We are happy to present you with our 15th Sovereignty bulletin, sent to members and supporters of our Sovereignty Movement. You are invited to read, get updated and join:
Dear friends,
Greetings.
Along with worrisome signals from the political sphere one can also find some points of light that we should emphasize and strengthen. According to media reports, Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, who is considered a person extremely close to the Prime Minister, he does not expect progress in the steps of sovereignty in the near future.
According to a report on Galei Tsahal (the IDF radio station), Levin said in closed talks that the Americans are not in any way giving their attention to sovereignty at the moment, and that Netanyahu is not willing to act without American consent.
This position is most disturbing both because of the sense that without American consent, it will not be possible to act to promote the People of Israel’s sovereignty in its Land, and because of Netanyahu’s dependence on the administration that views the goals of the political plan as establishing a Palestinian state in the heart of our homeland.
If the report is indeed correct, then we must step up our hasbara efforts with even greater energy, to emphasize to the Prime Minister and the ministers that Israeli interest is the only thing that must guide their political steps, independently of American considerations or other foreign considerations, and of course, there should be no sense of obligation to the disastrous deal that entails sovereignty along with the danger of establishing a terror state in the heart of our Land.
And indeed, as is needed and to the best of our abilities, we will continue our energetic hasbara activity to return us to the basic principles, the first of which is: The Land of Israel belongs exclusively to the People of Israel.
We must not wait. We should apply sovereignty now.
But as mentioned, there are also points of shining light these days and we must strengthen them and empower them. These points of light are unique because they come from a number of political directions and do not belong to only one party:
First in line for praise are the heads of the New Land of Israel Lobby, Members of Knesset Haim Katz of the Likud and Bezalel Smotrich of Yamina, who proposed a sovereignty bill in Knesset this week calling for the application of Israeli sovereignty over the expanse of Jewish settlement and the Jordan Valley, independently of the American plan and the idea of a Palestinian state.
In this bill, Members of Knesset Katz and Smotrich also call for establishing a special authority to act to thwart the Arabs of the PA’s methodical Arab takeover of huge areas of Area C in accordance with Fiyyad’s well-known plan. This authority, explain the two, would receive economic, legal and political means to act against the well-oiled Arab system backed by European support, which has set for itself the goal of determining facts on the ground. The establishment of such an authority staffed with people of motivation, Zionism and imbued with vision and a sense of mission, would be able to bring about one of the most important and necessary changes at this time, against the Arab organization in Judea and Samaria.
We wish the renewed Lobby, which includes members from every Zionist faction of the Knesset, success in its efforts in general and with this bill in particular.
Read the remarks of Member of Knesset Smotrich on the proposed bill
Humanitarian sovereignty
Another person deserving of praise is the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense Benny Gantz, head of the Blue and White party, for his timely and resolute decision to make the Cave of the Patriarchs accessible to the disabled, following many years of civil struggle with the stubborn opposition of the Muslim Wakf and the PA.
(Mark nayman NPC)
The opposition by the WAKF and the PA stems from the understanding that whoever performs the act is the sovereign and in their eyes, also he who blocks an act is the sovereign. The decision of Minister Gantz provides a necessary humanitarian solution along with the proof of Israeli sovereignty in the City of the Fathers, Hevron.
We hope that Minister Gantz’s decision will be enacted quickly despite the stubbornness and opposition that is expected to arise in the future, whether from home or from abroad.
Read the Sovereignty Movement’s reaction to Minister Gantz’s decision:
Zionism and Sovereignty also mean economic momentum
The complex economic situation presents a difficult challenge to society and to the Israeli leadership. There are those who exploit the true difficulty and distress by deepening the polarization and the rift in Israeli society precisely when unity and mutual responsibility are most needed.
In this spirit, this week we published an article that has provoked great interest and resonance, and its key point is the call to the leadership a return to the basic values of Zionism, values that led Israel over the years of its existence to economic achievements that have amazed the entire world.
We must return to the value of bringing back the exiles, to call on the hundreds of thousands who are still scattered throughout the diaspora, to return home, and in parallel, to prepare the People living in Zion for the great task of absorbing them with open arms and a generous and joyful spirit. The ingathering of the exiles, since the fifties onward, has provided leverage for the great economic growth through the nineties. There are those who call this a miracle, but as the saying attributed to Ben Gurion goes: In order to be realistic in the Land of Israel you must believe in miracles.
We also must strengthen our sovereignty and implement it, thus bringing about a dramatic reduction in the cost of housing in the area of the center, we must encourage the purchase of Israeli products and services and strengthen the local industry, and above all, we must demonstrate unity in the leadership that will radiate toward the entire people.
To read the full article:
The Fraud of the demilitarized state
Gen. (res.) Gershon HaCohen researched the matter of a demilitarized state, one of things promised by those who advocate dividing the Land, as they try to calm concerns, claiming that the establishment of an Arab state in the heart of our Land will not endanger Israel’s security. Gen. (res.) Hacohen is very familiar with this matter from a number of senior positions he held during his service in the IDF’s combat unit.
In an interview that was published in Arutz 7, HaCohen states that the idea that a state will be demilitarized is not logical, is not relevant to our times and actually, it is fraudulent and deceptive. He also says that in meetings with people from the leftist organization Commanders for Israel’s Security, he was amazed to find that while he was talking about data and professional, objective evidence, they spoke in slogans, about hopes, with sayings cut off from reality.
Read the main points of his important conclusions
http://ribonut.co.il/BlogPostID.aspx?BlogPostId=468&lang=2
To me, Sovereignty is…
And this time, our guest columnist is Member of Knesset May Golan (Likud):
“To me, sovereignty is the correction of a historic injustice to the residents of Judea and Samaria, the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea area. These are citizens of the State of Israel in every way and the time has come for all the countries of the world to understand this without argument.”
Sovereignty is Cool
The youths’ activity continues and the youth’s initiatives to increase activities is growing. Last Shabbat the coordinators of Sovereignty Youth held a joint Leadership Shabbat in Kibbutz Sde Eliahu.
During that Shabbat, discussions and meetings were held on the plans for the movement’s future, expanding membership and increasing activity. New ideas were raised that will become, we hope and believe, new activities and additional steps.
During the Shabbat, coordinators of the movement parted from the outgoing head, Tehila Hadad and graduates of grade 12 who are leaving the movement’s regular activity in favor of studies of higher education, the military, national service, preparatory schools and yeshivas. At the same time, the baton of leadership was passed to the new coordinators.
We wish much success to the new coordinators and will be delighted to meet with those who are leaving the movement in appearances, events and conferences whenever possible. Good luck!
Continuing the Walk
There are a few places left for participants of the walk on Tisha B’Av eve.
As may be recalled, this year the traditional walk on the eve of Tisha b’Av will be held under the Corona limitations and will include no more than fifty people.
We obtained permission for the walk, in contrast to other events that have been cancelled, only because it is an event that is a tradition of many years.
As anyone who has participated in previous walks knows, the walk is an important demonstration of sovereignty in Jerusalem. A walk in this area, where unfortunately Jews are not present every day, when we proudly carry Israeli flags is an expression of Israeli sovereignty in all parts of Jerusalem on this particular night of remembrance of great destruction. The message is clear: the people of Israel have returned to their eternal capital! We cannot allow a situation in which, due to budgetary difficulties, this tradition of sovereignty will be cut off.
Since the expenses entailed in producing the walk remain almost the same as in previous years, (police barriers, ambulance, loudspeaker system, accompanying van, live stream on arutz 7 and more) we need your sponsorship to help us cover the expenses.
One can sponsor a walker or contribute any sum that suits you to cover expenses. All info can be found by clicking here
Thank you!
Connecting to Jewish History
Reminder: We are in the final days of registration for the Archaeological Camp at Oz veGaon sponsored by our dear friends from Americans for a Safe Israel.
Only the first 25 youths to register will be included in this first session of the Archaeological Camp, which will take place for four days, from the 13th of Av to the 16th of Av (August 3-6, 2020), led by a professional archaeologist.
Shabbat shalom,
Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar