Q&A: Jewish Settlement in Judea and Samaria
Jewish Settlement in Judea and Samaria
Question
Hello Rabbi, in your opinion is there value in living in communities in Judea and Samaria and in strengthening the Israeli and Jewish hold there? (I’m obviously asking about the established communities, not about the practices of the hilltop youth.)
Answer
I haven’t looked into it in depth. As I understand it, we need to decide on our own partition policy and settle the part that will remain ours. No agreements and no nonsense. And from that point on, enforce sovereignty with a firm hand, both on the Jews and on the Arabs, internally and externally.
Discussion on Answer
I’m not sure. Because Israel’s governments throughout the generations have had no policy on the matter, you’re putting your life and property at serious risk. By one decision or another they could evacuate you. What’s more, when there’s no policy, then the choice of which community to live in could fall on one that won’t be chosen to remain ours, and then you both put your property at risk and also interfere with the political arrangement, if and when there is one. If there were a policy, you could choose to live in a community designated to be in our part, and that would certainly have value.
Seemingly, wherever people live, they increase the chances that it will remain ours. After all, the future status of the territory depends very strongly on the size of the settlement in each place, and therefore there is value in settling anywhere (of course a single family has no influence, but as in the examples you gave about paying taxes and voting in elections, we should do what we would want everyone to do).
Interesting, but in your opinion is there any value in choosing to live in a community in Samaria, for example?