In May 1967-less than a month before the `Six-day War,
our beloved teacher, Rav Zvi Yehuda Kook, of blessed
memory, on the 19th anniversary of Israeli Independence,
said,
"In those first hours (after the UN vote in Nov. 1947-
Ed. note) I couldn't accept what had been done, with that
awful message, that the prophecy was fulfilled - `My Land
has been divided'! Where is our Hebron - Will we forget
her? And where is our Shechem - Are we forgetting her?
And where is our Jericho - Are we forgetting her? And
where is our Jordan Valley? Where is each speck of earth,
every piece of ground, every square meter of our G-d's
land? Is it in our hands to concede even one millimeter?
No! No!"
Then, one month later, our Hebron, our Shechem, our
Jericho, our Jordan Valley - return - back where they
belong, in the hands of the Jewish People, in the Land of
Israel- part of the State of Israel. Given to us by
HaShem, crowned by the glory of Temple Mount - Jerusalem
- under Jewish rule, for the first time in two thousand
years.
And now, today, almost thirty years later, we are
relinquishing our G-d-given rights, our G-d-given land,
the government of Israel is handing Yehuda, Shomron and
Azza to Arab terrorists, to murderers of men, women and
children. Last week Shechem - the city of Yosef
HaTzadik. We saw, with our own eyes, how Israeli
soldiers, disgraced and despised, yelled at, spit it,
with the Israeli flag burning in the background, ran for
their lives, leaving the holy city of Shechem to the
terrorists. This is peace? Next week, the birthplace of
David HaMelech - home of Kever Rachel - our Matriarch who
lies for eternity five minutes from Jerusalem -
BeitLechem. Our buses and cars, traveling from Jerusalem
to Hebron and from Hebron to Jerusalem, pass Kever
Rachel, allowing us to murmur a brief prayer as we pass
by. And next week - no more - no longer will we see the
dome-covered tomb - no longer will we murmur a prayer as
we pass by Rachel's tomb - because the road will no
longer belong to us - it is being transferred to
murderers.
This week in Hebron we experienced a series of miracles,
each one bigger than the last. One night our home at
Beit Hadassah was shot at. The next day Arabs threw hand
grenades at soldiers. The grenades exploded but, thank G-
d, no one was injured. Then on Thursday a 23 year-old
terrorist jumped and stabbed two elderly men, Jews from
Kiryat Arba who come to learn each day in Ma'arat
HaMachpela. Fortunately the men weren't badly hurt,
thanks to the quick, alert reaction of a nearby border
policeman who shot and killed the terrorist while he was
still stabbing the victims. And I haven't mentioned the
fire bombs thrown at both military and civilian vehicles
numerous times daily.
Hebron is scheduled to be next on the list. Next week
the first `palestinian police will arrive in the city.
What are we to do? I can first tell you what we don't
do. This past week Mr. Uri Elitzor, a `leader' of the
Jewish right, a man of intelligence and stature,
presently the editor of `Nikuda,' the major publication
of Yesha, called for us to accept the Oslo Accords and to
open a dialogue with the Palestinian Authority. This, my
friends, is what we don't do. We do not, under any
circumstances, give legitimization to cold-blooded
killers of innocent people. These people, if they may be
termed as such, have one goal: to occupy all of
`Palestine, ' which is presently known as the State of
Israel. Arafat said it again in Shechem - "in blood and
fire we will occupy Jerusalem" - and for him Jerusalem
includes both the east and west sides of the city, but
that's not all. For those of you who still find it hard
to believe, see the `palestinian' home page on the World
Wide Web (http://192.203.180.62/mlas/
When you open up this page you will see, on the left, a
palestinian flag. On the right is a picture of Mr
Terrorist. In the middle, try and identify the sketch.
On the top is the `Dome of the Rock' occupying the Holy
of Holies on Temple Mount. Under that is a map - a map
of all of Eretz Yisrael - the State of Israel. Yes, this
is, in their eyes, Palestine - `their land - their State.
With these people we will begin a discussion? We
will accept their presence in the heart of Israel, in all
of Judea, Samaria, and Azza? We will legitimize their
pursuit for continued conquest, using murder as an
effective means to gain their goals? Absolutely not. I
call on Mr. Elitzur to recognize his error and retract
his statement. All of us, living through these difficult
times sometimes face periods of weakness. I have no
doubt that Uri Elitzur will recover the strength that
has, in the past, been a pillar of hope and fortitude to
us all. We must remember that our goal is not to kill,
not to maim, not to transfer anybody outside of Israel.
Our goal is to live in Israel, all of Israel, peacefully.
Anyone and everyone accepting Jewish presence and Jewish
sovereignty in all of the Land of Israel, is welcome to
live with us. Those objecting may leave and live
elsewhere. Those who attack us must know that we will
not only defend ourselves, but that we too, not as
individuals but as a nation, under the leadership of a
legitimate government, will initiate, will strike back
and will scatter our mortal enemies to the edges of the
earth. We will not let terrorist killers determine how
we live and where we live.
If now, we seem to be fighting an uphill battle, or
perhaps, as some see it, a losing battle, as perhaps does
Mr. Uri Elitzor, we must remember: the Jewish People have
always fought uphill battles, from the days of Avraham
Avinu, to the days of the Maccabees, to the days David
Ben Gurion. And we have been victorious. We need only
faith - faith in our G-d in heaven who gives us our
strength, and faith in what we are doing, knowing that
what we are doing is right. If we look where we have
come from and where we are going to, we will reach the
peak, we will reach our goal, we will be victorious.
Happy Hanukkah.
memory, on the 19th anniversary of Israeli Independence,
said,
"In those first hours (after the UN vote in Nov. 1947-
Ed. note) I couldn't accept what had been done, with that
awful message, that the prophecy was fulfilled - `My Land
has been divided'! Where is our Hebron - Will we forget
her? And where is our Shechem - Are we forgetting her?
And where is our Jericho - Are we forgetting her? And
where is our Jordan Valley? Where is each speck of earth,
every piece of ground, every square meter of our G-d's
land? Is it in our hands to concede even one millimeter?
No! No!"
Then, one month later, our Hebron, our Shechem, our
Jericho, our Jordan Valley - return - back where they
belong, in the hands of the Jewish People, in the Land of
Israel- part of the State of Israel. Given to us by
HaShem, crowned by the glory of Temple Mount - Jerusalem
- under Jewish rule, for the first time in two thousand
years.
And now, today, almost thirty years later, we are
relinquishing our G-d-given rights, our G-d-given land,
the government of Israel is handing Yehuda, Shomron and
Azza to Arab terrorists, to murderers of men, women and
children. Last week Shechem - the city of Yosef
HaTzadik. We saw, with our own eyes, how Israeli
soldiers, disgraced and despised, yelled at, spit it,
with the Israeli flag burning in the background, ran for
their lives, leaving the holy city of Shechem to the
terrorists. This is peace? Next week, the birthplace of
David HaMelech - home of Kever Rachel - our Matriarch who
lies for eternity five minutes from Jerusalem -
BeitLechem. Our buses and cars, traveling from Jerusalem
to Hebron and from Hebron to Jerusalem, pass Kever
Rachel, allowing us to murmur a brief prayer as we pass
by. And next week - no more - no longer will we see the
dome-covered tomb - no longer will we murmur a prayer as
we pass by Rachel's tomb - because the road will no
longer belong to us - it is being transferred to
murderers.
This week in Hebron we experienced a series of miracles,
each one bigger than the last. One night our home at
Beit Hadassah was shot at. The next day Arabs threw hand
grenades at soldiers. The grenades exploded but, thank G-
d, no one was injured. Then on Thursday a 23 year-old
terrorist jumped and stabbed two elderly men, Jews from
Kiryat Arba who come to learn each day in Ma'arat
HaMachpela. Fortunately the men weren't badly hurt,
thanks to the quick, alert reaction of a nearby border
policeman who shot and killed the terrorist while he was
still stabbing the victims. And I haven't mentioned the
fire bombs thrown at both military and civilian vehicles
numerous times daily.
Hebron is scheduled to be next on the list. Next week
the first `palestinian police will arrive in the city.
What are we to do? I can first tell you what we don't
do. This past week Mr. Uri Elitzor, a `leader' of the
Jewish right, a man of intelligence and stature,
presently the editor of `Nikuda,' the major publication
of Yesha, called for us to accept the Oslo Accords and to
open a dialogue with the Palestinian Authority. This, my
friends, is what we don't do. We do not, under any
circumstances, give legitimization to cold-blooded
killers of innocent people. These people, if they may be
termed as such, have one goal: to occupy all of
`Palestine, ' which is presently known as the State of
Israel. Arafat said it again in Shechem - "in blood and
fire we will occupy Jerusalem" - and for him Jerusalem
includes both the east and west sides of the city, but
that's not all. For those of you who still find it hard
to believe, see the `palestinian' home page on the World
Wide Web (http://192.203.180.62/mlas/
When you open up this page you will see, on the left, a
palestinian flag. On the right is a picture of Mr
Terrorist. In the middle, try and identify the sketch.
On the top is the `Dome of the Rock' occupying the Holy
of Holies on Temple Mount. Under that is a map - a map
of all of Eretz Yisrael - the State of Israel. Yes, this
is, in their eyes, Palestine - `their land - their State.
With these people we will begin a discussion? We
will accept their presence in the heart of Israel, in all
of Judea, Samaria, and Azza? We will legitimize their
pursuit for continued conquest, using murder as an
effective means to gain their goals? Absolutely not. I
call on Mr. Elitzur to recognize his error and retract
his statement. All of us, living through these difficult
times sometimes face periods of weakness. I have no
doubt that Uri Elitzur will recover the strength that
has, in the past, been a pillar of hope and fortitude to
us all. We must remember that our goal is not to kill,
not to maim, not to transfer anybody outside of Israel.
Our goal is to live in Israel, all of Israel, peacefully.
Anyone and everyone accepting Jewish presence and Jewish
sovereignty in all of the Land of Israel, is welcome to
live with us. Those objecting may leave and live
elsewhere. Those who attack us must know that we will
not only defend ourselves, but that we too, not as
individuals but as a nation, under the leadership of a
legitimate government, will initiate, will strike back
and will scatter our mortal enemies to the edges of the
earth. We will not let terrorist killers determine how
we live and where we live.
If now, we seem to be fighting an uphill battle, or
perhaps, as some see it, a losing battle, as perhaps does
Mr. Uri Elitzor, we must remember: the Jewish People have
always fought uphill battles, from the days of Avraham
Avinu, to the days of the Maccabees, to the days David
Ben Gurion. And we have been victorious. We need only
faith - faith in our G-d in heaven who gives us our
strength, and faith in what we are doing, knowing that
what we are doing is right. If we look where we have
come from and where we are going to, we will reach the
peak, we will reach our goal, we will be victorious.
Happy Hanukkah.
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