Dear Yesha. I am currently organizing a studytrip to Israel for a group of journalist interns from a major Danish newspaper. The object of the trip is to learn about how journalism is practiced in Israel and to gain some insight in the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Is this last regard, we'd like to visit some of the Israeli settlers in the West Bank. However, none of us have any experience in travelling in Israel or any contacts within the israeli society. Can you help us arrange a visit?
We'd be more than happy to arrange a visit which will enable you to meet with some of the residents of Yesha communities. Please send the dates you'd like to visit and the number of people in your group so that we can get started. One of the best ways to begin understanding all the issues you read about is to see the places and meet the people.
Is there a map of Yesha in English - especially the Southern Hevron Hills area? Reut
Believe it or not, The Yesha Council does not have such a map. About a year ago we received this request and searched high and low for a good English map of Yesha. We didn't find one. We looked into the possibility of hiring a company to create such a map but the price was prohibitive. Your questions has spurred us once again to do a search to see if, in the meantime, some enterprising person has undertaken the task. We're not optimistic. But if we find such a thing, we'll certainly publish the information. (If you find a good English map, we'd be happy to hear about it!)
How can The Yesha Council support Netanyahu after his speech about a demilitarized Palestinian State? Or
The Yesha Council's chairman, Dani Dayan, and CEO, Pinchas Vallerstein, both publicly denounced PM Netanyahu's idea of a "demilitarized" Palestinian state pointing out the inherent dangers of such an entity. They have also both gone on record as saying that The Yesha Council will try very hard to be supportive of Netanyahu's Right-wing government but not at any price. The freeze on building in Yesha communities is a crucial issue and one which has not been resolved yet. The Yesha Council lobbies daily in the knesset and without to make sure that it will be resolved favorably for Yesha. Should the decision be made to officially continue the freeze, The Yesha Council will take appropriate measures.
Why didn't The Yesha Council put up more of a fight against the disengagement? Rina
The Yesha Council made two critical decisions regarding the forms which their opposition to the expulsion of Jews frm their homes in Gush Katif and Northern Shomron would take. One was to go along with the residents' insistence that the struggle consist mainly of winning the hearts of the Israeli public and the other was to carry out every kind of opposition possible under the category of civil disobedience rather than violence. In addition, a major effort was made to (a) force a public referendum and (b) topple the government through knesset and cabinet resignations. Tragically, Right-wing MKs and cabinet members declined the second option. Once they decided to remain in the government, basically the disengagement was a fait accompli, unchangeable by grassroots protest.
Who makes the decisions at The Yesha Council? Boaz
The Yesha Council is a democratic organization with a plenum made up of representatives of every Jewish community in Yesha. This large plenum elects members to committees to research and discuss various issues and bring the information back for a general vote. In addition, the plenum elects a small board of directors, whose chairman is currently Dani Dayan from Maale Shomron, who make everyday decisions which arise as events unfold. The mayors of the various municipalities, city and regional, also sit on this smaller board as democratically elected representatives of their residents.
I am a Zionist practitioner of spiritual meditation. Is there a Yesha community for me? Shai
Yesha communities are extremely diversified. So much so, in fact, that, yes, there is a community for the Zionist practitioner of spiritual meditation. It's not too far from Shilo. Just down the hill from Kidah. In the Binyamin Region. Give Alon a call at the Amana office to make contact with them. 1-800-260-240 02-5322225
