Settlers defy stereotypes amid peace talks

[Mosby]

BARKAN, West Bank (AP) — Micha Drori is living the Israeli dream: a house, a yard, a wife and three kids. The 42-year-old businessman has found an affordable alternative to Israel’s booming real estate market in a quiet community he loves, with a commute of less than half an hour to his job near Tel Aviv.

What’s the catch? He’s a West Bank settler.

The fate of Jewish settlements took center stage this week with the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks aimed at establishing a Palestinian state. In contrast to the prevailing image of settlers as gun-toting religious zealots, the majority are in fact middle-of-the-road pragmatists seeking quality of life. Many shun the settler ideology and say they will uproot quietly, if needed, for the sake of peace.

“We will not sit here and burn tires if the government will tell us to leave. We will just leave,” Drori said in his quiet garden, smack in the middle of the West Bank. “When the proper solution will be found I don’t believe that something will stop it like settlements. Houses can be moved … I don’t think the settlements are a problem.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-settlers-defy-stereotypes-amid-peace-talks/

[azurnoir]

1. Interesting is Mr Drori really afraid the Israeli government will give up Barkan?

isn't that where sodastream is manufactured?

from the article

Drori, for instance, is secular and never imagined living outside central Israel. But he has found a home in Barkan, an upscale settlement of nearly 400 families with red-tiled rooftops and a vibrant community center. From his backyard Drori has a clear view of the Mediterranean coast.

[Mosby]

2. from the green line its about half the way to ariel

So if ariel stays then so would barkan. If ariel is evacuated then barken probably would be too.

[azurnoir]

3. those are mighty big if's aren't they ?

as I've said IMO for the Israeli government what's important is that the Peace Negotiations® inevitably fail it is the Palestinians who seen as at fault, we saw the precursor for that conclusion here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113446214

[Israeli]

4. The Barkan industrial zone....

...part of the Ariel settlement block, was founded in 1982 and is the second largest industrial zone in the West Bank. As all industrial zones connected to settlements, businesses operating there receive generous tax reductions from the Israeli government. During the last few years Barkan has been making the BDS headlines through campaigns against companies such as Mul-T-Lock (Assa Abloy) and Beigel and Beigel. One company located in Barkan is the Israeli owned kosher food distributor Shamir Salads (51% owned by Willi-Food) who, according to their web-site, export their produce to Russia, the UK, Holland, Denmark, France, Ukraine, Canada and the US. Specialising in ready made salads and various houmous and aubergine dips, they also service “several food distribution routes for the Israeli Defence Forces”. Shamir Salads have been exposed as deliberately mislabelling their settlement produce, with the latest evidence being produced by Gush Shalom, an Israeli group calling for a boycott of Israel’s settlements, in March, when they found Shamir Salads products in the Netherlands labelled as Israeli despite being made in their Barkan facility .

http://corporateoccupation.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/working-for-shamir-salads-in-barkan-industrial-zone/

See also :

Factories over Green Line looking for way back

Ronit Morgenstern, Maariv, June 21 2010 [business section cover story; Hebrew original here]

@ http://coteret.com/2010/06/21/maariv-targeted-boycott-and-divestment-pushing-companies-out-of-the-settlements/

[azurnoir]

5. I've seen sodastream labeled as made in Barkan Israel here in the US

as recently as a couple of days ago, the last time I was @ Walmart

but there's one I'm curious about and that's Sabra Hummus, where dos that come from, I've read the US, Israel, and the settlements-the label says offices in New Jersey if memory serves, it's pretty decent hummus though, better than Tribe by a long shot, but not as good as some excellent but pricey local stuff from a brand called Holy Land owned by a Jordanian/Palestinian family and who's products until recently had a stamp on them that said Halal equivalent of Kosher, albeit on that score I think most of their products would be Pareve

[Israeli]

6. not sure about Barkan

but its possible , SodaStream’s main production site is the industrial zone of Mishor Edomin , Ma’aleh Adumim.

Is this the hummus you are referring to ?:

http://www.osem.co.il/en/Company/Factories/Sabra-salads

see also from Osem :

Jordanian Nihad– In 2007, Sabra ventures as far as Jordan in its quest for authentic, quality hummus, and introduces the Jordanian Nihad’s hummus to the Israeli market. In fact, Sabra set up a hummus restaurant for Nihad in Israel.
While in Jordan, Sabra’s team went from one hummus shop to the next tasting each variety of hummus, until it found one that stood out in its exemplary flavor. This they discovered in the shop owned by Nihad Alhan, located on the market of the old city in the Jordanian capital.

I never touch the mass produced stuff ..... I buy mine freshly made from our local Arab village .

[oberliner]

7. "our local Arab village"

I think using the term "Arab" to describe Palestinians is sometimes considered offensive here.

[Israeli]

8. "our local Arab village"

is as Israeli as I am oberliner

its within the Green Line

we are 15 mins from each other ... we shop together , socalise together , work together .

we communicate in Hebrew together ....which is and always has been a problem for me ...why did we not educate our kids more in language skills that are relevant to where we live ... why English skills ?

Never the less .... we get on great oberliner

and if somebody finds that "offensive here" .....thats their problem not mine .