Honestly, when we first saw the tweet this morning by Kan11’s Carmel Dangor we thought it was a joke, but then we saw the accompanying video, which made the story not only better (except for the part about the non-democratic abuse of power), but true.
הערב ביצהר: תוך כדי ראיון של נריה זארוג ומשפחתו בועדת הקבלה ליישוב, נכנסו שוטרים ונתנו לו צו הרחקה מנהלי מיהודה ושומרון ל4 חודשים.
החלטת הועדה: משפחת זארוג מתקבלת מיידית ליצהר— Carmel Dangor כרמל דנגור (@carmeldangor) August 6, 2023
“This evening in Yitzhar: During an interview of Neria Zarog and his family by the settlement’s admissions committee, police officers entered and gave him [Zarog] an administrative distancing order from Judea and Samaria for 4 months. The committee’s decision: The Zarog family was immediately accepted into Yitzhar.”
On Sunday evening, while the Yitzhar Acceptance Committee was interviewing Neria Zarog and family to see if they would be a good fit for the small community in the Shomron, the police entered the room to issue Neria Zarog an administrative order.
The policeman, who was very polite throughout the process, explained he was just doing his job. He showed Neria an IDF administrative distancing order, signed by IDF General Yehuda Fuchs, forbidding Neria to be in Judea and Samaria for the next 4 months. The policeman clarified to the very worried Neria that he wasn’t being placed under administrative arrest and being taken away without charges or trial, as that could easily have been the case as well.
¹ צו מנהלי נוסף לנריה זארוג | שוטרי מג”ב התפרצו הערב למשרדי היישוב יצהר ומסרו באמצע ועדת קליטה צו מנהלי לנריה זארוג. הצו חתום בידי האלוף יהודה פוקס ומרחיק את זארוג ל-4 חודשים משטחי יו”ש ללא משפט. pic.twitter.com/0zfC5SLFAL
— אלעד הוּמינר ?? العاد هومينر (@EladHumi) August 6, 2023
Administrative orders are a leftover non-democratic tool used all too frequently against Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, especially those identified as hilltop youths.
Upon seeing the unusual and unexpected exchange, the Yitzhar committee decided on the spot to accept and welcome the Zarog family into their community. They would clearly be a good fit.
The committee sent out a letter [translated] to the approximately 250 families in the community:
“Shalom residents. Following an unacceptable intrusion of police forces this evening in the midst of an absorption committee interview and the issuance of a distancing order to Neria Zarog, it was decided to approve the acceptance of the Zarog family into the settlement immediately. We will not tolerate such blatant interference in the conduct of the settlement.”
This is not the first time that Neria has been given administrative distancing orders or been placed under administrative arrest.
In 2019, the police place Neria under administrative arrest for reasons unknown and without ever filing any charges. At the time, the court ordered the police to release the then-21-year-old shepherd and father of two. Some suspect that order was the result of Zarog building his home in Area B, an area where the army has no authority to destroy it.
Yitzhar is famous for, until recently, being the number one community in Israel in kidney donations. They were recently pushed out of the coveted top spot by the community of Susiya in the Mount Hebron region. What a competition!
Israel is in first place in the world in kidney donations, thanks to the religious-Zionist community.
