Letter: As George Put It: “It Ain’t Necessarily So”

Who is this Natalie Sopinsky? (“Visiting Resident of Judea and Samaria to Speak in Boulder“, BJN October 29, 2025)
Where is her peaceful village?
How many red scarfs does she wrap around her head?

When I first read that a visitor from Judea and Samaria would be giving a talk “somewhere in North Boulder”, I sent an RSVP email asking the following questions: “Exactly where does she live? What settlement and exactly where is it? Is there a yeshiva there? Who is her spiritual leader? Thank you.” The response: “Why do you need to know the answer to these questions?” The woman who sponsored Natalie did not answer or return subsequent phone calls. I sent an email to Natalie asking for a zoom conversation to which she agreed but did not follow through.

So who is this Natalie Sopinsky? And where is this peaceful community in the South Hevron Hills? And what else does she do?

To say you live in the South Hebron Hills is like saying I live on the Front Range. Yep, it is a big place. It is in Area C, (the Israeli-fully controlled area under military rule) that comprises 60 percent of the West Bank containing most of the Jewish settlements outside of East Jerusalem. Under the 1995 Oslo Accords, this area was to be “gradually transferred to Palestinian jurisdiction” (with an option for land swaps under a final agreement). Instead Israel now has close to 500,000 Jews living there (with close to 385,000 Palestinians} and new settlements sprout up continually.

Settlement in the West Bank began with reestablishing past Jewish communities that had been destroyed (often settled by the descendants of the original communities), military outposts that became settlements legally or were taken by force by groups like Gush Emunim, and by outright confiscation by the Israeli government. The South Hebron Hills area is at the epicenter of settler/IDF terrorism. These terrorist settlers have put themselves above secular law as they fulfill what they consider to be a holy religious action: bringing us closer to the final redemption

As an example, this past May Jewish terrorists drove out 150 Palestinians from their village in this area and established their “outpost”. Israeli police and army stood by and did not intervene. A chilling statement from Elisha Yered, an unofficial hill-top spokesperson, graphically portrays their intent and philosophy: “This is what redemption looks like! This is a relatively large outpost that contained about 150 people from the enemy population, but it was broken.”

So where does Natalie live? According to an article in The Heritage Florida Jewish News in 2024, she lives in Sussia. Her webpage shows the road sign for “Susya” in Arabic and Hebrew. So, I guess 1 +1 equals 2. Sussia, Susiya, and Susya: it’s the same. What happened there is the classic story of how Israel “legally” grabs Arab Land. Susiya has been an Arab Village since 1830; it was home to an important archeology site, The government attempted to move some Palestinians out, but a ruling stating they had legal land deeds stopped it. So, Israel declared it an archeological site. In 1983, the Israeli settlement of Susiya was established near the Arab village. Later, after a Jewish child was murdered by Palestinians, the Army razed a number of houses and the school.

Let us fast forward to this past March 24th, 22 days after the Academy Awards. Did you see the film “No Other Land? Know the name of the director , Hamdan Ballel, the award-winning director? Well, after his film won the best documentary at the Academy Awards, a dozen masked men (later helped by soldiers) attacked the village and assaulted several Palestinians. Ballel and two others were arrested as terrorists. For three days, the IDF could not find him then he miraculously appeared. Susiya has been attacked repeatedly: its water supply and electricity cut and olive groves ripped apart.
(For a detailed history on Susya, go to the website of B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. To read how Israel uses archeology as a weapon, check the website of Emek Shaveh, an Israeli archeology NGO.)

Now, I don’t know where the attackers came from. Usually they come from a neighboring village. We have to remember that most often that IDF soldiers either join in the attacks or “cover their backs” and the vaunted IDF intelligence rarely can find the perpetrators.

Now, about Natalie Sopinsky. Her speaking tour was sponsored by “Hatzalah Judea and Samaria” where she has been Development Director. (Hatzalah in Hebrew means rescue or relief. It is the name used by Jewish EMS organizations world-wide). “Hatzalah Without Borders” (“past the green line”) provides emergency medical service, defibrillators and other medical equipment, protective gear and a variety of programs throughout this area. They do good work.

But she wears another hat. She is a development director for the One Israel Fund, a leading player funding the settlements with American donations. In 2017 “In These Times” reported that between 2001 and 2016 the Fund raised nearly 26 million dollars in the States. Almost one million went to training and arming 265 security guards who reportedly have opened fire upon and shot tear gas at Palestinians, and blocked Palestinians from working their farms.

One Israel Fund also gives money for security projects such as perimeter surveillance camera systems, thermal cameras (which can detect movement beyond a perimeter fence), vests, and patrol vehicles. Recently, they have been giving drones “for surveillance”.

According to a Haaretz article of March 18, 2024, a Zvi Bar Yosef, was filmed thanking the One Israel Fund after receiving a donated drone. Bar Yosef was one of three men sanctioned by former President Biden for their roles in anti-Palestinian violence. Last week the terrorist settlers used drones against Palestinians and volunteer olive pickers. Luckily there were no injuries. (I made two unanswered calls to the One Israel Fund that were not returned.)

I don’t know if Natalie raised money for the One Israel Fund. If she did, she was raising money to support terrorism. If participants gave money to One Israel Fund, they are supporting terrorism.

(On a lighter note, George Gershwin’s melody for the beginning line “It ain’t necessarily so” comes from the melody for “Barchu et Adonai Hamvaroch”. The song is in minor key.)