Infiltrating Settlements and Minds

For my final Shabbat before I start basic training, I chose to relax in the Gush Etzion town of Neve Daniel. Neve Daniel is your average Gush settlement, with 400 families in the main Yishuv, and another few caravans in the satellite outpost. After lunch on Shabbat, I took my host, and two other guests on a tour of Derech Ha'Avot, an ancient route from Chevron to Yerushalayim. That trail is most likely the route Avraham travelled with Yitzchak to the Akeidah, and there is archaeological evidence that the Olei Regel traveled on that road during the first and second Beit Hamikdash eras.We took the scenic road to Elazar, and leisurely strolled back towards Neve Daniel with enough time to rest before Mincha.

After we got through the gate at the entrance to Neve Daniel, and passed the giant flowers of the main Kikar, I noticed two girls photographing us. I pointed them out to the guys, and it struck us as particularly odd considering the fact that Neve Daniel is almost completely Orthodox. The girls in their mid-20's gave off the telltale look of left-wing "peace" activists. Yup, after closer inspection, they came from the direction of the half-built homes, so they were most like going to photograph some violations of the building freeze. Note: These homes were started before the freeze, so they are completely legal.

So with the permission of my host, I approached to pair and invited them for some refreshments in a settlement home. They were dumbfouned that we were offering our hospitality, but accepted our offer. On the way to his home, I found out that Charlotte from London working as a fundraising coordinator for Maan, a Palestinian news agency based in Bethlehem, and Rosy, also from London, was working with the disabled in Beit Sachour. 

Once we arrived at my host's home, we had a bit to eat and drink, and I immediately engaged them in a political debate. I extensively questioned their views for about 2 1/2 hours. They struggled with many of the questions. They really did not have a legitimate answer why the West Bank wouldn't turn into another Gaza if we would give it away. They didn't explain how why they expect us to remove checkpoints, when every time we remove them, people are killed like Rav Meir Chai and Yeshoshua Sofer. Anyways, without being too harsh,  we made them rethink their positions. But as with most peace activists, their political views are governed by their emotions and not their intellect.

But it was close to Mincha, and the conversation was dying out, so we escorted back to the Yishuv gate. So did we waste our time with these girls? There is no clear answer, but one thing is definite. On their first visit to a settlement, where they expected to be greeted with radical gun-totting religious extremists who breed hatred for Palestinians, they found out that were are just normal middle-class people trying to lead normal lives in which our buses don't explode and our cafes are not targets.