06.17.09
Presidential Seal of Approval
When I was eight years old I was going to grow up to be President of the United States. When that dream was hatched, Jimmy Carter was president. Not that he, in particular, was my role model – that was more likely Lincoln or Washington. However Carter inhabited the office at the time, and was therefore someone of great achievement – certainly to an eight-year old.
Many more dreams and aspirations later and I find myself living one of my biggest dreams - living in the Land of Israel. It was neither political nor ideological motives that led us to choose Neve Daniel, in the Gush Etzion region, as our new home almost seven years ago. The red-roofed villas nestled on a mountain-top; the stunning views, warm community, proximity to Jerusalem, as well as the excellent school district were all chief factors in our decision. And so, it never fails to shock me when the occasional person will react to where I live by puckering their lips like they just tasted a lemon, and say, “Ooh, is that a settlement?”
I’m never quite sure how to answer that politically-charged question. What does the answer “Yes” mean to them? That I’m a hippie living in a commune of caravans? That I live on land that I stole from Arabs? That I pitched a tent in the hills, and I stand guard over my brood like Annie Oakley? Of course I know exactly what the question means. But do they? Most likely, if they asked the question they do not.
Since Obama’s famous Cairo address the settlement issue has become a very hot topic. Obama’s demand for “these settlements to stop” has caused quite a commotion on our side of the Atlantic. Everything from, “Who is he to demand anything from us?” to “You go, Obama! You da man!” has been heard over here. I cynically wondered if my neighbors would immediately stop building their homes, and send all of the Arab builders away, unemployed, and at Obama’s behest.
For the purpose of this article, I looked up “settlement” in Wikepedia. I found it rather interesting that there is an entry for “human settlement” (permanent community where people live) and a different entry for “Israeli settlement” (communities inhabited by Israeli Jews in territory that came under Israel’s control as a result of the 1967 Six-Day War). This is to say that Israeli settlements are not permanent? Or perhaps that Israelis are not actually human? But of course Israel has always been held to a different standard than the rest of the world. Why should this be any different? Europe had colonialism; United States had Manifest Destiny, and Israel? We build settlements on land we won, in a war we didn’t want, and we are Occupiers? Mind you, the land was won from Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Not one parcel was won from a country called “Palestine”…but I digress.
While I never made it to the Oval Office, many from the Oval Office have made it to Israel. But, to the best of my knowledge, they have never before come to visit ‘a settlement’. It was therefore with a feeling of astonishment and guarded optimism that I heard about former President Jimmy Carter’s impending visit to our little neighborhood (a.k.a. settlement) of Neve Daniel.
I was amazed and impressed that Carter was going to be visiting Shaul Goldstein, the mayor of our region of Gush Etzion, and a personal friend of ours. It seemed to come from left field. Carter, a known settlement critic, was coming out to meet with Shaul? At his house, in my neighborhood? Regardless of my feelings about Carter and his track record, this unlikely meeting was exciting. Many were worried that no good could come out of such an event, but always the optimist I felt that if anyone could make something constructive out of such a meeting, it was Shaul Goldstein.
My optimism did not prepare me for the positive outcome, when Carter famously declared, “This particular settlement is not one that I envision ever being abandoned, or changed over into a Palestinian territory. This is part of the close settlements to the 1967 line that I think will be here forever.” Now mind you, I am not naïve enough to imagine that what an 85-year old former president says will have any real effect on the policy of the half-his-age current president who just laid down his very-hard-line on the subject. But it can’t hurt. And quite honestly, it was a breath of fresh air.
How exactly did it come about? Shaul told me that he explained to Carter the history of Israel from biblical times until today, including all of Judea and Samaria. He told him his personal story, and he told him about the people who live here. And he told him how different we are from how we are perceived. He told him the four basic principles we follow: We do not hate Arabs; we are not afraid of them; we never take their privately-held land; and we provide them the opportunities to support themselves with dignity. Finally, he told him that it’s a shame that more people do not come to visit to see what it is really like here. One way or another, somehow he managed to garner Carter’s approval.
Of course this does not solve the problem that many world leaders have now joined the Obama bandwagon demanding an absolute freeze on even natural growth in all the Israeli settlements. I wonder, what about all of the pregnant women who live in them, myself included, who have our own impending natural growth? Shall we manage our population the Chinese way? Or can our population grow provided we all keep our status-quo living conditions, even if it means putting 4, 5 or 6+ kids into one bedroom?
As I watch my own natural expansion, and wonder what the future holds, I think back to my childhood dream. This future child that I’m carrying, while he will be a US citizen, will be born in Israel. Now that may disqualify him from ever being president of the United States; but who knows? He just might grow up to be the president of Israel. Now that would be a great achievement.
© 2009, Laura Ben-David
Laura Ben-David is the author of MOVING UP: An Aliyah Journal (Mazo Publishers). Laura began writing when she made Aliyah in 2002, and hasn’t stopped. To order MOVING UP, send an email to info@aliyahbook.com.
Yom Ha’atzmaut - Israel’s Independence Day - has always been special in my heart. Well since the first time I heard of it in 8th grade that is. Back then the non-Zionistic school I went to simply never mentioned it rather than giving us their negative perspective. So when, at age 13, I discovered the existence of this holiday, I rallied my friends to don blue and white and bring in homemade Israeli flags for the occasion. Big mistake! We got into lots of trouble. But the lasting impression was made, and I never spent another Yom Ha’atzmaut in a non-Zionistic environment.
A whole year has passed since the brutal murder of eight young students at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva. The horrifying events of that evening instantly made the iconic institution more well-known for the tragedy than for nearly a century producing elit
I knew that it would make you angry and sad and that you would feel this violation of the most intimate areas of your life by those defined as your enemies, with stinging humiliation. I am convinced that you hate me with unbridled hatred, and you do not have even the tiniest desire to hear what I have to say. At the same time, it is important for me to say the following in the hope that there is even the minutest chance that you will hear me.
My friend sent me an email about a bone marrow donation drive for Amit Kadosh, a little girl here in Israel with cancer. Touched by her story, I thought I would join my friend and stop by the mall in Jerusalem on the way home to do our part. I figured with the low response these things typically get, if I had the time and ability I would do it. We headed over to the mall expecting to find a folding table staffed by a couple of medical sorts who would take blood samples from any volunteers who came by. It was just going to be a quick pit stop as we didn’t have much else to do in the mall at that time. 
You bet! And you can get it now and be one of the first ones to own it!
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Being the news junkie that I am, major events will keep me glued to any available news source. A top story could keep me riveted, waiting for some new tidbit. An impending hurricane could captivate me for days, even weeks. In the past, cable news channels were my #1 news sources. After leaving cable TV behind with the rest of America, the internet became my ever-present post-Aliyah news source. 
Many Jewish married women cover their hair as a symbol that they’re married. What constitutes “a head covering”? That all depends upon who you ask…
Forty-three years ago Israelis missed the opportunity of a lifetime. A planned Beatles concert in Israel was canceled when authorities determined that Beatles performances caused hysteria and mass disorder among young people, not to mention that they had “no artistic merit”. Of course this was not only decades before I moved to Israel, it was years before I was even born. Somehow, it always felt like the whole country had experienced a collective lost opportunity.