Heavy IDF forces arrived – on the Sabbath – to destroy the Shvut Ami start-up neighborhood near Kedumim in the Shomron (Samaria). However, young pioneers began the rebuilding as soon as the Sabbath ended.
Former Kedumim Mayor Daniella Weiss was in Shvut Ami when the destruction occurred. “There were so many army vehicles," she told Israel National News, "12 to be exact, plus a police car with a soldier inside – that I was sure they were preparing for a military operation in Shechem (Nablus), just a few kilometers away. Instead, they began destroying our two little houses…”
Some 7-8 people were there at the time. On Sunday morning, one of the young residents said from the site, “We’re trying to rebuild what they destroyed, and even more as well. In addition, they cut our water pipes in several places, meaning that we can’t get water from Kedumim. So we have to fix that as well…”
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, of the left-wing Labor Party, has made it his goal to destroy over 20 unauthorized outposts throughout Judea and Samaria. Though the country voted in a nationalist government in the elections nearly four months ago, and though Labor dropped to 13 seats from 19 (and from 26 in 1999), Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made extreme efforts to form a unity government with Labor, giving the government a distinct left-wing flavor. Netanyahu has said that he supports Barak's plans to destroy the outposts, though he will insist on enabling recognized towns in Yesha (Judea and Samaria) to expand for "natural growth."
Shvut Ami's Role
“Barak has bragged that he has destroyed Shvut Ami many times,” the youth from Shvut Ami said. “This shows that our few houses are important – not to mention that it keeps him occupied from trying to destroy the larger outposts.”
Outpost supporters have a motto: “Shvut Ami protects Migron [a larger outpost north of Jerusalem], Migron protects Ofrah [a veteran Yesha town of hundreds of families], and Ofrah protects Jerusalem.”
Shvut Ami was started just over a year and a half ago, and has in fact been razed – and rebuilt – about ten times.
IDF: It Happened After the Sabbath
Weiss said the Sabbath desecration caused in the course of the destruction was “very shocking.” She said faxes have been sent to IDF Chief Rabbi Avi Ronsky’s office, “but meanwhile the situation is not improving.”
The Chief Rabbi’s Office said that an official response to the matter can only come through the IDF Spokesman’s office, which in turn told Israel National News, "The evacuation of Shvut Ami took place not on the Sabbath, but after it ended... We are continuing to check the matter."
Weiss: It Began on the Sabbath
Confronted with this statement, Weiss said, "The actual eviction of the youths and the destruction of the houses apparently took place a few minutes after the Sabbath officially ended, but the arrival of the forces and their 12 jeeps happened on the Sabbath itself, as did all the briefings and preparations."
She then elaborated:
"Sometime on Shabbat afternoon,the senior regional officer [the Machat] and other officers and soldiers came to Shvut Ami. The officers and soldiers spoke very rudely to the youths and brutally pulled two of them away. They then left. During the late afternoon meal [Seudah Shlishit], soldiers and officers came again and asked, 'How many of you are here?'
"About an hour before the Sabbath ended, some 12 army vehicles with officers, and one police vehicle with a soldier inside, showed up. About 30 army officers stood at the Kedumim gas station, about two minutes away, and I thought it was a briefing for a military activity in Shechem. However, I remained on the alert, because I knew that the outposts are under threat. Ten minutes before Shabbat ended - I was now between the gas station and Shvut Ami - the army convoy set out towards the west [towards Shvut Ami], so I understood they weren’t going to Shechem. But because of the large size of the convoy, I thought they were going to another outpost, Ramat Gilad, 8 kilometers away. To my surprise, they stopped at the foot of Shvut Ami, and the soldiers and officers got out and climbed up towards Shvut Ami and began the eviction and destruction. The bottom line is that the entire affair, except perhaps for the actual eviction, happened on the Shabbat."
Tefillin Confiscated
The destruction actually started last Monday, when army forces arrived and confiscated private belongings such as beds, blankets, clothing and tefillin (phylacteries). Army officials explained that the beds and blankets were used to facilitate an illegal presence at the site. The citizens involved said they have turned to some Knesset Members in an attempt to have their tefillin returned, ritual items costing some $600 each.
