Subscribe to Print Edition | Fri., March 28, 2008 Adar2 22, 5768 | | Israel Time: 09:50 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
  Back to Homepage
Rosner's Domain
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Advertising
Books Arts & Leisure Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 08:31 22/01/2007
The State of Judea
By Danny Rubinstein

In the 1980s, with the peace agreement with Egypt and the Israeli withdrawal from Sinai, Kach movement activist Michael Ben-Horin founded what he and his friends called "the State of Judea."

Their intention was symbolic: to indicate a possible alternative to Israeli rule in the West Bank, if and when Israel withdraws from the territories.

Ben-Horin took for himself the title of president of the State of Judea. Later he was one of the editors of the book Baruch Hagever, which eulogized Baruch Goldstein, the Tomb of the Patriarchs murderer, and was one of the heroes of the pulsa denura - the death curse - hounding of Yitzhak Rabin.
Advertisement
The hard core of settlers in Judea and Samaria, veterans of Gush Emunim, do not absolutely identify with Ben-Horin and his colleagues. They have also never declared the possibility of establishing a separate state in the West Bank along the lines of the State of Judea. However, in many respects, with the encouragement of the governments of Israel and under their auspices, a state entity with a character of its own has indeed been established in the West Bank.

At one time, there was a lot of talk about how rule over the Palestinian people is corrupting Israel. It was said it's impossible to maintain a democracy in an Israel that's ruling over a foreign people, and that the manifestations of violence and corruption in Israeli society will increase because of the denial of rights to the Palestinians.

It is difficult to measure these phenomena and to discover their source, but it can be stated rather clearly that this hasn't happened. Democracy in Israel is quite stable; the rule of law is intact, and there are ongoing efforts to combat violence and corruption. In other words, the society within the State of Israel is running itself more or less properly, with no connection to what is being done in the territories. That is to say, a separation has developed: The State of Israel is one thing and the West Bank, or the State of Judea, is something else.

Examples abound. In just the newspapers of this just last week there was a long series of articles about the settlers of Hebron and Tel Rumeida, the death of the little girl in Anata from Border Police fire, the 124 furloughs from prison granted to Ami Popper, who was sentenced to life for killing Palestinians, and the investigative report in Haaretz on the routine of orders, prohibitions and roadblocks that have effectively emptied the roads of the West Bank of Arab cars. In the Palestinian newspapers, every day there are dozens of reports of this sort, which show that the way of life in the State of Judea bears no resemblance to what is happening inside Israel.

Three bodies control the state beyond the Green Line: the Shin Bet security service and the Israeli military establishment; a limping Palestinian Authority; and the Jewish settlers' councils.

In the settlers' community, life is exemplary. There is a high level of solidarity and mutual aid. This is perhaps the only place in the land where drivers pick up hitchhikers. The settlers pay great attention to the details of life in their settlements, especially with regard to religious matters. They ask their rabbis whether there is a risk of slander in one act, or of theft in another, at least when it has to do with their colleagues. But if these things have to do with Arabs, it is a different story. Then they are insensitive and cruel. Every day, as they drive on the roads, the settlers see the distress of their neighbors from the villages suffering at the roadblocks and trailing along the tracks in the hills to scrape out a living, or to get to a field, to school or to a clinic. Their claim is that it is all the fault of terror. And when they are told that it is wrong to punish an entire population, they say anyone who feels pity for the cruel will end up being cruel to those who deserve pity.

A woman from Machsom Watch has told me that a few months ago she saw a setters' demonstration near the southern entrance to the Jewish town of Efrata in the Etzion Bloc. In the morning hours, the Jews of the area have difficult problems with transportation to Jerusalem. The Tunnels Road from the Etzion Bloc north is one big traffic jam. Heading the demonstrators was a local rabbi, who complained of "the damage to the sanctity of the freedom of movement." The settlers' freedom of movement, of course; they must suffer because on a part of this road a few Palestinian cars also travel and an IDF roadblock has to inspect them and delay traffic. In the State of Judea, it is permissible to hurt only Arabs. Do not disturb the Jews.
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Graphic footage
Israel posts clips on YouTube of Jerusalem yeshiva terror attack.
Remembering Gaza
Knesset approves bill to commemorate the Jewish settlements of Gush Katif.
  1.   The west bank. 08:51  |  M.Franks-Lhermann 22/01/07
  2.   have your cake and eat it 09:31  |  anything but zionist 22/01/07
  3.   Libel party has been the establishment of settlements in early 70 09:37  |  e.m 22/01/07
  4.   Monolithic Settler Entity 09:43  |  Stephen Connor 22/01/07
  5.   how to improve relations 09:47  |  eric 22/01/07
  6.   Germans with Kippa 09:49  |  KA 22/01/07
  7.   Roadblocks are to protect all Israelis 09:50  |  Ilan 22/01/07
  8.   Danny Rubinstein points to a very troubling phenomenon in the ... 09:51  |  Nadav 22/01/07
  9.   THE ARABS MURDERED ALL JEWS IN HEBRON 1929. MUST BE DEPORTED FROM 09:52  |  HOLYLAND)))))) 22/01/07
  10.   HOLYLAND)))))) 10:12  |  Stephen Connor 22/01/07
  11.   I will continue to write this 10:25  |  Marilyn 22/01/07
  12.   Danny Rubinstein,citizen of an EU-Pal state within Israel 10:39  |  Absolute Sweden 22/01/07
  13.   the lefts strawman: demonize the settlers!!!!!! 10:48  |  Chris 22/01/07
  14.   ALTERNATIVE PEACE PLAN 10:49  |  Yacov 22/01/07
  15.   #11 Marilyn: Keep writing 10:51  |  Yacov 22/01/07
  16.   #11 BECAUSE MARYLIN ISRAEL IS ITSELF ON THE MANDATE 10:53  |  paul harris 22/01/07
  17.   How about some action? 10:53  |  Tom Spender 22/01/07
  18.   Dear Danny Rubinstein 11:00  |  Veteran Reader 22/01/07
  19.   Racist ideology? 11:04  |  Ilan 22/01/07
  20.   Robenstein`s Facts 11:08  |  arab 22/01/07
  21.   Change the Hatikva 11:21  |  Henry 22/01/07
  22.   thats why you have a wall 12:27  |  cristina 22/01/07
  23.   Yacov... another solution 12:29  |  Gipsy Sun & Rainbow 22/01/07
  24.   THE SETTLERS CHRIS NO 13 WELL SAID THANK YOU 12:55  |  Mary 22/01/07
  25.   Cristina 13:03  |  Anat 22/01/07
  26.   We should all be grateful for the settlers 13:06  |  Yoram 22/01/07
  27.   Settler terrorists 14:02  |  Mitch Cohen 22/01/07
  28.   Indeed - An Entity with a Character of its Own 14:12  |  Tzfonit 22/01/07
  29.   Yoram # 26 14:17  |  Anat 22/01/07
  30.   The settlers want to establish a Jihad state within Israel 14:34  |  Omri 22/01/07
  31.   Where Does This Come From? 14:41  |  Yaakov Sullivan 22/01/07
  32.   Nonvisionary media said same things about gaza 15:12  |  B 22/01/07
  33.   Yoram #26 15:19  |  Tareq 22/01/07
  34.   Why am I the story? 15:29  |  Marilyn 22/01/07
  35.   response to #30 15:30  |  Samuel Frankel 22/01/07
  36.   A More Exact Term would have been appropriate Mr. Frankel #35 15:37  |  Yaakov Sullivan 22/01/07
  37.   No more discrimination in the West Bank 15:45  |  BP 22/01/07
  38.   Settlers Hurt our cause 15:53  |  JewishHeart 22/01/07
  39.   To all the settler-haters 15:55  |  JewishHeart 22/01/07
  40.   Jerusalem Syndrome 15:55  |  JewishHeart 22/01/07
  41.   BP, the very structure of the Israeli state will not allow this # 15:56  |  Yaakov Sullivan 22/01/07
  42.   Jewish support needed for Just cause 16:33  |  Strikes like thunder 22/01/07
  43.   I am shocked. Shocked! 16:57  |  Tosefta 22/01/07
  44.   Terror as an excuse for Apartheid 17:13  |  Tosefta 22/01/07
  45.   to #18 the occupation syndrome begot a caste system 17:33  |  russian jew POV 22/01/07
  46.   Hebron in l929 and now 17:39  |  Ellen Rosser 22/01/07
  47.   Marilyn # 34 Told By Whom? 17:39  |  Jeff Northridge 22/01/07
  48.   Tosefta 17:54  |  Nick Ferriman 22/01/07
  49.   #18 Veteran reader 18:08  |  Nick Ferriman 22/01/07
  50.   BP # 37 Impossible! 18:11  |  Jeff Northridge 22/01/07
  51.   Yoram - They give you way too much space 18:24  |  Stephen Connor 22/01/07
  52.   Encouragment of the settlements is a dictat of international law 18:26  |  Yoram 22/01/07
  53.   to Henry #21 - a question 18:27  |  zeev 22/01/07
  54.   Jewish Heart - I believe you 18:28  |  Stephen Connor 22/01/07
  55.   Ellen Rosser -- VERY RIGHTEOUS 18:33  |  Stephen Connor 22/01/07
  56.   The solution: make the `settlements` part of Israel 19:00  |  Paul Henzen 22/01/07
  57.   glimp of carters glimp of situation 19:14  |  fact 22/01/07
  58.   Nick Ferriman # 49 Distressing But Understandable 19:38  |  Jeff Northridge 22/01/07
  59.   Marylin 20:13  |  Cat 22/01/07
  60.   Paul Henzen # 56 Separation 21:01  |  Jeff Northridge 22/01/07
  61.   Zeev from Beer Sheva - Since you always have something wise to... 21:19  |  Asaf 22/01/07
  62.   to Anat #29 - news for you 21:25  |  zeev 22/01/07
  63.   Yacov in Ashkelon 21:36  |  Gbae1 22/01/07
  64.   You`re right Tareq - let`s observe Pal behaviour instead 21:47  |  Moises 22/01/07
  65.   Yoram, Read UNSCR 446,452 & 452 And 21:54  |  A Bethlehemite 22/01/07
  66.   Bracha /Tzfonit 22:04  |  Gbae1 22/01/07
  67.   to Cat # 59 What a law Jesus broke (not to mention Buddah)? 22:04  |  a dialectician 22/01/07
  68.   Before Oslo or - who is really to blame 22:15  |  Zev 22/01/07
  69.   44. Tosefta: Terror an excuse? 22:27  |  KUTW 22/01/07
  70.   Wake up Zev #68 22:40  |  Tooth Fairy 22/01/07
  71.   Jeff Northridge 22:40  |  Gabe1 22/01/07
  72.