Hanging in Hebron

12 Comments on Hanging in Hebron

Ronit on Tue, Aug 7th 2007 10:45 AM


Sorry to hear that your daughter may be in danger, but I disagree with your perspective on what is going on. How is commiting judenfrei “defending” our country? Who’s security has increased through these actions exactly?

I find that the demonizing accussations that have been made against the soldiers are hypocritical: how can a person condemn the Nazis for commiting judenfrei when they used the same excuse of having to follow orders, and yet these same people pressure the Israeli army and police force to take the same actions of forcing Jews out of certain areas of land that they want to make “Jew-free?”

Kol ha kavod to your daughter for joining the police force, but I wish the government would use her as a resource to defend our people and keep us secure, rather than as a political tool to make areas Jew-free.

Liza on Tue, Aug 7th 2007 11:35 AM


David, I hope your daughter is okay. Keep us posted.

Ronit, how can you possibly compare the mass murder of innocent victims (who were minding their own business) carried out by the Nazis with Israeli soldiers merely evacuating people who knew that taking over stalls in the Arab marketplace in Hebron would be seen as a provocative action? I respect your right to disagree with the evacuation, but found your Nazi analogy to be problematic.

It is very distressing to see how Nazi analogies are bandied about by anyone who disagrees with decisions or actions carried out by others. Not only does it detract from any potential legitimate criticism, but it also cheapens the memory of the Holocaust, something so horrific that almost any event compared to it will surely pale in comparison.

David Brinn on Tue, Aug 7th 2007 12:27 PM


Update – she’s fine.
Me: So, you were way in the back just watching and guarding, right?
her: No, I was the one pulling them out.
Me: It must have been really hard – did they try to hurt you?
her: A little, but it was fine. No big deal.

over and out from Hebron

simon on Tue, Aug 7th 2007 1:49 PM


What about this sexual harassment/police brutality:
Female activists reported that male Yassam officers deliberately tore the clothing off the women who resisted the forcible eviction. One activist said she assumed the move was an accident when the pants she was wearing beneath her skirt were pulled down by a Yassam officer as she was violently pulled out of the Bar Kochba home. “But when I saw that the same thing was being done to my friends, I realized this was some sort of sick tactic,” she said. Similar incidents came to light during protests against the uprooting of Jews from Gaza and Northern Samaria in 2005 and following the violent demolition of houses by Yassam officers at Amona in February 2006.

Rebecca on Tue, Aug 7th 2007 5:46 PM


And who is the evidence from about this alleged harrassment? Consider the source – is there any independent corroboration of these accusations?

Also, I agree that making Nazi analogies is revolting. Israeli soldiers are not Nazis, and evacuating Jews illegally living in the Hebron market is not making the West Bank “judenfrei.”

Sol on Tue, Aug 7th 2007 10:06 PM


Happy to hear everything is o.k. Please let her know we are thinking of her and are very proud of her!

Joshua on Wed, Aug 8th 2007 3:36 AM


I’m sorry, but who says they were illegally there? I’m sure that when they originally moved in, they thought they had all the permits, down to the deed! We’re both in the same hypocrisy, Senator Gehry!

Joshua on Wed, Aug 8th 2007 3:47 AM


Oh, and I never asked the most important question: do you want Hebron to be Judenfrei?

Joshua on Wed, Aug 8th 2007 3:53 AM


Oh, and I was right: they DID have the deed:
“Hebron residents claim they have documentation that the property was purchased 200 years ago by Jews and remained in Jewish hands for decades until Jordanian authorities seized it in 1948.”

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=2&cid=1186066397048&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

The article also mentions chicanery on the part of the government:

“The two apartments – formerly market stalls prior to the closure of the market in 1994 – were inhabited for a number of months by the Bar-Kochba and Yahalom families. The Bar-Kochba family had lived in the apartments until a 2006 eviction, when they agreed to leave voluntarily following a promise that the government would reassess the status of the building and eventually legalize their presence. That agreement, however, was later overturned by Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz.

“I was voluntarily evacuated once – you don’t do this twice,” said Gershon Bar-Kochba. “They cheated me, took advantage of my position and my status. The people of the Jewish neighborhood listened to me once, out of faith that the state would stand by its commitments.” “

David Brinn on Wed, Aug 8th 2007 1:53 PM


You know, I don’t think the issue if whether they have the legal or moral right to be there – of course they do..
the question is whether it’s prudent for them to be there, and for hundreds of soldiers and police to be risking their lives to guard them…

and for barely adults like my daughter to be forced into a situation of being spat upon and called a Nazi by her countrymen for doing her duty…

and for fellow Israelis to start making up stories about soldiers pulling down the pants of the resisting Hebron women… I’m sorry, these are worse lies than the Palestinians tell about us.

JonathanInTelAviv on Wed, Aug 8th 2007 3:17 PM


Joshua, you cite a report that the properties were owned by Jews, but I haven’t see any reports that the evacuees were the legal owners, or that they purchased it from the legal owners.

If the evacuees were squatting, they deserved to be evacuated.

Joshua on Wed, Aug 8th 2007 9:33 PM


But does that excuse the chicanery that the government was shown to be committing?

Oh, and who’s going to protect Machpelah for the Jews, no matter who controls the land? It sure won’t be the Palestinians, I’ll tell you that much.

Leave a Comment