Regavim Archives - Israel Rising

September 9, 2016September 9, 2016

J Street’s New Mission: Destroy Regavim and Israel at all Costs

It has been revealed that Jeremy Ben-Ami head of J-Street, the anti-Israel organization based in America, sent an email out to the group’s supporters notifying them that he is personally applying pressure to the Obama administration in order to force the government to remove Regavim’s 501(3)(c) status in order to cripple the group’s fundraising power in the USA.

This threat is serious, but what is more serious are the implications of Ben Ami’s actions. Regavim’s goal has always been to pressure the government to enforce the already determined law or ruling by the Knesset or Supreme Court. By J-Street going after Regavim in such a public and base way, Ben Ami is essentially denying the legitimacy of Israel’s own governing institutions.

Taking down a group like Regavim will not only harm the Israeli right, but all corners of Israeli society as Israel’s government will be rendered ineffective.

Ben Ami’s tirade against organizations like Regavim who he claims uses US donations to destroy the “Arab village at Susiya” is ironic, since it is in fact J-Street itself that uses donations to prop up and create illegal facts on the ground in contravention of Israel’s own sovereign laws.

With the stakes high and during the presidential election, Ben Ami is rolling the dice to see if Hillary and Obama would risk alienating moderate Jewish Democrats precisely when they need them the most. Yet, that could be Ben Ami’s core strategy. J-Street has always sought tocreate fissures and divisions in the American Jewish community.

So far he is succeeding.

August 15, 2016

BREAKING NEWS: Final Decision Pending on Removing Arab Squatters from Susiya

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman is set to make a final decision in knocking down multiple makeshift structures erected by Arabs on the ancient Jewish village of Susiya.

These Arabs claim to be the real land owners and have caused multiple problems with local Jews and the State of Israel. The problem for their case is even a usually sympathetic Supreme Court has ruled that the State must knock the structures down as no clear proof can be shown for there ever being an Arab village there.

“Surveys of villages and populations conducted by the British Mandatory powers in 1945, which mention all of the villages in the area and even some of the inhabitants, prove there is no hint of the existence of an Arab village named Susiya,” says Josh Hasten, spokesman for Regavim an Israeli NGO dedicated to ensuring Israeli land laws are followed especially in the Arab sector. “More recently aerial photos obtained by Regavim from 1999 show nothing resembling a village in that area. An identical photo from 2013 shows how squatters have infiltrated the locale.”

So will Lieberman knock the buildings and tents down? Not if Obama has anything to do it. The State Department has already issued a warning that “there will be severe consequences” if he goes through with it.

Why Does Obama Care About Susiya?

If there was ever an archeological site that destroys the myth making of the Palestinian Arab population it is Susiya. The village was inhabited continuously by Jews up until the early 8th Century. It was clearly a large commercial hub for the Southern Hebron Hills, showing that it was in fact the Jews that remained the majority population up until the Muslim conquest.

This narrative supports Israel’s solid claim to being the sole indigenous culture in Israel, only being superseded by the conquest of Islam over the Holy land.

July 15, 2016

Regavim is Battling the European Union…Again

Fresh of its successful campaign to encourage British citizens to vote for Brexit, Regavim has filed a Supreme Court appeal against Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and the Civil Administration. The claim is that they have not fulfilled their duty in enforcing the law. This claim tackles an outpost near the village of Hizme just North of Jerusalem. The site is funded and built by the EU in contravention of the Oslo Accords.

Regavim has been successful in the past in forcing the government to take EU backed illegal building seriously. The EU is actively attempting to change the status quo in Area C, which is under full Israeli control.

“This non-enforcement policy strengthens the stated plan of the head of the Palestinian Authority to destroy the Bedouin outposts that are in the Maale Adumim area,” notes Regavim. “The purpose of this is to strengthen the Palestinian authority territories that are under full Israeli control and to capture the territories of strategic significance which are adjacent to major transportation arteries, and in this way to tie the hands of the State of Israel within the framework of future negotiations.”

June 15, 2016

Petition: European Union will be required to report on construction in area C

Regavim is appealing the EU’s immunity from prosecution. Based on the legal opinion of an expert on international law, Regavim is petitioning the Supreme Court to require accountability and reporting for building violations committed by the Union.

A petition filed this week by Regavim to the Supreme Court may put an end to the systematic evasion of the EU from being accountable for violations of building regulations that it has initiated in Area C of the of Judea and Samaria (West Bank). Regavim is requesting from the judges to require the European Union to participate, first as a respondent to the petition to the Supreme Court and to give an account of its construction activities.

For some years the EU has been trying to take over extensive regions in area C through the establishment of buildings and infrastructures in illegal Bedouin outposts. One of the areas where the EU has made a large concerted effort to invest in is the area surrounding Maale Adumim.

Two weeks ago, Supreme Court justices, Uzi Fogelman, Daphne Barak-Erez and Meni Mazuz rejected the petition presented by Regavim against the Civil Administration in the Judea and Samaria (West Bank) on ignored breaching of the law. The petition demanded that the Civil Administration implement peremptory demolition orders issued against the 15 illegal structures built by the Union within the limits of the jurisdiction of Mishor Adumim and Kfar Adumim.

The judges rejected the petition by Regavim based on the Civil Administration’s statement that the removal of illegal construction there is already a high priority item, and asked them not to get involved in managing schedules for implementing orders. However, in the decision Justice Fogelman hinted that he is not sure that there is basis for the Union’s immunity from such proceedings.

Regavim decided to take up the challenge laid down by Justice Fogelman, and worked on preparing a new petition concerning other illegal structures built by the Union in areas under the jurisdiction of Kfar Adumim. As for these buildings the Civil Administration announced a year ago that they are a top priority for demolition, however since then no enforcement action against them has been made.

Regavim contends that the long drawn out period of time is “the unreasonable renunciation of enforcing the law”, and seek to place the EU illegal construction activities at the center of the Supreme Court hearings.

The petition is based on the opinion of the expert on international law, Professor Aryeh Reich from Bar Ilan University, who doubts the claim of immunity of the EU. “The EU mission is indeed right that it enjoys immunity from lawsuits, both criminal and civil, and administrative,” says Reich, “but there is an exception in this regard in Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, in connection with activities relating to its private land that is located within the territory of the host country.”

Professor Reich explains that international law imposes the obligation of respecting the law on foreign diplomats who enjoy immunity. “They are obligated to respect the laws and regulations of the country in which they serve, and not to interfere in its internal affairs.”

Another argument raised by the lawyers of Regavim states that immunity is granted to countries only, while the EU has no absolute status as a country. The inclusion of the Union in the petition is made possible in principle because if the petition is accepted by the court and consequently buildings are demolished, the EU will have to absorb EU economic damage.

June 14, 2016June 14, 2016

When Camels Roam Free and Dangerous (Walla Interviews Meir Deutsch of Regavim)

Tomorrow, Tuesday, there will a discussion in the Knesset on the issue of the roaming camels in the South. In preparation for discussion in the Knesset, Meir Deutsch, Director of Policy and government relations at Regavim, came to the studio of Walla! News and explained the severity of the disaster that roaming camels can cause.

In face of the fatal road accident that occurred last month in which a 60 year old woman was killed when her car collided with camels, Deutsch said “accidents involving camels are more fatal than regular traffic accidents. When there is a collision with a camel, the main brunt of the blow in the accident is on the driver. This is because the camel is so tall. The engine of the car is almost not damaged at all and all the weight of the camel, which is around on average a ton, falls on the driver.”

Regavim keeps close track of the phenomenon of stray camels in the Negev. The association also is the legal representative for the family of David Cohen, who was killed a year and a half ago after being hit by a roaming camel. “It is difficult to pick out camels when driving because of their color which is like the color of the dunes that blends in so well with the natural landscape,” added Deutsch. “If you hit a camel, it is very difficult to escape without injury.”

Deutsch affirms that each year the organization receives reports of approximately a thousand camels roaming the South. “The accident this past month could have been avoided. We and motorists have turned to the police and warned them. The Police indicated to us that they have received a very large amount of reports, but they have noticed that in the last two years they were successful in finding the owner of the camel only once. Usually Bedouins reach the accident site and cut the number imprinted on the camels ear in order to hide his affiliation to them. Most of the time it is not possible to find the owner.”

According to Deutsch, it is the responsibility of the camel’s owners to ensure that roaming does not go unsupervised near roads. “We are initiating a law that would require the owners to put a microchip on the camels under their skin much like on dogs, to help to be able to identify the owners.” He added that the incompetence of the authorities has led to loss of life on the roads. “Every year there are about 15 accidents with injuries. Three years ago, for example, an entire family perished in an accident. This is due to cost-saving policies by the camel owners. Instead of having the owners pay for hay to feed the camel, they send the camel out to graze in the open,” Deutsch said. “With the help of the bill of MK Bezalel Smotrich which has the support of 50 other MKs, which is being brought forth to the in the Knesset, we hope that the situation will change.”