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A strip of 100 meters from the beautiful and calm stream was opened to the public, and flooded old demons

After a long struggle, part of the Hassi River in Nir David was opened to the public, and August was filled with subscribers. Despite the agreement, the activists for the liberation of the stream claim that it is a "subservience", and the kibbutz says on the other hand that "it is not possible to have a settlement in a public park." Alongside the confrontation, some call for lowering the flames: "We need to reach balance"

• Nir David
• Streams
• Beit Shean

Eli Ashkenazi

In the late morning hours today (Wednesday), Nahal Hassi outside Kibbutz Nir David, seems to be the most calm place in Israel. Several families have already waded in the azure waters of the Assyrian, and seemed cut off from the echoes of the noise that befalls the country. This is despite the daily demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the corona plague that caused an economic crisis for hundreds of thousands of Israelis, the northern roads are congested and crowded with vehicles with vacationers, and the air burning with heat.

The bathers in the river arrived at the site this morning, as part of agreements reached yesterday between Kibbutz Nir David, the Emek HaMa'ainot Regional Council within its boundaries, the kibbutz and the neighboring municipality of Beit She'an. This is an agreement designed to put an end to the conflict over the growing demand to open the gates of the kibbutz and allow anyone interested to come and bathe in the creek water.

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According to the outline, a strip of about 100 meters from the bank of the Hasi River was opened to the public. Under the Corona restrictions, the entry of up to 50 vacationers is allowed daily. Within a short time, each August was filled with registrants for bathing in the creek.

But the leisurely spectacle this morning in the creek is misleading. The agreements reached did not put an end to the demand of the activists of the group called "Liberating the Assyrian" to allow free entry into the river, as a natural resource belonging to the public.

The agreements signed by their mayor, Jackie Levy, they define as "subservience to Kibbutz Nir David" and "a spin of publicists and lobbyists whose services the kibbutz hired." A resident of Beit She'an and activist in the group, Marom Faraji, stated that the struggle The opening of the creek to the public will continue. "We are young, our strength in our waists and we will continue to struggle until the gate opens," he said.

Near the creek, Kibbutz chairman Shlomo Glazer was already waiting for reporters, answering countless phone calls only on the Assi issue. He spoke of a "real historic move," given the plan to drain the creek water to Beit She'an and rehabilitate Nahal Harod. "He shares the offices of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of the Environment and more. The situation that Beit She'an dried up while there were springs in the area was not right - and it is worth correcting. "

According to the kibbutz chairman," It will happen. People that this is their home. " Glazer added that "it is not possible to hold a settlement in a public park, who will clean, where will they defecate, who will keep them from drowning? I call for the flames to be lowered. There is unbearable incitement against us and terrorism over fences."

Glazer mentioned that four years ago, a group of returnees from Beit She'an called "Nature belongs to the public." The same group also placed a demand for the creek to be opened to the public. The kibbutz and the members of the group reached an arrangement that received legal validity and was approved by the court. But according to Glazer, "the state planning authorities are delaying the implementation of the plan resulting from those agreements and therefore we have not yet prepared the area intended for the general public."

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The elapsed time, together with the criticism in Beit She'an against the "shameful agreement" on the part of the "Nature belongs to the public" group, provoked a new wave of protest. Along with a very wide range of activities on social networks, it is also reflected in attempts to enter the kibbutz. The attempts meet guards from a security company and the encounters at the Nir David Gate often create violent incidents that are broadcast live on Facebook. There are already 14,000 members in the Facebook group calling for the release of Asi.

The leader of the "Nature belongs to the public" struggle, Nissim Zamir, was already sure that he had achieved worthy results for the benefit of the general public. The new struggle, in his view, "is an attempt to create war through provocations." Zamir explained that "it leads to violence on both sides and it is an unhealthy situation. The media benefits from it, but those who live in the area only lose. It is bad. I have an annual subscription to Sahna at a cost of less than one weight per day. Something bigger. "

On the other hand, Faraji rejects the allegations, presenting claims of a request to uphold basic and fair distributive justice. "We are in favor of balance," he said. "Bathing in the river should be allowed, without harming the lives of the kibbutz residents."

The series of violent encounters at the gate and endless threats and mutual slander on social media swept the conflict to other districts. Glazer says he, the son of a Holocaust survivor, was called a "Nazi" and that the residents of Beit She'an who work in Nir David were defined by the protesters as "Capo." Faraji described the violence he and his friends endured, as well as a kibbutz member who threatened to hit him with a pickaxe. "We feel threatened," he said. "The guards are beating our people."

Everyone is fortified with justice, pain and insult from his side, and it is difficult to see how the commandments can be formed. This, along with the fact that those seeking to find a compromise, are defined as "weak", "collaborators" and other degrading definitions.

The violent clashes in Kibbutz Nir David:

Among the bathers today at the new public beach was also the head of the Samaria Regional Council, Israel Ganz. He lived with his family in the north, and managed to be among the first registrants to bathe in the creek. Ganz saw the agreements reached as a "day in a row," and insisted that a compromise could be found that would satisfy everyone.

"There is an amazing public property here that the State of Israel can invest in for the residents," he said. "You have to remember that people live here who established a settlement 90 years ago and gave their lives. You can't tell them 'you finished your job, get out of here'. It's not fair - you have to find the balance."

Mandy Shmuelevich from Kfar Yehezkel, who grew up in Beit She'an, was also among the first 50 bathers in Nahal Hasi. He welcomed the agreements reached, wondering: "Why did we have to fight to reach an agreement? It could have been saved."

Meanwhile, the task of bringing the parties together, which seems simple, is not succeeding. "The struggle will intensify," Fergie said. "Groups of people will start coming to the kibbutz gate and there will be a siege on Nir David. It will disrupt their daily routine and we are not interested in that, but that is what will happen."