On our way out of Jerusalem we drove through a Jewish hilltop neighborhood called Gilo, which sits above the Israeli Arab village of Beit Safafa in the Kidron Valley. All or most of Beit Safafa was always part of Israel and many of its residents work in tourist areas in Jerusalem. The Arab residents of Beit Safafa are Israeli citizens, who vote in elections and enjoy full social benefits.
Gilo used to be shelled frequently from another Arab village across the valley called Beit Jala, which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority. The shelling has mostly stopped since the hills nearby were annexed to Jerusalem, giving Israeli forces a better view of where any shelling might be coming from. The Arab residents of the annexed areas are now Israeli citizens who enjoy the full range of governmental benefits. As we continued out of town, we saw several Arab neighborhoods, some inside Israel's pre-1967 borders and others in the former Jordanian territories. In all of them, the housing looked pretty good. Here's an example:
Our first stop in the Etzion Block was Kfar Etzion, the Israeli Alamo, where the 1948 defenders made a valiant last stand. We saw a documentary on the loss and rebuilding of the town and visited a bunker, used by the defenders, which could be called Israel’s “Alamo”. When the town fell in 1948, fifteen defenders were taken alive to the main square, lined up as if for a photo and then shot. Today Kfar Etzion is a thriving agricultural and light manufacturing community. Some of its products are fruit, turkeys, shoes and barbecue grills.
The rebuilding of Kfar Etzion began in 1967, shortly after the Six Day War. The resettlement of the other nearby towns began in 1977. Both of Israel’s major political parties, Labor and Likud have recognized that the Etzion Block is a unique area with a history which is very meaningful to many Israelis. Even Ehud Barak wasn’t offering to return it in his negotiations with Yassir Arafat in 2000. In the current government, both Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have approved additional Jewish construction in the Etzion Block.
From Kfar Etzion we went to Efrat, a community of roughly 10,000 Jews, of whom 95% are Orthodox. There are 23 synagogues in Efrat. The town is surrounded by a security fence, which was penetrated twice during the Intifada. Palestinians do work in Efrat but they must leave their cars at the checkpoints and either walk the rest of the way or get picked up by their Jewish employers. This is just another example of the tension between security and human needs.
We were shown a new emergency medical center that is under construction in Efrat. Our guide, Dr. Peter Abelow, told us that the Palestinians were invited to participate in the building of the hospital but refused because acceptance would indicate acknowledgement of Israeli rule in the area. Nevertheless, when the hospital is opened, it is intended to serve both Arab and Jewish patients.
In Efrat we met with Lenny Ben David, former Deputy Chief of Station at the Israeli embassy in Washington. Today he runs several Internet news services about Israel, most of which are free. I’m planning to sign up for one called “Daily Alert: which summarizes news about Israel for the Conference of Presidents of Major US Jewish Organizations. The website address is: http://www.dailyalert.org/.
Lenny raised our level of concern about a number of issues: the government’s latest negotiations with the Palestinians, the corruption of Israeli public officials and internal tension between the religious/Zionist and secular/post-Zionist camps. One of Lenny’s biggest issues is the creation of perceived weakness. He said that Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 emboldened Yassir Arafat as well as Hezbollah. He said that Israel’s disengagement from Gaza similarly emboldened Hammas and that the recent prisoner exchange with Hezbollah also added to the perception that Israel is weaker than in past periods of conflict.
Lenny was also critical of the US and Europe for being soft on Iran and Russia. He said that US and European inaction concerning Iran’s nuclear program and Russia’s attack on Georgia are being viewed as signs of weakness. He said there are reports that Israel told the US that Iran was the major danger in the Middle East, not Saddam’s Iraq and that the US didn’t anticipate the radical Shiite rebellion in Iraq after Saddam Hussein was removed from power.
Lenny spoke about the pending leadership struggle within Kadima, the party of Prime Minister Olmert, who has announced that he will step down. Lenny said that of the two candidates to succeed Olmert, Foreign Minister Livni wants to make a peace deal with the Palestinians, while Finance Minister Mofaz doesn’t think that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas can be a partner for peace.
From Efrat we went to Neve Shalom, a joint Jewish/Arab experimental community located in the West Bank. I’ll discuss that in my next post.
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