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| The evacuated town of Chomesh (VIN) |
Thousands of protestors showed up there in solidarity with the Yeshiva leadership – arguing that the land of Israel – which includes the West Bank (Yehudah and Shomron) belongs to the Jewish people as the Torah clearly states. The Israeli government ought not make laws against doing that. And although I have tremendous empathy for the awful tragedy suffered by Ettya Dimentman, the widow of a murder victim from the settler movement killed by Palestinian terrorists , I have do disagree with what she said (as quoted by VIN):
About 100 years ago there was an illegal aliyah to Eretz Yisrael, and the fathers of everyone in the government also immigrated via this illegal aliyah. The British ruled here and it was illegal. We are the settlers today, we who are called settlers and extremists do the same thing, make illegal immigration to the land of Israel, because your ancestors also immigrated to the land of Israel and it was not legal, but the land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, and whoever thinks that is not true are welcome to move to another country.”
“The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, we are neither settlers nor extremists, we are just coming home. All the soldiers who fell all the years in the wars, what did they fall for? They fell because they reclaimed the land of Israel,” the widow added.
“My husband Yehuda was also murdered because we are reclaiming the land of Israel,”
If only it were that simple! Sometimes we are our own worst enemies. The idea of settling parts of Eretz Yisroel that are currently in territories inhabited by Palestinians cannot but incite some of the more radical elements among them to terrorize and kill us. There have been more than a few Jews determined to settle all the land of Israel despite the obvious increased danger in doing so. And yet they keep doing it and expect the radicals among Palestinians to somehow change their behavior and back off. Or that this time they will be better prepared. That kind of thinking is insane.
I just do not buy the supposed logic of saying that they try and kill us anyway.
It’s true that terrorist attacks happen on both sides of the green line. Who can forget the awful massacre that happened in the Har Nof section of Jerusalem a few years ago. Har Nof is well within the green line. All of the victims were observant. Probably Charedi. None of them were settler types. If anything they were against the people that were. Believing them to be endangering their own lives as well as the lives of others.
There is of course no way of knowing whether the victims in Har Nof would have been massacred anyway had there been no settler movement. But there is little doubt in my mind that it sure didn't help things.
It’s also true that Palestinians are determined to end end our control over any part of ‘their land’ - Eretz Yisroel. But at the same time there is ample reason to believe that inciting them on the West Bank increases their violent attacks.
Isn’t it reasonable to suggest that her husband and the many others killed by terrorists from the West Bank - as well as in places like Har Nof might still be alive had there been no settler movement?!
These settler types simply ignore all of this and insist that the Mitzvah to settle all the land of Israel requires any and all sacrifice. As religious Jews they are determined to do so and are willing to accept some risk and pay the ultimate price if necessary. But they are mostly alone amongst religious Jews that feel that way. They believe they can ignore the dangers.
It doesn’t matter how peaceful they try to be when living among them .It doesn’t even matter if they have good relations with the majority of the peaceful Palestinians in in those areas. It isn’t the peaceful ones they have to worry about. It’s the radicals among them. Mrs. Dimentman paid a very high price for her ideals. A price that I’m pretty sure she could have avoided had she not been so determined to settle places like Chomesh that even her own government said are illegal.
She did not deserve that fate. She very likely would still have her husband and father of her children around to support her, help raise the children and be a role model for them. Instead she is now a widow. It is her own idealism and that of others like her that contributed her husband’s demise.
I don’t think I am going to convince anyone here. Those who are like her will continue their behavior. And those who support them will continue to do so. They will stick to their ideals. And that makes me both sad and angry. Sad at any further deaths at the hands of terrorists incited to violence by Jews trying to prematurely (i.e. pre messianic times) reclaim all the land of Israel. And anger at their determined blindness to the dangers of doing so. The one thing we should all be doing is staying out of dangerous areas that incite the kind of violence she and so many other have suffered.
I certainly have my issues with the Charedi leadership. But on this issue I agree with them (and disagree with my own Rebbe, R’ Ahron Soloveichik, ZTL, who fully supported the settler movement). I believe that it was R’ Shach, ZTL, among others who felt that at this point in our history - Pikuach Nefesh trumps settling all of Eretz Yisroel and ought not be done. That is exactly my view.