Meet Daniel the Settler

Meet @Danithesett or Daniel the settler. He lives in Judea-Samaria. Here is how he introduces a thread posted on 13 November.

What’s it like being a “settler” in Judea & Samaria? (This is my most personal thread yet, so I may delete) >>

The post has had about 439K views to date and he has not yet deleted it. Because he threatened to delete it, I asked for his permission to copy it (also posted on my Substack blog) to preserve it forever. For ease of reading, I am typing the text of each post in the thread and showing the accompanying photo.

1.

Living in Judea and Samaria is knowing that I walk in the very places Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and many after them once walked. The place where the stories of the Bible come to life. Shechem, Beit El, Bethlehem, Hebron, and Ancient Shomron (Sabastia) are just some examples >>

2.

It’s being used to the sight of most men (and some women) walking around strapping a pistol for self-defense, hoping we will never need to use it. >>

3.

Living in J&S is constantly being ready to defend myself & my family. On the road always scanning for suspicious cars that may come, running the different scenarios in my mind of stone throwers, shooting, ramming, etc. Hoping no stones will hit my 2 kids in their car seats>>

4.

It’s remembering to lock your car doors because you might “only” try and get carjacked or if you run out of luck get rammed into by a reckless Arab driver >>

5.

Living in J&S is paying a hefty sum of money each month (on top of regular taxes) for the security guards, cameras, and drones that keep us safe, but our Arab neighbors never need to take such measures >>

Let me add a note here because not all readers will understand how Daniel can say that his Arab neighbours don’t need to take such security measures when we are hearing so much about ‘settler violence’ — I posed the question to Daniel and here is his answer:

Simply put: 99.9% of Jews don’t engage in terrorism and won’t go out and randomly start murdering people. Our Arab neighbors clearly state and frequently try to murder us just for being Jews. It isn’t just a few extremists, it’s an ideology embedded in their culture.

The topic of settler violence is of particular interest to me and I have investigated a few instances that were written up in the news. You can read the results of my investigations for: el-Mufaqara, the cases of Givat Ronen and Jit, and Susiya. This is an ongoing project.

6.

Living in J&S is getting used to the beautiful views, mesmerizing sunsets, and quiet serenity that we enjoy almost every day. >>

7.

Living in J&S is getting used to hearing 5 times a day the loudspeaker call to prayer from the nearby Arab villages.

Waking up at 5 AM to pray and hear them getting up as well, and I think to myself “We might have more in common than we think” >>

8.

Living in J&S is knowing which arab villages are more violent than others and thinking twice if you should drive near them or take a long way around, but that isn’t always an option. >>

9.

Living in J&S is knowing many people in the world think you stole your house from Arabs & kicked them out & eat arab children for breakfast. In reality, the land was vacant state land or bought at full price & you work a regular job & have a hefty mortgage to pay off>>

10.

It’s knowing people think you live in huts and get to work via camel. Knowing even some Israelis are afraid to cross the “green line” when to you it’s just normal home like anywhere else in Israel. >>

11.

Living in J&S is getting used to crossing checkpoints and greeting the guards or soldiers with a smile even if they interrogate you and open your car to check you out, you know they just want to keep people safe. >>

12.

It’s hearing in the news about “settler violence” and being angry at the hooligans who do such things, but also at the news who never report the daily violence we experience from Arabs >>

13.

It’s feeling the deepest connection possible to land, your home, the home of the Jewish people for the past thousands of years. Hoping one day we can live peacefully here, but not naive to think it will happen by conceding to terrorists. >>

I hope you enjoyed a little window into the life of one resident of Judea-Samaria.