Yossi Dagan

Yossi Dagan is an Israeli grassroots community organizer.^[1] He is serving as Head of the Shomron Regional Council, replacing Gershon Mesika, who is detained for his part in a "massive corruption scandal."^[2]

Biography

Yossi Dagan is the leader of Homesh First. Homesh First is a grassroots organization dedicated to resettling and rebuilding Homesh.^[3] Homesh First was formed after the homes of the Jewish residents of Homesh were razed and Jewish community was evicted as part of Israel's disengagement in August 2005.^[4]

Political activism

Dagan was active in actions of civil disobedience as a method of protesting the Disengagement Plan. Dagan helped to organize the 2007 Yom Ha'atzmaut march to Homesh. During Sukkot of the same year, Dagan organized a pilgrimage to Homesh. Many former residents and sympathetic Israelis camped out on the grounds where Homesh houses were demolished.^[5]The Christian Science Monitor quoted Dagan as warning against the disengagement: "You'll be creating a terror state that would threaten most of the country with Qassam [missiles]."^[6]

In 2013 Dagan helped to spearhead a public relations campaign focused on welcoming Israelis to the West Bank. Dagan hoped to counter what he said were "radical left-wing Israeli groups" that promote hatred against settlements in Israel and Europe.^[7]

In January 2015 he became involved in an international incident between the U.S State Department and Israel. In January 2015, Jewish settlers at the "Adei Ad illegal outpost" ^[8] threw stones at diplomats from a U.S. delegation who had arrived to inspect vandalism reported at a grove of Palestinian-owned trees in the occupied West Bank. It was reported that recently settlers were suspected of uprooting thousands of olive tree saplings, some of which had been planted in honor of senior Palestinian official Ziad Abu Ein, who collapsed and died after an altercation with an Israeli soldier. The American consulate came to inspect the grove because some of the land owners claim U.S. citizenship.^[9][10] No injuries were reported.^[11] A U.S. State Department spokesman, Jeff Rathke, said,“We can confirm a vehicle from the Consulate General was pelted with stones and confronted by a group of armed settlers today in the West Bank, near the Palestinian village of Turmus Ayya.” He added that the U.S. is "deeply concerned" about the attack and that the Israeli authorities recognize "the seriousness of the incident. ^[12] A police spokeswoman said the police were investigating the incident and no arrests had been made.^[13] The U.S. State Department has offered the Israeli authorities a videotape of the incident showing no American drew weapons. Yossi Dagan, in his role as Head of the Shomron Regional Council, replacing Gershon Mesika, who is detained for his part in a "massive corruption scandal," urged Interior Minister Gilad Erdan to expel the American delegation, claiming they were spies.^[14]

See also

• Evacuation (Israeli politics)
• Aryeh Eldad

References