Real Zionism

Symbolic acts to show our love for the Land of Israel are great. They get folks all excited, and the press come out with their cameras and their notepads.

Then, there is real Zionism - the kind where Jews build the land without the media watching every shovel, the kind that involves real mesirut nefesh (self-sacrifice), the kind where only G-d Above witnesses the sacrifices of those involved in the act.

My family was on our way to Bet El for Shabbat, when we noticed a boy on the hilltop at the side of the road, putting up some kind of sign. It seemed like he was in the middle of nowhere, and it's kind of odd to be in the middle of nowhere 45 minutes before Shabbat. My curiosity would not abate, so I made my husband turn around on the highway and drive back to the boy.

I called out to him (he was older than I first thought) and asked what he was doing. He said that he and nine other friends had started a new community - Ramat Migron.

Ramat Migron is actually an offshoot of the Jewish town, Migron, which is on a hilltop right next to Pesagot. More than 50 families call Migron home. My husband and I have been there, and it is a lovely neighborhood, but the government wants to destroy it and move its residents, because they consider it an "illegal settlement."

Ramat Migron was built by young people, and destroyed a few times already, but the residents are determined to continue rebuilding it until it stands always, and its hilltop is filled with Jewish families.

I am sure this will happen one day, because the destiny of the Jewish people is to tied to the Land. G-d forbid, the government might send forces once again to destroy Ramat Migron, as they have other "outposts," but I know that the next time I pass on my way to Bet El, Ramat Migron's sign will still be standing (or be standing again) and yet another caravan or structure will be added to it. And one day in the not too distant future, new families will call Ramat Migron home. I look forward to visiting then.

You can view my encounter with the young Ramat Migron resident on http://voices-magazine.com/voices-videos.php?id=79 .