Nati Rom – Zionist Pioneer and Laywer

Nati Rom (photo left) is full of energy, his eyes sparkling, as we meet prior to a lecture he is about to give to a group of Dutch Christians. A youthful father of six children, he lives in the heartland of Samaria – known to the world as the ‘West Bank’, or ‘Occupied Palestinian Territory’. He travels the world telling people that the Jewish people belong in these ‘mountains of Israel’.

“Judea and Samaria are the Biblical heartlands of the Jewish people. Living there is not something we do because we enjoy it; it is a Biblical mandate. It is here that 95% of the stories of the Bible took place. For example, the first capital of the Jewish people was in Shilo, which is the spiritual capital of Israel. Jews have been given the task of redeeming the land.”

Nati Rom first came to the heartland when he and an army friend finished their army service, and decided they wanted to serve their country. They simply drove into the Biblical mountains of Samaria and stopped when their car broke down. They stayed there for 18 months, building a small community near Shilo. Others soon joined. They started to build and plant vineyards. Villages developed. “We started to observe commandments that nobody had done before, and that can only be done in the land – planting, reaping, observing Shabbat years, et cetera. And the land started to laugh with us”.

“Our life is not easy. Jewish communities in Samaria face hundreds of terror attacks each month. Our children go to school in a bulletproof bus. When a Jewish child was recently murdered, PA President Abbas said the killer was a hero. The EU supports him by paying salaries of convicted terrorists. We have to fight against this.”

Divine War
According to Rom, there is a divine war in the world between good and bad, and the land of Israel is at the centre of that battle. “The world has lost its capacity to distinguish between good and bad. For example, it is completely absurd that the terrorist Arafat was awarded the Nobel peace prize. Other examples are UNESCO denying Jewish connection with the Temple Mount, and the EU sponsoring payments to convicted Palestinian terrorists and their families. These are unacceptable, and we need to fight against them.”

The battle, in his view, is not about territory or land, but about those who hate the Jewish people because they are Jewish. Iran is evidence of that. They are simply trying to eliminate us.

So the solution to the conflict with the Palestinians is not to give them land. That won’t remove the deep-seated hatred of the Jewish people. Nati Rom sees the ‘peace process’ as an internationally-sponsored plan to destroy Israel. “Because Israel is so small, the two-state solution is going to destroy Israel. Even President Trump’s planned ‘deal of the century’ is a bad idea from Biblical perspective, because 95% of Judea and Samaria will be given to the Arabs.”

Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir: “When they love their children more than they hate us, then there can be peace.”

Nati recalls the words of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, who once said: “When they love their children more than they hate us, then there can be peace.” Rom: “Peace does not come from making territorial concessions or rewarding evil. This is the lesson that Europe needs to learn. The only way to overcome evil is to confront and destroy it. Those who show mercy to evil are showing evil to mercy. It is outrageous that the world supports those who use terror to destroy the Jewish people.”

Redeeming the Land
Nati Rom’s philosophy is: “Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness” (Isaiah 1:27). He studied law in order to be able to defend his people and use the legal system to achieve justice. He represents Jews who are arrested simply for praying on the Temple Mount. “The prohibition on Jews praying on the Temple Mount is an outrageous breach of human rights. The Temple Mount should be open to all people to pray”. About 70 people are arrested each month.

In addition, he represents Palestinians who are persecuted by the PLO and also takes cases to court to show that Israeli law should apply in Judea and Samaria – for example against Israeli insurance companies who say their policies do not apply outside the Green Line.

According to Rom, the task of the Jewish people is to redeem the land. “We are doing the Zionism of our forefathers, in the Biblical heartland that the Lord gave us back in 1967”. He and others purchase land from Arabs. They grow grapes and fruit and vegetables and make the land prosperous. “How can this be preventing peace?”

Nati Rom feels he is continuing the Zionist dream of his ancestors. “Israel was created after the ashes of the holocaust. We had a lot of dreams in our hearts. Under the British, it was not legal to enter or to build new villages. But our forefathers didn’t care about the laws of the British. They wanted to redeem the land, so they built villages in one night. This was the start of the new state. The establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948 was a miracle.”

Secular Zionism today is dying, and religious Zionism needs to be promoted, according to Nati Rom. “Sadly, many in Israel want to be like the nations, rather than being a light unto the nations. We Jews need to reconnect with the land and with HaShem. He will honour our prayers. Hannah is an example – she prayed with passion in belief! HaShem answered her prayers and gave her a child – Samuel. And from Samuel came the anointing of David. So our prayers are powerful and effective!”