US embassy cable - 05TELAVIV346

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000346 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR NEA/IPA, CA/OCS/ACS/NESA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC, SOCI, KWBG, IS, ISRAELI SOCIETY, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS, SETTLEMENTS 
SUBJECT: SNAPSHOT OF A WEST BANK AMCIT SETTLER 
 
 
1.   (SBU) On 12 Jan 2004 Conoff spoke with an American 
citizen resident of the West Bank settlement Neve Tsuf, also 
known as Halamish.  The applicant was making an inquiry 
regarding the report of birth of her American citizen child 
but was willing to discuss the broader subject of life in a 
West Bank settlement. 
 
2.   (SBU) The American citizen is a 36 year-old married 
woman with three children.  She immigrated to Israel from 
the US when she was about 20 years old.   She is a stay-at- 
home mother, but her husband, a graduate of the Technion 
Institute (an elite Israeli technical university), works in 
Tel Aviv.  She says Neve Tsuf is a settlement of about 200 
families.  It is located approximately six miles north of 
Ramallah and six miles east of the Green Line.  The small 
Arab village of An Nabi Salih is little over half a mile 
north of the settlement. 
 
3.    (SBU) As a resident of the West Bank she is 
technically within the consular district of the US Consulate 
in Jerusalem.  However she said that she did not wish to 
travel through East Jerusalem streets "surrounded by Arabs" 
to get to the Consulate.  She would go there only if 
accompanied by her husband, who is usually armed.  When 
asked why, if she fears East Jerusalem, she is willing to 
live in a settlement in the heart of the West Bank, she said 
that she thinks of Neve Tsuf as a suburb of Tel Aviv.  She 
feels secure at home and is comforted by the presence of 
Israeli soldiers in her settlement and on the roads.  She 
does not feel that she is in any more danger in Neve Tsuf 
than she would be in Tel Aviv.  (Comment:  The Consulate 
General in Jerusalem, which cleared on this cable, observes 
that while many Jewish American residents of the West Bank 
and Jerusalem have fears about coming to the Consulate 
General, the majority still choose to come to the Consulate 
rather than go to the Embassy in Tel Aviv for service. End 
comment.) 
 
4.    (SBU) She considers herself religious and cited 
ideological reasons, not financial incentives, for moving to 
Neve Tsuf.  She believes that the God-given land of Israel 
includes the West Bank.  However, she also cites practical 
reasons for wanting to live in a settlement.  She says that, 
whereas within Israel she would live in an apartment, in 
Neve Tsuf she has a house.  The proximity of her settlement 
to Tel Aviv is another important factor.  She also cited the 
closeness of community life in Neve Tsuf, where she says 
people help each other.  (Comment:  On 14 January 2005, the 
Israeli daily Ha'aretz, English edition, reported that 4 
percent of American immigrants to Israel in 2004 settled 
over the Green Line, according to Nefesh B'Nefesh, an 
organization which fosters the immigration of Americans to 
Israel.  According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, 
approximately 1,700 Americans immigrated to Israel in 2004, 
roughly the same number as in 2003. End comment.) 
 
5.   (SBU) She opposes the disengagement plan and the 
creation of an independent Palestinian state.  She said that 
there are "21 Arab nations, and they don't need another 
one."  In a tone more sheepish than strident, she said that 
the conflict in Israel and the territories is part of the 
biblical struggle between the Jews and the "sons of 
Ishmael."  However, she said that she is not an "Arab 
hater."  She stated that an Arab built her house.  In her 
opinion, most Arabs would prefer to go back to the pre- 
intifada days, when they had employment opportunities in the 
settlements.  Regarding Mahmoud Abbas (a.k.a. Abu Mazen), 
the recently elected president of the Palestinian National 
Authority, she said he does not "talk peace."  She knows him 
as one of the founders of Fatah and does not believe he 
brings any greater prospect of peace. 
 
KURTZER