Orit Sturck
Leftist hypocrisy in Hebron
Op-ed: Hebron myths, leftist propaganda countered in wake of ‘dancing soldiers’ video
The radical leftist camp was all over the video showing IDF soldiers dancing in
Hebron as if it found a great treasure. The camp’s spokespeople quickly declared that the clip was filmed “on a major street in Hebron, or one that used to be major at least. Arab movement on the street is limited, school children go through metal detectors, and soldiers screen the adults.”
How terrible, thinks the average Israeli, who regularly goes through at least one metal detector or security guard at restaurants, movie theaters, or malls.
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The radical Left has been trying to convince us to put on its own distorted glasses. Through these glasses, history begins in 1967, Hebron is a “Palestinian town,” and every street we see must be “Shuhada Street,” the city’s central thoroughfare.
Yet the street chosen by the soldiers as a dance floor happened to be the one right above Hebron’s ancient Jewish cemetery. The 80th anniversary of the 1929 massacre was marked right below this street. From their grave, the 67 murder victims must recall the British soldiers who did nothing while the City of our Forefathers turned into a killing field – these victims must prefer the dancing IDF solders.
The street in the clip is known as “Tavger Road,” named after Professor Benzion Tavger, who in 1974 chose the restoration of the Hebron cemetery over a university position. “The cemetery was neglected, the tombstone shattered, with Arabs using them for construction,” Tavger said to explain his choice. The cemetery was desecrated and destroyed under the command of Jordanian soldiers, who controlled the city until they were replaced by our dancing soldiers.
Right below of the improvised dance floor also lie the graves of baby Shalhevet Pas, Mordechai Lapid, and his son Shalom, as well as dozens of others murdered in Hebron merely for being Jewish. The Arab murderers did not take into consideration the “peace” deals signed by their leaders, forcing the IDF to adopt a policy of separation between Jews and Arabs.
This separation is “equal” of course: The Jews are completely forbidden from traveling in 97% of the city, while the Arabs have been banned from 3% only, and they’re forced to undergo security “screening” just like any other Israeli.
Hebron is prospering
By the way, the call of the Muezzin against the backdrop of the dancing soldiers indicates that the clip was filmed at 4:30 am. This is why the street is empty, just like in Tel Aviv at this hour.
It would also be worthwhile to look up for a moment: The view one would see from the “dance floor” is the real downtown Hebron. The town is prospering with commerce flourishing and a construction boom. There is no construction freeze there. “They took me to see the market, which the whole city is proud of…city hall officials say there is no market that is more modern and efficient in the whole of Palestine, and not even in Jordan or Tel Aviv,” wrote Danny Rubinstein with great pleasure in one of the papers.
Of course, everything is happening under the Israeli “occupation” of the “brutal” soldiers we see dancing. Try comparing that to Gaza, where there are no Israeli soldiers, only Hamas troops.
The IDF “dance floor” is also a good vantage point on the half a million Jews who pour into Hebron every year. These are the people who convinced government ministers to include the Cave of the Patriarch as a Jewish heritage site. The area also offers a good view of restored Jewish neighborhoods that bring back Jewish life to the place where such life was brutally uprooted.
Yet all of the above is of no interest to the spokespeople of the radical Left. So dear leftists: Please don’t push your distorted glass onto our face. Let the soldiers dance a little. We prefer to see them dancing like they did in the video, rather than being beaten up like we saw in the videos from the Marmara.
Orit Struck heads the legal department in Hebron’s Jewish community and runs Judea and Samaria’s human rights organization
