Curing the Migron Migraine

Late yesterday, seeing the court decision about Migron, I don’t remember if choice words passed my lips, but they certainly entered my mind. But  the judgment wasn’t  overly surprising given the judges’ comments during oral arguments. Additionally, any other verdict by these three justices would have been shocking. After all, what could one expect from Salim Joubran, the only Arab on the court, (who, incidentally, or perhaps not so incidentally ruled to allow Jews to be evicted from Beit HaShalom in Hebron)? Would an Israeli justice who refuses to sing the Israeli national anthem rule that Jews can live anywhere in Israel? 

Miriam Naor was in line to be president of the supreme court following the blessed exit of Dorit Beinish. That appointment was torpedoed by a Knesset law, sponsored by nationalist leader Yaakov ‘Katzela’ Katz, paving the way for the appointment of Asher Grunis as head of the court. She certainly wasn’t going to support a ‘nationalistic’ community comprised of a population that prevented her from attaining this prestigious position.  

And as for Grunis, his vote really didn’t make any difference, being outnumbered with two votes already recorded. Therefore, by voting against the compromise he notified the Israeli right that he’s ‘not in their pocket’ so to speak.

As with the original Migron court decision, (as with other such rulings, such as permitting the expulsion from Gush Katif in 2005) this had nothing to do with justice or law. The facts of the case prove that, without any doubt. Had the truth been otherwise, the government never would have negotiated a ‘compromise’ with the community’s residents; they already would have been brutally expelled and their homes razed.

 

There are many disturbing facets to this issue.  As has already been written, this decision is intended to initiate a snowball proposed to roll over and delete all Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.  And that is a real problem. But I think it’s the least of our problems.

Earlier today I found an interesting article on a web site called Middle East Monitor – MEM. The article is called ‘the Judaisation of Jerusalem’ by Dr. Abdel Sattar Qassem.

The first paragraph: The Judaisation of Jerusalem has occupied a prominent place in the Arab and Muslim media recently, and is the focus of many statements made by officials and heads of state on the grounds that the city’s future concerns those who care about Islamic and Christian holy sites there. Recent conferences in Doha and Beirut released statements confirming Jerusalem’s Arab identity and the need to protect the holy places as well as cultural and historical monuments which characterise the city.

The second to last paragraph: Jerusalem cannot be saved by money alone; it needs the people. If they are patriotically, psychologically and ideologically sound, then funds will strengthen their position. But if they are incapable, then all the funds in the world will not help them; only people can keep a cause alive. It is no secret to most Palestinians that the goal of the Israelis, and those Arabs and Palestinians who collaborate with them, is to conquer Palestine and transform Palestinians into consumers without any real human existence.

Here is one facet of the real issue. The Arabs want Israel. They believe Israel is Palestine. Jerusalem and Israel are synonyms. One does not exist without the other.

The connection between Jerusalem and Migron?

For a moment, let’s play a game, called make-believe. Let’s make believe that all the Arab claims for Migron are valid and legitimate. (They’re not. But ‘make-believe.)  And let’s pretend that the Israeli government, realizes the stated Arab aim is the destruction of the state of Israel (they don’t realize this, but again, let’s make-believe).  As a result, the government takes a strategic decision to ensure that the Arabs understand that we understand, and that we have no plans to allow them to reach their goals.

The next step is a practical, tactical pronouncement. In our make-believe game, that assertion takes the form of a no-nonsense declaration, whereby Israel says, ‘the hell with ‘right and justice.’ A point must be made. That point, includes not only the continued existence of Migron, despite its seeming illegalities, but also massive expansion of the community, proclaiming loud and clear: Israel belongs to Israel; and if you (the Arabs) don’t comprehend – here, we’ll show you! After all is fair in love and war. And this war is about love – the love of our land.

Ah, but this is all make-believe. Because Migron is legal, because the Israeli government refuses to acknowledge our enemy’s intended goal, and G-d forbid, that we should ever take a proactive national position, affirming our allegiance to our homeland.

Our neighbors watch their televisions; they see the state of Israel decree, time and time again: this land really doesn’t belong to us. So why then, shouldn’t Dr. Abdel Sattar Qassem write about the Judaisation of Jerusalem. If this hypothesis is repeated often enough, he knows, we will eventually believe it, and act accordingly. As he writes, this subject is being widely discussed in Arab media.

One would think, that any normal government, seeing, hearing and grasping Arab intent, (not make-believe’ rather ‘real) would not ‘compromise’ over a place such as Migron. The national, elected leadership would, in no uncertain terms, ensure that this community continues to exist, expand, thrive.

That, of course, brings us to the second major problem: who is running our country? A court of pseudo-justice, without any care for the continued existence of Israel as a country and without any authority to make strategic or tactical decisions necessary to ensure our survival?

I can only thank G-d that such a court did not exist when David ben Gurion pushed through the historic decision to create the State of Israel in May, 1948. For if this outcome had had to go through Salim Joubran, Miriam Naor and Asher Grunis, we would not be here today.

Migron is today, for Binayamin Netanyahu, a throbbing migraine. The only way to rid himself of this headache is not to destroy Migron , which is tantamount to cutting off his head. Rather the real medicine is to allow this wonderful community to blossom, and to build others, by the dozens, throughout Judea and Samaria, letting Dr. Qassem and others like him know that  after a 2,000 year exile, we, the Jewish people, have come home and we’re not going anywhere. We are here to stay.