A View From The Hills: Mainstreaming Annexation
By JOSH HASTEN
The Jerusalem Post - January 15, 2013
While just several years ago annexing Judea and Samaria seemed liked
an implausible, unrealistic, or even taboo suggestion, today the
concept of establishing Jewish sovereignty over all of the land from
the River to the Sea has grown into an entire movement.
In 2011, Women in Green, a grassroots organization dedicated to
safeguarding the Land of Israel for the Jewish people, hosted a
conference to discuss applying full Israeli sovereignty over Judea and
Samaria. The inaugural event was held in a small banquet hall in
Hebron, adjacent to the Cave of the Patriarchs.
A few busloads of attendees, apparently mostly retirees, arrived for
the conference from Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, Samaria and several other
places throughout the country. In total there were just over 200
participants in attendance to hear various MKs and academics discuss
what seemed at the time a far-fetched delusion at best.
However, on January 1 of this year, the third annual Women in Green
conference on the “Application of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and
Samaria,” drew over 1,000 diverse attendees, from college students,
journalists and bloggers to veteran activists and pensioners, and was
held in a jam-packed, standing room-only Jerusalem hall, featuring
some of most influential government leaders and policy makers in
Israel today.
To put it simply, while just several years ago annexing Judea and
Samaria seemed liked an implausible, unrealistic, or even taboo
suggestion, today the concept of establishing Jewish sovereignty over
all of the land from the River to the Sea has grown into an entire
movement.
While perhaps not yet embraced by all in this country, and certainly
not by many of those in the international community, there is no doubt
that the notion of sovereignty has become intellectually mainstreamed.
According to Women in Green co-chairwoman Nadia Matar, who along with
fellow chairwoman Yehudit Katsover organized the event, the large
turnout proves that “after 20 years of our minds being poisoned by
‘Oslo’ and land giveaways, we are now at the beginning of a new stage
in the history of Judea and Samaria, where people are willing to
openly say, ‘this is ours’ and we want to apply sovereignty over it.”
In addition, Matar says that over time, the fact that “more and more
politicians are willing to speak at the event and are not afraid to
tell the truth” shows that while it might not be easy, we are
confident that it [annexing Judea and Samaria] is possible.”
Featured speakers at the conference included Diaspora Affairs Minister
Yuli Edelstein, coalition chairman MK Ze’ev Elkin, Knesset House
Committee chairman MK Yariv Levin, MK Prof. Aryeh Eldad, Arab affairs
expert Dr. Mordechai Kedar, international law expert and Levy
Committee member Alan Baker and Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline
Glick, among others.
While a variety of opinions were expressed as to the strategies and
methodologies Israel should utilize and implement toward annexation,
an analogous theme presented by many of the speakers was that the path
toward overall sovereignty would have to be accomplished gradually
over time and through numerous stages.
Another concern tackled from many perspectives was the issue of the
future status of the Arabs living under Israeli rule in Judea and
Samaria. Some suggested providing them with full Israeli citizenship,
while others favored offering them citizenship in next-door Jordan.
In addition, several speakers, including Likud Knesset candidate Moshe
Feiglin as well as Israeli Institute for Strategic Studies director
Dr. Martin Sherman, suggested offering the Arabs in Judea and Samaria
some form of incentive- based compensation plan encouraging
emigration.
Without divulging which plan she feels would be most effective or most
realistic, Matar admits that no suggestion is perfect.
“There will be problems with annexation,” she says. “But all of the
problems are nothing compared to the tragedies we’ve been suffering as
a result of the Oslo agreement.”
While Knesset elections are looming, Matar says her organization is
nonpartisan and thus she refuses to endorse one candidate over
another. But she is willing to share her thoughts on current Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, whose Likud-Beytenu party is predicted to
garner enough seats to be tasked with forming the next government.
“I’m sure in his heart he [Netanyahu] is against the creation of a
Palestinian State, as he ‘wrote the book’ explaining the dangers of a
PA state... but he doesn’t have the strength to come out and express
that publically.” She adds, “We know Bibi will be the next prime
minister, but in the upcoming election we have to ‘pull him to the
right’ so that he can’t implement his policy, which he continues to
discuss namely establishing some form of ‘demilitarized’ PA state.”
Matar continues, “We have been riding on a ship, for the past 20 years
a ship that has been going in one direction toward capitulation
and weakness, but we are now forcing the captain of the ship to swerve
in another direction toward Zionism, love of the land, Jewish pride,
and declaring that this land is ours. It won’t happen overnight, but
we’re on our way.”
The writer is a media expert, freelance journalist and the host of
Reality Bytes Radio on www.israelnationalradio.com.
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=299561
Link to all lectures of 3rd Annual Conference on Application of
Israeli Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria:http://www.youtube.com/user/NashimBeYarok/videos?view=0
=============================================
Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green)
POB 7352, Jerusalem 91072, Israel
mailto:wfit2@womeningreen.org
http://www.womeningreen.org
For online donations to Women in Green:http://www.razoo.com/story/Women-In-Green
an implausible, unrealistic, or even taboo suggestion, today the
concept of establishing Jewish sovereignty over all of the land from
the River to the Sea has grown into an entire movement.
In 2011, Women in Green, a grassroots organization dedicated to
safeguarding the Land of Israel for the Jewish people, hosted a
conference to discuss applying full Israeli sovereignty over Judea and
Samaria. The inaugural event was held in a small banquet hall in
Hebron, adjacent to the Cave of the Patriarchs.
A few busloads of attendees, apparently mostly retirees, arrived for
the conference from Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, Samaria and several other
places throughout the country. In total there were just over 200
participants in attendance to hear various MKs and academics discuss
what seemed at the time a far-fetched delusion at best.
However, on January 1 of this year, the third annual Women in Green
conference on the “Application of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and
Samaria,” drew over 1,000 diverse attendees, from college students,
journalists and bloggers to veteran activists and pensioners, and was
held in a jam-packed, standing room-only Jerusalem hall, featuring
some of most influential government leaders and policy makers in
Israel today.
To put it simply, while just several years ago annexing Judea and
Samaria seemed liked an implausible, unrealistic, or even taboo
suggestion, today the concept of establishing Jewish sovereignty over
all of the land from the River to the Sea has grown into an entire
movement.
While perhaps not yet embraced by all in this country, and certainly
not by many of those in the international community, there is no doubt
that the notion of sovereignty has become intellectually mainstreamed.
According to Women in Green co-chairwoman Nadia Matar, who along with
fellow chairwoman Yehudit Katsover organized the event, the large
turnout proves that “after 20 years of our minds being poisoned by
‘Oslo’ and land giveaways, we are now at the beginning of a new stage
in the history of Judea and Samaria, where people are willing to
openly say, ‘this is ours’ and we want to apply sovereignty over it.”
In addition, Matar says that over time, the fact that “more and more
politicians are willing to speak at the event and are not afraid to
tell the truth” shows that while it might not be easy, we are
confident that it [annexing Judea and Samaria] is possible.”
Featured speakers at the conference included Diaspora Affairs Minister
Yuli Edelstein, coalition chairman MK Ze’ev Elkin, Knesset House
Committee chairman MK Yariv Levin, MK Prof. Aryeh Eldad, Arab affairs
expert Dr. Mordechai Kedar, international law expert and Levy
Committee member Alan Baker and Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline
Glick, among others.
While a variety of opinions were expressed as to the strategies and
methodologies Israel should utilize and implement toward annexation,
an analogous theme presented by many of the speakers was that the path
toward overall sovereignty would have to be accomplished gradually
over time and through numerous stages.
Another concern tackled from many perspectives was the issue of the
future status of the Arabs living under Israeli rule in Judea and
Samaria. Some suggested providing them with full Israeli citizenship,
while others favored offering them citizenship in next-door Jordan.
In addition, several speakers, including Likud Knesset candidate Moshe
Feiglin as well as Israeli Institute for Strategic Studies director
Dr. Martin Sherman, suggested offering the Arabs in Judea and Samaria
some form of incentive- based compensation plan encouraging
emigration.
Without divulging which plan she feels would be most effective or most
realistic, Matar admits that no suggestion is perfect.
“There will be problems with annexation,” she says. “But all of the
problems are nothing compared to the tragedies we’ve been suffering as
a result of the Oslo agreement.”
While Knesset elections are looming, Matar says her organization is
nonpartisan and thus she refuses to endorse one candidate over
another. But she is willing to share her thoughts on current Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, whose Likud-Beytenu party is predicted to
garner enough seats to be tasked with forming the next government.
“I’m sure in his heart he [Netanyahu] is against the creation of a
Palestinian State, as he ‘wrote the book’ explaining the dangers of a
PA state... but he doesn’t have the strength to come out and express
that publically.” She adds, “We know Bibi will be the next prime
minister, but in the upcoming election we have to ‘pull him to the
right’ so that he can’t implement his policy, which he continues to
discuss namely establishing some form of ‘demilitarized’ PA state.”
Matar continues, “We have been riding on a ship, for the past 20 years
a ship that has been going in one direction toward capitulation
and weakness, but we are now forcing the captain of the ship to swerve
in another direction toward Zionism, love of the land, Jewish pride,
and declaring that this land is ours. It won’t happen overnight, but
we’re on our way.”
The writer is a media expert, freelance journalist and the host of
Reality Bytes Radio on www.israelnationalradio.com.
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=299561
Link to all lectures of 3rd Annual Conference on Application of
Israeli Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria:http://www.youtube.com/user/NashimBeYarok/videos?view=0
=============================================
Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green)
POB 7352, Jerusalem 91072, Israel
mailto:wfit2@womeningreen.org
http://www.womeningreen.org
For online donations to Women in Green:http://www.razoo.com/story/Women-In-Green
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