Neighborhood Watch

There has been a spate of break-ins in Neve Ilan - six houses in the last 3 months. Two weeks ago, a family woke up in the middle of the night to find burglars in their children's bedroom.

The intruders are primarily looking for car keys. Or for cash and jewelry. Why would anyone steal a large screen TV or a laptop these days?

Six houses burglarized and two of them just a few doors away from my home. The situation is frightening and worrisome, to say the least. And it calls for action, but what can be done?

My house can’t be seen from the road and it’s very dark, which could hide it from visiting thieves. Or make it an easy target. We’ve started leaving lights on at night. And the television, suggesting that someone is awake at all hours. We do have a security light which goes on automatically when someone approaches the back porch, but is any of this enough?

Concerned residents of the moshav met one evening recently with representatives of the police station responsible for the Jerusalem corridor. The police have done a good job, no complaints. They told us that the robberies come in waves, depending on which gang is active. Usually the thieves come from East Jerusalem but sometimes they’re Palestinians from villages over the Green Line. Police may know their identities but they are out of reach of Israeli law enforcement.

Security on my moshav is complicated. Neve Ilan has a hotel and an events hall; both bring guests and support staff at all hours of the day and night. Although there is a gate at the moshav’s main entrance, it is easy to get through even if it's closed – just wait to follow another car. No security fence protects us and several roads leading into the surrounding forests can't be easily blocked. All of which seem to invite thieves into our community.

So, with that as an introduction, I can tell you that I volunteered for a middle-of-the-night neighborhood watch. Not guard duty, but rather a slow, observant patrol in my car on the darkened streets of the moshav at 3 in the morning. A few houses had left their lights on; most had shuttered windows, locked gates. Security cameras. Except for one resident walking his dog, there was no one around. No suspicious vehicles, no strangers. All quiet.

My 90-minute shift was uneventful, allowing me to listen to 2 episodes of a podcast. Until...

As I drove a final circuit around the moshav, I spotted movement. A porcupine, nibbling on the weeds in a traffic circle!

I had never seen this creature in the wild before. In the forests around my moshav there are jackals and wild boars. The occasional gazelle. But a porcupine, complete with a coat of silver-colored quills? For me, this was a first! The animal captured in my car’s headlights was about knee high and I wanted to take its picture.

I braked to a quick stop in the middle of the street. Leaving the motor running and my door open wide, I approached the creature, fumbling with my phone as I tried to switch from podcast to camera. The porcupine heard me and fled towards the forest. I snapped a series of fuzzy pictures but the animal picked up its pace. And then it disappeared in the dark.

I caught my breath. I turned to look at the darkened houses of the moshav, the residents no doubt asleep inside, safe and secure. At least on this night. The porcupine was long gone, but its unexpected appearance would remain embedded in my memory for quite some time.

Late Night Encounter with My New Neighbors