs can live in Area C if they choose - and they DO.

David Wilder in the ancient ruins at Tel Rumeida

David Wilder, spokesman for Hebron, greeted us in the holy city and gave us an extra special tour of the city. At Tel Rumeida, where people are still living in caravans, we saw the ancient ruins dating back 4500 years. We stood on Tel Hebron and felt the awe of being at the place where modern civilization began. We left Hebron after visiting the Cave of the Patriarchs and absorbing the holiness of the burial place of our matriarchs and patriarchs. Driving on the outskirts, we saw another U.S.AID sign with the inscription, "This project is a gift to the PA from the people of the U.S. for a PA water project."

Anticipating the chocolate tasting at Holy Cacao

We continued on to Ma'aleh Hever, just past Hebron, where Jo Zander and Zev Stender run their Holy Cacao chocolate factory. They gave us a detailed demonstration on the process of chocolate making and the best part, of course, was the tasting and buying of lots of chocolate. Jo and Zev stated that they see a parallel in their lives as religious Jews and in the ongoing effort to improve their chocolate making so it is the best possible. We wish them continued success.

Dining at Gavna in Efrat

Dinner at the Gavna restaurant just outside of Efrat, where we could watch the sunset while we dined, was a real treat. Nadia Matar joined us to talk about her new organization, Yivaneh, and then we hurried off to the home of Sharon Dobular Katz in Efrat where we had sponsored a bridal shower for a bride and groom from the former Gush Katif. In addition to Sharon, Lisa Dordek Goldenhersh and a group of women had worked on arranging the evening. The series of "coincidences" that occurred that night were too many to record here, but suffice it to say, the evening was a huge success. The bride and groom were overwhelmed by the gifts contributed by our AFSI group, and generously supplemented by one of our members who prefers to remain anonymous.

Area A sign forbidding Jews to enter

Arieh King, founder of the Israel Land Fund, joined us on our bus on Friday morning for a tour of many of the disputed areas in Jerusalem. He railed against the ugly wall running through Jerusalem that is called a 'security fence' by the government. He believes it was built to set borders in a divided Jerusalem. He was angry about the letter that 86 Knesset members signed calling for the continuation of building in 'Jewish' neighborhoods. This was an unspoken recognition of non-Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem. King offered a five prong plan to rectify matters in Jerusalem and throughout Israel. The key word is "BUY". He wants Jewish land reclaimed, land bought in East Jerusalem, and land bought in the Negev and Galilee, which are 60% and 50% respectively of the land of Israel. King spoke out angrily against the Mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, whom he blames for the fact that building in Jerusalem IS frozen and despite numerous announcements to the contrary, there has been no demolition of illegal Arab homes. King detailed specific areas in Jerusalem where plans were on the table for Jewish building and were cancelled by Barkat. In Atarot, 10,000 units had been planned and were cancelled. King maintains that Arabs have illegally built on $30,000,000 worth of land in the area owned by JNF.

Arieh King guiding the group  at Shmuel HaNavi

To add insult to injury, at the entrance of the area is a large red AREA A sign, forbidding entry to Israelis. This is code for Jews since Israeli law forbids Jews to enter into Area A. Israeli Arabs, of course, are free to enter.

At the tomb of Shmuel HaNavi, again controlled by the Islamic WAQF, we climbed to the top for a fantastic view of Jerusalem. Arieh pointed out JNF land that was sold by Hebrew University to Arabs for less money than Arieh offered. 187,000 apartments could have been built on land already owned by Jews. At Givat Ze'ev 12,000 apartments could have been built. In N'vei Yaakov 330 apartments were frozen that had been approved for building. A fascinating piece of information was that 50,000 Arabs have moved inside the wall since it was built and Arab homes are built up to the wall in Area C. Jews are not allowed to build in Jewish areas, but Arabs are building everywhere without restraint.

At an army base where the E1 corridor is, linking Ma'aleh Adumim with Jerusalem, we were refused permission to pass through the area. This should be the site of 187,000 apartments for Jews. Instead, Bedouins are settling in the corridor. We saw many Arab buildings that were unoccupied. Arieh explained that they had been built before the wall was put up, and now Arabs prefer to live inside the wall so the homes remain unoccupied. 1800 Arab apartments are planned on land originally planned for parkland. In summary, what we saw was very disillusioning and discouraging. Arieh King deserves a huge vote of thanks for his untiring efforts on behalf of Israel.

MK Dr. Arieh Eldad was our guest speaker when we returned to the hotel. He blamed a lot of Israel's problems on pressure from President Obama. He urged us to gather support from Evangelicals and to exercise change at the mid-term U.S. elections. His belief is that Jerusalem should be the first topic of discussion at any talks between the PA and Israel, followed by the topic of refugees and recognition of Israel. Since these are the sticking points, they should be presented first. Eldad believes that "The vast majority of Israelis are not prepared to give up Jerusalem even for promises of peace. Whoever prodded Obama to put Jerusalem on the table did a great service to Israel."

On Shabbat, after a wonderful lunch, the group gathered to walk to the Jaffa gate to meet Bracha Slae and our guard for the afternoon, for our tour of the Muslim Quarter. Dan Luria of Ateret Cohanim had worked with Bracha to arrange for a fascinating tour of the former Jewish area. We climbed to the top of one of the buildings purchased by Ateret Cohanim and housing Jewish families. From there we could see the white dome of the newly restored Hurva Synagogue. The white dome stood out over the city, glowing in the sunshine. It was exciting to see a landmark building that could replace the Golden Dome as the symbol of Jerusalem.

Hurva Synagogue

We said Mincha at the Kotel HaKatan, the closest place to Har HaBayit, and endured the dirt and discomfort created by an Arab street cleaner who chose just that time to sweep the street under our feet. Following Mincha, we went to the Wittenberg building where Bracha had arranged for us to have Shalosh Seudot with two lovely families living there. It was a truly special feeling, being in the same old building that had housed Mark Twain, as well as Ariel Sharon. A guard waited to escort us back to the Jewish Quarter where we marveled at the beauty of the Hurva Synagogue as we said the Maariv and Havdalah prayers. What a privilege it was to be praying in that historic place. It was the end of the perfect Jerusalem Shabbat.

Moshe Saperstein with Charlie at Lachish

Sunday was our day to drive south to meet our friends from the former Gush Katif, starting in Lachish. Laurence Beziz met us with Rachel and Moshe Saperstein. Rachel happily pointed out the construction that had begun at the location of her new home in the south Hebron hills. It will house 50 families from the former Gush Katif. Rachel is starting to see the beginnings of her permanent home, to be called B'nai Dekalim. Her dreams for the community include a spa, community center, field school, retirement home, hotel, Judaica library and Raptor bird sanctuary. We're looking forward to seeing the fruition of those dreams.

Aharon Pulver at the Shai Dromi Farm

We then drove through the Metar forest on an unpaved, rocky road, to reach the Shai Dromi farm. There we were met by Aharon Pulver, Director of the Israel Independence Fund, and Yoel Zilberman, the founder of the Irgun Shomrim HaChadash. We had met them previously in the Galilee, and here they were in the Negev, telling us the same story about the need to protect Jewish farms from theft, arson and plunder by Arab thieves. At present there are 800 volunteers who are doing the job that the Israeli police are failing to do. Shai Dromi's mother was present and she told us the pitiful story of how often they tried to get a response from the police, but to no avail. Shai was forced to sleep in the pen with his sheep and goats. Even that didn't prevent the attack that compelled him to defend himself by shooting at the Arabs. He is now doing community service while volunteers continue to run his farm for him.

Children at the Gymboree in Sderot

We drove on to Sderot, the city that endured 12,000 rockets in 8 years and is still targeted by Hamas rockets from Gaza. There we met Alon Davidi and visited his Gymboree where beautiful young children were enjoying themselves. Noam Bedein, of the Sderot Media Center, told us about the ½ billion shekels that have been spent for the massive number of bomb shelters. Again, the band-aid approach is used, giving legitimacy to terrorism. Massive bunker schools are being built at huge cost. Since 97% of the kassams are fired from within the civilian population in Gaza, the government prefers to spend billions on shelters and iron shields rather than on eliminating the problem. As the band-aids are applied, Hamas takes control of 500-600 mosques in Gaza and the international community pours $5.2 billion into Gaza.

Dror Vanunu, liaison for the displaced Gush Katif community, met us and spoke about the need to commemorate the 5^th year anniversary of the expulsion. With 18 new communities planned, Od Katif Chai was chosen as the slogan. This year, the anniversary will fall out on Tisha B'Av, July 20. Efforts will be made to have nationwide ceremonies in Israel and the U.S. to remember and affirm NEVER AGAIN.

One of the great joys of our trips is the extended contact we have with the people we meet in Israel. Just this month, we are pleased to be hosting Dror Vanunu from the Gush Katif communities, Aharon Pulver and Yoel Silberman from the Shomrim HaChadashim, and Alon Davidi from Sderot. We hope that our members will have the opportunity to meet them at various venues and to support their efforts.