Tag: Ben Packer

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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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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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The Arabs Have Understood We Are the Sovereign

I spent time today with Rabbi Ben Packer of the Heritage House, based in the Old City. We covered security, politics, settlements, and more. Ben is one of the few people I know that is unstoppable on the front lines in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria.

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