Tag: Ateret Cohanim

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Reclaiming Jerusalem One House At a Time: “Now is the Time to Buy”

Jerusalem, home to the Jewish nation for more than 2,000 years, is seeing a historic trend of Jews claiming ownership in its neighborhoods. We are all familiar with Jews living in the Jerusalem neighborhoods we normally visit. However, there are many brave Jews that take ownership of properties in dominantly Arab neighborhoods. They are taking the initiative to reclaim the land that rightfully belongs to them.

Buying property from Arabs is no easy task. According to the Palestinian Authority, selling land to a Jew is a crime, punishable by death. Hence, there is a conscious fear of selling land to Jews.

Ateret Cohanim, a non-profit organization located in Jerusalem, helps find and buy land from Arabs while protecting the Arabs from getting caught for their “crime.” Ateret Cohanim is responsible for the flourishing Jewish presence in the Muslim Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, the Village of Shiloach (Kfar Hateimanim) and Kidmat Zion (Abu Dis).

According to Jerusalem city councilman Aryeh King in an interview with Arutz Sheva, “more and more Arabs are offering properties for sale. Because of that the cost of properties that Arabs are selling is dropping and we are able to buy in areas that we never thought to buy.” It seems the Arabs are less hesitant to see to Jews nowadays. “There is a big wave of new Arabs who are offering properties, and we don’t have enough money to buy all of the properties that are being offered.”

When asked whether it is really possible to reclaim a majority of Jerusalem land, Ben Packer of the Jerusalem Heritage House replied, “We see this is true right now, but can’t know what will be in the future. Now is the time to buy!”

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Ending the Arab Occupation of Al-Haleddiya St.

Al-Haleddeyi St. may seem like an unlikely location for the next stage of Jewish growth in Jerusalem, but this small street that descends from the Christian quarter to Ha Gai Street into what most consider the Muslim quarter, is experiencing an influx of Jewish residents.

Once considered the main street in the Jewish quarter, Al-Haleddeyi St. known first as Hevron Street, because of the high percentage of Jewish residents, saw its Jewish residents driven out in waves between 1929 and 1937. Many of the Old City Rabbis lived on it, including Rav Diskin. At its peak it had 1,299 Jewish residents and was a bustling center of Jewish life in the late 1800 and early 1900’s.   

Now, with organizations like Ateret Cohanim as well as private individuals, cases amounting to squatting are getting reexamined by the courts.  One by one, properties that belonged to Jewish communal boards are being returned to their former Jewish owners or caretaker committees.

American-Friends-of-Ateret-Cohanim-banner

“We aren’t a banana republic and so if our very respected legal system and courts rule that the Arabs don’t have rights in the complex or that they have to vacate the premises, then so be it,” says Daniel Luria, executive director of Ateret Cohanim. “The same court system that backed the government and gave its stamp of approval to expel and relocate 10,000  Jewish residents and citizens from Gush Katif, should also be respected and adhered in these cases inside the Old City of Jerusalem. Behind the court case is really a story of Jews being driven from the area in the 1920s and 1930s by Arabs and their return to the area in these times. “

This past week I had the opportunity to see first hand one of the newest acquisitions on Al-Haleddeyi St. As I walked onto Al-Haleddeyi St,. Sam Goodman, a local activist and I turned left and then a quick right.  Arabs paid no attention to us as we veered into a small courtyard belonging to an unassuming building.  “This is resting on the Hekdesh [Jewish Communal Property],” Sam says to me as we walk straight ahead into the bottom of the building. “Above us are still Arabs, with one Jewish family on top as well. We all get along.”

The apartment is dark and in need of renovations.  The former occupants left most of their belongings behind before they left.  Unlike typical acquisitions that involve a buyer, seller, and often a few middlemen, apartments that change hands due to a court decision can be far more chaotic in terms of entry.

Interior of newest Jewish home on Al-Haleddiya St.
Interior of newest Jewish home on Al-Haleddiya St.

The apartment Sam and I were standing in went back to the courts several times, but like most of the houses on Al-Haleddeyi St. the evidence of land theft and squatting on the part of the Arab population was incontrovertible.

Up and down Al-Haleddeyi St. more and more Jews are moving in. Israeli flags can be seen out the windows and on the rooftops.  The bustling of Jews is beginning to return. In many ways the quarter system, enacted by the British is being busted apart.  Each new acquisition and court case that goes in favor of the Jews returns the city back to its original state, where a decolonization of Western backed Arab land theft is undone

For now Sam lives in the apartment, standing guard until renovations are complete.  “Once there is a family that wants to move in, I’ll move out.  My job is complete.”  In fact since I saw it, the apartment already has a waiting list and more court cases are pending. Jewish life is returning to Al- Haleddeyi St. Perhaps in a not too distant future it will be renamed Hevron St. as it once was known.

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Reclaiming Jerusalem’s Old City

At around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening (October 3, 2015), a knife-wielding Arab attacked Aharon Bennett, his wife Odel, their 2-year-old son and infant who were on their way to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City. Hearing the screams of help from Odel Bennett, from his apartment window, Rabbi Nehemia Lavi, an Old City resident and IDF reserve officer, didn’t hesitate, and went downstairs from his apartment in Beit Wittenberg (HaGai Street), with his gun, to try and save those wounded by the Arab terrorist in the attack, but the terrorist stabbed him and seized his weapon. Lavi and Bennett, who were stabbed in the upper body and were unconscious when paramedics arrived at the scene, died in hospital shortly afterwards.

Now, over 7 months later, another Jewish acquisition in Jerusalem’s Old City, facilitated by the Ateret Cohanim organization has been approved by legal authorities.

“Arab terror and ongoing Arab incitement and violence, has an aim of  trying to drive Jews out of Jerusalem, to keep Jews away from the Old City, the Temple Mount and even the Kotel, and also intends to weaken the resolve of the Jewish people, especially of the families and students in and around the Old City,” says Daniel Luria, Executive Director of Ateret Cohanim. “However the Arab are mistaken on all fronts. We will not be driven out of “our Jerusalem” and such acts of violence has only strengthened our resolve, strength of conviction, faith and fortitude.”

The building will be home to 3 or 4 Jewish families and some Yeshiva students. There are today over 1000 Jewish residents, including many Yeshiva students, of the old Jewish Quarter,(renamed the Moslem Quarter) in addition to the 4000 Jewish residents of the Jewish Quarter.

The newest acquisition is only a few minutes walk from the site of the murder of Rabbi Lavi and Bennett.  Building and buying in the Old City in areas where Jews were driven out in 1929, 1936-37, and 1948 is not only a powerful and lasting response to ongoing Arab terror, it is the best way to honor the memory of the fallen residents, especially the week of Israeli Memorial Day and Independence Day.

“It’s a spectacular accomplishment and it will hopefully lead to many more in the near future,” adds Rabbi Packer head of the Heritage House. “The Arabs are ready to leave. The question is: Are the Jews ready to take possession of the Land.”

 

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[Podcast] Leaving Our Mental Exile

Daniel Luria and I discuss the mental exile that plagues the leadership in Israel. We touch on security issues and the focus of Ateret Cohanim’s work in helping to reclaim stolen Jewish property and the settling of strategic areas in Jerusalem. Daniel and I also touch on some of the deeper and more positive facets of Jewish Nationhood.

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Recycling bottles to redeem Jerusalem

Originally published on HaKol HaYehudi.

Aryeh Blumberg gathers bottles for recycling and donates the money to buy homes in Jerusalem.

Aryeh Blumberg lives in Maale Adumim and works as a plumber. In recent years Blumberg has also begun collecting bottles for Jerusalem. He collects bottles for recycling and the money he receives he gives to Ateret Cohanim to redeem property in Jerusalem.

“Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish nation,” says Blumberg, “The world doesn’t accept this and wants to steal it from us. Jerusalem has always been ours. We can’t let them change history and steal it from us. We have to fight for Jerusalem.”

Blumberg tells the story of how he started his project after the Gaza expulsion. “I realized that if today they were expelling Jews from Gush Katif, tomorrow they could expel Jews from Jerusalem. I decided that talking wasn’t enough and I wanted to do something in practice to strengthen Jerusalem.” Blumberg explains that he wanted to donate to support Jerusalem, but his financial situation did not allow it.

“Then I realized that people always throw out their bottles in the trash and they could instead get money back for them,” says Blumberg. That thought led him to action and he began by asking Ateret Cohanim if they had a minimum donation amount. They told him they were willing to accept even small amounts and so he began his project.

“My first donation was only 140 shekels (~$40). In the first year I donated 2500 shekels, the second year 5000 shekels, the third year 8000 shekels, the year after 10,000 shekels, and every year since, it’s been around 12000 shekels,” explains Blumberg on how the project grew. “Today, thank G-d,‘donations from bottles’ have passed the 100,000 shekel point.”

Blumberg says that as the project grew, more people joined him. “There are several in Maale Adumim, and there are also several places in Jerusalem where I pick up bottles from people.”

Since he started the project, Blumberg’s yard is almost always filled with boxes of bottles, but he says “My wife agrees to it. She even helps with the project and my kids also help a lot.” Blumberg also emphasizes that all of the money from the bottles goes to Ateret Cohanim, “I don’t take any overhead and I pay for my own gas or any other expenses.”

“It’s amazing to be able to take a small thing like bottles that we throw in the garbage and use them to change the reality,” says Blumberg. “From 30 agorot (8 cents) from each bottle we reached 100,000 shekels, thank G-d. It’s possible to help the Jewish people in many ways and with G-d’s help through all of these small things we will merit to bring the Redemption.”

“The need to strengthen Jerusalem,” is what Blumberg says gives him the strength to keep going. “I can’t tell you why we were punished with the expulsion from Gaza but it was probably something small. I think we need to strengthen Jerusalem and move as many Jews as possible into the city. That’s what Ateret Cohanim does and that’s what I want to support.”

Blumberg says that, “As a result of the project my personal connection to Jerusalem has also strengthened.”

In conclusion, Blumberg tells that he once did work for a Jew who was not religious in Jerusalem. “I asked him why he chose to live in Jerusalem and he told me, ‘Jerusalem is the center of the Jewish nation.’ Jerusalem is truly our center. The world wants to take it from us but we can’t give up Jerusalem.”