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"Guardsmen" Seek to Protect Israeli Farmlands

(New Jersey Jewish News) Gil Hoffman - Young Israelis from around the country come regularly to Avishai Bokovza's sheep ranch in the Negev to help him keep watch. The volunteers are from an organization called Hashomer Hachadash, the New Israeli Guardians. The organization was established in 2007 to help farmers and ranchers in the Negev and Galilee who tend vast tracts of state-owned land and had to deal with the theft of their livestock by local Bedouin or Palestinians from the West Bank, and illegal building by Bedouin and Israeli Arabs. Named after Hashomer, the guardsmen who protected remote Jewish settlements 100 years ago, Hashomer Hachadash also works to ensure a stronger Jewish presence in the Negev and Galilee. Hashomer Hachadash was founded by Yoel Zilberman, a third-generation cattle breeder from Zippori who saw his father brought to the brink of bankruptcy by thieves who destroyed his fences, stole and slaughtered his livestock, and physically threatened him. The group has since attracted more than 2,000 volunteers to guard more than 20 ranches in the Negev and Galilee. More than 300 regular volunteers give over at least one night a month for guard duty. The organization hopes to increase its corps of volunteers and operate 30 outposts protecting over 100,000 acres of land, supplementing the work of law enforcement organizations that have insufficient manpower.
2012-02-10 00:00:00
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