Jewish Settlements II
The Six Day War and the return of Gush Etzion
The events of the Six Day War led to the fullfillment of the dream of nineteen years. On the day of liberation of the Wall and the Old City of Jerusalem, Israeli forces advanced southward along the Path of the Patriarchs toward the Etzion Bloc. They met no opposition after the Mar Elias monastery on the outskirt of Bethlehem. The Jordanian Army fled from the Judean Hills. The Jerusalem Division of the Israël Defence Force entered the abandoned Jordanian army camp that had been constructed on the ruins of Kibbutz Kfar Etzion. Gush Etzion was liberated by the Israeli Army on June 7, 1967.
The news of the liberation of Gush Etzion spread quickly among the survivors and childeren. Visits to the Etzion Bloc were organized soon thereafter. It was difficult to detect any tangible evidence of labor of love, which had been performed in the pioneering days prior to 1948. The destruction of the homes and uprooting of the trees by the Arabs, had led almost no signs of the dedicated efforts of the original Jewish settlers. The large, lonely oaktree which had been viewed from a distance was one of the only familiar objects.
Yohanan Ben Yaakov, a returning son, Kfar Etzion
´I wanted to visit immediatly, to be there at Gush Etzion but the area was still closed by the army. The whole Sabbath was spend reviewing the map of the area, learning every detail. On Sundaymorning I began my journey back to the Etzion Bloc. Entrance was restricted to soldiers on duty. I was still a soldier in uniform and my duty was to return home! Permission was granted to proceed.
We passed by the familiar sites which I had read about ( Rachels´ tomb, Bethlehem, King Salomons´ Pools) and then began the steep climb in the beautiful hill country. Behold we had arrived at the entrance to Gush Etzion. The Russian Hill on the left, the ´Lonely tree´ and on the right and beyond Rocky Hill, ´Kfar Etzion´! Where were the fruittrees, the homes, the cultural hall, the German monastry ... Nothing remained, everything had been destroyed ! I stood rooted to the ground. All that I knew about Kfar Etzion was racing through my mind. I had asked to visit and now found it impossible to leave as I looked around. Tears of grief mingled with tears of joy.´
In the spirit of their parents, the sons and daughters of Kfar Etzion made the courages decision to return and rebuild their community. One month after the termination of the war, they met at the Military Cemetery in Jerusalem where a service was conducted in memory of their dear friend Meir Shnur. He was one of the childeren of Kfar Etzion who had been evacuated in 1948 and fell in the battle on Ammunition Hill in 1967. ´We shall return home !´ was the firm resolution taken at this meeting. Many were willing to terminate their studies, to leave important positions and to make other personal sacrifices in order to reestablish the community.
The Etzion Bloc today (2005)
Kibbutz Kfar Etzion existed as a single solitary Jewish settlement in the Etzion Bloc for two years. The addition of a neighboring Jewish settlement was welcomed in the autumn of 1969, when kibbutz Rosh Tsurim was founded on the hillside where the old kibbutz Ein Tsurim had been founded in the past. Encouragement and support were granted by the original members of Ein Tsurim, who guided the young settlers on the base of their experience. Agriculture and industry were introduced including a poultry and dairy farm. The planting of thousands of fruittrees (cherries, walnuts, peaches, nectarines etc.) made a significant change in the Etzion Bloc scenery.
The thirs settlement ´Alon Shvut´ (´Return to the tree´) was established nine months later near the famous Oaktree. It was initiated by Moshe Moskowitz, one of the veteran members of the kibbutz ´Massuot Yitzhak´. It´s original settlers belonged to the ´Yeshivat Har Etzion´ which functioned in the temporary quarters for a eighteen months, in the abandoned Jordanian army camp at Kfar Etzion. This ´Talmudic Academy´whose students combine their studies with active duty in the Israelian army, moved to its new place in June 1970. For more than a year the new settlement was comprised exclusively of students and staff-members of the Yeshiva. Additional families joined the community in the fall and winter of 1971-1972. They formed the first non-collective ´Communal settlement´ which became a model for many other settlements in the Gush Etzion area and in other parts of the country. The Yeshiva expanded and built a magnificent campus in Alon Shvut. The study of Torah which had begun in the previous attempts of settlement at Gush Etzion is thus continuing with the return of Jewish people to this area.
North of 'Alon Shvut' the fourth settlement 'Elazar' was founded in the fall of 1974. It was named after the name of Judah the Maccabee, who sacrificed his life at nearby Beit Zachariah in one of the famous battle of the Maccabees, 2000 years ago. The original settlers were western 'olim' who founded a collective community based on industry. In the course of its development agriculture was also introduced. Later it became a none-collective 'communal settlement'.
Seven years after it's liberation, Gush Etzion once again numbered four settlements.
´To the community members,
Congratulations and may G´d bless you.
I personally was always interested in trying out the kibbutz way of life and for obvious reasons I would most prefer making the experiment at Kfar Etzion. As for timing I am currently studying at the Haifa Technion, where I was planning to continue for the next three years. However, if the settlement will be refounded in the next future, this does not mean that you are to count with me. The possibilities of deferring or even cancelling my studies do exist.... In conclusion I would like to add a few words to explain my position. I attach primary importance to the settlement of the hillsite as soon as possible. This should be performed even before the weighing of serious consideration such as the question of whether or not this place will remain within the borders of the State of Israel
(whether it will be a religous kibbutz or not). In my opinion the object is first and foremost to settle the spot...., to cast off its shame. I think that the childeren of Kfar Etzion are the ones best suited to fulfill this task. It has always been my opinion that the refounding of Kfar Etzion on the place where it fell would be its most significant memorial. For this I am prepared to make any sacrifice.
Avinoam Amichai (Chaimowitz) of blessed memory
A returning son, Kfar Etzion
Fell in battle at the Suez Canal, Yom Kippoer War
The sons and daughters of Kfar Etzion requested permission from the Israeli government to return to their liberated home.The late prime minister, Levi Eshkol, was very moved by their plea, but he nevertheless refrained from giving an immidiate reply. Considerable pressure was exerted upon him by a strong lobby which enthusiastically supported the return to Gush Etzion. After carefully considering the political implications of settlement in the newly-gained territories, Prime-minister Eshkol gave his consent and blessing – ´Childeren you may return home.´
With the granting of government approval, final preparations were hastily concluded. On September 27, 1967, one week before the holiday of Rosh Hashanna, the group was ready. Its members first visited the Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, where the defenders of the Etzion Bloc had been buried after Israel´s War of Independance. Appropriate prayers were recited by the childeren, who pledged to continue the work of their fathers. A row of cars set out on its course to Gush Etzion. The same armored car which had evacuated the childeren in 1948, led the way past Rachel´s Tomb and up through the Judean Hills.
The young settlers moved into the abandoned Jordanian army camp where they set up temporary livingquarters. A provisional kitchen, dininghall and synagogue were established in the former baracks. The new year was ushered in with prayers of thanksgiving and with a fervent plea for the succes of the fourth attempt to settle Gush Etzion once again. The holidays were joyously celebrated as many visitors came to express their solidarity with the returning sons and daughters.
Following the holiday season, a small determined group of settlers remained to face the challenge of estblishing a creative, selfsustaining community. They were confronted by problems similar to those which the older generation had struggled to solve. These included the lack of dependable watersource, the difficulty of farming in the hill country, the long bitterly-cold winters and the security situation. Thus, in the initial stages of settlement, whenever the irregular supply of water from the Hebron municipality proved deficient, tankers were called into service to transport water to Kfar Etzion from afar. All farming was at first praticed in the Lowlands of Judea as the difficult task of cultivating the rocky-hill country was temporarily posponed. A major snowfall during the first winter caused the total isolation of the village from the rest of the country for several days. The threat of terrorist activity which arose shortly after the Six Day War, resulted in the restriction of travel without military escort to the daylight hours.
In retrospect, this first period may be viewed as an endurance test, which the returning sons and daughters were required to pass. Strong motivations led to success and gradually the abandoned Jordanian army camp was transformed into a kibbutz. Its economy was based both on agriculture and on industry. One of the earliest projects in which the kibbutzmembers were engaged, was the replanting of thousand trees. The cultural and religous aspects of kibbutzlife were also promoted. Nineteen years after its fall and destruction, Kfar Etzion was resurrected by the younger generation.
The weddingcelebrations and the sound of new born babies, strengthened the realization that Kfar Etzion was alive once again in the Judean Hills.
Additional members joined Kfar Etzion from Jewish communities throughout the world. Many had been brought up on the story of Kfar Etzion. They felt privileged to become partners in the rebuilding of the Kibbutz, for there was an unprecedented story, unique in the Israeli society. In miniature form, it reminded the new settlers of the unparalelled covenental relationship of the ´people of Israel´ to the ´land of Israel´. A relationship marked by relentless faith, painfull exile and joyous return.
Seven years after it's liberation, Gush Etzion once again numbered four settlements.