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Did you get this weeks Jewish Press. It's the best I've seen. Read the front page article entitled "Israel's Founding Revisited" by Elliot Resnick about Israel Eldad z"l author of the "First Tithe" and father of Arieh Eldad who ran the Lehi movement also known as the Stern group. It blew my mind. The Jewish Press staff reporter Elliot Resnick interviewed Zev Golan who described the difference in ideology between Hagana and Lehi, Begin and Eldad. Here are some excerpts:
Resnick:
People also credit the UN vote of November 29, 1947 as instrumental in creating Israel. However, while many Jews in Palestine danced in the streets the night of November 29, Eldad walked around depressed. Why? Golan replies: Eldad compares that night to the time when Israel danced around the Golden Calf and said, "This is the god who took you out of Egypt." Here they were looking to the UN and saying "this is the god who has given us the State," and it wasn't.
About the Altalena ship where the IDF, on Ben Gurion's orders, fired on the ammunition - laden Altalena ship, killing 16 Irgun fighters.
Resnick asks: "
So if it had been up to Eldad, the Jews on the Altalena would have shot back? Golan responds
"Without a doubt. He would've shot back and made a move elsewhere to take power"
...
and create a separate Jewish State in Jerusalem
Right, that's what he wanted to do. But at that point, not only was Begin not on his side in terms of strategy but neither really was Lehi, which had moved leftward.
Begin said "I won't allow a civil war. If they shoot at us, we're not going to shoot back" and Eldad said "We need to take power; we can't let power stay to the hands of people who are shooting at us and killing Jews".
Elliot Resnick: "
Many would consider the thought of shooting back at fellow Jews to be horrific. Golan: The horrific thought is not that Jews would shoot back at people trying to kill Jews and prevent the salvation of Israel. The horrific thought is that Jews would take that first shot at Jews whose only goal was to help Israel.
And if the Jews who are fighting to save the country announce in advance that they will not fight back if the government comes to kill them, why fight at all? If you announce that in advance, the other side really can get away with anything it wants. So Begin had lost as soon as he made that announcement. He was saying essentially, I don't care if Ben-Gurion runs the country.
Robins Comment, Dejas vu. When the Yesha Council in Gush Katif agrees to be dragged to jail rather than declare their entitlement and rights to the Land of Israel and express a willingness to fight Kassam or Yassam, they lost as soon as they made that announcement and was saying essentially, let Sharon run the country and carry out the disengagements. Who knows if today we would be negotiating giving away our heartland in Judea and Samaria had we stopped it in Gush Katif and would have said we are making our own Judean State whose capital is in Jerusalem.Instead of handing over parts of Jerusalem to Fatah we could have suggested dividing Jerusalem between Jews and Jews.
Let us defend ourselves of Arab aggression and if the government of Israel decides that it does not want to defend these territories, we are proud Jews that are willing to fight to defend our land. (even though our settlement protects the rest of Israel as has been clearly proven with Sderot). Rather than a civil war between brothers we could have suggested a parting of the ways between brothers such as Abraham and Lot where each side chooses to separate peacefully. This is a situation where the sides can not coexist as one and G-d is unable to dwell with Lot in Abraham's midst. This is a situation where the positions are mutually exclusive and cannot coexist but each side continues to love each other and do not hate one another.
Golan says that there is no doubt that his vision (Eldad's) of redemption is the biblical, prophetic and traditional view of redemption. Avraham Stern (Lehi's founder) put the building of the Temple into the principles of the Stern Group and called it a recognition, a symbol of redemption.
Also read Paul Eidelberg M34 (Magazine section) entitled :"From George Washington to Barack Obama. The Decline of America" He writes: Notice that first Washington identifies the good of America with the good of mankind. Rightly so, because America was the first and only nation explicitly founded on the Seven Noahide Laws of Univeral Morality. Eidelbertg points out how Obama consistantly demotes America and puts Islam ahead of Judaism. to be continued.
Robin comments: I like that Prof. Eidelberg is speaking about the Noahide laws. This is the Jewish answer to the Non Jew rather than Xtians, since we do not believe in J as the Savior of humanity.
Then read a phenomenal article by Caroline Glick page 22 entitled "Extrordinary Jews" She describes the sacrificing actvists, the individuals and not the organizations who are extraordinary Jews who finance her speaking engagements out of no compensation for themselves but merely to be there for Israel and safeguard her settlment. Now even though I and my friends are not mentioned since we have not personally funded Caroline Glicks articles we do publicize them. She writes "Their willingness to devote their time and effort to the increasingly lonely task of defending Israel makes them all extraordinary Jews. it takes one to know one. We agree. to her assessment.
Finally, they are printing the right kind of articles.. Even Menachem Porush in "As I see It" on Page 16 in an article entitled "Israel: Sixty-One Years Later" spoke up for our entitlement of EY and not merely because there is no peace partner. "Many politicians continue to give the impression that Israelis are in agreement vis-a-vis a Palestinian state, but lacking is the condition that our enemies commit to the existence of a Jewish State. While the ARabas seek our destruction, G-d forbid, we religious Jews firmly believe in G-d's Torah promise that "To you and to your children will I give this Land."
Robin's Comment: Case in point, unfortunately, the Young Israel Campaign emphasizes such points rather than G-d's promise to us and to our children.
www.youngisrael.org/content/usa.cfm
As for Feiglin's article on Page 45, it was very disappointing. Feiglin has the right ideology which is to keep Judea and Samaria and Gaza but still can not declare independence from Likud, a party that is selling the country down the tubes. Shimon Peres is now representing Likud in Washington thereby betraying the entire Nationalist camp that voted for Likud.
Feiglin has a way with words. What is he saying when he writes about (Begin, Shamir, Netanyahu and Sharon, ) "They lack in the Jewish aspect (meaning lacking in faith) that gives flavor to the entire Jewish Nationalist enterprise and therefore internalized the Left's agenda rather than Likud's agenda. If all the Previous Likud's administrations failed to carry through on our entitlement of Eretz Yisroel, why is Feiglin holier then the pope and feel that he can reverse the trend and be true to the Likud's constitution? It was in these administrations that Oslo, Wye and the Disengagement happened. Why can't Feiglin come out and say that by doing so Hefeiru Toratecha, they annulled our Covenant which is Divine, and precedes the Likud Constitution by thousands of years?
I don't remember Feiglin denouncing Annapolis publicly and aggressively and he did not lead or join a campaign to condemn Annapolis. He chose instead to concentrate on campaigning. In doing so, he neutralized the activism of the best lovers of Eretz Yisroel and a significant section of the Nationalist camp that voted for Likud. That is painful to me because his following includes the most dedicated, hard working devoted, ardent lovers of the Land of Israel. Why should all their energies dissipate under Likud? What a waste. He did not choose to join with National Union as an equal partner which is under a Torah ideology since he felt that is did not represent a cross section of the country but only a faction. Where is our faith that Torah is Universal? Feiglin still chooses instead to be subservient to the Likud party under Netanyahu's reign until he is Prime Minister. He is afraid to use the words Torah in his speeches but rather couches his words with more politically correct usage such as "lacking in the Jewish aspect that gives flavor the the entire Jewish Nationalist Enterprise". It pains me to suggest that Feiglin really does belong within Likud since his leadership is consistent with their leadership. While his words are music to the Nationalist camp and are consistent with Torah his actions do not reflect faith in Hashem but rather his faith that sticking with the Likud party, an established party, will bring about his leadership and Israel's salvation.
We are clearly seeing under the Obama administration that words are meaningless unless they are backed up with actions that are consistent with these words.
In the Jewish Press's editorial "What the President Didn't Say" Page 5 Obama spoke very movingly at the Holocaust Remembrance speech to the Congressmen on the Capitol Rotunda . The Jewish Press reports that "The President called on Americans to give force to the pledge "Never Again" and with stirring cadence asked, "How do we ensure that "never again" isn't an empty slogan, or merely an aspiration, but also a call to action?"
The Jewish Press brought this to light obviously annoyed at this hypocracy with an adjacent article on page 4 by Larry Domnich entitled "A Post Pesach Dayenu: Enough" which concludes
Dayenu, Mr. President. Enough is enough.. This Dayanulists 23 or so actions of President Obama that speaks of how he befriended anti-Semtic leaders and terrorist regimes prior and during his administration. These actions include having been a member of Jeremiah Wrights church for 20 years, befriended Bill Ayers, Rashid Khalidy, bowed to the Saudi King, declared friendship to mullahs of Iran, called for talks with North Korean dictator Kim Yong, called for more talks with nuclear ambitious mad dictator Ahmadinejad, embraced Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez and accepted an American-hating book, gave audience and credibility to Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ordega appointed Janet Napolitano director of Homeland Security, appointed Eric Holder attorney general, recommended Chas Freeman as chief of National Intelligence Council, apportioned $920 million to Gaza, ordered the closing of Guantanamo Bay and expressed approval of an investigation of former Bush officials whose objectives were to protect Americans and did in fact protect Americans in their interrogations techniques by preventing further terror attacks, cut military budget, announced his intentions in Prague to destroy Americas nuclear weapons and called America arrogant before other Nations.
How disturbing that words become the vehicle to say one thing but actually mean exactly the opposite. Will we be forced to become cynical and learn to take empty words of Obama and interpret them to mean the opposite? Will we continue to believe what we read and hear by political figures and media as truth or as lies?
Thank you to the Jewish Press for publishing these articles that serve to express our entitlement of Eretz Yisroel and to expose Obama without rose tinted glasses. thank you as well for other excellent articles regarding Shalom Bayis (Dr. Yael Respler, Rebbetzin Jungreiss, Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch etc)
Sincerely, Robin Ticker
