October 9, 2011
Dear Editor,
If the situation weren't so serious, we might find ourselves chuckling over the incongruities conveyed by Prime Minister Netanyahu in his speech last week at the UN. Unfortunately, though, his joke is hardly the stuff of some fun night out at a Tel Aviv comedy club. Like the foolish Jewish politicians who've come before him and the other misguided name-seekers on the peace trail, Mr. Netanyahu's jesting poses a real threat to the welfare and security of Jews living in Eretz Yisroel; all of which leaves us with a sense of urgency to respond and unmask the perils he and his cronies have placed us in.
To begin with, it seems Prime Minister Netanyahu is rather fond of recalling his special encounters with the Lubavitcher Rebbe from many years before when he was the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations. Back then the Rebbe sought to inspire him to stand up for the Jewish People, demonstrating that even the glow of a tiny candle that flickers truth can shed its light on the darkest and most deceptive kinds of places.
No doubt this and other interactions Mr. Netanyahu merited with the Rebbe left an indelible mark on the man that, G-d Willing, in the very near future we will see become tangibly real; but, for now we are certain that the Rebbe never intended the Torah's flaming truth to be twisted into enlightening the Arabs or the "powers that be" at the UN that "peace" with Israel can be theirs for the taking; meaning taking the Land of Israel piece by piece as long as they mutter for the media those magical words that Israel is the Jewish State.
We find this co-opting of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in order to put a legitimate spin on what are wrong and dangerous ideas to be downright shameful and disingenuous.
So, too, with Mr. Netanyahu's repetitious whining at the World that "they" ought to acknowledge Israel's gestures for peace (better labeled stupid mistakes) he and his predecessors have been making since the founding of the State and, in particular, the Six Day War. His use of the Holocaust in an attempt to justify Israel's right to feel safe while at the same time announcing his intention to give away the very places in Eretz Yisroel that ensure Jews' security is utterly hypocritical and demeaning to both martyrs and survivors of the Shoah.
When will Israeli leaders get it?! No head of state nor commoner is ever going to respect the fool who offers up his country's heartland, northern and southern frontiers, oil reserves, and capitol city for the few fleeting trade or travel perks -- which, in any event, appear to have enriched only the very wealthy and well-connected at home or the economies of Israel's nearby neighbors..
Honestly does Mr. Netanyahu really believe that by repeating over and over again, with a pointed finger no less, how his government uprooted thousands of Jews from their homes, pulled little kids out of their kindergartens, bulldozed Jewish houses of worship, and dug up the graves of Gush Katif's Jewish dead (not to mention destroying both the livelihoods and solid family structure of those who lived there) is going to garner non-Jewish sympathy? There may be some truth to the saying "a Goyishe kop" but Goyim aren't that dumb! The UN audience and media know very well that that was no "bold act of peace".
We ask readers to take an honest look at the news emanating out of Eretz Yisroel these past few months, if not the past year: the bus-bombing in Yerushalayim, the terrorist-fueled fires, and the increase in assaults on Jews driving Israel's roads and, r"l, the fatalities. Then there are Israel's Arab Spring neighbors who have unabashedly unmasked their hostility formerly held in check by their conniving former dictators who did so only because of political and financial gains to be had from the US and European Union. Finally, Israel's best friends in the White House gave a final blow when it was announced that they will never agree to release Jonathan Pollard from prison, r"l.
The Israeli government's response can be best summed up with the following two stories: A mere two weeks ago a family in Yerushalayim came under attack by a group of concrete-wielding Arab men who pounded them in full view of Israeli Border Police who refused to come to their rescue. Their excuse was that orders from the higher ups are such that police and soldiers may only intervene when there is a clear and immediate threat to life.
At the same time, seam-line communities along Israel's Green Line have had their civilian patrols bolstered with updated equipment, training, and fence repairs in anticipation of new violence expected from the outcome and rhetoric over the Arab declarations for a Palestinian state. Simultaneously, in Yehuda and Shomron, Israel's Defense Minister ran an early morning surprise destroying raid on the small community called Migron in the midst of readying these "obstacles to peace" to absorb thousands of Jewish refugees in the event of war, G-d Forbid! Simultaneously, all the hullabaloo about building new housing in Yerushalayim has yet to materialize in real facts on the ground compelling hundreds of Jews in need of housing to look elsewhere to live.
It's bad enough that the secular media spends it time focusing on the self-destructive ideas of a few tragically misguided but dangerous individuals but how do the so-called Chareidi journalists and news writers excuse their "trembling" doomsday news reports that fly in the face of Halacha and its spirit? Too often it seems these writers are more interested in describing the ins and outs of polite diplomacy rather than reporting on the straightforward solutions found in Shulchan Orech on self-preservation. Why do they choose to repeatedly warn their readers against considering that Israel might solve its security concerns by simply annexing Yehuda and Shomron? For example, A. Pe'er, HaModia's military correspondent and a veteran journalist writes : The Israeli government "wouldn't do that because it's not in its best interests; it would be a slap in the face to the United States, after all it's done for Israel in the past month: and worse, it will undoubtedly invite another Intifada that the World would justify." What is this?! -- a confidence-building measure for the other side?
But let us go back, for more than just a moment, to the Lubavticher Rebbe, the Nasi HaDor, whose truth and wisdom is the guiding light to finding our way through these dangerous and confusing times. Who more than the Rebbe wrote, spoke, and advised both Jewish leaders and laymen on the welfare and security of Jews in Eretz Yisroel?
First and foremost, the Rebbe emphasized that Eretz Yisroel is the Jewish People's eternal heritage, collectively and individually and, that no one person or group, Jewish or not, has authority to give away any portion of it to Gentiles. Rather than letting the nonsense called land for peace drive us from our homeland and each other, the Rebbe asked us to come together, b'achdus and b'ahava, in unity and love with the reassuring belief that this is what will bring us HaShem's greatest blessings for true peace.
Secondly, the Lubavticher Rebbe stressed that Pikuach Nefesh, preserving Jewish life, must always override any and all diplomatic considerations. We must insist again and again that the Israeli government make this its number one priority in full accordance with every detail and nuance found in Jewish Law on the topic. Moreover, by placing our trust in the truth of Halacha, we demonstrate our trust in HaShem to ward off our enemies evil plans and intentions.
It goes against Halacha and obscene to order soldiers to specifically hold their fire when Jews come under attack from rock throwers. It goes against Halacha to raise the specter of negotiations and to repeatedly invite avowed enemies and so-called intermediaries to the table promising to give away Jewish territory, let alone actually doing it! This actions deliberately undermine Jews' security in Eretz Yisroel and impact negatively on the safety of Jews in Chutz La'Aretz.
Furthermore, it is misleading and an outright lie for the Israeli government to tell Jews it would never agree to go back to the pre Six Day War borders when, in fact, that is exactly what its policy makers have been doing in piecemeal increments beginning just days after miraculously winning and liberating the Sinai Dessert, YESHA, Yerushalayim, and the Golan in 1967.
And, finally, it is a national embarrassment, ah shonda, every time Mr. Netanyahu announces his intention to continue keeping open checkpoints and roadblocks along Arab/Israeli intersections or that he will keep delivering goods and services to Gaza as goodwill gestures when Jews suffer greatly as a consequence and Gilad Shalit remains a captive.
Thirdly, the Lubavticher Rebbe said over and over again that settlement is the only solution to the Arab Israeli conflict explaining with simple logic that when we will show the Arabs we are serious about living in all parts of Eretz Yisroel only then will they understand that we mean it when we say we are here to stay. Yes, now it's an overwhelmingly huge mess because of the Israeli government's failed policies but that doesn't mean that facts on the ground must remain as they are. We challenge the decision makers in Israel's government to try a different tactic and begin implementing the Lubavitcher Rebbe's "peace plan" instead.
Moreover, let us do so with the confidence that comes from thinking good and it will be good as the Rebbe advised so many times to do. No politician, organization, or reporter has the right to instill fear and hopelessness among the Jewish People. The noisy rhetoric and threats coming from the Arabs and world leaders are nothing more than, as the Rebbe once described, the sound of a leaf being driven by the wind here and there.
It will be in our best interests and theirs' to ground that sound, the Rebbe insisted, by instilling knowledge of the Sheva Mitzvos B'nei Noach in their minds and hearts. This will offer the Arabs much more hope for a brighter future than what they have now: a violence based culture that honors torture and death instead of one that embraces life and goodness and kindness.
Finally let our renewed commitment to the Rebbe's campaigns for Torah, Tefillah, and Tzedaka, MiHu Yehudi, a Mezuzah on every door, Tefillin, and a Jewish education for every Jewish child be the harbinger that heralds in the New Year with true peace and security.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Tamar Adelstein, coordinator
Crown Hts Women for the Safety and Integrity of Israel
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Cadelstein@aol.com
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