Nadene Goldfoot
Shiloh is a very important modern Israeli community in Judea-Samaria's mountain ridge which covers several miles of the densely populated coastal plain. This mountain ridge is indispensable to Israel's defensibility according to American military studies. In 1967 a study said that in Judea and Samaria Israel should "control the high ground running north and south." A study done in 1974 by the US Army's Command and Staff College said the same thing. Therefore, to defend itself in attack, this ridge must stay in Israel's hands.
An attack happened, but from the US State Department's spokesman, Mark Toner. He's complaining that Israel is planning to build in Shiloh by putting up 500 housing units and said-it's not constructive. Of course, just like he's speaking for the Palestinians instead of the USA's friend, the Palestinians want this land so don't want Israel to build. I personally don't see the Palestinians making any effort to come to peace terms, and until such time, I see Israel going ahead with life. Leave it to the State Dept to get all in a dither with Israel's building plans instead of zoning in on problems with Iran, Iraq, Syria and Egypt, real hot-spots. Instead, it's always Israel who gets the pressure.
If peace ever does come, which isn't likely, such a place as Shiloh must stay in Israel's hands. It's a living viable community and people from there serve in the Israeli army. 67.1% of the draftees from such communities serve in combat roles, of which only 10% of the population does. 16% of the residents are officers compared to the average of 8.3%. It doesn't help the USA to make Israel a weak army. In fact, Israel's army helps the USA a great deal. The USA has never had to come with its army to fight for or with us as they have in other countries.
The orginal Shiloh lay where the tribe of Ephraim (of the 12 tribes) lived in Judea-Samaria. It was the religious capital of the Jews for 300 years before Jerusalem was built by King David when Israelites came into the land with Joshua. . It's even mentioned in "Judges" in the Bible. So it was south of the ancient city of Tirzah, which was the capital of Samaria before the time of King Omri, and now is said to be where Khirbet Seilun is today in Judea-Samaria, or 10 miles north of Beth El. Bethel was also an ancient Israelite city, 10 miles north of Jerusalem and called Luz formerly. This is where Abraham erected an altar and later was where Jacob had his dream. It was after the dream that it was named Bethel. (House of G-d). It was a temporary capital of Israel before the First Temple was built. We had an amazing history right in Judea-Samaria. The town and the Tabernacle were destroyed by the Philistines after the battle of Aphek in 1050 BCE when the Ark was captured.
Life goes on. People in Shiloh are marrying and having children. The city is growing. Hillary Clinton had once complained about "natural growth" in Israel's cities. That is quite a shunda to tell people who lost 6 million of their ancestors in the Holocaust to not allow their cities to grow and be repaired. At least Jews only have one wife, unlike Muslims who have 4 or more and dozens of children.
The "Palestinians," already inhabiting Gaza, plan to take all of Judea and Samaria as their "Palestine" as well and will have no Jews living there as they will have no enclave of Jews. That's not acceptable to Israel and hasn't been in any past negotiations. The more they plan their greedy takeover, the more Israel builds. Why is the USA making such extreme demands on a friend? They're not looking at the whole picture. They want a quick fix to a problem to get the Palestinians off their back. It's like having a check list and wanting to check this problem off. It's not showing that they care about Israel's welfare or future.
Resource: http://frontpagemag.com/2012/02/24/israel-builds-obama-administration-squirms/?utm_source=FrontPage+Magazine&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=22058884c6-Mailchimp_FrontPageMag
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiloh_(biblical_city)
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
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