Moshe Dann

Amona and Israel’s hobbled sovereignty

The destruction of fifty-one Jewish homes in Ofra and Amona in February by order of the High Court raises questions about Israel’s claim to be “the nation-state of the Jewish people.” The evictions made no sense, and, although Prime Minister Netanyahu signed an agreement on behalf of the government with the residents of Amona to provide alternative housing in a new community, he has failed to honor his commitment. The families remain in distress, helpless and homeless.

The Occupation: beginning and end

The most difficult accusation against Israel is that it is “occupying Palestinian territory,” thereby preventing “Palestinian self-determination” and violating humanitarian rights. It’s the ‘elephant in the room,’ the core of anti-Israel BDS campaigns, fueling anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hatred and violence and promotes opposition to settlements. It challenges the legitimacy of Israeli sovereignty and the rights of the Jewish people in Eretz Yisrael.

Iran Wins, Palestinians Lose

Containing Iran is no longer practical or possible. Obama has fulfilled his promise to change the world. The State of Israel has been abandoned and whatever regional stability undermined. That is Obama’s legacy.

Waiting for the Messiah: the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Origins of Christianity

Who was the first Christian? What are the origins of Christianity? Most people would say, “Jesus.” What if that were not true? What if Jesus and at least some of his disciples had been influenced by or were followers of the Essenes -- the people who copied, collected and wrote the scrolls at the beginning of the 2nd century BCE?

The war on terrorism

The war. We are consumed by it. Our sons and theirs are dying; ours to protect us and theirs to kill us.

Arab land claims; are they valid?

Since the mid-19th century, acquisition and distribution of land and property rights throughout the Ottoman Empire were organized in Law Codes which were continued under British-mandate rule and were recognized and incorporated into Israeli administrative practice in Judea and Samaria.

Why blame John Kerry?

US Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent comment that Israeli settlements are “illegitimate” (a form of illegality) is not new; it is the position of the State Department and the international community. Kerry’s remark is based on United Nations General Assembly resolutions, which in turn are based on decisions of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the official “guardian” of the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949) (FGC).

Are settlements worth it?

Opponents of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (“settlements”) charge that they drain our economy, diverting funds that should be spent within the 1949 Armistice (“Green”) Lines. They accuse the government of giving settlers unwarranted discounts and subsidies in the form of building schools and clinics, infrastructure, such as roads, and providing security.

Releasing terrorists: In whose interest?

Announcing an agreement to release 104 of the most blood-thirsty Arab prisoners in Israeli jails in return for Palestinian Authority promises to show up at the latest merry-go-round negotiations, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu bemoaned the “agonizing difficulty” of making such a decision.

Isaiah Nation

The State of Israel has many achievements to its credit. It has provided a refuge for persecuted Jews, has proverbially “made the desert bloom” and has contributed many scientific and medical breakthroughs. As authors Saul Singer and Dan Senor highlight in their best-seller, Start-up Nation, Israel is famous for its phenomenal incubation of innovative industry.

The frontier in Israeli history

In 1862, at the beginning of the Civil War, Congress passed and president Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which granted unclaimed and uninhabited state land to American “settlers.”

Hezbollah and the Syrian Civil War

The reported presence of thousands of Hezbollah fighters and Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria to protect President Assad and his regime means Iran has made a strategic commitment not to lose Syria. That in turn means Syria will not follow the example of Libya.

Hizbullah and the Syrian Civil War

Hizbullah’s role in the Syrian civil war is ominous.

Hezbollah, Syria and the Golan Heights

The presence of a reported 50,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria to support President Bashar Assad is an indication of what Iran and Hezbollah have in mind – the preservation of Syria as a strategic asset in the regional power struggle. Losing Syria would leave Hezbollah isolated in Lebanon; a Syrian-Lebanese alliance, on the other hand, would allow Hezbollah to fortify Iranian interests in both countries.

To whom does the Golan Heights belong?

Referred to as “Bashan” in the Bible, the Golan Heights was considered part of the Land of Israel. Its main city, “Golan in Bashan,” (Deuteronomy 4:43, Joshua 21:27) was designated a “City of Refuge” (for those who had committed involuntary manslaughter).

The Rebbe of Ariel: Ron Nachman and Zionism

In memoriam. Ron Nachman, mayor of Ariel, had a vision. “I want to build a city here that will be the center of a regional area, not a satellite of some larger place, an independent city of thirty or sixty thousand Jews, that will offer services to everyone – Jews and Arabs from the Jordan Valley to Petach Tikvah. And I want peace, real peace; coexistence, not separation.”

Nine common myths about Israel

1. The international community opposes Israel because it is an “ethnic nation-state.”

Jerusalem kidnapped

Refusing to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel until Arabs agree, makes the issue a hostage to Arab demands.

The new morality: Palestinian statehood

In the wake of an Israeli government- initiated report presenting Israel’s legal rights in Judea and Samaria, opponents of settlements argue that the issue is not about Israel’s legal and historic rights, but about “morality.” I assume that means supporting “Palestinian self-determination,” “ending the occupation” and establishing a second Arab Palestinian state west of the Jordan River.

The Temple Mount and Jewish Sovereignty

The Israeli Police are very meticulous about Jews praying on the Temple Mount, site of the First and Second Temples. The holiest place in the world for Jews, they are forbidden to pray there.