One can assume that there are families living in Kiryat Arba who cannot understand how some parents raise their children in Hebron. Their decision to live on the outskirts of the City of the Patriarchs stems from the concern – one might even say fear – something terrible might happen to their children.
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There are families in Gush Etzion who do not understand how parents can raise their children in Kiryat Arba, in such close proximity to so many hostile Arabs. The thought of living in Hebron itself and the adjacent villages would keep them up at night.
There are families in Maale Adumim who genuinely respect the decision by Gush Etzion residents to live where they do, but they themselves would never contemplate living there. The close proximity to Gush Etzion, a target for so many terrorist attacks, would drive them insane. I am sure there are a few who, in their heart of hearts, think it irresponsible for parents to allow their children to wait at Gush Etzion Junction on their way to or from school.
There are residents of Sderot who simply cannot understand how someone could raise their children in the territories. The very thought of passing through a roadblock on the way to work or school makes them ill. Living in such close proximity to so many Palestinians is inconceivable to them.
There are residents of New Jersey who, although they outwardly say how lucky we are to have a Jewish state, could never understand how people just like them would make aliyah to live in the volatile Middle East. How can they sleep at night when at any minute, a terrorist could stab them or their children or a rocket might hit their home, they say, wondering at the recklessness.
There are residents of Sderot who think it absolutely bizarre to raise children in New Jersey. What did we establish a state for if not to defend ourselves? How can you live with the fear of knowing that at any given moment, antisemitism could rear its ugly head when some psychopath inspired by something they saw on TikTok starts shooting at a synagogue?
In Maale Adumim, they have great respect for the people of Sderot and their ability to withstand missiles from the Gaza Strip. They, on the other hand, have a different mission: Their Zionism is such that it defends Israel, all of Israel, through the life of a normal city that blurs the archaic Green Line.
Gush Etzion residents are proud. They may live in a slightly dangerous place, but they live normal, good lives. They are living out their dream of returning to and settling the Land of Israel. True, those lives have been bought through agony, but they would do anything for the agony to abate and the joy to multiply.
The heroic people of Kiryat Arba are willing to sacrifice a lot for the entire region, and Hebron in particular, to remain in Jewish hands. To many of them, the entire Zionist enterprise is based on a return to the land of our ancestors, including, of course, the City of the Patriarchs. Otherwise, what's the point? Did we really leave New Jersey just to live in Raanana?
The people of Hebron know that without Hebron, there is no Raanana.
There are those who say it is irresponsible to raise children in Hebron. There may be some truth to that, but it is a momentary, selfish truth. The people of Hebron are right to say it is irresponsible not to raise children in Hebron. And in that, there is truth for the generations and responsibility for the generations.
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