April 28, 2003
Shalom.
Being that tonight marks the beginning of the Memorial Day for victims
of the Holocaust and victims of terror, I believe it is appropriate to broach
the following subject.
Last week I spoke at length about the soon-to-be Prime Minister of the
Palestinian Terrorist Authority, Abu Mazen. Abu Mazen’s doctoral thesis accused
the Zionist
movement, of conspiring against the Jewish people and collaborated with the
Nazis to annihilate it, because the movement considered "Palestine"
the only appropriate destination for Jewish emigration.
Of
course, nothing could be further from the truth. The aim of the Zionist
movement was to encourage Aliyah from Europe, not to decimate it.
But,
what if it were true? Can you imagine the impact such a revelation would have
on the Jewish people, on the leadership of the then future State of Israel? It
is so preposterous an idea that, the implications so inherently evil, Jews
making a deal with the devil himself, Hitler, Yemach shmo – one of the greatest
fiends of all human history, it is unfathomable.
Yet, in
a bizarre way, it looks like that is exactly what Israel is doing today, fifty
five years after the creation of the state, fifty eight years after conclusion
of the second world war and cessation of the Holocaust.
There
are those in our midst who are actually willing to make a deal, participate in
signing a ‘treaty’ with the greatest and most deadly of our enemies. I know,
there are those who say, ‘only after Arafat.’ ‘Arafat is the evil, not all the
palestinians. Despite Abu Mazen’s past, maybe he will be able to prove himself.
And if not him, someone after him.’
Yesterday
an Israeli minister commented on the present situation during an interview on
Ga’ali Tzahal. He has a unique solution
to the problem at hand. He suggested that the so-called palestinians accept Jordan
as heart of their ‘state,’ a state which will include ‘branches’ throughout
Judea, Samaria and Gaza. He said, and I quote, “The palestinians should also be
privileged to a national identity and that identity can be expressed by a
palestinian state based around Jordan, with branches in Judea and Samaria, in
the area [classified] A.” Area A, about 40% of Yesha, is land abandoned to the
PA as part of the Oslo Accords, and includes Shechem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, and
others. Israel moved back into all these cities a year ago, following the
Passover Massacre at the Park Hotel in Netanya and has remained, in an effort
to thwart further terrorism.
The
minister said that personally he wouldn’t want to abandon land in Yesha, but
that the previous government already did, and that the Israeli army’s presence
in these cities is only temporary because the world has already recognized the
palestinian existence. A palestinian army and parliament will be that of the
Jordanians, with scattered ‘branches’ throughout Yesha. He added,
“Unfortunately, this is the situation which has been created. We don’t agree.
It is our right to live on all parts of Eretz Yisrael, but we cannot now
fulfill this, not in Ramallah, Jenin or Shechem.”
Of
course, all of these concessions, says the minister, are dependent on stopping
the terror, incitement, etc. etc.
So I
ask you to name the minister. Who could it be? Maybe a weak Likudnik, under the
influence of Ariel Sharon? Maybe Bibi, who gave away Hebron and signed the Wye
Accords? Or perhaps someone from the Shinui party, who is trying to acquiesce
politely, thereby soothing the feelings of the ‘settlers’ while, at the same
time, disagreeing with them?
No, my
friends, not Likud, not Shinui, no, we are talking about Welfare Minister
Zevulun Orlev, of the National Religious Party, the Mafdal.
I read
this interview earlier today on the Arutz 7 website in Hebrew, then read it
again and again. The words stayed the same each time.
So, how
to react, that is the question?
First
of all – Arafat is not just a person. Arafat is a concept. Even post-Arafat,
Arafat will still exist. Arafat personifies the aspirations of the Arabs – that
being, of course, the annihilation of the State of Israel. It makes no
difference who inherits Arafat, or who inherits his successor. It must be
understood, and it is as clear as daylight. They don’t want us here and will do
anything and everything, even if it takes them generations to try and achieve
their goal. Call it a Trojan horse, as did Faisal Husseini. Call it
fragmentation of Israeli society, as did Abu Mazen – divide and conquer, call
it whatever you want. The end result of any equation is always the same – get
the Jews out of Israel.
Second
– it makes no difference what they say or what they do – they could be the most
wonderful peace-loving people in the universe. That does not change one iota
the fact that Eretz Yisrael belongs to Am Yisrael – the Land of Israel belongs
to the Jewish people. G-d gave us this land, He brought us back to the land
after a two thousand year exile, and He made the land prosper. It is written in
the Talmud that the sign of redemption is when the Land of Israel flourishes,
when plants and flower grow, when the trees are rich with fruit. As long as the
Jews were in exile the land was desolate – no agriculture, no nothing, until
the Jews returned. Then, again, the land blossomed in all its glory.
Third –
According to Jewish law, a person doesn’t have the right to commit suicide,
because our life is not ours, it is G-d’s. He gave it to us and He will take it
from us. We don’t have anything to say about it. Ditto, causing bodily harm to
oneself. I cannot cut off my arm or finger, or anything
else, because my body is a gift from Above. And the same is true with Eretz
Yisrael. It is not ours to cut up, to give away, to abandon. And especially not
to our worst enemies.
Zevulun Orlev’s ideas are
tantamount to Jews sitting down at the negotiating table with the Nazi
leadership. They are equivalent to participating in a Holocaust. Holocaust
number two, G-d forbid, the destruction of the State of Israel. One Holocaust
was one too many. Let’s not help in bringing about another one.
With blessings from Hebron,
This is David Wilder
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