Articles by David Wilder: July 2001

Friday, July 20, 2001

The “B” Factor

The “B” Factor

July 20, 2001

Last night it finally happened. Someone took aim, pulled the trigger, and hit seven Arabs in a car, about 15 miles west of Hebron. Three were killed and four others seriously wounded.

The Israeli news media had the crime half solved immediately. On Kol Yisrael news and on the Ma’ariv newspaper web site, (and probably other places too that I didn’t check out or see) the headlines screamed, “Settlers murder Arabs in Drive-by shooting.” The news editors knew what everyone else did not know. The culprits were “settlers.” Of course, one correspondent pointed out that eyewitnesses noted that the murderer’s vehicle fled west, in the direction of Kiryat Gat-Ashkelon and not east, in the direction of Hebron-Gush Etzion. That, however, makes no difference. The only thing that’s important is the fact that 3 Arabs were killed by “Jewish settlers.” Case closed!

This morning journalists began calling me, asking for a statement concerning the killings. More than one correspondent had the audacity to ask me if I knew who’d done it, thereby not so implicitly implying that I might really know who the murderers actually are. (It’s nice to know that you’re so highly respected and thought of.)

Still, I was asked what we think, those of us living here in Hebron.

The answer is both simple and yet very complex.

First things first-so there should be no mistake. The Jewish Community of Hebron has always rejected use of unwarranted violence against anyone and everyone. We do not believe that random acts of killing are the solution to the problems we face. If our community, or any other community for that matter, decided to take up arms (issued to us by the IDF and privately licensed for reasons of self-defense) against Arabs arbitrarily and haphazardly, similar killings to those of last night would already have occurred, perhaps dozens of times. That fact that this has not happened is proof of our beliefs-what should be done and what shouldn’t be done.

That having been said, crystal clear, a few other points must be clarified and fully understood.

1. The guilty party has yet to be apprehended. It is impossible, at this stage, to blame anyone in particular. The attackers may have been from Yesha, but they could also have come from Hertzeliya, or Netanya, or Tel-Aviv or Jerusalem or anywhere else for that matter.

2. If and when someone is arrested, according to rules of law in most democratic countries, suspects are just that- suspects. A suspect is innocent until proven guilty. In Israel the media is usually quick to try and convict, even before the a suspect is arraigned. However the media conviction includes not only the suspect. Rather, their bill of guilt includes mass populations, as we witnessed following the Rabin assassination.

3. True, all external signs point to an act by Jews against Arabs. However, the group that claimed responsibility for the attack, “The Committee for Road Security” last surfaced several years ago, led by none-other than Avishai Raviv and his fictitious group called Eyal. Raviv, as you may recall, was hired by Israeli intelligence as a provocateur, whose goal was to stir up public opinion against Jews in Yesha, and most particularly, those in Hebron. Raviv was a close friend of Yigal Amir, and according to many eyewitness accounts used to tell Amir, “Be a man, let’s see you kill Rabin.” So, who knows, maybe Avishai Raviv is reverting back to his well-known ways.

4. Another possibility, as far-fetched as it may sound, is that Arabs committed the killing last night. As you may recall, two weeks ago, Arab terrorists, shooting at the Shmuelyan family at Har Bracha, dressed up in Israeli military uniforms. Other Arab killers have had kippahs on their head. It is not beyond Arafat to order his terrorists to kill some other Arabs thereby causing a major crisis in Israel, with the Israeli left blaming the ‘extreme right’ of terrorism.

The truth is that now we must wait and see what the police investigation reveals. Until then, we must be very careful who we blame.

However, there is one other factor that must not be ignored. As far as I’m concerned, the responsibility for last night’s attack, assuming that is was committed by Jews, falls straight in the lap of Ariel Sharon. Sharon, being led by the nose by Shimon Peres and Binyamin ben Eliezer, Foreign and Defense Ministers respectively, has abandoned Israelis, both in Yesha and throughout Israel. His restraint policy has led to the deaths of 67 people since becoming Prime Minister. Arafat’s war against the Jews continues unhindered, with massive shooting at Israeli communities in Yesha, mortars in Gilo, and yet Sharon is doing nothing to effectively stop the attacks. People are dying, and Sharon continues to sit in a Peres-controlled government.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a conversation between Shimon Peres and a journalist in 1995, before the Rabin assassination, when Peres said, “I’m not worried about the Jews in Yesha. Many of them will flee, and the others, well, let’s see what happens when the Arabs start killing them.”

A few days ago I had a conversation with a correspondent for a major international publication, who told me of a chat he’d had with a major Israeli leader, earlier in the week. THIS WEEK. JULY, 2001. The leader told him something like this: “The present violence may continue for months, or even years, on a low flame. And if the price is one or two settlers killed each week, we can live with that.”

I have no doubt that last night’s killers are not pathological murderers. They didn’t kill Arabs 9 months ago, or six months ago, or three months ago. But different people have different saturation points, and sometimes people just lose it, as it seems was the case last night. But again, I have no doubt that if Ariel Sharon had not decided on a policy of abandonment, after having promised to return security to Israel, last night’s events would not have occurred.

So, when I’m asked if I condemn last night’s actions, I say yes, I say that I condemn Ariel Sharon, Shimon Peres, and Binyamin ben Eliezer, for bringing about a situation where Jews feel that they have no choice but to take to the streets, and to take to their own weapons, in order to achieve what the IDF should be accomplishing.

The responsibility is fully theirs.

“We Can Live With It”

“We Can Live With It”

July 20, 2001

Last night it finally happened. Someone took aim, pulled the trigger, and hit seven Arabs in a car, about 15 miles west of Hebron. Three were killed and four others seriously wounded.

The Israeli news media had the crime half solved immediately. On Kol Yisrael news and on the Ma’ariv newspaper web site, (and probably other places too that I didn’t check out or see) the headlines screamed, “Settlers murder Arabs in Drive-by shooting.” The news editors knew what everyone else did not know. The culprits were “settlers.” Of course, one correspondent pointed out that eyewitnesses noted that the murderer’s vehicle fled west, in the direction of Kiryat Gat-Ashkelon and not east, in the direction of Hebron-Gush Etzion. That, however, makes no difference. All that’s important is the fact that 3 Arabs were killed by “Jewish settlers.” Case closed!

Still, I was asked what we think, those of us living here in Hebron.

The answer is both simple and yet very complex.

That having been said, crystal clear, a few other points must be clarified and fully understood.

4. Another possibility, as far-fetched as it may sound, is that Arabs committed the killing last night. You might remember that two weeks ago, Arab terrorists, shooting at the Shmuelyan family at Har Bracha, dressed up in Israeli military uniforms. Other Arab killers have had kippahs on their head. It is not beyond Arafat to order his terrorists to kill some other Arabs thereby causing a major crisis in Israel, with the Israeli left blaming the ‘extreme right’ of terrorism.

The truth is that now we must wait and see what the police investigation reveals. Until then, we must be very careful who we blame.

However, there is one other factor that must not be ignored. As far as I’m concerned, the responsibility for last night’s attack, assuming that is was committed by Jews, falls straight in the lap of Ariel Sharon. Sharon, being led by the nose by Shimon Peres and Binyamin ben Eliezer, Foreign and Defense Ministers respectively, has abandoned Israelis, both in Yesha and throughout Israel. His restraint policy has led to the deaths of 67 people since becoming Prime Minister. Arafat’s war against the Jews continues unhindered, with massive shooting at Israeli communities in Yesha, mortars in Gilo, and terror attacks throughout Israel. Yet Sharon is doing nothing to effectively stop the attacks. People are dying, and Sharon continues to sit in a Peres-controlled government.

And lastly, I condemn Ariel Sharon for including, in his government, such creatures who “can live with one or two settlers killed each week.”

We cannot, and will not, live with that.

Monday, July 16, 2001

Stop the Show

Stop the Show
July 16, 2001

A few minutes before five o’clock this afternoon, three explosions rocked the car of

Hebron residents Noam and Elisheva Federman. The vehicle was parked next to the

Kiryat Arba Medical Center, and was empty at the time of the blast. Elisheva and her

children were visiting the doctor at the time. Fortunately, no was near the car either,

so no one was injured.

Another miracle.

But not all people are so lucky. A little while ago a suicide bomber blew himself up

in the train station in the town of Binyamina. Initial reports are of several critically

wounded people and possibly some killed.

Over the past 9 and a half months we've had many people injured and many too many

killed. Friends, acquaintances, strangers dead.

Last Thursday was almost beyond belief but then again, today, nothing is beyond

belief. Wednesday night had been full of fireworks but not the kind you're used to

on the fourth of July. It was the first time in a long time - late at night, suddenly, out

of nowhere almost three hours of war raging all around you. It's difficult to always

ascertain who is doing the shooting - them or us. But as a rule, we make more noise

than they do. The problem is that it is just that, noise, but back to that later.

On Thursday morning many people seemed a little beat the noise kept the kids

up much of the night and the kids kept the parents up. It was mid morning, when

suddenly someone asked, - "did you hear about what happened in Kiryat Arba? After

a few hurried questions, the answer was confirmed a terrorist shooting at the western

gate, leading from the Kiriya to Hebron. Very quickly, camera in hand, I made my

way up, dreading what I knew I would see and there it was. A crowd, mostly police

and soldiers, and smack on the side of the road the car this time a Ford transit van.

The door was open, the victim already on his way to the hospital, or what was left

of him. Unfortunately, not too much. The bullet holes on the right side of the front

window told the story. The driver, 28 year old David Cohen, father of 2, was hit in

the head by terrorist gunfire from only a few meters away. He never had a chance.

Somehow his heart kept beating until late Friday afternoon. He was buried Saturday

night. Another funeral.

That was Thursday morning. It should have been enough. In truth it was already too

much. But no - there was more to come.

Late Thursday afternoon a group of Kiryat Arba-Hebron residents decided to hold a

protest march from the site of the attack to Ma'arat HaMachpela in Hebron, about 10

minutes away. As the march started, so did the rocks, flying out of windows of Arab

homes on the side of the road. Rock throwing should not be a one-way affair - soon

the marchers found themselves being bombarded with cement blocks, returning as

many of them as possible. Finally, with Israeli soldiers and police providing cover,

people managed to get by the attacker's homes, and started on another road, back to

Kiryat Arba. As the group reached the gate the police went to work, and by the time

they'd finished, 20 Israeli youth had been arrested for throwing rocks back at the

Arabs, who had attacked us.

Later that night I went up to the Kiryat Arba police station to see if anything could

be done to get them released. Seeing a large group of people there, and realizing that

not too much could be accomplished, I made my way back down to the front gate. It

was then that the shooting started again, loud and clear, and not too far away. Then

the Hebron ambulance showed up - something was definitely wrong. The ambulance

took off, and shortly afterwards, I did too, in the same direction to the Givat Harsina

neighborhood, above Kiryat Arba proper. Up there, again the most horrid of sites,

ambulances, red lights flashing, security forces, people covered with blood. Who was

hit? How bad? What's their condition?

It was soon clear. One man had been struck by 2 bullets one in each leg. The other

man had a bullet in his lower back, and the wound was considered serious. In all

actuality it was much more critical than we thought. Hezi Mualem, 49 year old father

of four, died at about three in the morning, a few hours after being hit by Arafat's

armed forces.

Later that night the shooting continued, in Hebron, and on the outskirts of Kiryat

Arba. The army knows how to make a lot of noise when it wants to. The problem is,

as I hinted earlier, many times it is just noise, nothing else. The gunfire is not directed

at terrorists it is directed, at best, at cars, stores, windows, and at other times, at fields

and empty houses. But not at Arafat's army. The military sometimes uses tanks, or

heavy machine guns, and it really does sound impressive - but the enemy is already

accustomed to it. Noise - nothing else. When Israel finishes wasting ammunition,

the terrorists just start shooting again, and so it goes, day after day, week after week,

month after month. And our friends keep dying.

Rather than do what has to be done, rather than take back the hills, rather than

destroying the terrorists and defeating the enemy, noise. A grand show. Really grand,

except for the mothers and fathers, except for the widows and widowers, except for

the orphans, little boys and girls, all of whom have lost their sons and daughters,

husbands and wives, mothers and fathers. A grand show.

Israeli soldiers, upon completion of basic training, are not awarded a B.A. in theatrics.

They are recognized as fully trained warriors, ready to defend their country with their

lives. They wear uniforms, not costumes, they wear helmits, not wigs, they carry

arms, not sticks or canes. Their job is not to make noise. Their job is to defeat the

enemy.

Stop the show. Let the curtain fall. Let the real work begin.

Monday, July 9, 2001

Lover of the Land – Haim Mageni z”l

By David Wilder

The Jewish Community of Hebron

Shalom.

I’d like to dedicate tonight’s talk to a very special person, a man taken from us so suddenly exactly one month ago.

Haim Mageni first came to Israel in 1964, from Brooklyn, New York. There, he participated in the local Bnei Akiva youth group, growing up in the shadow of a previous member of the same chapter, Moshe Perlstein. Perlstein was a genuine hero, a New Yorker who moved to Israel in 1947 and is remembered as one of the famous Lamed Hey, one of the 35 Israelis who were killed on their way from Jerusalem to Gush Etzion, which was, in 1948, totally under siege. The “35” as they are called, in an attempt to save their brethren, brought food and medical supplies to the besieged Kfar Etzion community, but never reached their destination, being slaughtered by Arabs who cut them down in cold blood.

Haim Mageni followed in the footsteps of his heroic predecessor, and made his home in Eretz Yisrael. Studying in Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav during the Six Day War, Haim answered the call of duty, and became one of the first Israelis to help renew the first Jewish community in liberated Judea and Samaria, the community of Kfar Etzion, between Jerusalem and Hebron. There Haim spent a brutal winter, refusing to bow to the dictates of nature, proving his indubitable love for Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel.

In 1968 Haim returned to the United States for a short time, and after marrying, he and his wife Shoshana came home, to Israel.

Again, with the far-reaching vision that was so characteristic of Haim Mageni, the young family made their home, not in a spacious house in the center of the country. Rather, as pioneers, Haim and Shoshana made their way south of Jerusalem, south of Kfar Etzion. Together with a handful of other families, living in an Israeli military compound, amongst Israeli soldiers and jailed Arab terrorists, the Magenis took part in the renewal of the oldest Jewish community in the land of Israel, the city of Hebron. Living there until 1971, Haim then moved to the newly established town called Kiryat Arba, or, as he called it, “the upper part of the city of Hebron.” There he lived for the next 30 years.

Haim is best remembered as a tour guide. But that description of his job does not do him justice.

In the Bible, there are two words used to express knowing. L’hakir means to know superficially - Joe and I know each other. But there is a much deeper knowing, that used to express the relationship between a man and his wife, which is, in Hebrew, l’da’at - v’Adam yada et Hava ishto - and Adam knew his wife, Eve.

This is not a shallow knowing, it is, rather a profound expression of awareness. Haim did not know l’hakir - Eretz Yisrael. Haim knew - l’da’at - Eretz Yisrael. And when he traveled with tourists, whether to the Golan or to Jericho, whether to Jerusalem, Hevron or Eilat, Haim tried to convey his knowing of Eretz Yisrael to all those around him. Tried, and succeeded. He did not want people to hear about Eretz Yisrael. He wanted people to feel Eretz Yisrael - l’da’at - to know, on the deepest levels, the land of our people.

Haim’s expertise was, of course, Hebron. Here he lived for over 30 years years. He knew every nook and cranny, in the city, in the fields. Just as his energy was boundless, so too was his knowledge. Among the veteran residents of Kiryat Arba-Hebron, Haim is remembered for his Saturday afternoon hikes his tiyuli Shabbat, throughout Hebron. Every week, without fail, Haim would lead a group from Kiryat Arba to another neighborhood in Hebron. Sometimes, to ancient Hebron, today called Tel Rumeida, the one-time home of Abraham, and later, King David. Other times, to the famous Hebron yeshiva, whose students came from Slobodka in Lithuania in 1924, to study in the city of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. I remember being astounded when I realized that Haim not only knew the history of the yeshiva, but also knew which students learned together in pairs, called ‘hevrutot’ in Hebrew.

Haim was not only a tour guide. He was a Torah scholar. And he was a ba’al Hesed, a man of tremendous benevolence. So many people have told me “if it hadn’t been for Haim Mageni, I never would have stayed in Kiryat Arba. It’s because of him that I was able to successfully make my home here.”

I would like to read the words of a doctor from the United States, who wrote to Shoshana Mageni, shortly after hearing of Haim’s passing:

"Because of the time I had spent with Haim Z"L driving throughout Eretz Yisrael, his tours were not tours, they were classes. He was of course, a rebbe, a teacher, to all his clients and friends that listened to his talks. It could be exhausting to tour with Haim. Not so much because of the time driving and hiking but more from the incredible information flow that he "downloaded" to us. He had a love of Eretz Yisrael like no one I've ever met."

"I once asked my rebbe, Haim Z"L, not for a blessing, but for some good advice. Please, tell me what my approach to being a good Jew should be? I feel like my life outside of Israel is problematic. Until I succeed in bringing my family home, what should I do? What should I learn?"

"He told me, what of course was his own personal approach. He told me: your problem is one of balance. You need to try to make each day balanced to succeed as a Jew no matter where you live. You need to balance your love of Eretz Yisrael with a commitment to Am Yisrael through the study of Torat Yisrael. Since that day I've tried to follow Haim’s advice every day."

May his memory be blessed - y’he zichro Baruch.

With blessings from Hebron.

To be a free people in our land

To be a free people in our land
July 9, 2001

Picture this:
You're driving home from a long day at work. Twenty minutes from home the traffic jam starts. Eventually, reaching the beginning of the line, you are waved into a huge parking lot.

After finding a spot to park, you walk to the next line. Finally it's your turn, and you climb up onto the bus. On your seat you find the uniform - a bulletproof vest and a helmet. Having donned them you sit down and wait for the bus to fill up so you can finish your ride home. The next morning, on the way to work, the same procedure, only backwards, from your home to the parking lot.
Sound like a science-fiction story? Unfortunately, it's not so far fetched. The Israel Defense Forces is presently renting bulletproofed buses and asking people to use them, rather than travel in private cars.

Over four years ago, as the infamous Hebron Accords were signed and implemented, a senior military officer met with Hebron leaders. The reason for the meeting: additional safety measures for Hebron residents in the newly discovered era of peace.

The officer's suggestions were plentiful. He first recommended construction of an 'above ground tunnel', in other words, two parallel walls, stretching from Beit Hadassah all the way down to Maarat Hamachpela, about a kilometer away. Why build the walls? In order to protect us from shooting attacks from the hills surrounding the Jewish neighborhoods, transferred to Arafat and his armed forces.

You understand? The Israeli army wanted to protect us from the very hills that we warned would be used to target us, yet were handed over to the terrorists as part of the Oslo peace process. The suggested solution -- that we walk between walls, the entire distance of the Jewish Community of Hebron. When one of the Hebron participants questioned the officer, saying, "The terrorists will be able to hurl bombs or hand grenades over the walls," the response was simple: "No, we are going to cover them with some kind of roof." Again, he was asked, "And what about the children? They'll have to ride their bicycles between walls?" The officer didn't answer that one.

But he did have another brilliant idea. He suggested that the army pay to bulletproof all the windows of apartments facing the hills. One of the men queried, "If you bullet proof the windows, they are impossible to open. We won't have any air in the house." The officer's reply, "Don't worry, we are going to buy you air conditioners." Another person piped up, "But, we have a very large family and my wife hangs all the laundry out the window to dry." The officer turned to his assistant and instructed him, "Make a note, we have to buy them clothes dryers."

It sounds funny, but unfortunately, this is a true story. It really happened. Hebron's leadership met, discussed the issue and suggestions, and responded with a solid no, refusing all the so-called protective measures offered to the community. We were looked at as if we'd fallen off the moon, straight onto our heads. "Why?" they asked us incredulously, "This is for your protection."

Our answer was short and succinct: "We came back to Israel to live as a free people. We left the ghettos of Eastern Europe to live freely in our land. As we say in the Israeli national anthem: L'hiot Am Hofshi b'Artzenu - to be a free people in our land. Can we be a free people living in our land, behind walls and bulletproof glass? No, of course not. If you want to protect us, take care of the terrorists. Push them back; defeat them. But don't punish us; don't cage us in, because they are trying to kill us."

That was well over four years ago, and today, well, the same film is being rerun. Only this time, not just in Hebron. This time, bulletproof glass, bulletproof vests, helmets and other so-called security measures are the name of the game throughout Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Yesterday, a manufacturer displayed his newest design: Lego-like bullet proofing of automobiles for only $10,000. He tried to convince the Israel Defense Forces to purchase and subsidize the product in order to protect the lives of Israelis living in Yesha. As described by an Israeli news correspondent, "It looks like the armored vehicles used in 1948, and isn't very attractive, but it can save lives."

What was Yassir Arafat's response to the offer of transforming our cars into individual private tanks? Last night several bombs were detonated near IDF jeeps. In one of those jeeps, just south of Hebron, sat a twenty-two year old captain, who caught a piece of shrapnel in his head. After being operated on all night, he died in the early morning. Captain Shai Shalom Cohen was buried earlier today in his hometown, Pardess Hannah. Initial investigations report that the land mine used to kill the officer was very similar to mines used against Israeli forces in South Lebanon.

What's the point? Very simple. The answer to terrorism, the answer to war, is not to run away and hide. This will have the opposite effect, showing our enemies that we are scared, that we are running to take cover. It is a tremendous show of weakness. There is nowhere to run away to. Drive in a bulletproof car and the enemy will use a land mine. Ride in an armored bus and the enemy will use a missile. There's no end to it.

A letter released last week by various Yesha leaders states: "All of these measures are being offered as an alternative to true security and in place of war against terror. Their real significance can be described as abandonment of the roads to terrorists, fleeing and hiding? relinquishing the demand for true security, while abandoning our land to terrorist murderers.

"We call on all Yesha leaders and residents to refuse to accept the proposed protective safeguards and to return to the must fundamental and legitimate demand for true security on our roads, in our homes and in our communities."

Sunday, July 1, 2001

The Silence of the Guilty

The Silence of the GuiltyJuly 1, 2001

On June 26th, writing in Ha'aretz newspaper, Ari Shavit writes, and I quote
the first paragraph of his article,

"It will be difficult to forget this silence. For several months now, on
almost a daily basis, Israeli citizens who live beyond the Green Line are
being murdered by the historic allies of the Israeli peace movement, yet
that movement is silent. Here and there its members might mumble a word or
two expressing their condolences. Here and there they might make a
weak-kneed appeal to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. However,
essentially, they are silent. In the deepest sense, they are silent. They
see their allies shooting at point-blank range at Israelis and yet they are
silent."

The question is, why the silence? Shavit himself offers a solution:

"However, what is most disturbing is that this silence prompts many to
suspect that the silence of the silent ones is no coincidence, to suspect
that their silence is somehow linked to the fact that it is their secret
political dream to see the Settler Other simply evaporate. To get up one
morning and to discover that the hated Settler Other has quite simply
vanished."

Little does Ari Shavit know just how correct he is.

Please, listen to this carefully, because otherwise you will not believe
what you hear.

The date is Friday, July 14, 1995 several months before the assassination
of then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Rabin's Foreign Minister was none
other than the present Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres.

I was in the middle of writing an article when I heard an interview on Kol
Yisrael radio with Rabbi Nahum Rabinovitch, from Ma'ale Adumim. Rabbi
Rabinovitch had spoken to a reporter who interviewed Peres a short time
before. The reporter asked Peres, "aren't your worried about what will
happen to the 'settlers' in Judea and Samaria after the army pulls out?"
Peres' answer was, and I quote from that 1995 article 'I have no problem
with what will happen in Yesha. We will withdraw the army and then let's
see what happens. They (the Jews) will either run away immediately, or the
Arabs will massacre some, and then we'll see what happens."

You are undoubtedly asking yourselves, "what did he say?"
So, I repeat, and again, please listen carefully. Shimon Peres: 'I have no
problem with what will happen in Yesha. We will withdraw the army and then
let's see what happens. They (the Jews) will either run away immediately,
or the Arabs will massacre some, and then we'll see what happens."

That was Foreign minister Shimon Peres of 1995. And what of Foreign
Minister Shimon Peres in 2001, almost exactly six years later? On Friday
night Peres met with murderer Arafat in Lisbon, had a sumptuous meal with
him, and is pictured smiling, standing next to him, hands on hands. Peres
was quoted as saying that the discussion had been positive, with the
terrorist calling Peres "our partner in peace." Truly an idyllic moment.
Peace at last, just around the corner.

The next day, speaking at the Conference of the Council of the Socialist
International in Lisbon, killer Arafat viciously attacked Israel, saying,
"Palestine and my Palestinian people are exposed to the aggressive military
campaign waged by the Government of Israel, its army and settlers for the
ninth consecutive month, etc. etc. etc.

What was Shimon's response? "Give us security, and you'll get freedom." He
added, "we don't understand why you rejected proposals offered by Ehud
Barak and instead chose to launch a violent intifada."

Shimon Peres doesn't understand why Arafat chose war? Why shouldn't he
choose war, with a man like Shimon Peres standing at the helm. After all,
it was Peres himself who predicted, as far back as 1995, 'let's see what
happens to the Jews when the Arabs start killing them.'

Friends, it is time to understand the fundamental objective of Oslo.
When Shimon Peres launched his deadly initiative, his goal was not only to
rid the State of Israel of Yesha. His aim was much broader. Peres wanted
to break the back of what is called in Israel the "Religious nationalist
movement" many of whom are followers of Rav Kook and who initiated the
return to Yesha post Six-Day war. By destroying communities in Judea,
Samaria and Gazza, with many of their residents being massacred by
Arafat's armed forces, Peres hoped to bring the survivors to their knees,
crushing their ideology and their dreams. Following this victory, Peres
intended on destroying the rest of Israel's religious world, concentrating
on what is called the "Haredi" movement, eventually leaving them with
little or no political power. Then Shimon Peres would be able to realize
his grand dream: The secular State of Israel, a state with Jews living
here, but not a Jewish state. Rather, a secular western state, styled after
a combination of the United States and Sweden. (Remember, after receiving
the Nobel peace prize Peres told the King of Sweden, "We see you as a model
for our own state.")

Peres then, in 1995, and Peres today, 2001. The same instincts, the same
actions, the same results. Jews die while he has cake and coffee with the
murderers. This is why Peres and his friends remain silent in the face of
continued murder.

But, just as in 1995 we did not flee, so too today, we are spoiling Peres'
plans by standing strong, refusing to capitulate to Arafat-ordered terror.
Peres then, as today, made one major error. He forgot that Jews, above all,
have faith, faith in what we learn, faith in what we do, faith in our land,
faith in our G-d. That is why we cannot , and why we will not, lose.