We are privileged that the great spirit of Rav Gideon Perl, ztz”l, led, guided and will continue to lead toward the redemption of the lands of Gush Etzion.
The sudden parting from Rav Gideon Perl, ztz”l, leader and spiritual guide, pioneer in spirit and in deed, is difficult for us. We began working with the Rav immediately after the expulsion from Gush Katif. We returned from the sandy soil, broken and shattered after endless demonstrations, infiltrations into Gush Katif and struggles on the rooftops; the State of Israel succeeded to defeat the best of her sons who remained devoted nationalists.
Since the beginning of the renewed settlement enterprise after the Six Day War, we "mitnachalim" (falsely translated as "settlers" but really meaning "inheritors" (what a nice name), have been living with a blessed tension between the Zionist commandment and the state’s considerations, which do not always overlap, since “What you see from there is not what you see from here”, because “It’s not the right time”, because “we need a consensus” and “we must consider the Americans”, etc. but the mountain people are tough, and immediately after we returned to our homes from the turmoil of the expulsion and the uprooting, we gathered for long meetings and discussions in depth. The question that we focused on was how we could continue the song of the settlement enterprise, to lift the spirit and not fall into despair.
In those days, the Rodan family from Elazar began building on the grounds of Netzer, one of the pastoral hills between Alon Shvut and Eleazar. Members of the family and other activists from the area who came to their aid, built a house on the top of the hill, with the understanding that if we wanted to preserve the grounds, it was our obligation to go beyond the borders of the communities.
We joined them. The structure that the Rodan family built was destroyed by the authorities no less than eight times, like the number of ascents to Elon Moreh. It seems that the number eight has something new, supernatural, that arouses more resolve and determination.
The Arabs had and still have an orderly plan as to how to not allow Jewish contiguity of Jewish settlement. The farmer Uri Palsi, one of the activists from the Valley, suggested changing from building the house to planting trees, which would allow a much more significant spread over a much wider area.
This is where Rav Gideon Perl, zt”l comes into the picture. We held endless meetings in his house together with the Rodan, Wolfstahl, Ginzburg and other families on the question of how to plant trees not as a protest, but as an eternal hold on the land, thus redeeming state lands and survey lands in the area.
Under the leadership of Rav Gideon, we acted according to accurate maps, making sure not to touch privately-owned land. Rav Gideon was not content with just meetings, he came himself to most of the activities. The strategy was that the number of people constantly present was the determining factor. Every Friday there were lectures on the plots of earth, in the pouring rain of a Gush Etzion winter and the terrible heat of summer. There was a continual presence. Gush Etzion Council, headed in those days by Shaul Goldstein, was very supportive, as were his successors, Davidi Perl, Moshe Savil and Shlomo Ne’eman, along with the council’s lands supervisors and other dedicated activists. We all worked under the umbrella of Rav Gideon, who was like a torch, leading before the camp and as a shepherd gathering his sheep.
Eventually, on some of the extensive lands that we were holding under the leadership of Rav Gideon, the neighborhood for the uprooted families from Nativ Ha’avot was built.
The Rav’s advice and leadership were sound, but also resolute and ground-breaking. His remarks were always supremely arousing and encouraging, for ascension, for acting, and above all, for the internalization of our natural right to the entire Land of Israel. The Rav consistently and fearlessly inculcated within us, again and again, that we are the sovereign here, that this Land belongs to the People of Israel unequivocally. We are commanded to redeem it and settle it. He always spoke clearly and directly, not in hints.
And naturally, in those long meetings, arguments also arose, and the Rav took care not to dictate, but to use explanations and persuasion. A great number of activities ensued, Tu Beshvat, Yom Ha’atzma’ut, summer camp for the youth, plantings in the name in commemoration of the Ames family hy"d and in honor of Jonathan Pollard (may he have a long healthy life), the Fishberger Bat Mitzvah, the Sussia Yeshiva plantings, struggles against European anarchists, replanting during the night of what had been uprooted by Arabs during the day.
The Rav was available for us all hours of the day and night. The love of the Land of Israel burned within him, and this flame burned in his entire family and all the activists. He had a special kind of joy when he saw the youth taking part in joint activity. Thank G-d, today, the youth of Gush Etzion reinforce the plantings in Netzer and together with them, the amazing activists of Shomrei Hakarka’ot (Preserving the Lands), which preserve the lands of Gush Etzion, serve as a model for the preservation of all of Judea and Samaria. We are privileged that the great spirit of Rav Gideon Perl, ztz”l, led, guided and will continue to lead toward the redemption of the lands of Gush Etzion. Of these it is said, “The righteous, in their deaths, are as if alive”.
This article was originally published in the GushArba journal