It ain't over 'till it's over!

It ain't over till it's over. Yogi Berra

Yes, Yogi Berra was right. We have to remember that all the time as we work hard to stop Olmert's "Resettlement" Plan and get him out of office, retire him from politics forever!

And yes, I believe there's a way. Not only do we here in Israel have to work hard, but all of you good people abroad must join in. Unfortunately Israeli politicians are extremely susceptible to foreign praise. They want the rest of the world to like them. In this past Friday's Jerusalem Post, there were a few revealing articles.

One of them was an interview with a top Sharon advisor, Erez Halfon, who is negotiating with Olmert to join his staff. He made it clear that getting the world's support is more important than support in Israel:
What did Sharon think about the Likud MKs who tried to topple him?
Those were happy days when we saw the love that Arik received from the nations of the world at the UN, while people in the party were trying to oust him. His respect from the world was at its peak while I had to shame myself in Likud internal courts to try to delay the vote to topple him and fight Likud MKs who didn't understand what a treasure they had.

It's dangerous and also pathetic. But I have a feeling that this weakness is the key to our victory. If these politicians are mocked and publicly reviled for their immoral treatment of innocent citizens, if they are condemned for endangering their own country, if foreign leaders and world Jewish leaders condemn them, they will back down.

Sharon, who is now comatose, and Olmert, who was behind him and the infamous Disengagement Plan and now seems to be next in line, are dictators, whose policies are more like Stalin than Truman. This must be publicized. All of you must send letters to the media and politicians, speak out in public to Jews and non-Jews. Olmert's policies are strengthening terrorism in our area, and as America knows, terrorism spreads like a plague.

Just because Israeli parliamentarians are elected doesn't make the government just. Democracy is a reflection of the results of advertising campaigns, and sometimes the majority makes the wrong decision. When I was was growing up, my parents always warned me not to do things, "just because everyone else is doing it." "If everybody was jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you jump, too?"

I was always encouraged to think for myself and do what's right, regardless of what the majority was doing. And that's the lesson I take with me all the time. True, I'm sometimes alone and rarely find myself taking the easy way out, unless I'm 100% sure that it's the right thing to do.

When I decided to become religiously observant, I knew in my heart and soul that it was the right thing, the right way to live. The next stage was my decision to make aliyah, move to Israel.

Once I realized that it was one of the basic mitzvot (commandments) it was clear that my home had to be in Eretz Yisrael, and then soon after that, Israel was victorious in its war of survival that lasted six days in 1967. Yes, something that too many people ignore, Israel's survival was at stake. The Arabs were predicting, threatening that they would push narrow, indefensible Israel into the sea. Egypt asked the United Nations to remove the peace-keeping forces that were here to protect us, and the UN ran, rather than even making a symbolic show of objection or an attempt to protect us. And absolutely now country came to Israel's defense!

Then a miracle happened, we were victorious and found ourselves liberating our Biblical Lands. Places like Hebron, Shiloh, Shechem and Beit El were finally in Jewish hands after thousands of years of exile. These places are the homeland of Jewish history. Suddenly we could live in the same places, walk on the same paths and climb the same hills as our forefathers, prophets and kings.

G-d gave us a gift, and our politicians spit it back at Him.

Those politicians don't rule me; they don't control me. And I'm not the only one who feels this way. But we can't defeat them by ourselves. Jewish prayer is in the plural. We must think of others. We aren't alone.

A few short decades ago, it looked so certain that we were close to Redemption, and now it's clear that it won't be so simple. We can do it, but we all have to work very hard.

This week we celebrate Israel's 58th year, which is hard to call "independence." That's because too many Israelis are dependent on foreign approval. They are wrong, even if they're the majority.

On the Fifth of Iyyar, the anniversary of the State of Israel, I will say the Hallel Prayer of Praise to G-d, because G-d deserves the Praise and Thanks. Our problems and dangers come from man.

G-d willing and with the help of us all we will overcome, and we will survive, and no more Jewish communities will ever be destroyed. Don't give up, just help.