'We were ready for any mission': Inside the Jewish return to Jericho
"Maybe we're going to Gaza. Maybe another house in Hebron," the Gazit children, who are used to going with their parents to restore Jewish presence in various locations in the Land of Israel, tried to guess their next destination. Only when the families gathered in Mitzpe Yericho and were shown the photos of the houses did they learn that they were moving to Jericho. From there, they travelled to the houses on the outskirts of the ancient Biblical city, purchased in secret near the Hasmonean Palaces, in a neighborhood named for the fruit most closely associated with the city: Dates.
Shmuel and Reshit Gazit, two of the neighborhood's founders, tell Arutz Sheva-Israel National News that they were first contacted about three weeks before they entered the house. Approximately a week earlier, they received a list of what to prepare for the mission. "We are always prepared for any mission and happy to partake," Reshit says. "We have equipment ready for any mobilization." Zvi Elimelech Sharbaf, the chairman of the Nachala Movement, which oversaw the purchase of the houses, says that its details were kept secret to protect the Arab sellers from the Palestinian Authority's death penalty for anyone who sells property to Jews.
When it was learned that information about the sale reached others, the movement decided to move in sooner, fearing the PA would learn about it and other entities would take over the houses. Among the houses the families moved into was the Solomon House, named after the pioneer Yoel Moshe Solomon, who, before founding Petah Tikva, attempted and failed to purchase land in Jericho. "Today, we have the privilege of resettling in that murky valley."
During the first days, the families went from property to property to get to know their new homes. In one, they found an orchard full of fruit, while another property includes a freshwater spring. The homes were previously lavish vacation homes, and one of their swimming pools is already at work serving the community's children and visitors. "We're having fun, we're happy to be here," Reshit says. "We are waiting for a permanent nucleus of families to move in.
We're just a temporary nucleus." Shmuel, who came from Hebron, says that they entered the property without confrontations and that the military is protecting the families. He reveals that the Arab neighbors welcomed the newcomers and that they even offered help and brought them water. Binyamin Governor and Yesha Council chairman Yisrael Ganz said, "The return to Jericho connects our roots with the future we are building here." According to Ganz, approximately a year ago, antiquities looters broke into an ancient burial site near the Hasmonean palaces, where a shattered skull was discovered.
Ganz said the incident illustrates the danger of abandoning Jewish heritage sites and accused the Palestinian Authority of attempting to erase historical and archaeological evidence of the Jewish connection to the area. "Today, alongside the place where our ancestors lived more than 2,000 years ago, Jewish families are establishing their homes," Ganz said. "Our responsibility is to establish a community here and work to preserve and restore the site, so that the children who grow up here will know their history through the place where they live.
We have come home, and we are here to stay." Young Neta Gazit also has a wish for the new neighborhood. "I hope more and more houses will be purchased and that the entire Land of Israel will belong to the Jews."
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