Geoffrey Clarfield
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Today we read that the gulf based Arab airline that was unable to protect more than one hundred Israeli men, women and children tourists from a Jihadi pilot whose actual job was to fly them home from their trip to the Arab emirate of Dubai, will receive 500,000 Shekels each as compensation for their near-death experience, one that was only halted by the heroic intervention of Israeli passengers with IDF combat experience.
This announcement has caused a male Israeli two-year survivor of the torture tunnels of Hamas in Gaza which echoed the treatment of Jews in Auschwitz during WWII, to speak out. He has told the public that he received 60,000 Shekels compensation from the Israeli government for his two-year horror.
He then asked whether he needs to get on a hijacked airline from Dubai to Tel Aviv to come close to the compensation that he deserves? This is a profoundly important question. And it can only be answered in a comprehensively Jewish and Israeli way.
Israeli citizens are the disproportionate and unjust potential victims and often actual victims of anti Semitic anti Zionism. And so, the Israeli government and its legislating authority the Knesset (parliament) has a complex system of assisting soldiers wounded in service and citizens who are victims of terror both inside and outside Israel’s borders for the simple reason of being Israelis. It is not a coherent system and deserves scrutiny if it is to properly serve the country and its citizens.
Being familiar with the system I can make one major recommendation that may help victims of terror and at the same time strengthen the State of Israel, while sending a strong message to its enemies and critics. That is to offer a free house to each real victim of terror.
Why a house?
First off, building a house in the land of Israel is one of the most symbolically powerful symbols of the timeless Jewish connection to the land of Israel. For example, when we read the Book of Samuel God promises David “a house” which is a symbol and promise of a dynastic lineage.
Secondly, Jewish life and Israeli life is not exclusively lived in cafes and restaurants. It is lived in houses. Most Jewish festivals, although they have Synagogue based rituals are household rituals. Those who live in Israel or come to Israel to celebrate the festival of Passover which commemorates the Exodus of Israel from slavey in Egypt to the freedom of the promised land, takes place at the dinner table of an extended family’s house. This is just one of many examples.
Thirdly social life in Israel revolves around meals shared with extended family members and friends in people’s houses. If you are not in a continuous series of hosting meals and being invited to meals you are not fully participating in Israeli culture. And unlike the British, children and grandchildren are central if not foundational to this cultural pattern. It is the stuff of life as they say.
For a variety of reasons there is never enough housing stock available to young Israelis. After serving three to five years in the military young Israeli couples rarely have the money to put a down payment on a mortgage. And that is where family comes in once again as it is customary for the families of the bride and groom to contribute generously to the young couple so they too can establish a “house in Israel.”
Middle-aged and aging parents do not begrudge their children this privilege. They reason that it is better to give now than wait for their inheritance to kick in. And when it works out best for all sides, there are simply more meals and holidays to celebrate together across a variety of family houses. Then grandma and grandpa can often sleep over and baby sit when they visit from nearby or out of town.
Finally, a house in the land of Israel is symbol of defiance. It defies the voices that say Jews do not have a right to build a house in the Land of Israel, whether it be inside or outside the “green line” (the armistice lines of 1948) be it in Tel Aviv Jerusalem, Beer Sheva and Haifa or in the Golan, Judea and Samaria.
And so, I am suggesting that the Israeli authorities motivate builders and developers to report to the government the actual costs (without profit) for just one unit in each of the major housing complexes that are being built from the Golan to the Red Sea. The cost of this one unit should be tax deductible for the builder.
And then these units should be given to victims of terror. Let us start with any Israeli who was kidnapped by Hamas and ended up alive, whether they were prisoners for a week or two years. Then we can begin to explore how other victims of terror can also be given a house in Israel.
All of this strengthens Israel and Israelis and confounds their enemies. Religious Jews would call this a mitsvah, for it fulfills Jewish notions of justice, it allows Israelis to live long and prosper in the land and sends a strong message to Israel’s enemies that the land belongs to the Jewish people and that they will be fruitful and multiply there.
As the Prophet Jeremiah once said,
“Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce.”
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