Zionism is still here and here to stay

“The long arm of the IDF will strike at the murderers,” sure. We will impose another closure, destroy another home, level another weapons-manufacturing workshop, revoke more work permits and more. That’s all well and good, but what about the traditional Zionist response? What happened to the most basic and healthy Jewish instinct, the one that has characterized the return to Zion — to plant each time we are uprooted; to make new life and to build in response to death and bereavement; to create more homes and more neighborhoods and more settlements for every victim taken. “In thy blood, live” (Ezekiel 16:6). This was once our daily bread, but in recent years, moratoriums have been imposed and construction has been sparse. This is true in Jerusalem, in Maaleh Adumim, in the “settlement blocs” and “deep in the territory.” The threat of court-ordered evacuation hangs over the 20-year-old settlement of Amona, and thousands of homes throughout Judea and Samaria are crying out for regulation.

Now is the time to declare, first to ourselves, and then to the world and the Palestinians: No more. This is our homeland of Zion — it is not “occupied territory”; we have no intention of “disengaging” or “separating” or “withdrawing.” Not from Hebron, not from Beit El and not from Otniel. Not from Kiryat Arba, not from Ofra and not from Amona. We are not “occupiers” in our land. This is true revenge, as it will hurt the Palestinians more than anything else. It will also rebuild the unwavering Jewish commitment to the land of Israel.

This must happen first and foremost in Jerusalem — we must fight for its unity and not be scared off by challenges or led astray by the deception of people like MK Haim Ramon. Then we must focus on Hebron, “Jerusalem’s sister” as late Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion called it, and greater Hebron, which, during the recent wave of terrorism, became an assembly line producing the kind of terrorists who slaughter children in their beds and mothers in the doorways of their homes.

We will not acquire this land by way of countless shelters, security fences, military intelligence and manhunts for terrorists. Security is a means — living in Zion is the ultimate goal.

In thy blood, live. This land was founded on settlements — some were built as a direct response to the murder of Jews and some commemorate the fallen and the victims of terrorism: Neve Ativ, Netiv Halamed-Heh, Kiryat Shmona, Maaleh Hahamisha?, Mishmar Hashiva and Givat Salit.

In Hebron, Jews are paying good money to purchase homes from Arabs. But the Israeli defense establishment is preventing them from actualizing these purchases for political reason. Now is the time, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, to grant these people authorization to complete the transaction. Now is the time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to use actions, not words, to solidify the Jewish grip on the E1 area and finally build the neighborhood that links Maaleh Adumim to Jerusalem. Now is the time, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, to instruct the legal advisers to get creative and legalize the outpost of Amona. She has more than one good option at her disposal.

After we catch the murderers — and we will undoubtedly catch them — we need to catch ourselves. We need to take a good look in the mirror and examine how we look to others. The ongoing settlement freezes and our capitulation to U.S. and European pressure on this issue are invariably interpreted by the Palestinians as weakness and as a clear signal that our grip on the land of Israel is temporary. The sweeping renewal of settlements will make it clear to them that we are back to being ourselves. That Zionism is still here. That terrorism and grief only strengthen our grasp on the land in general and on the historical territories of Israel in particular. Now is the time to ignore the world, which will certainly condemn and boycott, and go beyond the security discourse to get back to Zionist discourse and actions; to first and foremost tell ourselves the simple, forgotten truth: The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel.