Rabbi Yuval Cherlo
צילום: שאול גולן
Resolving the Hebron question
We must safeguard Hebron, and our country
The Jews of Hebron are correct. The city's peddler's market is indeed Jewish property, stolen during the 1929 pogrom and the return of Jewish Hebronites to this property is entirely justified.
This fact is not open to debate, and those who value the rule of law cannot escape this basic fact. Even they do not reject this principle.
They speak about process, not about the essential substance of rights. The Arabs have no right to the peddler's market in Hebron, and historical justice requires the State of Israel to allow Jews to make their homes on the site. Anyone seeking justice cannot deny this, even if the facts stand in opposition to his political leanings.
Those seeking justice must examine the facts, and must demand justice for the righteous and historic justice for the murderers.
How can we explain the fact that the Israeli public refuses to listen to this justified claim of the Hebron Jewish community? The reason is two-fold.
First, the Israeli public has no interest in discussing anything other than peace and quiet. This becomes clear every time an injustice is committed against Jews or Arabs. We cannot find the sensitivity to shout out and to stand up against unjust policies.
Secondly, several people trying to support the justified right of Jews to live in Hebron presented their cause to their political opponents on a silver platter.
The struggle for this justified right is a spillover from an entirely different fight – about the legitimacy of authority.
Those who fought the IDF and police did more than commit the sin of violence. Had they only used violence against security forces, it would have been serious enough, and constituted yet one more sign of the breakdown of rules in Israel.
No one has the right to harm law abiding citizens in the State of Israel. However, the rhetoric and some of the ways the struggle was conducted carried a far more serious message – disengagement from the State of Israel and from the way this country is run, in favor of anarchy, a "State of Judea" and other absurd ideas.
The mistake made during the Gaza disengagement has appeared once again: Fighting security forces instead of fighting for justice in the public, political and judicial spheres.
Nor do attempts to whitewash the whole incident by saying the rioters were not residents of Hebron go down too well.
Government fanning the flames
On the other hand, the government is using the behavior of the protesters to push forward an unjust policy: Dismantling the Jewish community of Hebron. Not only that, but they also poured additional oil on the fire, and the bonfire is burning bright.
So what can be done? We can renew mutual trust, but this will be very difficult. Hebron residents must declare unequivocally that they accept the rule of law, and that they have no intention of acting outside the legal framework.
On the other hand, the government of Israel must unambiguously clarify its program to ensure Hebron residents will continue to enjoy their legal rights.
Such statements can create dialogue that could sprout appropriate arrangements for the long-term.
I hope the government was not inspired to provoke a fight with the Hebron settlers out of a belief that such a clash would benefit the Kadima Party politically.
In addition, I believe the leaders of this country have ignored the effects of disengagement on the country's civilian and social power in the long term.
The irresponsible behavior of some supporters of the Jewish residents of Hebron does not absolve the government of this responsibility.
Therefore, in my opinion, the government's job is to find a way to prevent future clashes, out of a responsibility to the nation and in order to protect the delicate patchwork that is the Jewish people, without harming the rule of law and proper government, with unequivocal rejection on the part of Hebron supporters of violence and inappropriate protest methods.
As any expert knows, where there is a will – there is a way.
