The 90`s

The Jews in Judea are our brothers

Note: Written by Howard Barbanel, Published Week of December 26-January 3, 1993

Ron Nachman is man who is very concerned about discrimination - discrimination against Jews - most particularly against Jews living in Judea and Samaria.  Nachman has a stake in all this; after all he's the mayor of Ariel, a town of 12,000 midway between Tel Aviv and the Jordan River and one of the only members of the Knesset from the territories.

Ron Nachman is ubiquitous in the U.S - he's omnipresent, stalking corporate boardrooms, synagogues, living rooms and anywhere he can get a minyan of people to listen to his message.  His message is blunt, to-the-point and minces words. He is a man with a mission.

Nachman and I had the chance to chat the other day and he was effervescent as ever.  "It's interesting," Nachman opines, "that when Kanhane was calling for the total removal of Arabs from the territories he was called a racist.  When people like Beilin, Sarid and Aloni call for dismembering the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and call for our removal to Tel Aviv, they're called liberals and peace-makers.  I fail to see the difference between the Kahane position and the left-wing's, both call for overt evacuation and ethnic cleansing." 

"You may be aware," Nachman continues, "that the Rabin government has been systematically discriminating against the Jewish communities in the territories since they assumed office - making our lives difficult and canceling programs and curtailing services.  I recently sued the government in the Supreme Court and won. The court ruled that existing Law of Development Town, enacted by the prior Knesset supersedes indiscriminate government regulations that strip towns such as Ariel from government services and benefits.  The government is trying to repeal the law, but so far they’ve lost the vote in committee."

Nachman asserts that "if we're to have a society built on law and equality" then "the law must be applied equally, everywehre in Israel and to all Jews, not only for Jews who happen to agree with the current government's ideology."  Mayor Nachman becomes equally outraged when the subject of Jewish philanthropy comes up. He's really disturbed that UJA and JNF funds are not spent on Jews living in the territories. "UJA and the Jewish Agency aid Jews in Uzbenkistan, Europe, Latin America and the U.S.  They will help any Jew in need anywhere in the world except for some Jews living in the Land of Israel. They even help Israeli Arabs. I demand that the Jewish Agency and UJA stop boycotting our children and adopt us as they have the Arabs who live in the village of Ajamy outside of Tel Aviv."

Some of these groups say they don't want to engage in politics and don’t want to endanger their tax-exempt status, but Nachman rightly contends that by boycotting the Jews of Judea and Samaria these groups are in fact playing politics.  Further, the IRS has stated in writing that funds earmarked for social welfare purposes in the territories are fully protected under IRS codes.

As for the Isaeli government, Nachman can't understand that if Israel can talk with its harshest enemies - the PLO - and shake hands with Arafat, how that government is more concerned with raising $2 billion for the PLO than in schools, hospitals and basic services for 130,000 of its own citizens living in the Land of Israel.  "The Arabs are your cousins," Nachman says to American Jews and the Israeli government, "but you are our brothers and you should always take care of your brothers first."

Nachman sits on the Knesset's Finance Committee and the Legislation Committee.  In that capacity, he's had opportunities to question top government people about the PLO Peace Agreement.  He says that the highest people in the government are clueless as to what man of the specifics of the deal are, haven't the foggiest notion of how to deal with possible contingencies such as Arafat's declaring an independent state in Jericho or how it will contend with Arafat's rumored plans to enlarge the Palestinian Police Force from 15,000 to 30,000 men.  "We only have 20,000 police for 5 million Israelis. Why does the PLO need 30,000 for 1.5 million people? This is not a police force, this is an army." Army Chief-of-Staff Ehud Barak, in a recent interview in Yediot Aharonot said that he has no solutions to the security problems and can't provide an absolute defense for the residents in the territories. Barak states that he was not consulted when the Rabin-Arafat accord was hammered out and neither was the Minister of Police.  Barak said what's going on is like shooting a bullet at wall and then, afterward, drawing a circle around it for a target. 

Finally, Nachman is full of dread and foreboding.  He predicts Sabra and Shatilla type massacre of Jews by Arabs like the 1929 pogrom that emptied that city of Jews for the first time in millennia.  Nachman contends that if the government and military have no concrete security plans, massacres of Jews can be a very real possibility down the road.  "Israel right now is the only party making concessions. The PLO has conceded nothing. There has been no easing of the Arab boycott. No Arab state has recognized Israel.   There is no change in the PLO covenant calling for Israel's destruction and no cutrailment or condemnation of terrorism against Jewish civilians." 

Nachman concludes by saying he "wants peace - every Jew wants peace - but what I want is peace with security first and I want equal treatment for Jews everywhere in Eretz Yisrael by both the Israeli government and by Jewish philanthropic organizations."