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observant and non-observant Israelis
closer. His first book, Et Anat Anochi
Mevakkesh, In Search of Anat, is based
on letters that he wrote to children
whom he met at Gesher gatherings.
During the Yom Kippur War, Chanan
came face-to-face with death on the
bank of the Suez Canal when a mortar
shell landed on him, causing a severe
shoulder injury and exploding to his
rear. Fortunately he recovered, and
following the war he established Gush The Camp David Accords with Egypt spearheaded with Dedi Tzuker), and
Emunim, first as an internal group and the decision to completely the Good Samaritan Act.
within the National Religious Party withdraw from the Sinai, including
(NRP) and subsequently as an ideolog- the destruction of the burgeoning He was reelected to the Knesset in
ical movement that fought alongside Yamit region, brought Chanan into 1992. The NRP won six seats that year,
the Elon Moreh Pioneering Group for politics. In 1979, he was among the but remained in the opposition rather
Jewish settlement of Samaria. than join the government of Yitzchak
founding members of the Techiyah Rabin. The Oslo Accords brought
Rav Chanan and Rabbi Moshe Party, together with Professor Yuval Chanan, now fighting as a member of
Levinger, the avowed leaders of Gush Ne’eman, Geula Cohen, author Moshe the Knesset, to a succession of battles
Emunim, were wary of the idea of Shamir, and friends who had accompa- to defend several sites threatened by
pioneering activities unauthorized nied him since the Gush Emunim days,
by the government. Unlike the return such as Gershon Shafat and Benny Kat- the accords: Yeshivat Shalom al Yisra’el
in Yericho, Kever Rachel, and Me’arat
to Kfar Etzion, they understood that zover. Thus began the long, twisting Hamachpelah. Thanks to his efforts,
setting up a community in Samaria journey of Chanan Porat the politician.
might bring about a confrontation After entering the Knesset in 1981 on Kever Rachel remained fully under
with the IDF, with potentially grave the Techiyah list with Yuval Ne’eman Israeli rule, and Yeshivat Shalom al Yis-
consequences. The Kfar Etzion expe- and Geula Cohen, he played a part in ra’el remained active until the intifada
rience had taught them to exhaust the fight against the withdrawal from broke out.
all other options before coming to a In 1999, Chanan quit the Knesset for
conflict with the military. “Even if we the Sinai, during which he moved to the last time. Following his retirement,
come to the conclusion that there is Yamit. After the withdrawal, Chanan he focused on Torah study and volun-
no choice but to establish a foothold was unable to find his place in Techi- teering. Rav Chanan served as editor
through conflict,” Rav Chanan would yah, which he departed in March 1984. and wrote the main article of the
tell his friends, “we must first exhaust In an unconventional move for a politi- weekly Me’at min HaOr. Concurrently,
all means of establishing a foothold cian, he quit not only his party, but the he founded Orot Chessed, an organiza-
without coming into conflict with the Knesset as well, noting that his seat in tion that helps needy families with
IDF and the government.” the Knesset belonged not to him but food, electricity, and clothing. Accord-
to the party. ing to family members, the expulsion
The political upheaval of 1977, when
the Likud first rose to power, began In 1988, Chanan was elected to the from Gush Katif snuffed out a part of
with great hopes but ended in deep twelfth Knesset on the NRP ticket. his soul. He never recovered from that
disappointment, when it became clear Among his legislative accomplish- move, particularly from the betrayal
that Prime Minister Begin was becom- ments were the Jerusalem Day Act, by Arik Sharon, his years-long partner
ing a “man of peace” instead of advanc- the Prevention of Abuse of Minors in creating new communities in Judea,
ing the cause of Jewish settlement. and Vulnerable Persons Act (which he Samaria, and Gaza.
“Are you afraid of death?” he was asked
by journalist Yinon Magal. “Not in the
least,” Rav Chanan answered imme-
diately. “I don’t believe that life ends,
as it were, with death. It undergoes a
change. It undergoes an enlightening.”
After a lengthy battle with cancer, Rav
Chanan Porat passed away on the 6th
of Tishrei, 5772. May his memory be a
blessing for all of Am Yisrael.
Haggai Huberman is an Israeli journalist and
author, and the editor of Matzav HaRuach.
(LEFT AND ABOVE PHOTOS: HAGGAI HUBERMAN)
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