Friday, June 11, 2010

Gulf State Arabs Buy Up Galilee Lands

Hana Levi Julian

Wealthy foreign Arabs have bought up hundreds of dunam of land in the Galilee, according to a report broadcast Saturday on Voice of Israel government radio. The land, which was owned privately and which was zoned for agricultural use, was sold due to economic hardship.

The buyers were wealthy citizens of Arab states in the Persian Gulf that do not have any diplomatic relations with the State of Israel.

Groups of Galilee Jewish farmers who tried to organize a counter-offer failed to raise enough money to purchase the land from its owners. Israeli lands are being sold to the highest bidder.

Agriculture Minister Shalom Simchon said he had no legal authority to intervene in the matter. The Israel Lands Authority, which owns most of the land in Israel, told the radio station it could not stop a transaction involving privately-owned land.

The Knesset last month passed a bill that mandates the sale of 400,000 dunam of the Land of Israel by 2014, the equivalent of 400 square kilometers, or 155 square miles (nearly 99,000 acres). The law allows another 400,000 dunam to be sold after 2014.

Kadima Knesset Member Nachman Shai slammed the same in a news release, saying "Israeli lands are being sold to the highest bidder," just as expected and feared during the vote on land reform.

"The Israel Land Authorities reform is a loophole calling out to the robber, and it will attract, as expected, Arab investors from abroad, who will eventually gain control over significant pieces of land in Israel," Shai said.

Meretz head Chaim Oron also pointed to the sale as proof that the land reform bill had been clearly misguided.

Additional information: The following article by INN is further proof of what the Israel Independence Fund has contended for over three years and it is why we stepped up to the plate and offered our support to Irgun HaShomer HaChadash ( The New Gaurdians) since its inception (see Caroline Glick's wonderful article on the New Gaurdians here: http://www.carolineglick.com/e/2008/03/the-new-guardians-of-israel.php ).

Most recently the Board of the Israel Independence Fund has decided to include among our funded organizations Regavim. Regavim works tirelessly to lobby the government and quasi governmental institutions to function according to fundamental Zionist principles and to actualize those principles to preserve the Land of the Jewish people by preventing its takeover by others. With investigators in the field, Regavim documents illegal land grabs and the sale of land to elements that are clearly seditious. Documentation together with constant pressure on Knesset members, the government and the judicial system through legal, parliamentary and civil means is a key to the struggle.



Regavim has the resources for Coordinators/Investigators in the Negev, in Judea and Samaria, and has requested that we seek funding for a Coordinator/Investigator in the Galilee. We must fill that position immediately!



You can make a secure online donation to do just that by logging on our website www.fundisrael.org. Just leave a comment that your donation is designated for Regavim. Or mail your donation to:



The Israel Independence Fund

c/o NGN Capital

369 Lexington Avenue

New York, NY 10017



Tell your friends and neighbors, forward this email to as many people as you can! We will not stand by the liquidation of our own lands! Your generous donation will secure Israel's tomorrow…today!

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