TRAVELOGUE: MORE STOPS ALONG THE WAY AS CHIZUK MISSION CONCLUDES ON A HIGH NOTE | | AFSI CHIZUK MEETS AFSI YOUTH PROGRAM
IF NOT US Director, URI Pilichowski, joined us on the bus Monday morning to give us a sampling of what he does with the gap year students that he leads in AFSI's special youth program. To date, almost 1,000 students have participated and are more are eager to sign up.
Since his mission is arming students with correct information with which to counter the lies about Israel which its enemies promulgate, URI began by taking us to checkpoint Hizma. This supposed place of oppression of Arabs is one that is frequently cited. It was the perfect place to start. We witnessed Arab cars moving smoothly through the entry areas. Israel gives 100,000 permits to PA cars on a daily basis. We watched them cross through with the same degree of observation given to the Israeli cars that were passing through. As a matter of fact, our AFSI bus has been pulled over many times for a more thorough review, and we have been asked to produce our passports. So this repressive Arab checkpoint horror is a total myth. We were also shown that the so-called security WALL is just a fence, which the Arabs call an apartheid fence. It looked quite harmless, and seems to be effective since Israel hasn't suffered from bus bombings for years. Of course, other forms of terrorism continue on a daily basis. Most go unreported unless there is a killing.
We entered the E1 area which boasts hundreds of Bedouin Arab camps funded by the EU. We also saw the industrial zone where 5000 Jews and Arabs work together, receiving the same salaries and benefits for the same jobs. Closing the Soda Stream factory in Ma'aleh Adumim put 400 Arabs out of work.
Another myth that was shattered before our eyes was that Arabs live in hovels. We saw, as we have while driving throughout Israel, that palatial Arab homes proliferate. There may be some hovels, but beautiful Arab communities line the roads which are open to Arabs and Jews. While Arabs can travel freely through the vast majority of Judea and Samaria, Arab communities under Palestinian Authority control are closed to Jews.
We stopped at the Qaser El Yehud baptismal site where the Ancient Jewish people crossed the Jordan. The Arab name, Yehud, means Jew. As with many of the Arabic names of places, it confirms again that the Arab population has always been aware and accepting of the Presence of The Jewish people in all of Israel since ancient times. A number of Christians were in the River, getting baptized. Uri wants to show his students that Israel is open to everyone.
We drove to Mitzpe Yericho for lunch at Uri's home. There we were treated to a very informative talk by Naomi Kahn of the organization, Regavim. Naomi stressed what we have heard from many other leaders, the fact that the government lacks the resolve to stop the incredible illegal Arab building everywhere. Naomi's talk concentrated on the E1 corridor. She explained that the Arabs and the EU hope to create illegal villages that will cut off Jerusalem and have a territorial spine throughout Judea and Samaria. The Arabs have also turned to agriculture to claim massive areas of land in Area C, which (under the infamous Oslo agreements) is supposed to be exclusively Jewish land.
View and hear a sample stop on the tour of IF NOT US with Uri HERE. | |  | Qaser El Yehud baptismal site | | | | Judy with Naomi Kahn of Regavim | | | | In Ma'aleh Adumim
The next stop on our Monday, June 3 program was at Ma'aleh Adumim. There we were greeted by Mayor Benny Kashriel's assistant, Rachely Vassal, and Noam Halutz, who is in charge of security. Our first stop was at the senior center where AFSI's Texas Chairwoman, Ann Stacy, made a presentation (pictured here) of gift from her hometown which will go to support the dream of one of the 800+ Holocaust survivors who live in this city. She was surprised by the gift of a lovely painting from Vladimir Liberman, the beneficiary of the donation who will now have the funds to continue his artwork.
We then went to a lookout area where Mayor Kashriel joined us and reiterated the problem of the Arab land grabs. Since there are no fences around Ma'aleh Adumim, security cameras are needed night and day to prevent infiltration by the Arabs who surround the community. For political reasons, the IDF is not involved with Ma'aleh Adumim. The police who are left to fight terrorists are not equipped to do the job. Noam stressed that prevention is the key. | | | Judy, Mayor Benny Kashriel, Helen, Rachely, Ann Stacy | | | | Mayor Kashriel points out the sensitive E1 area from the lookout | | | | On To Hebron
Then on to Hebron where we saw many of our friends. Yifat Akobi (pictured on left) is a true heroine, moving with her family to wherever there is a need for Jews to be. Uri Karzan, Yoni Bardash, and our friend and frequent guide, David Wilder, all gave us a warm welcome. The highlight of the visit was witnessing the Upsherin of one of a frequent AFSI Mission participant's grandsons. Everyone cheered as snippets of beautiful blond curls were cut. A BBQ with the soldiers stationed in Hebron followed. The AFSI group then walked to the Herbert Zweibon, z"l, room which is dedicated to AFSI's Founder and first Chairman. It was wonderful looking at the photos and recalling how much Herb loved Hebron. Great building plans are being made for the area. We hope to witness a ground breaking in a future visit. | | A Heroine of Gush Katif and all of Israel
Early Tuesday morning we headed to Netzer Hazani to the home of the amazing Anita Tucker. Anita, expelled from her beautiful home and hothouses in Gush Katif, has been the driving force in the building of the new Netzer Hazani community. Although it is lovely, Anita always stresses the burning wish to return "home" to Gush Katif. When Hamas started firing rockets recently, her community and nearby Kiryat Gat were targets. Undaunted by the situation, Anita has started a project for the rehabilitation of the soul. The spirit of giving is one she is promoting in many different ways. She succeeded in opening our hearts to the idea that being a giver strengthens spirits and we left feeling uplifted by this courageous woman. Her husband, Stuart, is always in the background giving support. It was a pleasure to greet him also.
On to Jerusalem and the Piccolino restaurant for our gala farewell lunch. One of our favorite friends, Jerusalem Councilman Arieh King, joined us. (This lunch like many of the experiences on the trip was done on Facebook Live by Brian Pikelny and shared to the AFSI group - ask to join if you'd like to see more about our fabulous Mission) Arieh is always honest about his focus on what is best for Jerusalem. He exposes the hypocrisy of the system that turns a blind eye to Arab violations and attacks Jewish issues. He explained that the Arab Muftar is the head of a village and the Israeli courts allow the Muftar's decrees about land rights to override Jewish land rights. The situation is absurd. As in so many situations here, if Israel had the determination to change the situation, it could be done. | | Gush Etzion and Oz V'Gaon
We then drove to Gush Etzion to visit Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katsover at the Park they created in memory of the three boys who were killed, Oz V'Gaon. As always, a special banner was hung outside the Zionist Library, donated by the Moskowitz family. The banner had a personal greeting for Helen, Judy, and AFSI. We took photos there in our Sovereignty shirts, supporting the ideology that the two women began promoting in 2011. At first it seemed like a very difficult goal, but that night, at the Moskowitz awards event, Nadia and Yehudit were honored for their work in promoting Sovereignty for Judea and Samaria. The idea has caught on in Israel and Nadia and Yehudit understand that it is important to involve the youth in this program. They are even hoping to build a Zionist Gymboree indoor facility at Oz V'Gaon to begin teaching the idea of a whole Israel to the very young children. We are sure they will succeed in helping to build proud Jews who know that the land of Israel belongs to the Jews. The second Sovereignty Youth Conference will be held on Thursday, June 13,at the Wohl Conference Center at Bar-Ilan University. Hundreds of young people have signed up to attend. Helen and Judy, AFSI's Co-Executive Directors, plan to be there also. AFSI is proud to be one of the sponsors of this event. | | | | Nadia Matar and Judy Kadish | | | THANK YOU AFSI!!! A Message from the Women in Green
Dear Friends:
Our special day yesterday started with a wonderful visit to Oz veGaon by our great friends from AFSI headed by Helen Freedman and Judy Kadish.
AFSI members come every year on more than one trip to Israel to give chizuk to Eretz Yisrael and to promote Sovereignty.
We thank AFSI for their constant partnership and support and are very grateful to AFSI for being among the sponsors of the upcoming Sovereignty Youth conference.
Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar The Sovereignty Movement | | Moskowitz Awards
The grand finale of the trip for those who were not returning immediately to the US, was attending the spectacular Moskowitz Awards ceremony at the Jerusalem Convention Center. This year was especially exciting for AFSI as Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katzover were prize recipients. They even thanked AFSI, Helen and Judy in their acceptance speech. We were all very moved by this.
Plans are already in the works for a number of reunions. The AFSI Chizuk missions have brought together a great bonding of people who feel like family. They're not content to wait for the fall mission. We will be together again soon. Looking forward. | | Baruch Dayan haEmet
Nechama Rivlin, wife of President Reuven Rivlin, passed away Tuesday morning. Her death has drawn an outpouring of condolences from Israeli officials who eulogized her great efforts on behalf of others, alongside her modesty. Read the Times of Israel report HERE.
AFSI expresses it sincere condolences to President Rivlin and family, and the entire State of Israel on this loss. May they no know more sorrow. | | In Case You Missed It: News, Opinions, etc.
| | Shavuot
The word Shavuot (or Shavuos) means "weeks." It celebrates the completion of the Omer counting seven week period between Passover and Shavuot. The Torah was given by G‑d to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai on Shavuot more than 3,300 years ago. Shavuot begins at sundown on Saturday night, June 8. AFSI wishes everyone a Happy Shavuot! | | PLEASE CIRCULATE THESE ACTION ALERTS WITH YOUR CONTACTS | | The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an American front group for Hamas, has long been promoting political candidates. It finally has strong allies in the U.S. Congress: Ilhan Omar and Rashida Talib. | | | | | | |
