BS"D
One may ask
Why should I get involved in the decision of the Israeli Government as to whether or not they should install metal detectors on Temple Mount?
Before answering this question, let me suggest the following:
What we need to address first, is to collectively bring the people on the side of merit.
Specifically let us address what the people are thinking. "What can I do to help?" and "Who am I to help change the situation in Eretz Yisroel", and this translates to what looks on the surface to be apathy.
Deep down each and every Jew and Righteous Noahide whose soul in intertwined with the Nation of Israel cares very deeply.
We need to touch their souls to do what needs to be done.
Nowadays in the age of social media, effecting change is more possible than ever before. Zikui Rabbim, bringing merit to the masses is attainable as never before!
For example, each and every individual can do their little part to protest the latest removal of the metal detectors, which was seen by both Jew and Arab alike, as a symbol of who has control over Temple Mount.
Is it the Jews or the Waqf? For a brief moment, Israel was back in control and it scared the daylights out of our enemies. (It probably scared the Jews as well)
(I have taken the liberty to update this post with a link that brings clarity from the perspective of an Arab Muslim based in the Middle East)
"The Battle over Jerusalem Has Just Begun"
by Bassam Tawil August 1, 2017
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10758/battle-over-jerusalem
Jews and Righteous Noahides need to convince ourselves, and to the world and to G-d that we desire a G-dly Kingdom, and are unhappy with the status quo of the Waqf being in control. It is right and good for Israel to have control. It is right and good for World Peace!
Watch Honest Reporting: Temple Mount: What's the point in praying if you can't bring your gun?
Transcription:
"...The media was saying that the Palestinians who remained outside of the metal detector were protesting. But they were not. They were actually shouting death threats saying that they were intending to murder Israeli men and mass rape Israeli women as Mohammad had done in Khaibar massacre in the year 628. Honest Reporting was present at these so called protests and heard the death threats in person. But even though translators were readily available to the Press, here is what the media had to say about the death threats. NOTHING" The next day Palestinians threw fire bombs and tires at Israelis. Three were killed in the act. At least one of them when his Molotov cocktails exploded in his hands. So far we havent found this in any mainstream press".... .
context: Khaiber A village where 800 Jewish men got slaughtered in front of families and women taken as sex slaves, by first army of Islam. (We don't have to use our imagination. This is precisely what ISIS has done to the Yezidis)
Now compare that to Israel's vision
The Nations of the world will stream to Jerusalem and bring gifts to Hashem.
Isaiah Chapter 2
1. The word that Isaiah, son of Amoz, prophesied concerning Judah and Jerusalem. א. 2. And it shall be at the end of the days, that the Mountain of the Lord's House shall be firmly established at the top of the mountains, and it shall be raised above the hills, and all the nations shall stream to it. ב. 3. And many peoples shall go, and they shall say, "Come, let us go up to the Lord's mount, to the House of the God of Jacob, and let Him teach us of His ways, and we will go in His paths," for out of Zion shall the Torah come forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. ג. 4. And he shall judge between the nations and reprove many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift the sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. ד. 5. "O house of Jacob, come and let us go in the light of the Lord."
Isaiah 11:9 "They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea"
There are those who will argue but you are opening up a hornets nest.
Following the installation of metal detectors and the call for a day of Rage, besides the terror attack in Chalamish, and rioting in Israel etc., in Jordan, they took an Israeli guard as hostage after he was stabbed with a screwdriver and he neutralized his attackers and a group of 20 Chareidim in Petra were almost jailed. http://hamodia.com/2017/07/24/kever-aharon-mispallelim-threatened-jail-praying/. Imams all over the world called to participate in the Day of Rage.
It seems like any minor attempt on the part of Israel to exercise control on Har Habayit elicits tremendous outrage and violence.
We can choose to retreat gracefully which seems like the approach Israel is taking or confront it head on with tremendous faith and trepidation.
Poll: 77% believe removal of magnetometers was surrender
23% of Israelis believe PM Netanyahu handled recent crisis appropriately, compared to 67% who think otherwise, Channel 2 poll says.
Stephen M. Flatow, an attorney in New Jersey, is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in a Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995. He wrote this in the Algemeiner
President Trump — Stop Pressuring Israel
One can't really judge our leaders for making the choices they make. We are not standing in their shoes. However, neither should one do nothing about it knowing that this approach is against G-d's Covenant, and downright dangerous. The heart of Kings is in the Hands of G-d. If the people are worthy, then the King (the leaders of the generation) will be strong to do G-d's will. If the people are not worthy, even a worthy king will not be successful to implement G-d's will.
Initially David Friedman as Ambassador of the USA to Israel, responded with a tough statement to the barbaric terror attack on Temple Mount. This in turn elicited a strong response on the part of Israel and they closed down the Temple Mount from all worship and installed the metal detectors. We got a taste of a G-dly Kingship. However, once America began to get flack, they began to waiver and weaken, buckling under the pressure, so did Israel and the side of evil once again raised it's ugly face in Chalamish.
I think that Stephen Flatow's analysis was accurate. America did pressure Israel to retreat. It seemed to me however that they also initially encouraged a strong response to the provocation and for the first time since 1967 Israel was in control of Temple Mount! We all felt a tremendous sense of Pride!
We all know and believe to be true, that a True and Lasting Peace can only be achieved, with Israel being Sovereign on Temple Mount.
Temple Mount, Cave of the Patriarchs and Josephs Tomb are 3 places that the Arabs know that if they claim as their own then the rest of Israel follows. That is why they respond in Rage.
When Jews wanted to leave Egypt and Moses told Pharoah Let My People Go, Pharoah made their lives much more miserable.
We need to brace ourselves for a backlash and Pray to G-d and persist. Not to buckle under the pressure.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe's plan to beat terror
The Rebbe saw the danger hovering over the Jewish state and gave sage advice for the Jews in the Land of Israel.
The Arabs plan of action to fight Israel. This is what they believe and it seems to work...
...All we have to do is keep exerting pressure, keep striking them, killing and wounding them, frightening them and causing them to despair. For the more pressure they feel, the more they will give up and give in – until (as the Jewish Code of Law writes) "the land will be easy to conquer."
...
The Rebbe foresaw how even the mere suggestion – not an official declaration – of withdrawal and concession in the face of pressure and terrorism would lead to more terrorism, more suicide attacks, and more innocent blood being spilled.
...The time has come to stop living with these lies and to start living with the truth. There is only one way to stop this cycle of blood and it is to uproot the main incentive and goal of all the terrorism and bloodshed. It requires those who formulated the Oslo Accords and the disengagement who continue to work in key positions in the Israeli government, to stand up before the entire world and declare: "We are guilty, we have acted wrongly... this whole long road of negotiating and concessions has been one awful mistake from the offset. We take responsibility for all the innocent blood that has been spilled due to our egregiousness. Henceforth, the entire Land of Israel will remain under Israeli control, unconditionally, and in spite of anything the rest of the world has to say. This is not up for negotiation."
....One of the ways to accomplish this, according to the Rebbe, is to publicize, by every means possible, the psak din (halakhic decision) of the great Rabbis of Israel, that any negotiations concerning the handing over territories are a threat to the Jewish people (as the Shulchan Aruch states, OC 329), and forbidden.
Today, even the blind can see just how true this is – to our great misfortune. Each and every one of us must publicize this psak din and to do all that is in his or her power – for the sake of our lives, the lives of our children, and the lives of all Jews who live in the Holy Land.
Our lives depend on it, and with G-d's help, we will be victorious.
Brainstorming a Plan of Action that each Individual can gain some merit:
Crying out to G-d and to our Rabbi's and Leaders to admit we made a mistake with Oslo and with Temple Mount and that they should put out a Halachic ruling saying that handing over any Territories is a Threat to the Jewish people! (Surely Temple Mount of all places should be under Israel's Sovereignty)
I think we need to start a grass roots lobby campaign, Jews and Righteous Noahides alike, directed at our Spiritual Leaders and to the Media. Jews for example, let us all call/tweet/email/facebook Religious Organizations and Rabbis such as Agudath Yisroel of America, Moetzet Gedolei Hatorah, Young Israel, OU, Rabbinical Council of America, Chabad International, David Friedman, Jason Greenblatt, Jared Kushner, Knesseet Members and Ministers of the Government of Israel and any Rabbi and influential leader and the Media, etc. etc. and bombard everyone with protest letters about Israel removing the metal detectors. Demand that Israel assert Sovereignty over Temple Mount and over the entire Land of Israel including Judea and Samaria. Not to do so will only lead to more terror!
David Friedman feels that he was able to help diffuse the situation in Jordan through negotiation and as a result the security guard was released. But at what price?
An analogy:
Removing the metal detectors can be compared to numbing the pain for a diseased infected tooth that needs root canal. Sure the pain will subside temporarily but will come back with a vengeance unless the infection is dealt with and cleaned out. Not taking away the infection and merely administering more pain relief is not loving nor merciful. Quite the opposite.
Let us not be intimated with lectures about Ahavas Yisroel, Loving one another in the 9 days and that our protests will only cause disunity and bad mouthing. Nothing can be further than the truth. Had the Jews in the desert protested the Spies error in judgement to discourage the people from entering the Holy Land, they would have done the Spies a great service and perhaps saved the Spies from a horrible death, not to mention their own premature deaths and wandering in the desert. Both the Spies who were the Leaders of the Twelve Tribes, and the people themselves, were held accountable for this error in judgement. (not including Joshua and Caleb who didn't go along with the Spies evil report, nor the women of that generation)
After 120 when we all go up to a heavenly court we will then judge ourselves for our actions and will see see Truth. We will see our failure to knowingly remove and cleanse the infection from our tooth thereby causing unnecessary terrible pain and suffering. Merely numbing the pain was in fact an act of cruelty as it numbed us into apathy and inaction from removing the root of the problem.
G-d will know who yearned for Malchut Shamayim and rejoiced when the metal detectors were put in place and who protested their removal and who did nothing and who couldn't care less. On judgement day it will make a difference even if the rejoicing was in their heart and even if the protest was in the form of a phone call, an email or a post on social media. Everyone should do what they can in a manner that fits their comfort level.
Sitting by passively without trying to change the status quo is being complicit.
The more people that voice their opposition to this decision to take away the metal detectors, the greater the merit for the Nation for it is a reflection on how much the people yearn for Malchut Shamayim.
As the Rebbe pointed out, even the blind can see how true this is. Each and every individual must do their part. The Rebbe seems to think that the Rabbis can play an important role to alleviate the situation as can all the political leaders who erred with Oslo and negotiated.....
Rabbi Sorotzkin quoted a Yalkut Shimoni that says are three things that Israel despised
Maasu B'malchut Shamayim They despised the Kingdom of Heaven
not machshiv Beis Dovid and the Davidic Kingdom
Ubibinyan Beis Hamikdash and the building of the Beis Hamikdash.
and until there is a Tikkun, correction, on these three things, we won't merit to leave this Exile.
May we merit to ask for these three items as it says in Hoshea 3:5
ה. אַחַר יָשֻׁבוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּבִקְשׁוּ אֶת יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם וְאֵת דָּוִיד מַלְכָּם וּפָחֲדוּ אֶל יְהֹוָה וְאֶל טוּבוֹ בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים:
5. Afterwards shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God and David their king, and they shall come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness at the end of days.
Achar Yashvu Bnei Yisroel, if Bnei Yisroel will return once again,
Uvikshu es Hashem Elokeychem. They will ask for Hashem their G-d. (This is Malchut Shamayim a G-dly Kingdom)
Ves Dovid Malchum They will ask for the Kingdom of David
Upachado as Tuvam, they will want His goodness, this is the Beis Hamikdash.
Tehillim Psalms 87 http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16308/jewish/Chapter-87.htm
| Of the sons of Korah, a song with musical accompaniment, whose foundation is on the mountains of the Sanctuary. (Artscroll commentary: The theme of this psalm is the praise of Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion (Shocher Tov)) | | אלִבְנֵי קֹרַח מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר יְסוּדָתוֹ בְּהַרְרֵי קֹדֶשׁ: |
| 2The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. | | באֹהֵב יְהֹוָה שַׁעֲרֵי צִיּוֹן מִכֹּל מִשְׁכְּנוֹת יַעֲקֹב: |
| 3Glorious things are said about you, the city of God, forever. | | גנִכְבָּדוֹת מְדֻבָּר בָּךְ עִיר הָאֱלֹהִים סֶלָה: |
| 4I will remind Rahab and Babylon of My beloved ones. Behold Philistia and Tyre with Cush, "This one was born there." | | דאַזְכִּיר | רַהַב וּבָבֶל לְיֹדְעָי הִנֵּה פְלֶשֶׁת וְצֹר עִם כּוּשׁ זֶה יֻלַּד שָׁם: |
| 5And to Zion it will be said, "Man after man was born in her," and He will establish it on high. (Artscroll commentary, Israel compared to other countries produced men of of greatness and in great numbers (Radak) Moreover, each man of greatness was born in Zion. Whatever moral greatness the nations have produced has its roots in Zion's Torah (R' Hirsh) | | הוּלְצִיּוֹן יֵאָמַר אִישׁ וְאִישׁ יֻלַּד בָּהּ וְהוּא יְכוֹנְנֶהָ עֶלְיוֹן: |
6[When] the Lord counts in the script of the peoples forever, [He will say,] "This one was born there."
7And singers as well as flute players, all my innards (wellsprings in Artscroll translations) are concerned with you. (Zion is a wellspring which produces an endless supply of those who use their unique talents and abilities to glorify G-d (Ibn Ezra, R' Hirsh) | | ויְהֹוָה יִסְפֹּר בִּכְתוֹב עַמִּים זֶה יֻלַּד שָׁם סֶלָה:
ז וְשָׁרִים כְּחֹלְלִים כָּל מַעְיָנַי בָּךְ |
|
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Sincerely,
Robin Ticker
Activist emails sent to my list are L'Ilui Nishmat Yisrael ben David Aryeh ob"m (Izzy - Kaplan) and Howard Chaim Grief great activists and lovers of Eretz Yisroel, Am Yisroel and the Torah. Yehi Zichronum Baruch. May their memories serve as a blessing.
