Demolition debate

Letters

Editor: While appreciating the sensitivity with which Rabbi Blobstein approaches home demolitions ("Think before you judge," Bulletin Letters, Feb. 15), the situation today is much different than the one which he describes. Rabbis for Human Rights has been working with the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions since 1997. From 1997 until the beginning of this intifada, I recall one case of a home that was demolished in connection with terror. The many cases that we deal with all stem from the catch-22 situation whereby government policy makes it virtually impossible for Palestinians in Jerusalem or Area C (the territories still under full Israeli control) from receiving a legal building permit without paying a bribe.

When people are forced to build "illegally," their homes are subject to a court-ordered demolition. In many cases, homes are demolished without warning or the family is given 15 to 30 minutes to remove their possessions. I have pictures of children's clothes, school books and toys in the midst of rubble. I am sure that many soldiers/bulldozer operators (I hope most) feel very badly about what they are doing. Unfortunately, I have met all too many who were quite pleased.

Palestinians tell me that they could accept that soldiers have been commanded to do what they are doing if it weren't for the joyous singing or the destruction of property not included in the order. I believe that the reason that so many people in Israel and around the world oppose demolitions and that there has been such a drastic drop in court-ordered demolitions since August 1998 is that people of all political persuasions have come to see the patent injustice in this practice.

Demolitions are also a clear violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, as well as our understanding of the Jewish tradition. As to the security-related demolitions, it is true that, in the Jewish tradition, preserving human life overrides almost every other consideration. However, there is absolutely no indication that home demolitions prevent terror. In fact, I don't know how many times I have visited or helped to rebuild a demolished home and the parents have insisted that their children meet us. They tell us that they want their angry child, who has seen his home demolished and wants to grow up to be a terrorist, to understand that there are also Israelis willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with them to rebuild.

B'Vrakha,

Rabbi Arik W. Ascherman
Executive director, Rabbis for
Human Rights, Jerusalem

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