We are happy to present you with our Sovereignty bulletin #72, sent to members and supporters of our Sovereignty Movement. You are invited to read, get updated, send us your comments and join:
Rosh Hashana Eve, 5782 (2021)
Dear friends,
Shalom,
This past week, in great pain, the People of Israel, laid to rest Sgt. Barel Hadaria Shmueli, obm, after nine days of fighting for his life. We heartily embrace his dear family, which cries out from its broken heart, the truth that we all feel, the truth that infuriates all of us – the hands of our soldiers at the forefront of the battle against terror, defending us all, are tied.
All of us, leaders as well as the citizens, must do some deep soul-searching, to restore to ourselves the People of Israel’s sovereign consciousness in our only Land, a People with the right to defend its life and to eliminate its enemies.
A dangerous encounter
Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s meeting with PA Chairman Abu Mazen seems like an unusually severe danger signal, if the Prime Minister is allowing his ministers to do anything they please in the diplomatic sphere.
Gantz’s promises for a loan of a half billion shekels to someone who has not stopped inciting for the destruction of Israel for a moment, who has never stopped the attempts to put IDF officers and soldiers on trial in the Hague, who continues to pay salaries to terrorists and their families in accordance with the severity of the terror attack, these promises, along with promising to grant Israeli status to thousands of Arabs from Judea and Samaria are nothing but a moral failure and a reward for terror. And this is beyond what seems like the beginning of a political process contrary to promises given when the government was formed – to deal only with matters that are within the consensus.
But even if there is no hidden purpose to this dangerous encounter, as the Prime Minister declares, the implications of these promises are enough to severely harm Israel’s sovereign standing vis-à-vis her enemies.
Without the sons
The decisions to ease conditions on the Gaza Strip are infuriating too – enlarging the fishing zone, transferal of goods, permission to transfer funds from Qatar and more – without demanding the obligatory humanitarian minimum, the return of the sons, Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul.
This easing of conditions without such a necessary reciprocation deals a severe blow to Israeli deterrence, to its resilience, to Israel’s position as a sovereign state with the backbone necessary for any state that wants to live in the Middle Eastern reality.
We call upon the Government of Israel – it is not too late to stop, to freeze every gesture and all the easing of conditions until we get our sons back.
Summing up and looking ahead
Dear readers, the end of a year and the beginning of a new one, requires true soul-searching.
Below, is a summary of our activities from the year 5781 (2020-21):
As you know, we are active in two spheres:
1 The battle for consciousness, to internalize the idea of sovereignty – “to change reality with words” as Uri Elitzur, obm, put it.
2 The battle for safeguarding our state lands in Jewish hands – the development of Oz veGaon
1 The goals that we set in our activities regarding sovereignty:
a. Keep the subject of sovereignty always on the political agenda
b. Not allow the leadership to flee from ideology with slogans such as “If it’s not Corona, it’s not interesting”
c. Training the next generation
d. Influence the elections so that the topic of sovereignty will be included in the parties’ platform.
e. Put the topic of Greater Jerusalem on the agenda
Achievements:
a. We can list the training of the next generation as an impressive achievement. The Sovereignty Youth grew considerably this past year with coordinators and members from the entire Land, in big cities and small towns.
The youth is involved in the parliamentary sphere, in the field and in educational frameworks while continuing their education by means of seminars, conferences with hundreds of youths, encounters with experts in the fields of media and hasbara, and with public figures and politicians.
The youth regularly holds dialogues, hasbara booths, and sets up Sovereignty Youth cells in dozens of schools, religious girls’ schools and yeshivot. They visited and toured in the south and the north to become closely familiar with the significance of the loss of governance and sovereignty in the Land of Israel.
The young men and women strengthened the outposts and connected with in the soil of the Land of Israel with planting, clearing land, building and more at the Oz veGaon preserve. Another activity of the Sovereignty Youth is producing hasbara films, quizzes and pamphlets that are distributed in social media and reach thousands of youths.
b. We have managed to move the discourse from Corona to sovereignty, to the situation in Area C and other topics related to values. We did this with continual and varied activities:
• Publishing tens of thousands of copies of the Sovereignty Journal
• Publishing ads and announcements in newspapers and banners in the Hebrew and English media
• Organizing the event entitled Lighting up Sovereignty in the Jordan Valley
• Before the elections, we held a special panel made up of representatives of right-wing parties and raised the subject of commitment to the vision of sovereignty for intense discussion
• We held meetings with members of Zionist factions in Knesset
• We held vigils in the streets and traffic junctions to encourage those candidates who promoted sovereignty and protest against expressions of helplessness and weak sovereignty. We stood in the streets of Jerusalem and in traffic junctions with the motto “No to a Palestinian state, yes to sovereignty”. Together with other organizations, we stood up to encourage the young settlement enterprise and support the struggle against the illegal Arab takeover of state lands
• During the difficult days of Operation Guardian of the Walls, we went to mixed cities and Sderot, we gave gifts to the residents to encourage them in their resolute stand against the terror that sought and failed to defeat their spirit.
• We met with hundreds of groups throughout the Land, of adults, youths, military preparatory schools and soldiers, to present and explain the significance of striving for sovereignty
• Before Prime Minister Bennett’s trip to the U.S., we held a campaign with ads in Hebrew and English media.
c. We did not manage to have an influence on the composition of the government and its agenda. This is not the government we were praying for. With more than 70 mandates on the Right, it would have been more appropriate to form a nationalist government.
d. Promoting the matter of Greater Jerusalem as part of the sovereignty plan. Since the present and previous government have removed the matter of Sovereignty from the agenda, we decided to promote the matter of Greater Jerusalem. There is a very broad consensus on Jerusalem. The campaign against an American consulate for Arabs in Jerusalem meanwhile has borne fruit- we worked together with other right-wing organizations.
With the present government, which comprises right-wing, center, left-wing and Arab parties, the situation is more difficult and in another two years, it will be even more difficult when Yair Lapid becomes Prime Minister. The challenges are greater, heavier; therefore, it is even more important that national ideological matters not be dropped from the agenda for a moment.
We must continue to present an ideological agenda. Just as the Left has not stopped pushing the idea of two states for a moment during its entire time in the opposition, we must not weaken for a moment. The situation on the Right is very difficult. Factionalization makes it difficult to act, but there are new and fresh forces and ideas from the youth, the second and third generation of pioneers, that gather to creatively lead the Land of Israel vision.
2) The achievements of the struggle for preserving state lands – Oz veGaon from Gush Etzion Junction up to Ari Fuld Outlook, toward Migdal Oz – a strategic security outpost
• We can state with a certain degree of pride, that here we have achieved greater success. Thank G-d, this struggle is more understandable, more visible, we see direct results on the ground. It is easier for people to take part and donate for the acquisition of a bench, a table or a pergola than to a consciousness campaign. But here as well, the results are considerable when the subject of development and maintenance is on our shoulders.
• Thank G-d, the presence in Oz veGaon has increased significantly thanks to the new Beit Midrash for women, workshops, the Beit Midrash for men, visits by thousands of soldiers, pre-military academies, religious girls’ schools and yeshivas.
• This year, a new social pergola was set up that will serve those who do not have a car and now can come with an Egged bus to Gush Etzion Junction and walk from there directly to the pergola.
• We are now renovating a residential structure that was about to collapse because of the harsh winter.
• The synagogue, the prayers, the minyans and the kiddushes contribute to the presence on Sabbaths and holidays.
• Because of the need to hold prayers outside, a portable holy ark and bima have been purchased for Torah readings with donations designated for that purpose.
• In the summer, during the period of Corona, thousands of people were present at the place and enjoyed the playground equipment, the Zionist Boulevard and the “singing” benches, clean rest areas, a coffee corner and facility for events.
• All this must be constantly maintained by maintenance and sanitation workers.
We owe our thanks to the Gush Etzion Council head Shlomo Ne’eman, the Department of Tourism headed by Moshe Bruce, the residents of Gush Etzion in particular and to the wonderful People of Israel in general and of course, to those dear people who contribute, because it is only thanks to your contributions that we can carry out all of these activities.
Sovereignty youth meets mayor of Nof HaGalil
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Election headquarters Promoting Sovereignty
The Sovereignty youth at yhe Knesset for yet one more training
Lighting first Hanukka candle at Sartaba in Jordan valley as part of a Sovereignty conference
Third Sovereignty youth Convention. In the photo: Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu and Shlomo Neeman, Gush Etsion regional council head
With Arieh King, deputy mayor of Jerusalem on the roof in Maaleh Hazeitim overlooking the Temple Mount
Jonsthan Pollard, guest of honor at the Sovereignty youth convention, plants in Oz veGaon his first tree in the Land of Israel
To watch additional photos of activities of this past year, please click here
Plans for the coming year
There is a saying in Hebrew; ‘The People of Israel is not deterred by the long road ahead”- but of course, it is better to succeed easily and quickly.
On the topic of sovereignty:
1 Sovereignty will continue to be the central topic that we will deal with in all of its parts: the Jordan Valley, Greater Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, the Galilee and the Negev.
2 We are working on a plan for 5 tours in order to see, understand, feel the pain and act on behalf of these parts of the Land that are being stolen from us by the Arabs. A tour of the Galilee, the Negev, Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley and if there is enough time, the Gaza envelope as well.
3 We would like to publish another Sovereignty Journal. There is no better and more serious tool than a journal to spread the idea of sovereignty and to delve into it.
4 We would like to hold a sovereignty conference.
5 A sovereignty campaign in the media
6 Sovereignty conferences by Zoom and campaigns
7 Podcasts
8 Seminars and continuing education for the youth
9 Consolidating activities for students
10 Surveys
In Oz veGaon:
1 Set up the Geula Cohen Educational Center
2 Set up 2 new pieces of playground equipment
3 After 7 years, all of the old equipment must undergo renovation
4 Renovate the soldiers’ tent
5 Establish an archaeological garden with a winepress and a water cistern.
The newsletter is too short for more detail. Thanks to you, we hope to complete these tasks both on the subject of sovereignty and Oz veGaon. Everything is done from the strength that we get from you. All of our activities are funded by your contributions.
The Movement for Greater Israel was formed in September 1967. Its founding declaration included these words:
“The Land of Israel is now in the hands of the Jewish People. Just as we have no right to surrender the State of Israel, we are commanded to establish what we received: the Land of Israel. We hereby are committed to uphold the integrity of our Land, for the past of the People as well as for its future and no Israeli government has the right to surrender this integrity”.
And in the next phase, as Uri Elitzur, obm, wrote in his book, With a Clear Mind: “So we must begin from the ground up: Judea and Samaria are the backbone of the Land of Israel, the heart of the Jewish People’s land throughout its generations, and we are obligated to make every effort to realize the Jewish People’s ownership and its sovereignty over its land. This is not our right, but our duty. Jewish history has charged our generation with the great task of returning the Jewish People to the heritage of our fathers”.
We wish for all of us a year of building, a year of growth, a year of sovereignty and revitalization
Shana Tovah,
Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar
The Sovereignty Movement