SAMARIA - ISRAEL'S HIDDEN ASSET

A view of Tel Aviv from the Shomron (West Bank), before and after a "Two State Solution".
Essential to Israel's security, the importance of Samaria is kept hidden from you by the media.
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 As a result of the June 1967 Six-Day War, a defensive war into which Israel was dragged by Egypt and Syria, Judea and Samaria (the "West Bank"), Gaza, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights unexpectedly and dramatically fell into Israeli hands. Notably, despite Israel's appeal to Jordan to stay out of the conflict, Jordan nonetheless joined in, commenced hostilities toward the Jewish State and in quick time lost control of Judea and Samaria, a region it had annexed and illegally occupied for 19 years following Israel's 1948 War of Independence.

These  serendipitous events, unimaginable just a week prior and thus viewed by many as Divinely choreographed, resulted in the Reunification of Jerusalem and the repatriation of a large chunk of the historic Jewish Homeland, a significant section of what was originally conceived to be the future modern Jewish State, according to international agreements dating back to the post World War I era.

The ensuing conflicts and complications resulting from this sea-change event are well known. Not long after the last shot of the '67 war rang out, left-wing groups, both Israeli and international, began to wage a relentless propaganda war against the settler movement, delegitimizing Israeli control over these newly-conquered areas as well as vilifying the "settlers" who took residence in them. One of the casualties of this  "war of ideas" was and continues to this day to be the Shomron (Samaria), a vast and vitally important region lying just east of Israel's narrow and heavily populated coastline. Over 50 years of inadequate education, missing hasbarah ("PR") and spiteful denigration by the left-leaning media and intelligentsia have meant that most Israelis today, not to mention Jews world-over, have only a vague awareness of the Shomron, little to no understanding about who the "settlers" really are and virtually no appreciation of the Shomron's crucial strategic importance, its raw natural beauty, untapped potential and its historical connection to the Land of Israel and her people.

"There is hope for you ultimately, said the Lord, and your children shall return to their border" (Jeremiah 31,16)
Beautiful, barren and beckoning, the Shomron patiently awaits the return of the Nation of Israel.
The view from Mt. Kabir, Elon Moreh, in the heart of Samaria. All rights reserved to Menachem Brody.

This appalling ignorance of Samaria and the unjust disapproval of its Jewish inhabitants (the "settlers"), carefully nurtured by the media, has served the interest of the Left, which has been trying to push its failed land-for-peace agenda on the Israeli public for decades. The more they can keep the people in the dark about the Shomron, the more they can slander and delegitimize the settlements, the more they can frighten people away from exploring this heartland region, the better their chances of achieving their ultimate goal - the wholesale and permanent abandonment of the Shomron to Israel's dubious "peace partners".
Israel blog
This blog attempts to somewhat level the playing field by presenting the facts about the Shomron, explaining its significance in an interesting and concise way and offering readers the opportunity to experience first-hand this special part of the Land of Israel via exciting day tours.

Topics discussed herein include the immense strategic importance of Samaria, the large fresh water reserves of the Shomron Mountain Aquifer, the vast untapped land reserves of Samaria available to land-scarce Israel, the Place of Refuge benefit Samaria offers to Israel's citizenry in times of emergency and an overview of the Jewish legal and historical right to this Biblical homeland.

Also examined are the myths and lies surrounding the settlers, settlements and Greater Israel, the phenomenon of outposts and Hilltop Youth as well as possible alternatives to the unworkable "Two State Solution" to the mideast conflict. Through education, refutation of the media's lies and half-truths and offering the reader a way to personally visit Samaria, the hope is that this blog will raise awareness and reverse the undeserving negative image too many people have of the Shomron and its inhabitants.

This blog is not only meant to be informative but also to serve as a warning. Today, there is a risk of likely abandonment of the vast majority of the Shomron in the context of either a peace deal or a unilateral withdrawal, if and when that happens. Every thinking and  intellectually honest Israel supporter owes it to him/herself to understand exactly what will be at stake should such a scenario materialize and how it will affect us all in the future. Here is your opportunity to find out.

Kindly send any comments or feedback to mbgahg@netvision.net.il



Thanks to Menachem Brody of Elon Moreh for providing the slideshow photos.