1.
The reopening of the Homesh yeshiva in northern Samaria is the first stage of a process of putting right the reckless uprooting of Jewish communities there in the summer of 2005. While there was some logic presented for the disengagement from the Gaza Strip, Jewish communities in northern Samaria were demolished to signal the beginning of the end of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria and the establishment of a Palestinian state. The outcome in the Gaza Strip was to be expected, at least by those who despite the promises that security would be better after the disengagement than when Jewish settlements thrived there, but nevertheless thought otherwise and were told they were the ones who were deluded.
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The uprooting from the Gaza Strip fulfilled the aspirations of Europe, parts of the United States, and some within Israel, for a retreat to the 1949 armistice lines before the Six-Day War. We even uprooted the bodies of the dead. Today, there is a terrorist entity there with a government, territory, a military, access to the sea, and a border with Egypt. Does Hamas exploit the resources for the improvement of the population's well-being? Absolutely not. An Islamist entity was established in Gaza, and it enforces a regime of terror worse than Iran. Gaza's meager resources are exploited for accumulating weapons and munitions and to make foolish threats against Israel, which cost human lives. Since the uprooting, Israel has engaged in numerous cycles of conflict with Gaza that have shut down the Israeli economy and life in the country for an accumulated period of several months. There has been significant damage to the Israeli economy and the security of its citizens, and the international remuneration the Israeli government thought it would receive for pulling out of Gaza has never materialized. Moreover, although we are no longer there, we are still accused of occupation.
2.
In Judea and Samaria, Israel does not control more than 90% of the Palestinian population. The Palestinians have a governing authority with broad autonomy; in the words of the late prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, an "entity that is less than a state," which "manages independently the lives of the Palestinians living under its authority" with a budget and ministers, an independent economy and police, education system, and more. In many ways, the Oslo Accords, which transferred territories A and B to the Palestinians, ended the post-1967 Israeli occupation. The IDF is not present in Palestinian cities but is positioned on the outskirts to protect Israel from the development of a terrorist entity similar to the one that exists in Gaza and to safeguard the Palestinians from a hostile takeover by Hamas.
There is still the issue of Jerusalem and the areas of Judea and Samaria known as Territory C. Here we must learn from history and from the exigencies of our existence in the region: Israel cannot protect its existence without holding onto these lands. And indeed, all Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria are located there. This is also Rabin's legacy, as expressed in his final speech. Rabin created separation from the population but not the land. It is precisely in places where there is certain friction between Jews and Palestinians that relative calm exists. Compare Gaza to Hebron and Nablus. Three different cases from which interesting conclusions can be drawn.
3.
The uprooting of Jews from northern Samaria led to a severe deterioration of security. The PA lost control. In fact, it never really controlled the territory on its own but relied on Israel (which doesn't prevent the PA from spreading lies about us). In the absence of Jewish settlers, the army withdraws. The Menashe Brigade (which is responsible for that area), is the only unit that is not present on the ground in the same way as units in other parts of Samaria and Judea. And the results are clear.
An army is never a permanent presence; its stationing depends on a country's security needs. As Zionism has taught us, the only permanent element is that secure borders are the borders of the plough and settlement. To maintain our grip on the land, we need pioneers who live lives of labor and production. It is the army's job to follow them and secure their presence.
From Homesh, one can see the shore of Israel all the way from Hadera to Tel Aviv. Many times, when serving as ambassador to Italy, I would say that from the window of my house in the historical center of Rehovot, I can see Beit El and the mountains of Binyamin (as well as the Jerusalem Hills). A straight line to my east leads to Modi'in and beyond it Ramallah! "Do you really think we have learned nothing from our bloody history?" I would ask them, "Did you think we would abandon the heart of Israel to a terrorist entity that would control the hills overlooking the coastal plain and the lowlands? Everyone who flies into Israel can see that as it approaches Israel from the sea, their plane will continue eastward and make a U-turn over Samaria before landing. A Palestinian youth with a shoulder-fired missile is enough to shut down our airport. So what if we intercept it with "Iron Dome?"
4.
Would Ukraine have survived the war against Russia without its vast territorial depth? The notion that territorial depth is no longer essential in the age of missiles is one that is not grounded in reality. Think about the time one has to reach shelter in Sderot (15 seconds) compared to Tel Aviv (90 seconds).
In his book Breakthrough: A Personal Account of the Egypt-Israel Peace Negotiations, Moshe Dayan explained why settlements are necessary for security by stating that only if there were large Jewish settlement blocs, such as the Jordan Valley, Gush Etzion, and the hilltops of Samaria, would IDF units be able to be present in these areas, not as foreign occupiers but for the purpose of ensuring the peace of Israel, whose dense population is concentrated in a narrow strip along the Mediterranean coast. (Thanks to Brig. Gen (res.) Gershon Hacohen for the reference). Settlement in Judea and Samaria as well as in the Jordan Valley thus serves as a security buffer for Israel. The pioneers in these settlements put their lives on the line to prevent the transformation of the hills of Judea and Samaria into a second Gaza, a transformation that would make the lives of the residents of the central region hell.
5.
But we must not rely solely on security arguments. We must also talk about our rights. We are after all talking about territories of our ancient homeland which were seized by foreigners while we were in exile. Our right to live in Tel Aviv stems from our right to Samaria and Jerusalem, the cradle of the Bible, where we became an independent nation. One thing depends on the other.
Many times, I have tried to read Rashi from a political perspective. Why does the Torah begin with "In the beginning God created" and not with the mitzvot (commandments)? Rashi answers that Rabbi Yitzchak says, "Should the nations say, 'You are thieves, for you conquered the land of the seven nations!' we would reply, 'The entire world is G‑d's; He created it, and He gives it to whomever he desires. It was His desire to first give it to them, and by His desire it was taken from them and given to us'." Rashi wrote this a thousand years after the destruction of the Temple. The Land of Israel had already become a distant dream, and in the streets near Rashi's home, the First Crusade began and many Jews were killed and Jewish communities were destroyed. There, from the depths of exile, this genius foresaw that one day we would return to our land and then we would need this argument to counter the foreigners who had seized our homeland.
Back in 1968, Dr. Yaakov Herzog (the uncle of President Isaac Herzog), a former foreign ministry official and phenomenal orator, asked Why should the nations of the world accept this claim? His response: "The answer is that the problem lies in historical perception... If it is materialistic, then the claim 'you are thieves' holds; but if the perception is one of faith, the world will be forced to accept that the concept of providence derives from the House of Israel and the foundation of humanity derives from providence – and this concept cannot exist without the Land of Israel."
Herzog continued: "The fundamental issue is whether we continue the 'you are thieves' debate or embrace Jewish uniqueness... and then there is a chance that they will accept us as part of the Middle East." He then added an important comment, one that guided me as an ambassador: "It may seem very unpolitical and irrational. But I, who have been involved in policy for 20 years, am convinced today more than ever that this is the key." Indeed, there is no Zionism without Zion.
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