Samaria Jews Protest Being Skipped Over by Airshow on Independence Day

Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Municipal Council, has sent a letter of protest to Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (Likud) over the fact that his region, Samaria, is being regularly ignored by the celebrated Air Force flyover airshow that seems to reach many other parts of Israel. Year in and year out, the track for the flight of every type of new and old aircraft in the air force's arsenal, reaches Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and several additional cities in northern and southern Israel, but never Samaria (or Judea, incidentally). The flight also skips many of the "periphery" towns in Israel.

"I would like to reveal to you the frustration of many Israeli citizens because of this airshow. Unfortunately, for dozens of years the path of the flyover airshow has not been altered, and not all the citizens of Israel get a chance to enjoy it. This despite the fact that it is a national flyover, paid for by all of our taxes, and, more important, bears a national meaning for all of us," wrote Dagan.

"If our sons are good enough to lead fighting units, if our communities are strong enough to stand up to terrorism, then it could be assumed that we, too, deserve to enjoy the national symbols of the celebration of Independence Day," Dagan concluded.