Here is a summary of the summer seminar of the Sovereignty Youth as it appeared in the Besheva newspaper and the Jerusalem Post
The tumultuous political year that we have experienced, the return of the Left to take the reins of power, and the reintroduction of the two-state plan by senior governor ministers, have not weakened the resolve of the heads of the Sovereignty Movement, Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar. They are convinced that one of the central lessons to be learned from the past year must be a reconsolidation of the right-wing camp around its positions, which enjoy the support of an overwhelming majority of the Israeli people and are worthy of appropriate representation in the Israeli Knesset and in the government.
As part of the preparation for a series of Sovereignty Movement activities, the movement held a summer youth seminar in which dozens of youth from all over the country participated. For two days they discussed the meaning of the sovereignty vision, the methods for its implementation and promotion in the media and on social networks. The movement views the seminar as a direct continuation of the youth convention which took place at the beginning of last month with the participation of 1,000 youth, in the presence of rabbis, politicians, public figures and journalists.
With the approach of the elections, the Sovereignty Youth Movement launched a campaign calling upon primary-election candidates in the various right-wing parties to declare their commitment to promoting the application of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and to consider this one of the foremost challenges of the next government. The movement pledged that any candidate who places sovereignty at the center of their personal and political campaign will receive the support and backing of the movement’s members. So far, several members of various parties have responded to the call, and members of the Sovereignty Youth have initiated the campaign to encourage and bolster their candidacies.
For years, the Sovereignty Movement, founded by Women in Green, has viewed the youth as an exceedingly significant component in the impetus of the vision of sovereignty. Katsover and Matar are convinced that the future leaders of Israel will emerge from among the movement's members. The first signs of this, they say, was apparent at the two-day seminar that took place in the Oz veGaon nature preserve in Gush Etzion. “Youth, who, of their own free will, during their summer vacation, came from distant cities and communities, such as Nahariya, Karmiel, Tel Aviv, Maalot and Beersheba, for two days of study and analysis of issues relating to the living, historic ties between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, are youth, of whom we have no doubt will become the leaders of the entire country, perhaps even within a decade or less. We saw smart, curious young men and women, imbued with faith and motivation to advance a Zionist vision that will provide historical justice for the people of Israel, express the people's longing for their land, facilitate security, political and economic stability, and, above all, will put an end to the dangerous ideas of partitioning the land and establishing an Arab terrorist state in its center.”
In the course of the seminar, the youth participated in workshops and lectures in various areas revolving around the optimal way to disseminate information through the various media outlets. Among the speakers were journalist Elisha Ben Kimon, Amiad Cohen, CEO of the Tikvah Fund, Sarah Haetzni-Cohen, chairwoman of “Yisrael Sheli,”, Matan Peleg, chairman of “Im Tirtzu,”, Ken Abramowitz, founder of "Save the West", Shai Glick, chairman of “Betzalmo,”, Brigadier-General Harel Knafo, of the “HaBitḥonistim,”, and many others.
The youth began the two days with a visit to the abandoned airport in Atarot in northern Jerusalem, where they heard a historical overview of the Jewish neighborhood that was located there, which was purchased by Jews 100 years ago, until their expulsion during the War of Independence. The site is currently the subject of ongoing deliberations in the District Planning and Building Committee in preparation for the establishment of a neighborhood containing 9,000 housing units. The Sovereignty Movement considers the construction of the neighborhood as a critical step in bolstering the shrinking Jewish majority in the capital. “The construction of the neighborhood in Atarot is not only historical justice for those who were evicted and displaced from there, but is also crucial for the city’s future,” say Katsover and Matar. They also mention the “Greater Jerusalem” initiative, which their movement is promoting, to expand Jerusalem’s municipal border to include Gush Etzion, Maale Adumim and Givat Ze'ev, under the rubric of a joint municipality, a step that will add approximately 200,000 Jewish residents to the capital.
In the Sovereignty Youth Movement, they also note that besides the theoretical and practical enrichment, the seminar also served as an opportunity to transfer the mantel of leadership of the youth movement from Eliyahu Friedman, who coordinated the activity for the past years, to 16-year-old Hod Fisherman, who is replacing him.
Friedman finds it difficult to summarize his time as coordinator in just a few words, and he relates: “Over the last three years, I have been privileged to work with the youth in the various branches. I was present during the incredible advancement of the movement and of its vision. During these years, I met amazing and first-rate youth who live the Land of Israel each and every hour, and for whom sovereignty is a burning issue in their hearts. I had the privilege of leading the youth movement, during which we were active in a variety of ways, including hasbara booths, producing and distributing video clips, activity on social media, as well as in the Knesset, seminars, meetings, and more. Today we are the largest and most influential extra-parliamentary youth organization in Israel,” he says, and thanks the heads of the Sovereignty Movement, Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar “for the opportunity to be part of the Sovereignty Movement family and a partner in the tremendous revolution that they are generating among the people of Israel.”
Hod Fisherman, a resident of Alonei Shilo, joined the movement approximately two and a half years ago, motivated by curiosity, and today she replaces Friedman in the leadership of the movement. In recapping the seminar, she expresses great appreciation for the dozens of participants who “devoted their time to deepen, and primarily to give of themselves, to promote the values in which we believe, the values of the Land of Israel and sovereignty, and to make an impact.”
“Our objective as a movement is not to stop for a moment,” she says, looking ahead. “We will continue to act with all our might for the Land of Israel. The Sovereignty Youth Movement is a home for the tremendous strengths of the youth and will continue to serve as a home for genuine action. I invite more and more youth from all over the country to join and participate in these important activities.”