Of course, the "settlers" are blamed for only "focusing on themselves." And we, of course, accept the blame. Personally, I don't. I don't consider us the sole guilty party. Why are we the only ones "soul searching" every time something happens?
The Shabbak masterminded the Rabin assassination. Even mainstream media and the Rabin family have complained of "peculiarities" in the official story. Secret agent, Avishai Raviv's involvement is indisputable, but his Teflon coating is keeping him safely out of jail. Herzeliya (on the safe side of the green line) born and raised, Yigal Amir is in jail for it, along with his brother, and the "crocheted kippah" crowd took responsibility, even though the hate and incitement were from Avishai Raviv.
Why do we always accept guilt? Did Mapai ever apologize for the Sezon? Did Yitzchak Rabin and Ben Gurion ever publically repent for killing Jews on the Altalena? Why have we never heard of the left "soul searching?" They can endanger and kill fellow Jews without even tickling their consciences? Don't they feel the pain of other Jews?
And today, when Sderot, Ashkelon and Negev kibbutzim are being targeted by missiles launched from Gush Katif, which is now in Arab hands, why aren't the pro-Disengagement crowd running over to help? They just don't care; they don't care about their fellow Jews. They are the ones who are too busy concentrating on their own affairs, not us.
Veteran residents of Kiryat Shmoneh complain that nobody in the government nor media ever cared or paid attention when they suffered missile attacks from Syria. For years there were damage, injuries and death. They were thankful for the unpopular "Lebanese War" for giving them some peace and quiet.
Good Jews from abroad who read and were affected by my letter to the UOJCA have written me asking why they should protest against destroying more Jewish communities, when Israelis don't care. Some say that as "foreigners," they don't feel that it's their right to interfere. Under normal circumstances I would agree, but unfortunately nothing is normal here. There is a situation of pikuach nefesh, lives in danger. It was a miracle that no one was murdered in Amona. The police used force well above anything suitable against young, peaceful demonstrators. They actually shouted at them that they were prepared to kill.
Unfortunately most Israelis are very dependent on foreign opinion. They want the world to say how wonderful they are and bask at the praise heaped on them for exiling good Jews from their homes during Disengagement. That is the reason why there must be a strong display against Olmert and his plans. Please don't be shy about voicing your disapproval.
- If you can mobilize enough support for Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria
- If you can mobilize enough protest against destroying Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria
then we have a chance of surviving!
If not, the entire State of Israel in danger. It's not so far fetched. When a government states over and over that it's too tired to defend its citizens, we have reached a very critical and, G-d forbid, potentially fatal situation.
There are many of us who have not given up nor given in. We are reaching out our hands to you and all Am Yisrael, the People of Israel and the lovers and supporters of Zion. This past Shabbat, during the Passover Holiday, we read from the Prophets about G-d giving life back to the "dry bones." Yes, all is not lost. G-d will help us, yes, us.
We will only succeed, and we will only thrive if we are united. Before the Exodus from Egypt the tribe of Efrayim failed to enter the Land of Israel, because they were alone. When I look at my neighbors here in Shiloh, I see people from all over the world, all different colors, features and accents. No other Jewish communities in Israel or the entire world are more accepting than those in YESHA and that includes the destroyed ones of Gush Katif and the Northern Shomron. The fastest growing university in Israel is in, the mostly secular, Ariel, and the highest birthrate is in the religious and chareidi YESHA communities. No matter what one's life style, there's some place in YESHA for all. The problem is that many Israelis refuse to even visit. We are considered "beyond the Pale."
We have always been reaching out. Will the rest of our People take our hands? Yes, it takes two...
2 comments:
Daniel Ben-Simon may be blaming us, but since he was at the right/traditional-oriented Jerusalem Conference, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I understood that he was warning us that we were not explaining ourselves well, a problem we have which is a microcosm of the problem of Israel's efforts in the world. Most ordinary Israelis do not respond to ideology. Any behavior will be received as either personal or group interest or else that someone is really interested in helping ME. This is of course exacerbated by the dumbing down and government/establishment propaganda of television. Shas is successful because they get out and do things for people. People find them in their neighborhoods, they take their kids and take care of them, they provide social services and generally don't look like they are turning up their noses at their "constituents" (an intentional misnomer because elections are not by constituency).
The knitted kippot are not perceived that way because they are trooping in from settlements which are selective to do political action. We have become an elitist sector like the kibbutzim. If we are forced to leave our homes, it will be painful, but we must move on to 24/7 involvement and outreach and live with the people we seek to influence. We must open up the enrollment of our schools and give people the feeling that we include them.
It's complicated.
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