Settlers call on US Jews to buy West Bank homes

[Scurrilous]

Yesha Council exports activity overseas with fair marketing homes in settlements to American investors

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3364633,00.html

<snip>

"You too can own a home and strengthen the Zionist dream," proclaims an advertisement issued by the Yesha Council and the Amana organization in an appeal to the United States Jewry, as the settler movement acts to thaw the deep freeze which has taken over construction in the West Bank.

The Amana organization defines itself as "the settlement movement of Gush Emunim, with the primary goal of developing communities in Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights, the Galilee and the Negev."

The two groups have launched a campaign which will allow American Jews to purchase a second home in a settlement, pitching the deal as a zero risk venture: "Your investment is insured, protected and 100 percent legal," proclaims the ad.

The government virtually no longer authorizes new construction projects in the West Bank and Israeli citizens are wary to invest their money in the area, whose future depends on the for-now-forgotten realignment plan which may see the entire region evacuated.

And so Yesha and Amana decided to turn to Americans interested in building their dream home in the hills of the West Bank: A cottage in Kiryat Arba or a villa in Karnei Shomron. The houses are priced anywhere from $94,000 to $170,000 per unit."

[bemildred]

1. Yep, that's a great, no-risk investment all right.

Live the life of your dreams ...

[breakaleg]

2. How is this even possible? Jews aren't allowed by law to sell to Arabs,

that is Israeli-Arabs in Israel, but it's ok to buy land in the occupied territories?

These settlers make me sick.

[Lurking Dem]

3. That is a disingenuous statement.

Over 90% of the land in Israel is administered by the ILA and is not available for purchase by anyone. The small amount of privately owned land is distributed evenly between Arab and Jew.

The rest of it is leased and the laws are equal access.

[breakaleg]

4. so 10% of the land is equal access. Wow. How "democratic" of them!

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tom Joad]

6. Distrubuted equally??? What about land owned by the Jewish National Fund?

Just askin'...

[breakaleg]

7. It wasn't selling of land but renting of homes I was thinking of when I replied.

I read that many Jews don't rent to Arab-Israelis.

And here we have settlers trying to encourage other Jews to build homes on land that isn't legally Israel's.

[Lurking Dem]

8. FWIW

I think that stating it is perfectly legal is probably bullshit. Jews, American or otherwise should not be buying property on the West Bank unless Palestinians decide they don't mind Jews being citizens of Palestine and the buyers' intent is to become a Palestinian citizen.

As to renting practices it wouldn't surprise me. Hell, where I live it is hard for a single woman to rent and more than a few have had to "borrow" a guy or go in with their brother to get the electricity in their name.

Change is always too slow for those who want/need it.

But the renting practices of a building owner and the statutes of a nation are a far cry from the same thing.

[Shaktimaan]

9. sell/rent/own/blah

Even though almost none of the land is up for "sale," tons of people own land. They just don't really, really own it. The government does, making your "ownership" more like some kind of permanant lease. I honestly don't know what the exact story is with it. But, people are able to buy houses and stuff.

The one thing I do know is that it's illegal to discriminate against any ethnicity with all this stuff. It's been through the courts before, you can't blackball based on race. I think there was a Supreme Court ruling as recently as 2002 when some ritzy community tried to refuse an Arab-Israeli from moving in and they ruled that anyone can live everywhere.