Mishmeret Yesha
 |
|
| Founded | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Yisrael Danziger |
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Area served
|
Israel and the West Bank |
|
Volunteers
|
4,000 |
| Website | Mishmeret Yesha |
Mishmeret Yesha is an Israeli organization that trains Israeli settlers in counterterrorism techniques and the use of weapons to guard Israeli outposts and settlements against Palestinian attack. It was founded in 1988 and its name means "Guardians of Yesha." Yisrael Danziger is head of operations for the organization and one of its three founders. Danziger is a native of Brooklyn, New York.
Mishmeret Yesha lists five principles that it says defines the organization.
Mishmeret Yesha started as an ad hoc legal counsel during the First Intifada to provide legal assistance to Israeli settlers who were in court for shooting at Palestinians. Since 1988, the organization has operated the "Matir Assurim - The Jewish Legal Fund" with the stated aim of assisting "Jews victimized by anti-Israel NGOs and government policies, and who personally suffer from the Arab terror let loose on the people of Israel".
Mishmeret Yesha's main operations are now in security training, medical aid, legal assistance, education, the building of connector roads, and land development. By 2008 Mishmeret Yesha had about 4,000 volunteers and had helped train more than 100 "rapid response teams" of settlers in the West Bank. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) then provides M16 rifles, Tavor rifles, and ammunition to authorized teams. Settlers with civilian gun licenses also carry personal handguns. The IDF also allows Mishmeret Yesha to use its bases for training. The training takes place over a year and involves marksmanship and fitness components. Trainees must also miss 20 workdays during their year of training.
The New York Times described Mishmeret Yesha as a "radical organization" that supports the "creation of jobs and development for Jews" but "rejects working with or acknowledging any legitimacy to Palestinians". The organization does agricultural work intended to maintain a Jewish presence in the West Bank. Their largest project is in the area around Shilo, where they have cleared and planted thousands of dunams of land near Shvut Rachel and Adei Ad. It also owns sheep and has fields around Hebron and Itamar. It also runs a factory which designs and makes bullet-proof vests.
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