We are happy to present you with our Sovereignty bulletin # 30, sent to members and supporters of our Sovereignty Movement. You are invited to read, get updated, send us your comments and join:
Greetings and blessings to our dear friends,
At the time these lines are written, the final outcome of the U.S. presidential elections is still not clear, but it seems that Joe Biden might be the next president of the U.S.
Either way, we must remember the principle that has been guiding the Zionist Movement from its inception: the future of the Jewish People will be determined only by the Jewish People. The nations of the world can elect their leaders and choose their positions and we will continue; we will act and we will do, we will build, we will become stronger and we will succeed.
“Our future does not depend on what the gentiles say, but on what the Jews do!”, as Ben Gurion stated in his speech.
In the spirit of these words, we recall an important, illuminating and thought-provoking date relating to this matter:
Last week marked 103 years since the Balfour Declaration, which gave the green light to the consent of the nations of the world to the return to Zion. The Jewish People have been grateful for this declaration ever since, but we must remember one extremely important detail. The Jewish People’s right to its Land does not stem from any declaration by one foreign leader or another. The eternal connection between the People of Israel and the Land of Israel was planted thousands of years ago, deep in history, from the divine promise “to your seed will I give this Land”, which we read on the previous Shabbat.
Balfour, in his day, like Cyrus in his day, and like other leaders throughout history, were not the ones who granted the Jewish People its rights, but they were the ones who had the merit, in acting as they did, to stand on the side of justice, morality and the historic vision of the return of Zion to its Land. The Creator gave Balfour, 103 years ago, the privilege to stand on the side of the Jewish People. Later, the British government chose to betray these values and take a different path, which obscured the rights of the Jewish People in order to block the implementation of its national and historical aspirations.
In our day as well, we must remember that any international leader, whether in the White House, in the Kremlin, at 10 Downing Street or any other place, can choose to stand by the side of justice and morality and support the People of Israel’s sovereignty in its Land, or, Heaven forbid, the opposite.
Israeli leadership must view the political reality correctly and differentiate between positive steps such as the promotion of sovereignty, the battle against terror, determination vis-à-vis the Iranian axis of evil, etc. and steps that should not be supported in any way, such as political deals whose purpose is the establishment of an alien state in the heart of the Jewish People’s homeland. We will promote these just and correct steps, we will encourage and be grateful for them, but the other sort of steps, which erode our historic rights, we will block with vigor, determination and faith.
Apply Sovereignty Now
The Sovereignty Movement supports former government minister, MK Bezalel Smotrich in his call to establish facts in the matter of sovereignty, before the change in government in the United States, if, in fact, it turns out that Joe Biden emerges victorious.
We call upon all members of the Knesset of the national camp and the Land of Israel loyalists, who support the vision of Sovereignty to join the call of MK Smotrich and to exert significant political pressure to exploit the window of opportunity created in the interval between the two US administrations in order to apply sovereignty without establishing a Palestinian state.
Our press release was covered in the Jerusalem Post:
and Arutz 7:Apply Sovereignty now before Biden takes over
Sovereignty! Without an Arab state in the heart of our Land
This week, we held a number of meetings with members of Knesset to encourage and promote the vision of sovereignty, with an emphasis on the total rejection of any agreement in principle or in practice to establish a Palestinian state as part of any political deal.
Among the members of Knesset that we met with, especially notable was the meeting with Member of Knesset Rav Moshe Abutbul of Shas, a member of the Land of Israel Lobby, who had participated in the lobby’s tour of Gush Etzion to gain familiarity with the complex struggles that the young settlement must cope with, along with the phenomenon of the PA’s expansion and takeover of state lands in Area C.
The meeting was held with a very good atmosphere and agreement on the Sovereignty Movement’s guiding principles and the trend of continuing cooperation between the movement and the members of the lobby in general and Member of Knesset Abutbul in particular.
Click here to read in detail about the meeting and remarks made by MK Abutbul afterward.
For me, sovereignty is…
And this time, our guest columnist is Michal Shir (Likud):
“For me, sovereignty is the natural and necessary situation. It is the right of the Jewish People to its homeland as well as a sovereign state’s right to determine its borders. No state in the world conducts itself within its territory as an alien. We must stop the reprehensible practice of behaving within the territory of the homeland as temporary dwellers, and begin to act as permanent possessors of the territory”.
What are the bypass roads bypassing? – opening a public discussion
Our movement welcomes the beginning of work on the new Al-Arub bypass road, connecting central Gush Etzion with northern Har Hevron-Kiryat Arba Hevron, which, by bypassing the villages of Al-Arub and Beit Umar, will make traveling faster and more secure.
Every such step such as paving roads, building homes or planting trees in the soil of the Land of Israel represents a practical strengthening of our hold on the entire Land and further evidence that Israel’s sovereignty results in increased welfare and security for the entire area and the entire population.
Head of Gush Etzion Council Shlomo Ne’eman tells us about the importance of the new road. “The road bypassing Al-Arub, which we propose should be called Levinger Road after the name of Rav Moshe Levinger and Rabbanit Miriam Levinger, obm, is extremely important for all of the residents of Judea and Etzion. The new road will shorten the travel time from Kiryat Arba-Hevron to Jerusalem. It will also be much safer. Regulation of the Gush Intersection as part of building the road is great news for the residents of Gush Etzion and will significantly ease traffic congestion in the area of the interchange”.
“The investment in infrastructures for the future of the area, beyond the basis of the settlement, represents the practical application of sovereignty. This project, together with broadening the Tunnels Road and advancing the many building plans are giant steps on the way to having one million Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria”.
We would like to raise a few questions for thought and discussion regarding the words of our friend Shlomo Ne’eman: Don’t bypass roads express abandonment of certain areas that also belong to the People of Israel? Aren’t bypass road an attempt to avoiding dealing with violence and terror? Years ago, instead of dealing with the Arab stone throwers, we were asked to put stone proof windows on our cars. Shouldn’t we, as a sovereign people, stop bypassing problems? Doesn’t past experience (in Ramallah, al-Bira, Beit Lehem and other places where, in the past, Jews traveled as part of their daily routine but now no longer do) teach us that the presence of security forces is not enough to establish our holding in a location, and therefore, there must be daily civilian presence? Don’t bypass roads encourage radical elements among the Arabs of Judea and Samaria to make other roads dangerous for us with the hope of chasing us from more and more areas?
We would love to hear your opinion and open a discussion about these issues. You are invited to send us your opinion by email: [email protected]
The youth explains sovereignty
Registration for the annual Hanukah Youth Seminar is in progress. The seminar, entitled Explaining Sovereignty, will be in memory of our dear friend Helen Freedman, z”l, chairwoman of AFSI who dedicated her entire life to the Land of Israel.
The seminar will be held please G-d on Sunday December 13 in Oz veGaon, in adherence to the Ministry of Health Corona guidelines. Speakers include former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, Shlomo Neeman, head of Gush Etsion Regional Council, Middle East expert Dr. Moti Kedar, Eran Bar-Tal, financial editor of Yisrael Hayom, a debate workshop, TED talks with Sovereignty Youth and more.
Seats are limited because of Corona restrictions.
Here is the flyer in Hebrew. Send it to your children and grandchildren in Israel. The flyer in English will be ready in a few days and will be posted on our website.
Shabbat shalom,
Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar