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Last update - 15:07 17/11/2009
U.S. politician wants American Jews to buy West Bank homes
By Raphael Ahren
Tags: Israel news 

An influential Jewish community leader and Democratic State Assemblyman from New York is currently heading a mission of about 50 Americans through the West Bank and East Jerusalem to promote home purchases in the area and to protest U.S. President Barack Obama's Middle East policy.

"Our goal is to send a clear message to Washington and President Obama that Jews will continue to live in Judea and Samaria and the ultimate commitment American Jews can make is to actually come and buy property in these areas as this will ensure these communities" security and growth," said Dov Hikind, 59, who has been representing Brooklyn's 48th district since 1983.
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"People buy properties in different places, and I can't think of any reason why people dedicated to the land of Israel shouldn't own something here, whether they will use it or use it as an opportunity for young families to live in that particular home," the politician told Haaretz yesterday in Elon Moreh, an Israeli settlement in the Samarian Hills.

While no one has committed to a purchase yet, the visitors have voiced serious interest, according to Hikind. He himself "absolutely" intendes to buy a home in Nof Zion, a new Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem. The finale of Hikind's four-day mission is a cornerstone laying in Nof Zion Wednesday afternoon.

"When there will be a real peace process, the fact that Jews live in certain areas will be dealt with at the negotiating table," Hikind said when asked whether Jews buying homes in areas designated for a future Palestinian state could be an obstacle to peace. 'I'm for peace," Hikind continued. "The issue is: Can there be natural expansion, can families grow, are they allowed to build toilets?"

Hikind dismisses the argument that American buyers can hardly be called natural expansion. "We're Jews and we care. I've always wanted to own something in Israel; it's been a dream of mine and of many Jews," he said. "For now, if a Jews wants to buy something in the Land of Israel there shouldn't be anything that says you can't buy in a particular area because Jews should not live there because that area has to be segregated."

One of the few Democrats who opposed Obama even before he was elected, Hikind says the U.S. president's policy of demanding a total settlement freeze caused the current stalemate in regional peace talks.

"President Obama actually has put a stop to whatever peace process existed, to any kind of dialogue between the Palestinian Authority and the prime minister of Israel, because Mahmoud Abbas's new position is what Obama said: there can be absolutely no construction, period," Hikind said. While Israel was willing to resume talks, Palestinians refuse to return to the negotiating table before Israel agrees to a complete freeze, he added. "They're just taking the position the president had, which is ridiculous and outrageous."

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    IN PICTURES / Did Prime Minster Netanyahu risk his life for a photo op?
      1.   here`s a US Political Figure Who 03:43  |  Ram 17/11/09
      2.   Well, that`s a whole lotta waffle, isn`t it? 04:24  |  Johnboy 17/11/09
      3.   now tell me 04:34  |  Pal 17/11/09
      4.   Er....Someone tell the guy It`s ILLEGAL 05:27  |  CJ 17/11/09
      5.   Jews have to be the most dense people 06:33  |  sam 17/11/09
      6.   Not all Jews follow the Israeli Agenda. 06:40  |  English Jew 17/11/09
      7.   Not all Jews follow the Israeli Agenda. 06:49  |  English Jew 17/11/09
      8.   Wow. A Democrat who gets it. He is one of the few good guys there 09:06  |  Roni 17/11/09
      9.   Westbank homes 09:52  |  Raphael 17/11/09
      10.   to #1 CJ - it`s not illegal 10:11  |  chevy 17/11/09
      11.   Sounds like another version of El Bareidi-Ahmadinegad collusion 10:19  |  Esther 17/11/09
      12.   Bridging the Toilet Gap 10:21  |  Mark of Lewiston 17/11/09
      13.   Paying for land 10:57  |  Zev 17/11/09
      14.   to Sam and English jew 10:57  |  Bronia 17/11/09
      15.   Roll on the one state solution 10:58  |  Miggy 17/11/09
      16.   Nationalize that property 12:16  |  Tarik 17/11/09
      17.   West Bank Homes 12:19  |  M.K. 17/11/09
      18.   Chevy 12:26  |  Gianni 17/11/09
      19.   Building on the West Bank 12:41  |  Steve a 17/11/09
      20.   reply to no. 10 13:20  |  rebecca 17/11/09
      21.   M.K. 13:59  |  Jay 17/11/09
      22.   How much did that cost AIPAC 14:02  |  Chris Linthwaite 17/11/09
      23.   Re: #21 jAY 14:23  |  Apa 17/11/09
      24.   observation 15:09  |  potobac 17/11/09
      25.   Let Arabs Tour Israel Selecting Home Sites 15:21  |  Vladek 17/11/09
      26.   It IS ridiculous! 15:52  |  Cheri (Ahava) Lexvol 17/11/09
      27.   Ultimate Commitment 16:02  |  Miriam 17/11/09
      28.   Why is that, Cheri from Illinois? 16:38  |  r cummings 17/11/09
      29.   This guy sounds like a moron! 16:57  |  Samuel 17/11/09
      30.   chevy - I have acually checked the actual facts. 17:00  |  CJ 17/11/09
      31.   Zev - How much did Israel pay? 17:06  |  CJ 17/11/09
      32.   Cheri (Ahava) Lexvol - It`s ridiculous to uphold the law? 17:15  |  CJ 17/11/09
      33.   1ram-and why don`t you give your home back to the native American 17:25  |  just wondering 17/11/09
      34.   U.S. politician wants American Jews to buy West Bank homes 17:54  |  sanoussi bah 17/11/09
      35.   Is Dov Hikind running for Knesset 19:57  |  Czarkazem13 17/11/09
      36.   International Law 21:00  |  Bazmann 17/11/09
      37.   The actual facts 21:36  |  Joe 17/11/09
      38.   Dov Hikind needs to be "Manifest Destiny`ed" ouf of his home 22:19  |  binny 17/11/09
      39.   Great Idea Dov Hikind is a great friend to Israel 22:32  |  Chaim Ben Kahan 17/11/09
      40.   Of course for all those pounding the table agains Hikind 00:14  |  Jacob Blues 18/11/09
      41.   #32 cj and half a loaf is better than a whole 00:15  |  vhardman 18/11/09
      42.   Mr. Hikind 01:01  |  sh 18/11/09
      43.   State Department Warning 01:38  |  Legal Eagle 18/11/09
      44.   Extremist Working to Cement Apartheid 03:22  |  censored 18/11/09
      45.   Illegal Settleents 03:30  |  Paul J. 18/11/09
      46.   American Jews and the West Bank etc 04:05  |  Edgar 18/11/09
      47.   CJ Arabs kill brothers who sell.Your type of legality??? 05:50  |  PETER SM 18/11/09
      48.   JOE Wrong! Arab coalition kicked out UN peacekeepers 05:55  |  PETER SM 18/11/09
      49.   JOE Wrong! Arab coalition kicked out UN peacekeepers 05:55  |  PETER SM 18/11/09
      50.   building houses 06:11  |  canadian 18/11/09
      51.   Shameless 06:44  |  Disappointed Human 18/11/09
      52.   to #18 Gianni 06:53  |  Disappointed Human 18/11/09
      53.   Dov Hikind 07:19  |  Steve Beikirch 18/11/09
      54.   not all israeli`s follow the "israeli" agenda 11:18  |  lily 18/11/09
      55.   Yeshayahu Leibovich was 100% right! 12:58  |  Avi 18/11/09
      56.   Good news 18:03  |  fred shapiro 18/11/09
      57.   To Chaim (#37) 18:08  |  fred shapiro 18/11/09
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