There is no such thing as an Israeli ‘settler’ in the West Bank – opinion

DAVID S. LEVINE

Jews meet the UN definition of indigenous people. Therefore, they are not “settlers,” and the places they live are not “settlements.” So why are there “Arab villages” but “Jewish settlements?”
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KIRYAT ARBA: ‘As citizens of the State of Israel, we are Israelis; period,’ says the writer. / (photo credit: Wisam Hashlamounn/Flash90)

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a settler is, “a person who arrives, especially from another country, to a new place in order to live there and use the land.” A settlement, according to vocabulary.com, is, “a colony or any small community of people.”

However, these definitions take on negative connotations when it pertains to Israel and Israelis. Even Israeli media have headlines such as, “Settlers arrested after deadly clash in Palestinian village.”

Various biblical texts refer to Israel as a “land flowing with milk and honey.” This description is in stark contrast to Mark Twain’s observations in 1867 that Israel (then called Palestine) was a desolate and barren country in both people and vegetation.

It was only after the start of the aliyah movement in the late 1800s, when many Jews joined their fellow Jews who had maintained a continuous presence in the Jewish homeland, did the land begin to bloom again with people and agriculture. The phrase “a land flowing with milk and honey” can be applied both in reality and metaphorically.

Jews meet the UN definition of indigenous people. Therefore, they are not “settlers,” and the places they live are not “settlements.” Which raises the rhetorical question: Why are there “Arab villages” but “Jewish settlements?”

Jewish settlers look on during a march near Hebron in the West Bank, June 21, 2021 (credit: REUTERS/MUSSA QAWASMA)

Why are Jews settlers if they are indigenous people?

One unfortunate reason is a mistranslation of the Hebrew word Yishuv. The root of this word is shuv, to return. According to Wikipedia, the term Yishuv came into use in the 1880s to denote the body of Jewish residents in the Land of Israel, and became the word to describe the Jewish population of Israel prior to the establishment of the modern State in 1948.

The Hebrew word Yishuv translates to “community” in the form of towns, population, inhabitants, neighborhoods, villages, etc.

Archaeological discoveries shed light on early urbanization in the Kingdom of Judah

JERUSALEM POST STAFF

The findings have revealed fortified cities and common urban pattern characterized by casemate walls, houses abutting the walls and peripheral roads.
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Aerial view of the casemate city wall of Khirbet Qeiyafa / (photo credit: SKYVIEW LTD)

In recent archaeological excavations in the Judea region, significant discoveries have been made that provide new insights into the early urbanization process and urban planning of the kingdom during the 10th century BCE.

The findings, spanning multiple sites including Khirbet Qeiyafa, Bet Shemesh 4, Tell en-Naṣbeh, Khirbet ed-Dawwara and Lachish V, have revealed fortified cities and common urban pattern characterized by casemate walls (double city walls with space between the walls separated into chambers), houses abutting the walls, and peripheral roads.

The peer-reviewed study was published by The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The Kingdom of Judah’s expansion into the Shefela (lowlands), the favorable ecological zone southwest of Jerusalem, has long been a topic of debate among scholars.

However, these recent excavations challenge the prevailing notion that this expansion occurred in the middle or late 9th century BCE.

Instead, the findings suggest that the process was already underway in the early 10th century BCE, significantly earlier than previously believed.

A close-up of one of the casements in the city wall of Khirbet Qeiyafa (credit: PROF. YOSEF GARFINKEL)

At Khirbet Qeiyafa, located on a prominent hill overlooking the Valley of Elah, archaeologists uncovered a 2.3-hectare fortified city.

What did the excavation show?

The excavation revealed a casemate city wall, houses that incorporated the casemates as rear rooms and a peripheral belt of buildings abutting the city wall.  The presence of Canaanite inscriptions at the site indicates an increasing demand for communications and suggests centralized authority.

Bet Shemesh 4, situated in the northern Shefela, yielded similar findings. The excavations at Bet Shemesh 4 revealed an early Iron Age II city enclosed by a casemate wall.

The houses in this city were built in a rounded arrangement, distinct from later structures. Excavators also discovered a casemate city wall at Tell en-Naṣbeh, emphasizing the common urban pattern found across multiple sites in the region.

Khirbet ed-Dawwara, a small fortified site on the desert fringe of the Benjaminite hill country, provided valuable insights despite its size. The excavations revealed a short-lived settlement with four-room houses and a casemate fortification. 

The pottery assemblage suggests a dating to the early 10th century BCE, aligning it with the urbanization process of the larger cities in the region.

Tel Lachish V played a crucial role as a regional center during the early Iron Age. Excavations at Lachish V uncovered an early Iron Age fortification, featuring a brick construction encircling the entire site.

The recent findings of a newly discovered city wall constructed with medium-sized stones further support the city’s importance in the second half of the 10th century BCE.

These discoveries challenge previous assumptions about the timing and extent of the kingdom of Judah’s early urbanization. The presence of fortified cities and the common urban pattern found across multiple sites highlight the strategic importance of these locations and the organized expansion of the kingdom.  

US Marine Corps moves forward with purchase of Israel’s Iron Dome

JERUSALEM POST STAFF

As part of the deal, the Marine Corps will purchase 44 Iron Dome launchers and 1,840 Tamir interceptors.
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The Iron Dome air defense missile systems is seen during operational trials conducted following the conclusion Operation Shield and Arrow on May 14, 2023 / (photo credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY)

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) plans to purchase dozens of Iron Dome launchers and thousands of interceptor missiles in a deal that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the War Zone reported on Saturday citing a procurement notice of intent publicly available online.

The deal, which would see the USMC purchase some three batteries’ worth of the Iron Dome system, would be conducted with Raytheon, which has a deal with Israeli manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to distribute the system to the United States.

The prime contractor for the development and production of the Iron Dome is Rafael, who adapted the system to USMC requirements and assisted with testing support.

As part of the deal, the USMC will purchase 44 launchers and 1,840 Tamir interceptors.

View of Iron Dome Missile Defense battery deployed near the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, August 5, 2022. (credit: TOMER NEUBERG/FLASH90)

Marine Corps’ Iron Dome deal has been in the works

Last year, the Jerusalem Post reported that completed a series of interception tests on an air defense system using Israel’s Tamir Interceptor.

The experiment included a series of three tests carried out over the course of several months. The system successfully intercepted a variety of targets. 

Israel Daily news Full episode- August 23, 2023

ILTV Israel News

Ancient ‘magic mirror’ discovered in northern Israel by youth leader

JERUSALEM POST STAFF

Magic mirrors were used to protect against the Evil Eye in ancient times.
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Youth leader Aviv Weizman holding the magic mirror plaque she discovered at Usha (photo credit: EMIL ALADJEM/ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY) / Youth leader Aviv Weizman holding the magic mirror plaque she discovered at Usha / (photo credit: EMIL ALADJEM/ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY)

A 1,500-year-old “magic mirror” from the Byzantine period was discovered by a 17-year-old Israeli taking part in a Young Leaders’ Survival Course at the Usha archaeological site in northern Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Thursday.

Aviv Weizman, the youth leader who found the mirror, was taking part in a 90-km survival trek from Mount Meron to Mount Hermon as part of the Education Ministry’s Shelah Young Leaders’ Survival Course. During the trek, the young leaders participate in archaeological digs at sites located around the country.

While taking part in a dig directed by the Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologist Hanaa Abu Uqsa Abud at Usha, a site near Kiryat Ata, Weizman spotted an unusual pottery shard sticking out of the ground between the walls of a building.

Weizman showed the sherd to Dr. Einat Ambar-Armon, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority Northern Education Center, who identified it as the plaque of a “magic mirror.”

What is a magic mirror?

“The fragment is part of a ‘magical mirror’ from the Byzantine period, the 4th–6th centuries CE,” explained Navit Popovitch, Israel Antiquities Authority curator of the classical Periods. “A glass mirror, for protection against the Evil Eye, was placed in the middle of the plaque: The idea was that the evil spirit, such as a demon, who looked in the mirror, would see his own reflection, and this would protect the owner of the mirror. Similar mirror plaques have been found in the past as funerary gifts in tombs, in order to protect the deceased in their journey to the world to come.”

Dr. Einat Ambar-Armon explains what the ”magic mirror” is to Aviv Weizman, who found the mirror. (credit: EMIL ALADJEM/ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY)

“The participation of the pupils in the archaeological excavations deepens their feeling of belonging to the country and its heritage,” said Eli Shayish, director of the Education Ministry’s Shelah and Land of Israel Studies.

“During the week-long trek, the young leaders discovered additional finds, including pottery jars, coins, decorated stone fragments, and even a water aqueduct,” Eli Escusido, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, added. “History, usually taught in the classroom, comes to life from the ground. A pupil who uncovers a find in the course of an excavation will never forget the experience. There is no better way to connect the youth to the country and the heritage.”

Saar Ganor, coordinator of the project on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, explained that “this find embellishes the two-way contribution of the cooperation between the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Education Ministry’s Shelah Project: At the same time, uncovering the country’s past, and also providing the youth with a personal empowering experience, connecting them to their roots.”