Yesterday Kiryat Arba Councilman and Deputy Mayor, Yisrael Bromson, who is also the chairman of the Kiryat Arba Building and Development Committee, publicized a post claiming that the permits for 42 new housing units was a bluff.
Today I spoke with him to clarify the issue.
His explanation is quite simple. In short: A year ago Misrad HaShikun, that is the Ministry of Housing issued permits for 100 new housing units in Kiryat Arba. Bids were submitted and three different construction firms were awarded the contracts. One company for 42 units, another for 18 units and another for 42 units.
Each paid the initial down payment and construction was to begin.
However, one of the contractors for 42 units, for its own reasons, backed out. They paid a fine to the Ministry of Housing, which then had to request new bids for that contract.
In the mean time, they began work at the construction site to prepare the infrastructure necessary for the building.
However, for technical reasons, they never reissued the request for new bids for the last 42 units.
As can be viewed in my photos, work has begun in a large area in the Givat HaHarsina neighborhood, preparing the area for the new homes.
Bibi's declaration, after the murder of Hallal Yaffa Ariel last week, announcing "42 new housing units in Kiryat Arba" was simply a regurgitation of the bids still in wait for the units promised a year ago.
Bibi Building Bluff #???
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------It's been quite some time since I wrote two articles in two days, or even felt the need to. But there are some things you can't just keep quiet about.
Firstly, today's fatal terror attack on the Mark family is unnecessary proof of what I wrote yesterday, that is that the government has yet to take any real deterrent actions to prevent Arabs from killing Jews. The terrorist who perpetrated this deadly attack escaped, (for the time being) so we don't yet know where they are from.
But earlier this morning, a woman terrorist from Boni Nayim, tried to stab border police guarding at Ma'arat HaMachpela. This is the same village where yesterday's terrorist lived. So obviously, the measures utilized following the horrendous murder of Hallel Yaffa Ariel did nothing to deter Arabs from continuing to kill Jews.
But that's not the main point of this article.
My wife has a cousin who, who, many years ago, together with her husband, participated in the 'underground' working within Menachem Begin's Etezyl, to force the British out of pre-state Israel. They both remained very right-wing, over the years.
A few hours ago, prior to the terror killing of Mickey Mark and the critical wounding of his wife, she called my wife, as she is wont to do following terror attacks.
However, rather than comfort her, she viciously attacked her, demanding to know why the residents here don't take more security precautions.
Following the kidnapping and murder of the three youth, two years ago, she accused us of irresponsibility, allowing kids to hitchhike throughout Judea and Samaria.
Today she demanded to know why we don't lock our doors at all times, and take special precautions when opening doors.
Her basic thesis is that 'times have changed,' and we must be 'realistic.'
I'm thinking of being back in touch with her to ask if we should stop driving on roads in Judea and Samaria, or perhaps we must travel with military escorts, or ride in tanks, to prevent drive-by shooting attacks.
But then, what should be done on road 443 - a very important highway cutting across Israel to the central part of the country. The road, not all in Judea and Samaria is adjacent to the 'wall' separating Jews from Arab villages and cities. Numerous times, Arabs throw rocks and firebombs at cars on the road. A couple of years ago, Israeli security forces demanded that Israeli VIPs stop travelling on the road because of 'the danger'.
So what do we do? Close the road?
Our reality, it seems, is quite different from that of other people. Our goal is to live normal lives within the framework of where we live. Is it really more dangerous to live in Hebron than Tel Aviv or Jerusalem? I don't have stats, but unfortunately terror rears its ugly head throughout Israel.
And around the world. Should we stop going to airports after the events this week in Turkey. Or nightclubs, after Orlando? Or.....? The list goes on and on.
Kids in Yesha have hitched since the area was repopulated with Jews. Sure, they should take a good look at who else is in the car. But to stop, because of terrorists?! I drive all around and pick up hitchers in all sorts of places. How do I know they're not terrorists dressing up as Jews? I take a look at them too. But I take them. Because it's normal.
We don't lock our door during the day or in the evening. Most people in Hebron don't. When someone knocks, we automatically yell out 'Yes, come in.'
Because it's normal. We cannot allow terrorists to control our lives.
Back 15 years ago, during the 2nd intifada, aka the Oslo war, when terrorists where shooting at our apartments from all directions we refused to seal ourselves in with bulletproof windows. Some of us did utilized sandbags, which were removed when the shoot stopped. Because sandbags aren't permanent.
One of the key factors of our lives is the line we say in Israel's national anthem, HaTikva, the Hope. 'To be a free people, in our Land.'
We cannot be a free people in our land if we allow terror to determine how we live. This, as far as I'm concerned, is 'reality.' Whereby we determine how we live.
What upsets me the most about Ora's cousin's opinion is that had she adopted this 'reality' option back in the 1940s, the Brits would still be here and we would be sans the State of Israel. Begin, the Etzyl and other underground organizations broke the British. Whereby the Hagana preached a 'realistic approach' to dealing with the British occupation, the others saw and lived a different reality. And they were right and the Hagana was wrong. They pushed out Great Britain and brought about the vote for statehood in the UN. (Obviously the main force behind the founding of the State is Divine, from above, but He uses man as His instrument to achieve what He plans for us.)
Seeing reality as it really is, and not how we'd like it to look, is an instrumental feature of our future victory over our Arab enemies. We must know them for what they are, and not what we'd like them to be. That's why, as I wrote yesterday, deterrence must really hurt them, and not just be a sugar pill, allowing our 'leaders' to say, 'here, we did something.'
As well as building, building and building. It's good for us, and puts them in their place. They have declared war on us. If he don't fight back in kind, we are simply stupid.
We didn't come back to Israel to be stupid. We came back to live, and not die at the hands of those who hate us and wish to destroy us.
In the end, we will win. The only real question is, how long it will take. That's almost fully dependent on us.
 | David Wilder דוד וילדרExec Dir: Eretz.Org p:(+972) 52-429-5554 | p: US: +1-347-725-0325 | e:david@davi |