Britannia Radio

You've got a few days to pack and leave your house! By Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katzover Imagine the following scene: You are a building contractor on your way to work. You have been asked to deliver some building materials to a client. You park your car, and out of the blue, 10 to 12 detectives and policemen run towards you, surround you and hand you a piece of paper telling you: "This is an expulsion order. You are being expelled from your home and community and area for the next six months. You got five days to pack. If we find you in your home after that, you will be arrested and jailed." Not sure yet whether this is true or just a bad joke, you ask the police: "But why? What did I do? What are the charges?". The police answers: "No comment. That’s the way it is." Sounds like a scene from Kafka? Well, this is what happened this past Sunday to Akiva Hacohen, 25 year old resident of Yitzhar, building contractor, when he delivered some building material to a client. On Sunday October 11, Akiva was given orders expelling him from his home and from Judea and Samaria for at least sic months. Akiva is married to Ayelet and they have three children. Ayelet is pregnant with number four, please G-d. Two other residents of Yitzhar were given similar expulsion orders. Ariel Gruner, 27 year old, married and father of three children and Eliav Eliyahu, 20 year old, recently married and they are expecting their first child. As in previous times when this has happened, here, too, it is IDF Central District Commander Maj.Gen. Gadi Shamni, known for his animosity towards Land of Israel lovers, who has signed the expulsion orders. For the entire story you can click on the link to the Arutz 7 report about it at the end of this article. As usual, there were no specific charges to the expulsion orders. During the period of forced expulsion the government does not provide the expellees with any compensation or help to find alternative arrangements. The expellees have to find and pay for a place to live, and employment. At the present time, Akiva is working as a contractor building homes in the area of Yitzhar, where they live, and grinding wheat and selling the flour. This will no longer be possible. Likewise for Ariel and Eliav who will also lose their jobs. Women in Green call upon all of us, friends of Israel in Israel and abroad, to express our outrage at this persecution of these wonderful Jews, lovers of the Land of Israel. The more noise we make about this, the more the authorities will reconsider and think twice about ever doing this again. See below for WHAT WE CAN DO. The official, ridiculous, explanation given is that those Jewish fathers "are a danger for the public order". Our message is: If Akiva, Ariel and Eliav have violated the law, why aren't they charged and brought into court? Why are the reasons for their expulsion secret? The answer is clear: Because those expulsion orders have nothing to do with law and order. In fact they are a violation of basic norms of all enlightened democratic systems when one is only accused with due process. We know those great Jewish men. The only so-called "crime" they can be accused of is that they are proud Jews and loyal to the land of Israel. The expulsion orders are political tools meant to demoralize the national camp before what might soon come G-d forbid, a new wave of destruction of outposts and communities. We protest this and demand that the expulsion orders against Akiva Hacohen, Ariel Gruner and Eliav Eliyahu be cancelled immediately. The more noise we make about this, the more the authorities will reconsider not only the expulsion decrees, but any other decrees they might be planning for the next few weeks. SO WHAT CAN WE DO? 1) Maj-Gen Gadi Shamni, who signed the expulsion orders and is known for his animosity to the national camp, is leaving Israel next week to become the IDF's military attache in Washington. If he thinks he could sign those expulsion orders and then go to Washington where nobody will remind him of the shameful expulsion orders, he should reconsider. Women in Green call upon all Washington friends of Israel to find out where exactly Gadi Shamni will be located  and organize lawful vigils in front of his home and work with a clear message: Shame on you for expelling Akiva, Ariel and Eliav. Cancel the expulsion orders and let these three Jewish fathers go back home! Vigils like these are very effective and important. 2) For those living abroad: Please contact the Israeli Embassy or consulate in your country to protest these expulsion orders. For the link to the Israel Embassy and consulate Directory: http://www.science.co.il/embassy.asp Let Israeli embassies in Holland, France, Belgium, Australia, Canada, etc., receive emails, calls and faxes in support of Akiva, Ariel and Eliav. The same for US Citizens: please contact the Israeli embassy in Washington, Ambassador Michael Oren, and your local Israeli consul. Israeli embassy in Washington: Tel: 202-364-5500               Deputy Chief of Mission: Mr. Dan Arbell Fax: (202) 364-5560 Defense and Armed Forces Attache http://www.israelemb.org/bios/Benjamin_gantz.htm Major General Benjamin Gantz  Tel: (202) 364-5403   Fax: (202) 364-5503 Link to all other departments in the Embassy in Washington: http://www.israelemb.org/about_us.html 3) Obviously we must also contact the Israeli politicians. Emails are ok but phone calls and  faxes are better. For all contact info (telephone and fax) for Israeli ministers please click on: http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Government/Offices/ Emails of Israeli ministers (thank you to Suzy Dym): sar@moch.gov.il ; roeil@moin.gov.il ; minister@most.gov.il ; ministerts@most.gov.il ; sar@tourism.gov.il ; sar@mfa.gov.il ; sar@mof.gov.il ; sar@mops.gov.il ; yedelstein@knesset.gov.il ; gerdan@knesset.gov.il ; bbegin@knesset.gov.il ; myaalon@knesset.gov.il ; mcachlon@knesset.gov.il ; yiskatz@knesset.gov.il ; llivnat@knesset.gov.il ; gsaar@knesset.gov.il ; ypeled@knesset.gov.il ; ysteinitz@knesset.gov.il ; sshalom@knesset.gov.il ; iaharon@knesset.gov.il ; aliberman@knesset.gov.il ; ulandau@knesset.gov.il ; slandver@knesset.gov.il ; smiseznikov@knesset.gov.il ; dhershkovitz@knesset.gov.il ; mnahari@knesset.gov.il ; aatias@knesset.gov.il ; eyishay@knesset.gov.il ; ymargi@knesset.gov.il ; yakovm@dat.gov.il ; sar@sviva.gov.il ; sar@moc.gov.il ; sar@moia.gov.il ; sar@environment.gov.il ; sar@mni.gov.il ; zelkin@knesset.gov.il Please ask others to join this effort, especially prominent community leaders and rabbis. 4) Lastly, the families to be expelled from Yitzhar need apartments for six months. They are allowed to be or in Ariel or in the Jerusalem area. If anyone can help, or knows of someone who has an empty apartment, please email us at nmatar@netvision.net.il with all the details The police have given Akiva, Ariel and Eliav a few days to comply, after which time they will be arrested, so time is of the essence. The families have hired lawyers, but so far they have not been able to stop the proceedings. As the famous quote goes: "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." We are doing! For Jerusalem's sake we will not be silent! With love for Israel, Nadia Matar, Women in Green Yehudit Katzover, the Committee for a Jewish Shdema For the Arutz 7 story: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/133807 UPCOMING EVENTS: A) REMINDER: Tomorrow, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16th at 9:00am IN SHDEMA Fascinating lecture (in Hebrew) by Elyakim Haetzni on the history of the settlement movement in Judea and Samaria in general and in Hebron in particular. Former member of Knesset Attorney Haetzni has been among those who renewed Jewish life in Israel's Biblical Heartland after the Six Day War. It will be fascinating to hear him. B) SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18th at 3:00pm at Har Herzl in Jerusalem: Memorial commemorating eight year since the murder of Minister Rehavam Zeevi Gandhi, by Arab terrorists. Rehavam Zeevi Gandhi was a dear friend of Women in Green. The memory of his love and devotion for the land of Israel is what gives us strength to keep up and continue the struggle. We were told that it is wise to come to Mount Herzl already at 2:00pm because of the heavy security arrangements at the site. Shabbat Shalom, Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katzover ============================================= Women For Israel's Tomorrow  (Women in Green) POB 7352, Jerusalem 91072, Israel Tel: 972-2-624-9887 Fax: 972-2-624-5380 mailto:wfit2@womeningreen.org http://www.womeningreen.org