We came to Samaria to reclaim our ancient heritage and settle the land that G-d gave to us, the land that G-d promised we would one day restore and rebuild. But we didn’t come seeking war. We came in peace, eager to get to know our Arab neighbors. We respected their property rights and only sought to settle in the areas that had not been settled before — and there was plenty of land to go around.
The thunderous applause I received from the audience sent a clear message to the Members of Knesset, who themselves are very supportive of Judea and Samaria, that you have their back. That they have strong international support for their stand on Biblical Israel. MK Rabbi Yehuda Glick stressed, Israel should be the focus of the world, a place where everyone will recognize G-d and come to worship Him in Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount. But what was probably most special about the event was how nearly everyone there, Jew, Christian and MK, expressed their ultimate gratitude to G-d for the miracles that we are witnessing in our day.
A person who takes a gun or explosives or a knife and seeks out victims whom he doesn’t know, who have not harmed him in any way, who do not threaten his safety and security, and who murders those people in cold blood — this is a horrific crime that has no place in human society. This is murder and there can be no understanding and no acceptance of this act.
This is what Israel is all about. We have come from the four corners of the earth to build one nation, one country. Our enemies say the Jews should go back to Poland. But we are not from Poland, nor are we from the United States nor from Yemen. We are from the Land of Israel.
I see now with my own children, that news is very much a part of our lives. They live the news. When the government was threatening to give away Gush Katif, my daughters LIVED the news, making their way to a community in Gaza, being some of the last people to be pulled from the synagogue as the army took over. Maybe the news is such a part of us because Israel is ours. Maybe it’s because we’re so small and vulnerable. Maybe it’s because we care so much.
A mother of one of the children just wanted to share that when she asked her son “But WHY WHY? did they come and Why did they bring you gifts??” her sons response was “JUST BECAUSE THEY LOVE US MOM!” My heart melted, it is the truth.
August 1, 2017 By: Sondra Baras Today is the 9th of Av, the day according to the Hebrew calendar that commemorates the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem: Solomon’s Temple and Herod’s Temple (which was a rebuilt version of the earlier Temple of Ezra and Nehemiah). For centuries, this date marked the terrible fate that … Read more
The city of Shechem is first mentioned in Genesis 12:6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land. This is the first place where Abraham enters the promised land and this is the first time that Abraham hears God say “this” is the land that I promised to show you.
In Karnei Shomron everyone gathered outside the Community Center, dressed festively in blue and white, the colors of our dear flag. Standing under the night stars, the ceremony began.
We owe our lives to these people. We owe our freedom, our independence, the miracle of our existence, to these young people who loved their land and their people and who were killed in the prime of their life.