In a festive ceremony attended by the Minister of Transportation, council heads and public figures, the new Lev Yehudah Road was opened, bypassing Al Arub and connecting Gush Etzion Junction with Kiryat Arba-Hevron and South Hevron Hills.
There is no doubt of the ideological sincerity of the new road’s planners to improve the security of the Jewish residents and security forces.
Indeed, the bypass road eases traffic for the residents between towns and from the towns to the large cities and employment centers. Such a road increases the recognition of normalicy for the residents of Judea and Samaria and can be expected to attract many more new residents, who will strengthen and expand the existing settlement enterprise and the founding of new communities, industrial centers and areas of employment.
The way forward to two million Jews in Judea and Samaria is through new, modern infrastructures, water and electricity lines, cellular reception and good roads.
A new, accessible and convenient road can also be expected to curb the trend of residents leaving the region, which has begun in more than a few towns due to the terrible traffic jams. The difficulty of getting to work on time is well known, the difficulty of promising to arrive at a precise time to collect children from educational institutions or activities, doctor appointments, other events, etc., have brought idealistic Jews and Land of Israel lovers to choose a different place to live. Wide and convenient roads are an integral part of the settlement enterprise.
But we were shocked to discover that the new road will bar us from the old road. This was not the intention of the planners!
The thought was, and is, that both roads would serve the travelers, thus easing the traffic load. No one wants to give up the old Route 60. No one is ready to give up parts of the Land where we traveled, settled and lived for decades. In our experience, when roads are closed to Jewish travel, we become emotionally and effectively disconnected from them, leaving the area wide open for terrorists.
Bypass roads characterized the Oslo government led by Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. Such roads matched their world-view and the dangerous steps that were intended to lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria. Such roads are contrary to the essential concept of a right-wing government that advocates Israeli control over the entire area.
Therefore, the goal of the new road is to increase the Jewish hold on the area, not to decrease it. If we thought about the well-being of the travelers – why would we transfer all of the traffic from the old road to the new? On the contrary, both roads, both the old and the new, must continue to serve the residents.
And the signs put up by the IDF warning that “This road leads to a Palestinian village and entry for Israeli citizens is dangerous” must be removed immediately. Who gave the IDF the authority to set up such signs? Was there a governmental decision regarding this?
Experience proves that any Israeli abandonment of an area will turn it, sooner or later, into a wasps’ nest that produces terror. The required answer is a proud return the People of Israel’s historic commitment to restore Israeli sovereignty to the entire Land of Israel. Sovereignty is responsibility, and while the task of sovereignty is indeed challenging, it is vital.
The new road is named after Rav and Rabbanit Levinger, zt”zl. With open eyes, the Levingers carried the banner of Jewish presence in every single location in the Land of Israel. Abandoning the old road is contrary to their vision and this must not happen. We must not bypass problems, we must confront and overcome problems.
