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The government demolished the Homesh Yeshiva last Friday. In an Arutz Sheva OpEd, The Sovereignty Movement appealed to the Bennett government: Instead of destroying, build Homesh! Preserve the Homesh Yeshiva!

“Mr. Prime Minister, you were absent yesterday during the spiritually exalted level of those present in Homesh, had you come, you would have been strengthened by the powerful and resolute spirit of the thousands who came to say: The Land of Israel is ours! Homesh is ours! The time has come for sovereignty!

How can one descend from yesterday’s high spiritual level to the unprecedented low of the destruction of the structures around the Homesh yeshiva, a yeshiva that is entirely self-sacrifice, a yeshiva that preserves the embers of the Zionist values that bind us to our wonderful Land?

Where are you leading the country? In a normal country – the homes of the murderers would wiped off the map, the entire village would be exiled beyond our borders.”

While AFSI appreciates the good that is being done in the Golan, this travesty negates any good feeling we have in hearing about it. Israel needs to be sovereign in ALL of Israel, including Judea and Samaria, not just the parts that are convenient at the moment.

Sources:
Sovereignty Movement to Bennett: Build Homesh, don’t destroy it!, by Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar/Israel National News, December 24, 2021

Days After the Murder, Bennett Government Demolishes Parts of Homesh, by David Israel/Jewish Press, December 24, 2021

Thousands of Israelis from all over the country arrived on Thursday at the community of Homesh in Samaria after the end of the Shiva mourning week for terror victim Yehuda Dimentman.

Led by the Dimentman family and his widow Etya, they marched from Shavei Shomron towards Yeshivat Homesh. A memorial service was held in Yehuda’s memory at the site of the attack together with rabbis, public figures, and Knesset Members.

Shomron Council Head, Yossi Dagan, said “…The people want a built Homesh, the people want the Yeshiva of Homesh established, the people want a Zionist and determined answer to terrorism.”

The march comes amid rumors that the government plans to destroy the yeshiva and ban all Israeli entry to the area. The continued demolition of Jewish homes on Jewish owned land, especially following the murder of a Jew, is disgraceful and illustrates the lack of sensitivities and concern for the Jewish people. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is not working to strengthen building the Land, protecting Jews or maintaining sovereignty. Between this and the ongoing land grabs in Area C, it is clear that terrorism under Bennett’s government is fully rewarded.

View the march HERE – despite the pouring rain, thousands came out strong for Yehuda’s memory and saving Homesh. May they all go from strength to strength!

Note to our readers: AFSI has been in touch with the Yeshiva in Homesh and in January 2022 we will have information on how you can help them. Stay tuned.

Source:
Thousands March to Homesh After Terror Attack, Demand Israel’s Return to Site, by Aryeh Savir/Tazpit News Agency, December 23, 2021

Reports from the United States, according to which the Biden administration has decided not to press for the establishment of a separate American consulate in Jerusalem for the Palestinian Arabs, are encouraging. There are many people and organizations that are to be congratulated for their activity in hopefully halting the American program, but above all else, the resolute and spiritually healthy Jewish people deserve commendation for its successful stand in defense of its eternal capital.

The struggle for Jerusalem, this is clear to any knowledgeable person, is not a struggle for territory or control. The struggle for Jerusalem is a struggle for the essence and national and spiritual image of the people of Israel throughout the generations. The Arab quest for sovereignty in Jerusalem expresses the ongoing Islamic aspiration to uproot the Jewish people from its essence and historical role, to expel it from its land and to wrest its primacy from it. That is why this struggle cannot be expected to end with one local campaign or another.

Source:
The Consulate – Just the beginning of the struggle, by Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar/Israel National News, December 21, 2021

IDF and police forces on Sunday morning demolished three structures that had been built during the night in the Homesh settlement. Homesh is home to the Hesder yeshiva that was attended by Yehuda Dimentman, H’yd, who was murdered in a terrorist ambush last Thursday.

Religious Zionism Chairman MK Bezalel Smotrich issued a statement: “The lax left-wing government decided to reward terrorism and ordered the IDF and police to eliminate the yeshiva in Homesh in response to a terrorist attack in which Yehuda Dimentman, H’yd, was murdered. They don’t demolish the terrorists’ homes, but they are demolishing the yeshiva.”

Ettya Dimentman, the widow of Yehuda Dimentman, “They are toying with a family which is sitting shiva as if we don’t have feelings.” She also addressed the Prime Minister: “Bennett, you grew up on the values ​​of Torah and morality, and Yehuda was a man of justice. It seems a small thing to ask that the yeshiva remain in Homesh, but it is a big step towards the redemption. On Thursday we will go up to the grave and from there we will walk back to Homesh.”

The demolition in Homesh is the latest destructive step with Bennett leading Israel down the road to disaster.

AFSI stands in solidarity with the Dimentman family and the residents of Homesh.

Source:
Lapid-Bennett Government Razed Homesh Structures, Rewarding Yehuda Dimentman’s Murderers, by David Israel/Jewish Press, December 19, 2021

Evidence has been found on a story we reported last week, Terrorism in the Fields: Blame the “Settler” False Narrative.

In an exclusive interview with United with Israel, a Palestinian Arab who was vandalizing state land in the Judea and Samaria region admitted that he was being paid for harassing Jewish communities.

Yehuda Bazak is a resident of Avigayil and witnessed the entire incident that was recorded on video last Tuesday.

Source:
EVIDENCE: Radical Leftists Pay Palestinians to Destroy Jewish Property in Judea, by Sheri Oz/Special to United With Israel, December 19, 2021

It’s been seven months since US Secretary of State Antony Blinken notified Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of the Biden administration’s plan to reopen the US Consulate in Jerusalem. Despite this, Washington has yet to produce a timeline for when it plans to see the move through.

A US diplomat, a former senior US official and another source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel this week that the Biden administration has effectively shelved its effort to resurrect the mission to the Palestinians shuttered by former president Donald Trump in 2019.

Trump’s 2019 decision didn’t fully close the Agron Street building. PA diplomats have continued working there under the new name, Palestinian Affairs Unit (PAU). It must also be noted that the PA is reporting directly to Washington – cutting out the Israeli embassy.
Any building that is allowed to exist where the PA can continue to facilitate its demonizing and terror based “perspective” against Israel should be closed permanently. It’s that simple. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…well, let’s just call it a de facto mission. It should NOT be permitted to operate against the wishes of the sovereign state of Israel!

Source:
US holding off on reopening Jerusalem consulate amid strong pushback from Israel, by Jacob Magid/Times of Israel, December 15, 2021

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett responded Tuesday afternoon to the comments of Public Security Minister Omer Barlev. Barlev discussed the issue of “settler violence” with US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland.

“The settlers in Judea and Samaria have been suffering from violence and terrorism, every day, for decades. They are the defensive wall of us all and we must strengthen them and support them, in words and deeds,” Bennett wrote on Twitter.

At the initiative of Defense Minister Benny Gantz, work will be carried out to recruit hundreds of additional IDF soldiers to the police for staff positions in order to add hundreds of police officers to the Judea and Samaria District. Bear in mind, one of the purposes is to address nationalistic crime allegedly committed by those termed Jewish extremists.

This is another in a series of disturbing trends we see with Bennett. Saying one thing and doing the opposite. Rocks and firebombs thrown at Jews, attacks against the IDF, Jews murdered by Arabs….Israel’s security and the safety of Jews in Judea and Samaria is under attack by Bennett’s coalition. Fighting against Jews is clearly a part of Bennett’s agenda. Bennett is now the enemy of his own people.

Sources:
Hundreds of police to be added to fight settler crime, by Israel National News, December 14, 2021

Bennett: Settlers are our defensive wall, don’t generalize about them, by Israel National News, December 14, 2021

Minister under fire for talking about ‘settler violence’, by Elad Benari/Israel National News, December 14, 2021

Palestinian Arabs were filmed on Wednesday deliberately uprooting olive trees that were planted by Jewish residents of the Mount Hebron Regional Council.

Criticism of Israel’s government being the root of this problem was swift and harsh. MK Bezalel Smotrich said, Omer “Barlev’s incitement at work. Arabs uprooted a vineyard planted by Avigayil’s residents before the shemita. Barlev was there yesterday with the police commissioner to give a boost to terrorism and the Arabs’ struggle against the settlers while adopting the false narrative of settler violence.”

Im Tirtzu’s Matan Peleg added, “…..while the founder of Peace Now and the minister of incitement against the settlers were busy inciting against them, the Palestinians on the ground are responding to him and taking over the territory.”

We remain alarmed by the hostility to Jews coming from Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government. MK’s who incite harmful words against their own people or use “settlers” to win votes, land grabs by Arabs out of control, appeasing Arabs time and again, Jews in Judea and Samaria still living under Ottoman Law. This doesn’t sound like a government that has Israel’s best interests in mind. Bennett clearly cannot be trusted. He is a threat to Israel’s safety, survival and sovereignty. And that’s the nicest thing we can say about his destructive “leadership.”

Source:
Watch: PA Arabs uproot Jewish-owned olive trees, by Israel National News, December 15, 2021

A senior security source who accompanied Defense Minister Benny Gantz on his trip to Washington, DC has revealed the Israeli government’s true position on construction in Judea and Samaria.

The source said, Gantz’s position was that, “Israel wants a diplomatic solution with supremacy on issues of security. The Israeli position is that we can build in the blocs, and also in the towns which need construction.”

This morning Regavim shared updated data upon which it based its recently released precise map of Area C. The project revealed the alarming situation on the ground: From 2019 -2021, the Palestinians built 5097 new illegal structures in areas under full Israeli jurisdiction, an average of 7 new illegal structures per day. These new structures joined the tally of illegal construction for a total of 72,274 illegal structures in Area C.

In order for security issues to be a top priority, sovereignty must be declared throughout Judea and Samaria.This must include construction of homes in Jewish communities – including connection to electricity and water. The PA land grabs are threatening the very defense of Israel. What’s worse is that Jewish development of Judea and Samaria continues to be repressed while Prime Minister Naftali Bennett pays no serious attention this whole matter.

Photo courtesy of Regavim

Sources:
Senior source reveals PM Bennett’s true position on construction in Judea, Samaria, by Ido Ben Porat/Israel National News, December 12, 2021

In Knesset caucus hearing, shocking data revealed: Seven new illegal Palestinian structures per day, by Regavim, December 13, 2021

Former Jerusalem Mayor MK Nir Barkat returned to Israel after his advocacy campaign in the United States. MK Barkat met with 11 members of the Senate and Congress as well as thought leaders and journalists – to build the alliance against Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons. During his visit, MK Barkat succeeded in marshaling support to prevent the U.S. administration from opening a consulate for the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem. His campaign led to 36 senators introducing legislation on this issue and 200 members of Congress signing a letter to President Biden that outlines their opposition to the consulate in Jerusalem.

Following soon after Barkat’s trip, the Biden administration has rejected Israel’s request to expedite delivery of two KC-46 refueling jets out of four purchased, which would facilitate IAF flight to attack Iran. This is certainly not a sign of support.

MK Barkat’s trip follows AFSI’s successful simultaneous vigil with 20 organizations in Israel to protest the opening of a PA consulate in Jerusalem. With the diplomatic effort of MK Barkat driving home the point, we are pleased that our advocacy has been heard loud and clear in DC.

Source:
MK Barkat: US consulate for PA in Jerusalem was stopped, by Israel National News, December 13, 2021