Dear Friends and Partners,
One of the core areas of Regavim’s activity since the movement’s founding has been the Israeli judicial system: Over the course of 17 years, we have submitted hundreds of petitions and published dozens of reports that illustrate the imbalance in our judicial system.
Our materials and analysis continue to play an important role in illustrating and explaining the need for reform - to the general public and its representatives in the Knesset and government. We congratulate Minister of Justice Yariv Levin and Chairman of the Knesset’s Constitution Committee Simcha Rothman for promoting the reform, and support their strong stance in the face of the hate-filled campaign that is threatening to thrust Israel into anarchy. Dive deeper here >>>
While our efforts to support the reform continue, this past month’s calendar included a full range of activities: documenting and monitoring land use in the Negev and Judea-Samaria; connecting MKs, public figures and media personalities with on-the-ground realities; public lectures, court appearances and Knesset hearings on a range of core issues, and our ongoing research, analysis and reporting. We're proud to share some of it with you in this pre-Passover newsletter, while taking this opportunity to wish you a festive and uplifting Pesach.
Warmly,
Regavim
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Click to join our efforts to promote judicial reform >>>
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A Regavim achievement: Court orders demolition of an illegal school
After a 5-year legal battle, we won a major judgement in the Jerusalem District Court in our petition against the Palestinian Authority’s illegal school in the Herodion National Park. The decision orders the illegal structure to be sealed off immediately, and demolished within 60 days. Sample foreign media coverage here (French) or watch Regavim’s Attorney Boaz Arzi's Channel 11 (Hebrew).
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School of Hypocrisy: Immediately after the Jerusalem District Court handed down its decision in the case of the illegal school at the Herodion, the UN published a special report warning of “a humanitarian crisis and infringement of the rights of children to education.” To counter these claims, we released data on three additional schools – all within a 2 km (1 mile) radius of the Herodion school, proving that the structure now slated for demolition was built for strategic purposes of land annexation and not in response to educational needs. Once again, the UN’s true motives are showing – as is the blatant disregard for Israel’s jurisdiction and the rule of law. Once again, the UN’s has tipped its hand, exposing its role in the Palestinian annexation of the open spaces of Area C and the creation of a de facto Palestinian state. Learn more about the Palestinian Authority’s weaponization of schools here >>>
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The study of policy and statesmanship – in the field
We hosted Dr. Gadi Taub, a well-know Israeli academic, commentator and media personality, along with a group of honors’ students from the Public Policy and Government Program of the Federman Institute on an in-depth fact-finding tour of the Bedouin encampments of the Negev. We took a long, hard look at issues of governance and analyzed the government’s failed attempts to resolve the Negev Challenge. Learn more about Regavim’s solutions for the Negev in “The Sde Boker Inititative: Negev 2050” >>>
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Presenting: A Vision for the Future of the Negev
Regavim participated in a round-table discussion led by Minister of Social Equality MK Amichai Chikli, along with representatives of relevant government ministries, enforcement bodies, the Bedouin Authority, the Planning Authority and local government officials responsible for regulation and development of Bedouin settlement in the Negev. Avraham Binyamin, Regavim’s Director of Policy and Parliamentary Affairs, presented The Sde Boker Initiative, Regavim’s vision for the future of the Negev, in order to focus and pool resources and build cooperation.
This past month, the government approved the establishment of the Ministerial Committee for Regulation of Settlement and Economic Development of Bedouin Society in the Negev,” under the chairmanship of Minister for Social Equality and Deputy Prime Minister MK Amichai Chikli, who also holds the government portfolio for the Bedouin Authority. The new Ministerial Committee will consolidate all relevant authorities and government agencies, in order to bolster personal and public security, improve protection of land and other resources, regulate Bedouin settlement, fight racketeering, polygamy and the drug trade along with other symptoms of the spread of “Bedouistan.”
This is an important and encouraging step toward restoring governance to the Negev.
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In The Land of Scrapyards and Chop Shops
We played a leading role in an id-depth expose of one of the worst-kept dirty secrets around: Judea and Samaria have become a powerhouse when it comes to shady spare parts and “grey” garages. We showed exactly how the system works, from the massive car-theft industry through the devastation of the environment, as the authorities turn a blind eye. Our battle against illegal scrapyards and the industry behind them covers the entire Land of Israel, and has been ongoing for years. See our environmental report here >>>
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New – Old Petition Illustrates Judicial Bias
This past month we submitted a new petition to the Beer Sheva District Court, demanding the evacuation of hundreds of Bedouin squatters from the Abu Qwider tribe who commandeered privately-owned Jewish property near Nevatim in the Negev. The Bedouin squatters admit that the land belongs to private Jewish owners – but they don’t allow that undisputed fact to get in the way of more and more construction on the purloined property. Over a decade ago, the government promised that it would remove the squatters; this Channel 14 report (Hebrew) shows what’s happened in the interim >>>
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Luxury Living – For Terrorists Only
Recently, construction work began on a project we’ve been following for years: A new residential neighborhood for released terrorists. To qualify for this luxury project, applicants must have served at least 5 years in an Israeli security prison for a terrorism offense. To make matters worse, the new neighborhood is situated in Area B, between the Area C Jewish communities of Ofra and Shiloh, overlooking Wadi Haramiyeh. This spot was the launching ground for one of the most infamous shooting attacks in Judea and Samaria, in which 7 Israeli soldiers and 3 civilians were murdered by an Arab sniper. See media coverage here, here (Spanish), here (French), or for home-grown (Hebrew) coverage, click here or here.
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Presenting facts to worldwide media: Regavim’s International Division hosted a group of foreign journalists on a tour of “hotspots” in Judea and Samaria to illuminate legal parameters, strategies and solutions to the battle for Area C. Print and broadcast journalists from Germany, France, Austria, Australia, the UK, Russia, the US and others were given a first-hand look at the political, security, environmental and humanitarian problems that are the result of the Israeli government’s failure to push back against the Palestinian Authority’s program of annexation, and learned about the legalization process of 9 Jewish communities announced by the government. The journalists met with pro-Palestinian spokespeople, as well as residents of the Jewish communities slated for legalization – an invaluable approach to combat anti-Israel fake news and false narratives.
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Touring the Negev with the Knesset’s southern representative
MK Almog Cohen joined us for a field tour Laqiya, Hura and Al Sayyed, where he learned about the State of Israel’s repeated (failed) attempts to resolve the issues of Bedouin settlement and the symptoms of the breakdown of governance in the Negev: polygamy, illegal petrol stations, garbage dumping, the illegal drug industry and the spreading disease of protection racketeering The tour was capped off with an in-depth discussion of Regavim’s Sde Boker Initiative and Regavim’s proposed solutions for the unique and complex challenges of the Negev.
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“The whole is greater than the sum of its shacks.”
Watch Avraham Binyamin as he addresses a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense hearing (in Hebrew) regarding “the government’s position on the evacuation of the illegal Palestinian outpost Khan al Ahmar” (Hebrew) >>>
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Out in the Firing Zone
We hosted MK Limor Sohn Har-Melekh on a fact-finding tour of Samaria, beginning with IDF Firing Zone 201 for a look at Rosh HaAyin and the Israeli coastal plain cities. From there, we set out to sites of eco- terrorism, where environmental abuse is polluting the soil, the air and the water. The tour examined the various forms of illegal land-grabs: construction, agriculture and infrastructure projects that are changing the political map of Judea and Samaria.
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We don’t back away from the tough battles
Channel 12 recently produced a short documentary presenting an Arab developer’s claim that a project he is working on in Area B, at a strategic point in the Shiloh Bloc, has been stalled due to pressure by Israeli residents of the area. Although the documentary presented a clearly biased point of view, we chose to participate nonetheless – to present the big picture and explain the larger context of this and other deliberate, well-planned, strategically placed projects designed to further the Palestinian Authority’s hostile takeover of Judea and Samaria. Watch Meir Deutsch, Director General of Regavim, take on the hard job >>>
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The Regavim Prize for Protection of Israel’s Land Resources
Can you think of an outstanding defender of our national lands? The nomination process for the Regavim Prize - 5783 is underway! Click here to access the nomination form >>>
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Regavim
Protecting Israel's Resources
Preserving Israeli Sovereignty
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