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Eleven years ago — prior to Aliyah, on 3 July, 1997, after participating in the Sefer Torah Recycling Network’s 2nd Hachnasat Sefer Torah in 3 days (Yishuv Sh’vut Rahel taking place on 1 July) in Yishuv Maalei Chaver, this author was being driven back to Jerusalem. On the way, we passed by, in the distance, the controversial mountain upon which would later be built the new community of Har Homa.
The conversation in the car turned to The Land; the failure of Israel to take over The Land and to evict the Arabs from it. One of the other passengers gave a maashal, a story whose cited reference this author can’t recollect. In essence, the story seemed to indicate that the Arabs are occupying for us those parts of the land which we haven’t inhabited ourselves, lest those areas be inhabited by dangerous wild animals, snakes, poisonous plantlife, etc.
