By Max Silverstone
During our weekend in the Gush Etzion settlement block, we heard from many speakers with different viewpoints on what it means for Jews to live across the “green line.” Yishai Fleisher, the spokesperson for the Jewish community of Hebron, was one of these speakers, and he had a lot to share about his own personal experience and what living in the settlements means. He was born in Israel, but grew up in the United States, including studying at Yeshiva University where he got his law degree. However, he returned to Israel, fought in the paratroopers, and received Rabbinical ordination in Jerusalem.
When Fleisher moved to Israel, he lived exclusively across the green line, in Beit El, Mt. of Olives, Hebron, and now, Gush Etzion. He explained to us that Jews are the indigenous people of the Judean mountains, so there is no need to apologize for living there; he is simply one of the people who is leading a return to the land. As the spokesperson for Hebron, he made the point of that Jews have lived there for 3,800 years, so to call it an illegal settlement is silly, because Jewish presence goes way back before Palestinians too lived in the land.
While Fleisher believes that Jews have full rights to live in their historic homeland, this does not mean he believes on the flip side that Palestinians have no rights.
He said that everyone in the land should learn both Hebrew and Arabic, since it helps people understand each other’s cultures, and makes communication easier, leading to an easier way to make friendship, and ultimately, peace. He also admitted that he was an “illegal settler,” not in the sense that he didn’t have the right to live there, but in that he acknowledged that the International community sees his living there as illegal.
Something I took away from Yishai’s talk is that not everyone who lives in the settlements believes that Palestinians don’t have a right to live in this land either. They too trace their ancestry back, both in their direct lineage, and historically hundreds of years. Part of this double narrative is that both peoples have lived on the same lands, and can therefore claim it. Ultimately, I believe we need more people on both sides to acknowledge that the other side has a right to be here. Hopefully the status quo will change, and people will live here, together, side by side, in peace.
