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(Photo: General Ariel Sharon in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Credit: Abraham Ward, IDF archive / Piki Wiki.)
In 1994 elements in the Israeli government proposed removing the Jewish community of Hebron. In protest, Ariel Sharon, a Member of Knesset at the time and a future prime minister, wrote a strongly worded editorial supporting Hebron. Sharon was a decorated general and credited with dramatic victories in the 1973 Yom Kippur War and numerous other battles. The following are excerpts from an article entitled Hebron Isn't Yamit, printed in the Jerusalem Post on April 4, 1994.
* * *
It was with a heavy heart that I appealed last week to the citizens of Israel to oppose the evacuation of Jews from Hebron. Hebron is Jerusalem, not Yamit.
I called on Jews to stage a passive, non-violent popular resistance against the declared intentions of the government because the security and the rights of Jews everywhere in the Land of Israel will be undermined almost irreparably if the government goes ahead with its plans for Hebron.
If, despite the protests, the government implements its plan, it must know in advance that we shall return to Hebron.
Throughout most of my adult life I followed orders and issued them, as a soldier and commander in the IDF. That is why I understand the supreme importance of the duty to fulfill legal orders by which all soldiers and commanders are bound. This is so that the military system which protects us will be preserved.
If, despite the protests, the government implements its plan, it must know in advance that we shall return to Hebron.
Throughout most of my adult life I followed orders and issued them, as a soldier and commander in the IDF. That is why I understand the supreme importance of the duty to fulfill legal orders by which all soldiers and commanders are bound. This is so that the military system which protects us will be preserved.
At the same time... if the government uproots the Hebron Jews it will be uprooting a cornerstone of the IDF: to protect every Jew who has settled anywhere in the Land of Israel.
...every Jew must feel as if he himself is about to be exiled from Hebron. He must understand that if he does not rise to stop this, he may be uprooted from his home in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beersheba and any other place.
The moment the government raises the question of the fate of the settlers in Hebron as a bargaining chip with the Palestinian enemy, it is liable to cross the redline of protecting the majority of Jews in the Land of Israel.
Therefore Jews must exercise their democratic right to oppose being used as guinea pigs for the peace experiment the government entered when it signed the Oslo agreement.
Therefore Jews must exercise their democratic right to oppose being used as guinea pigs for the peace experiment the government entered when it signed the Oslo agreement.
Zionism came about first and foremost to bring us back to Jerusalem, Hebron, Shilo and Beit El. It is from these places that we came, it is about these places that we dreamt, it is to these places that we yearned and prayed for 2,000 years. Only if we return to them can we again be a free Jewish people.
...that is why every Jew must understand that at stake in Hebron is not the destiny of a few hundred Jews, but the fate of the whole Jewish community in the land of Israel.
Source notes:
In 1980 following the ambush at Beit Hadassah that killed six people and wounded 16, Ariel Sharon visited the site of the attack and praised the tenacity of the residents. During that visit he stated:
"they are living in very hard circumstances. I can compare them with the pioneers of the 20's, 30's, or 40's. I explained to them that we have to create a situation where Jews and Arabs can live together. The government will take all the necessary steps to bring law and order to this area."
The following video is from the Associated Press dated May 6, 1980.
In 1996, when was Minister of National Infrastructure, he visited Hebron and stated the following:
Those stones are from the Herodian period, some 2,000 years ago. What other people has such a monument?
The founders of the people all buried together in one common place thousands of years ago. Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah -- there is nothing like it anywhere in the world. All Jews should come here. Every Jewish child should visit here. Every tourist has to be brought here. The first place I would bring all foreign representatives visiting Israel would be right here. This is the source of our roots. "
To arrange a guided tour of Hebron contact us:
United States contact info:
http://www.hebronfund.org
1760 Ocean Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11230
718-677-6886
info@hebronfund.org
In Israel contact the offices of the Jewish Community of Hebron at:
http://en.hebron.org.il/
02-996-5333
office@hebron.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hebronofficial
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES:
* David Ben-Gurion: Hebron is Jerusalem's Sister
* Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook and Hebron
* The Rabbi from Hebron and the President of Yale
United States contact info:
http://www.hebronfund.org
1760 Ocean Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11230
718-677-6886
info@hebronfund.org
In Israel contact the offices of the Jewish Community of Hebron at:
http://en.hebron.org.il/
02-996-5333
office@hebron.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hebronofficial
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES:
* David Ben-Gurion: Hebron is Jerusalem's Sister
* Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook and Hebron
* The Rabbi from Hebron and the President of Yale