We are happy to present you with our Sovereignty bulletin #64, sent to members and supporters of our Sovereignty Movement. You are invited to read, get updated, send us your comments and join:
Dear Friends,
Greetings.
As expected, with such a complex government vis-à-vis such a complex opposition, mixed with the words of congratulation and praise there are also warnings and cautions, but we will begin with words of congratulations to the 11th president of the state, Yitzhak Herzog, on his inauguration.
We wish for the new president that he will have a term of cohesion and unifying the entire people, Right and Left, those who keep the commandments and those who do not, immigrants and citizens of long-standing, people of the center and those of the periphery, young and old, in implementing the miracle that we are all part of, the miracle of the ingathering of the exiles, revival, sovereignty and Israel’s redemption in its Land.
We wish for a term where the president will express the spirit of the People of Israel and will serve as a willing ear for the hardships, hopes and longings of the people that lives in Zion and those who are still in the diaspora.
The pressures are mounting
Next month, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is expected to visit the White House by the invitation of the American President, Joe Biden. According to experts, this visit is expected to be the opening shot in a series of American pressures for negotiations with the PA on the path of establishing a Palestinian state in the heart of the Land of Israel.
The Prime Minister is expected to make clear to the American president the political complexity of his government and the implications of deciding to leave political matters on hold, but it is very doubtful that his words will be received willingly. The American administration will use all of its leverage to try to chalk up diplomatic points in Biden’s world view, the world view of two states. Here is where we must activate public activity and vigorous hasbara.
We, as a movement, and as individuals as well, must stand guard, to recognize when American pressure is being exerted and warn of weak points in the government and the MKs’ and ministers’ attempt to undermine the Prime Minister behind his back. We can and will do this by having meetings with members of Knesset and ministers and by appealing to them, with articles, posts and hasbara activities in the street, with publications and social media.
It will not be easy, but for Zion we will not be silent, and for Jerusalem we will not be mute.
Standing up to pressure- first test
We note with praise, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s resistance to the pressure from the White House to postpone the destruction of the house of the terrorist that murdered Yehuda Guetta hy”d.
We hope that the decision that was made with the cooperation of PM Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz represents the first harbinger proving their ability to stand up to future American pressures. It seems that the Prime Minister and his cabinet will need resolve and assertiveness dealing with the Biden administration and its demands.
American erosion of sovereignty
Here, we state our agreement with the caution issued by our friend, author and publicist Caroline Glick, regarding the American erosion of Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem.
According to sources in Washington, the Administration is preparing to establish an American consulate for Palestinians in Jerusalem. Although the previous administration and its emissary in Israel, Ambassador David Friedman, subordinated all of the functions of the consulate to the embassy in Jerusalem, in order not circumvent the American legal restriction, the Biden administration is expected to turn the American building next to Sha’ar Shechem, which today serves as a cultural center for the PA Arabs, into a consulate.
The purpose of the consulate will be to undermine Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem and take another step toward establishing a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, which is the vision of the American president and the senior officials in his government. The establishment of this consulate would constitute blatant disregard for Israel’s sovereignty over its capital.
Here too, we must be vigilant and issue warnings, even if there are those among the Israeli elite who wish to make the process seem attractive, obscure its importance and present the things as local and lacking political impact. We must bear in mind that behind these trends are the political constraints and concerns stemming from a government based on a very dubious combination of Right, radical Left and Arabs.
The new Israeli government is reliant on anti-Zionist Arab members of Knesset, which not only has implications in principle of harming the essential Israeli sovereignty in the Land of Israel, there are practical, political and diplomatic implications, about which we will issue cautions and warnings.
For those who still have not seen Caroline Glick’s lecture at Oz veGaon 2 weeks ago:
Walking with you, thanks to you
These days our movement is working on the organizing of the Tisha b’Av eve walk around the walls, as we have done every year for the past 26 years. The recent many events that we have organized and led have left us with empty coffers, but we are sure and confident that with the help of your donations, dear friends and supporters, we will be equal to this task and we will hold the walk this year as well, without falling into debt.
We must admit that because of the financial difficulty, we have thought, that perhaps this year we would give up the tradition, but the series of events in recent weeks, Arab riots in the mixed cities with the name of Jerusalem on the lips of the rioters, the threats from the Arab world, Iran, Erdogan, Aman and others, to harm, in any way possible, Israel’s sovereignty in Jerusalem, all of these have led us to the conclusion that despite the financial difficulty, we would set out together with you on the path and we will meet the challenge of this extremely important task to the future of Jerusalem and the bond between the People of Israel and the city.
We published our call for support and donations in the media and social networks, and you indeed have mobilized yourselves to help us, and we are very grateful for this, but we still have not raised half of the necessary amount to produce a minimal event, so we are asking here too, for anyone to whom Jerusalem is dear to them, everyone whose soul is tied to our eternal capital and desire to see our hold and our sovereignty over it expanding and strengthening, to act and get others to act, to make donations, large or small, for the event, which is so very important.
It is important to note that the Jerusalem Police has approved the walk in its customary path without any changes, limitations or reservations.
To make a donation for the production of the walk, click here
For an extensive article on the walk and its importance, click here
Fibers of sovereignty
We thank Minister of Communications Yoaz Hendel for deploying high-speed internet in Judea and Samaria, the first step of which was done this week in the town of Nerya, in Binyamin and will proceed to the rest of the towns from the perspective that Judea and Samaria are an integral part of the State of Israel and the residents of Judea and Samaria are citizens with full rights, like all other citizens of Israel.
This important step will strengthen the employment and services in the towns of Judea and Samaria, but beyond the practical aspect, it makes an important statement of principle regarding Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
At the ceremony held in Nerya, Minister Hendel said: “There is no difference between the residents of Nerya and the residents of Petza’el, in the Jordan Valley, Gan Shmuel, Katsrin or Ra’anana. No more and no less. Because fiber-optics must arrive - and they will arrive – to every place in the country. This is elementary infrastructure in our times, just like electricity and water. This is de facto sovereignty, in deeds. High-speed internet, which allows a programmer or graphic designer to work from home, remote medicine and distance learning. Technology that shrinks distances, brings the periphery closer to the center, and opens before us possibilities that we never knew before. So, we must make sure that these fiber-optics come to every place, priced competitively and accessibly”.
Minister Hendel is right and we praise him for his words and his action, however, we will continue to demand the application of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria in the legal-political-declaratory aspect as well.
The Greater Jerusalem seminar gets underway
The youth seminar begins on Sunday, and dozens of youths from all parts of the Land have registered. During this exciting in-depth learning seminar, we will deal extensively with matters of Jerusalem and its centrality, we will hear about the promotion of the Greater Jerusalem plan and about how Israel deals with those who seek to harm her sovereignty in the city.
The youth is resolute, the youth is determined, the youth is dedicated, the youth is strong and healthy in spirit, and together with you, we are doing all we can in order to strengthen their hands and their national consciousness or the future when this youth will blossom into the future leaders of Israel.
Tisha Be’Av morning in Oz VeGaon
Join us for a fascinating morning of shiurim on Tisha beAv in Oz veGaon
Past & Future of Jerusalem
Sunday, Tisha Be’Av, 18.7.21
Open to all! (who are vaccinated or recovered).
10:00-10:45 Rav Yitzchak Levy, Lecturer of Tanach and Land of Israel Studies
“What is the destruction and how can we hasten the re-building?”
11:00-11:45 Yehuda Etzion, educator, author and Har HaBayit activist
“Build Your Temple as in the beginning” – Jerusalem rebuilt – the Vision (with a slide presentation)
12:00-12;45 Maor Tzemach, Chairman of “Lach Yerushalayim”
“Relationship of international forces in Jerusalem”
Wishing you a good and consoling month,
Shabbat shalom,
Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar