September 4, 2026 Categories: Israel Diaries
Israelis Debate Israel: What Must Change?
The current Russia-Ukraine war is certainly a tragedy of huge proportion. However, there is another tragedy taking place at this moment — in our very own land, a tragedy that has been simmering under the radar for decades and now seems about to erupt like a volcano.
How much news coverage will this growing Israeli tragedy garner? Will it inspire the same degree of vigorous discussion we see as Israelis contend with the impact of the Russian-Ukraine war on us and how Jewish President Zelensky really is? For, as debates about the Ukraine are raging among the citizens of Israel, the rug is being pulled out from beneath the feet of Jews residing in Judea-Samaria, undermining Israel’s hold on Area C.
Whatever one’s opinion on whether or not Israel should control Area C to any degree, it is a fact that a contract was signed by the USA, Israel and the PLO creating the Palestinian Authority and giving Israel exclusive and complete control over Area C. This contract was called the Oslo Accords.
Israeli NGO Regavim has been sounding the alarm for decades about the furtive war being conducted against Israel over Judea-Samaria but until now, it seems few paid any attention. There is growing momentum in this war and Israel is being sabotaged by her own leadership as settlers are now regularly accused by MKs and the mainstream Israeli media of unprovoked violence against Arabs and using this as legitimization for tearing down Jewish homes and synagogues.
On Monday morning (21 March 22), Jews were thrown out of their homes in Judea-Samaria AGAIN, this time in Maoz Esther and A’ira Shacher in the Binyamin region. This is just the most recent site under attack: on Purim, less than one week ago, Homesh was blockaded and, as I discovered yesterday at the site, it is slated for demolition; in early February, two homes were destroyed in Givat Ronen. And it goes on and on and on.
Gilad Atia, a soldier in the IDF, was sleeping on base and woke up to news of the destruction of his home and all its contents in Maoz Esther. His wife was home alone when this took place. He felt he had no choice but to leave the base without permission and take time off in order to rebuild his home and ensure that he and his wife have a place to live. He described feeling like he was kicked in the face by the country in whose defense he serves. In fact, a force of about 400 soldiers, border police and tactical units were on hand to evict eight families, razing their homes to the ground and destroying their belongings and two synagogues and other public structures.
Creeping Land Stealing
For decades, the organization Regavim has been documenting the systematic land stealing on the part of the Palestinian Authority with funding from the European Union. Regavim is fighting in the courts to force compliance with decisions handed down ordering the demolition of illegal Arab construction, decisions that are ignored by the Civil Administration. As a result of this lack of compiance, the illegal outposts continue to grow, with the Arabs living there often having permanent homes in legal villages not far away. If leftwing activists know about this, they ignore the fact. In contrast, the moment a court authorizes the destruction of a Jewish building, that building is taken down. Regional council heads in Judea-Samaria cry out against this selective law enforcement by means of which Israel is losing control of her land. They are growing louder in protest as the rate of illegal Arab takeover of Area C approaches a point of no return. Is anyone paying attention? The anti-Zionist activist organizations that demonstrate against Arab home demolitions shed nary a tear for the Jewish families thrown out of their homes. Perhaps they even applaud the move as their goal is the removal of all Jews from Judea-Samaria in preparation for a Palestinian state. The images of young children made homeless in the cold of winter and of a young soldier forced to abandon his unit in order to rebuild his destroyed home seem to draw no empathy from them. MK Mossi Raz (Meretz) shows in this viciously worded and highly inaccurate tweet that he understands that we are approaching the point of no return:The demolition of two criminal outposts overnight is too little but if there is a continuation of this it will not be too late. Across the occupied territories settler militias erect criminal outposts on land that is not theirs every Monday and Thursday and there is no response from the leadership while the Palestinians do not get building permits on their own land and their homes are destroyed over and over.
