No
Reason To Participate In This Sham
Interview
with Uri Ariel, president of the Beit Eil council,
and one of the heads of the Yesha council
By
Shai Gefen
This
week, Barak is preparing a critical withdrawal of over six percent
from the “territories” in Yesha. How will this be done?
The
withdrawal is supposed to take place in the south of Mt. Chevron
and in the Shomron. An additional area will be to the east of
Yerushalayim in the villages of Bitunia and Ovadia. This is one of
the most severe withdrawals in the Yehuda-Shomron area. It
endangers a number of settlements there.
I’m
not even talking any more about the withdrawal itself, which
regardless of its close proximity to existing settlements, is a
terrible thing. What’s even worse is a withdrawal being done
with nothing in exchange, just like that. Unfortunately, this has
become the norm these days. When Arafat threatens, instead of
dealing with him, we withdraw. Barak is constantly explaining how
he isn’t capitulating and he isn’t being blackmailed. But the
actions he is taking now are definitely a result of submission and
withdrawal on all fronts.
What
are the immediate ramifications the residents of those areas will
experience?
There
are areas in which the withdrawal will not directly affect the
future of the settlements. Then there are areas which will be
directly affected, such as the Bitunia alternate highway, which is
near Ramalla. This road, which will be given to the Palestinians,
is used by residents of Talmon, Dolav, Nachliel, and Choresh. They
[the settlements] are right on the road.
Sometimes
I try to get into Barak’s mindset in order to try and understand
the strategy behind the actions he takes, but I remain
unsuccessful. He is simply abandoning the security of our
citizens, resulting in terrible tragedies, chalila. How
does he have the guts to make these hasty moves? Does he think he
can gamble with the lives of citizens?
The
council of Yesha refused to meet with Barak regarding the
withdrawals. You even refused to look at the maps. Why?
After
the prime minister’s office closed the deal with Arafat, they
invited us to Yerushalayim in order to look at maps. If they had
called us before they came to an agreement about the area being
given away, and given us the opportunity to influence the outcome,
that would be one thing. But the sole purpose in our being invited
to the prime minister’s office was for show. Barak wanted to
make it seem as though even the Yesha council is a partner to the
process. We will not go along with this, and have no reason to
participate in this sham.
What
are you planning to do?
There
were demonstrations on a number of roads and the junctions to be
given to the Palestinian Authority. Residents of the area will
demonstrate outside the prime minister’s office asking him not
to go forward with a plan that will endanger their lives. In
addition, we are also taking the political route, so that we can
influence various parties not to participate in this process.
In
his defense, Barak claims that this withdrawal was signed at the
Wye Accords by Netanyahu of the Right.
When
the Wye Accords were being signed, Barak opposed them and said
that Netanyahu was compromising and receiving nothing in exchange.
What changed since then? Now Barak is doing exactly the same
thing. He capitulates without receiving anything in return.
The
biggest scandal of all is taking place here. The prime minister is
bartering away the lives of his citizens, and it’s all due to
fear of Arafat. This just doesn’t happen in any normal country!
What
about Yerushalayim?
There
is constant activity behind the scenes and the situation is quite
grim. I must point out the great public opposition that has helped
stop the withdrawal from Anata near Yerushalayim, but I don’t
advise anyone to take it easy at this point. They are constantly
devising new plans.
Do
you know more of what has been going on in connection to
Yerushalayim than what is generally known?
You
don’t need to seek out secret intelligence. You just have to
listen to what Efraim Sneh, Yossi Beilin, and Chaim Ramon say
about the future of Yerushalayim. They say quite clearly that Abu-Dis,
which is right near Yerushalyim, will be the center of the
Palestinian state.
They
are already talking about dividing Yerushalayim into sections.
Yes,
that is Teddy Kollek’s old plan to divide Yerushalyim into
quarters. That would mean not only giving Arafat Abu-Dis, but the
Old City too! Minister Shlomo ben Ami spoke about this explicitly,
and the assistant to the security minister even “bothered” to
explain it. They say everything explicitly.
Many
people thought that the withdrawals would take place in Yehuda and
Shomron, but now the residents of Yerushalmi neighborhoods such as
Reches Shuafat, Pisgat Ze’ev, and Neve Yaakov realize that the
problem has reached their doorstep. Is it too late for them?
Concessions
and withdrawals never end where originally planned. There is no
end to capitulation – it leads to the lowest possible point.
Nevertheless, I don’t think it’s too late. We must work and
with Hashem’s help, we will succeed.
We
are talking about Yerushalayim, but apparently Barak is busy on
all fronts: Yehuda-Shomron, Yerushalayim, and the Golan. What do
you say about that?
Barak
is trying to finish the political agreements, as he said, by
September. He’s constantly busy with this. Even on the quiet
days, it is not wise to assume that nothing is going on. Behind
the scenes things are constantly going on, in the Golan and Yesha
too. If Barak thinks it’s going to be quiet, boy is he ever
wrong.
For
now, it looks as though Barak has support. He has the religious
parties in his coalition, including the Yisrael B’aliya party.
These
parties have informed him that if he does something, they will
leave the coalition that day. Clearly, they are not fully behind
him when it comes to withdrawals. From a parliamentarian point of
view, Barak is in bad shape. I won’t say he cannot prevail, but
it would certainly be difficult for him. He himself said that this
coalition would last until the accords, and then he would need
another coalition.
Aren’t
you afraid that those parties will remain in the coalition despite
the return of territories?
I
cannot speak for the parties, but in my estimation, they cannot
remain in a coalition like this one, which is taking such a
dangerous course. In my opinion, when it comes to the test they
will abandon the coalition.
The
Yesha council began a campaign called “Uprooting the Settlements
Tears Apart the Nation.” Are you having an effect on public
opinion?
I
must say that there is a steady increase in the public’s
agreement with this slogan, an agreement which also comes from
those who do not support the Right. Baruch Hashem
we’re getting through. The more the campaign is publicized and
seen on the highways and cars, the more the consensus grows that
uprooting settlements is the red line that may not be crossed.
Have
you officially checked this out?
We
are constantly keeping our hands on the pulse, testing the
efficacy of the campaign with professional surveys. They show a
continual increase in the public’s agreement with the message
that we must not uproot settlements. Before we began the campaign,
we found no significant difference between those who believed that
uprooting settlements tears the nation apart and those who
didn’t. But today we find an interesting shift even among those
who support the withdrawal. Over 60% state that they consider
dismantling settlements an event that will rip the nation apart,
which they view as undesirable.
What
other activities is the Yesha council planning in the near future?
We
are planning a giant demonstration in Yerushalayim, but we
haven’t finalized anything yet. We will not allow Barak to rest
easily, considering what he’s been doing.
Some
people have the impression that the Yesha council has been acting
weakly in light of the circumstances.
The
Yesha council has been doing quite well, though obviously we can
always do more. I don’t deny that, though I think we have
certainly woken up now.
Is
the Yesha council in touch with the Golan settlements regarding
your joint battle?
We
are in contact, each time depending on what’s going on. We have
joint discussions and work together, and I hope that this will
lead to good results.
How
do you feel at this difficult time? Do you despair?
I
personally do not feel that way. I think we can make an
impact and that we must make an impact, even under the
circumstances. I don’t think we should despair. Baruch Hashem
we have seen that our activities make a difference, and many plans
in the works were foiled because of our protests. I don’t think
despair helps anything or anyone. I don’t feel this way, and
hope the same for others.
What’s
happening these days in Yesha as far as construction goes?
In
certain settlements there is construction going on. Then there are
others the Barak government is hindering, particularly those near
Yerushalayim such as Beitar, Maaleh Adumim, and Givat Ze’ev,
which clearly shows you Barak’s plans for Yerushalayim.
What’s
happening in your city, Beit Eil?
We
are expanding and growing, accepting and absorbing new families.
The changes aren’t monumental, but there is progress. The Maoz
Tzur neighborhood will be populated by forty families by Shavuos.
What
alternative is there, if somebody else gets into power – will it
be any better?
First
of all, we learned that there is the idea of sur mei’ra
(turn away from evil). Terrible things are being done, and we must
do all we can to stop it. We must stop the general sell-out of
Eretz Yisroel. We don’t think about the alternatives and the
political process. Barak’s course is destroying our security,
and we must do all we can to stop this.
What
message do you have for the public; how can they help?
We
must continue working without making major statements. We must
focus on action and not allow these “peace processes” to go
through.
In
the past, much was said about incitement in the Palestinian media.
Has this improved?
Do
you think they have become more Zionistic? Our problem is not with
the Arabs, but with the Jews. The Arabs are simply looking at us
and trying to follow our lead.
Are
we at the point of no return?
I
have no idea what will be or how it will work out. I can say that
just as in the Six-Day War, none of us knew that by war’s end,
Yerushalayim, the Kosel HaMaaravi and the Har
HaBayis would be ours, because it wasn’t in the plans,
but it happened. We have no way of knowing what will happen now. I
know that Sh’chem and other places aren’t ours anymore, and I
hope that tomorrow, in some way which I cannot begin to fathom,
they will revert back to us.
Are
you hinting at war?
It
doesn’t sound good, but there’s definitely a possibility of
war.
Do
you have anything to say to Chassidei Chabad?
It’s
no secret that Chabad was always the first when Jews were in
danger. This is the motto of a Chabad education. We have always
seen you in the forefront.
I
call upon my Lubavitcher friends and say: this is an eis tzara,
and Chabad must not sit with folded hands. We must all join the
battle to save Eretz Yisroel and the Jewish people. The Rebbe’s
opposition to withdrawals still rings in our ears, as well as his
call for protests. I would like to hear more from the Lubavitcher
Chassidim, and when this happens, there’s no question that the
situation will look different.