Hebron Articles - Sept-Oct. 2004
by Elyakim HaEtzniEretz Yisrael is Not For Sale
Asher Barah Sasson v'Simcha
The Iran Connection
Har HaBayit b'yadenu
The Ultimate Tshuva
The Mother of the Sons is Happy
A Glorious Past, Present and Future
by David Wilder
The Jewish Community of Hebron
October 25, 2004
Shalom.
Next week Hebron will celebrate Shabbat Chaye Sarah – when we read in the Torah about Abraham’s purchase of Ma’arat HaMachpela, some three thousand seven hundred years ago. Tens of thousands of Jews from around the world will arrive in Hebron for this festive event.
However, Hebron is not the only Yesha city to rejoice. This past weekend my family visited the Elon Moreh community in the Shomron. We read in the Torah how Abraham, when he arrived in Eretz Yisrael, stopped first in Elon Moreh, before continuing south to Beit El, and later, Hebron.
Elon Moreh, situated just south of the holy city of Shechem, has a rich biblical history. But its legacy does not end in the Bible. Yehuda, Shomron and Gaza were liberated during the June, 1967 Six-Day War. A few months later the Israeli government officially okayed the renewal of a Jewish community in Gush Etzion, about 15 kilometers south of Jerusalem. Gush Etzion had fallen to the Jordanians on May 14, 1948, the day the State of Israel was declared.
In the spring of 1968 a group of families arrived at hotel in Hebron to celebrate the Passover holiday. That, in turn, led to the founding of Kiryat Arba in the fall of 1971. One of the early settlers was a young man named Benny Katzover. He studied at the new Kiryat Arba yeshiva, and took an active role rebuilding the land.
This past Shabbat I heard Benny Katzover, now a resident of Elon Moreh, speak about those formative years. He stressed that following the establishment of Kiryat Arba, he waited for others to take the initiative to begin resettling and rebuilding Samaria, the Shomron. Years went by and nothing happened.
During the winter of 1974, under the spiritual leadership of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, a group of people, including Rabbi Moshe Levinger, Rabbi Haim Druckman, Hanan Porat, Katzover, and others, founded Gush Emunim, ‘the Block of the Faithful. One of their first challenges was resettlement of the Shomron. Benny Katzover, seeing that no one had taken up the gauntlet, began to work. Plans were made, people were drafted, and then, it was time to move. It took eight attempts over a period of months, until finally, in the winter of 1975, over 2,000 Jews arrived at Sabastia, in the Shomron, and broke the government’s resistance to a Jewish presence in the heartland of Israel.
Benny Katzover later became mayor of the Shomron region, and for many years was a leader in initiating, building and developing the Shomron.
One of Benny’s children, Menora married Ariel Hazani, the son of another Yesha pioneer, the late Yehuda Hazani. Hazani, a Torah scholar and student of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, was one of those rare individuals who knew how to implement spiritual ideas in a worldly manner. He was known for his legendary organizational ability, bringing thousands and thousands of people to rallies, demonstrations, and other such events.
Hazani, a true lover of Eretz Yisrael, was not bound by the borders of cities and neighborhoods, loved to travel the country and was an avid mountain climber. Unfortunately, during one these trips, Yehuda Hazani, while overlooking Eretz Yisrael from the peaks, slipped, fell and was killed. A Gush Katif community, Netzer Hazani, which literally means the stem of Hazani, was named in his memory.
This past Shabbat at Elon Moreh, I was one of the lucky ones who was able to experience a really special event. This past Shabbat we read in the weekly Torah portion how G-d commanded Abraham to walk, to leave his home, his country, and his family, ‘to the land which I will show you.’ This land is, of course, Eretz Yisrael. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, Abraham’s first stop in the Land was Elon Moreh, today a beautiful, thriving community with hundreds of families. We also read about G-d’s commandment to Abraham to circumcise himself, an eternal covenant between himself, his offspring and the Almighty.
A week ago Saturday, Benny Katzover’s daughter, Menorah Hazani, gave birth to their first son. So the ‘brit milah,’ the baby’s circumcision, was to be performed eight days later, in other words, this past Shabbat. At the conclusion of Shabbat morning prayers, after reading in the Torah about Elon Moreh, after hearing of Abraham’s willingness to perform G-d’s commandment to circumcise himself when he was ninety-nine years old, Ariel and Menora Hazani’s son was brought into the covenant of Avraham Avinu there, at Elon Moreh, and was named for his illustrious grandfather, Yehuda Hazani. It was quite an emotional event.
And I must not neglect to mention that Ariel and Menora live, not in Elon Moreh, but at the community of Homesh, in the northern Shomron, one of the four Shomron communities Sharon has threatened to destroy, together with Gush Katif.
People such as Benny Katzover, Yehuda Hazani, and many others, a number of whom participated in the special Elon Moreh Shabbat, were the initiators, founders, the builders. They laid the cornerstone for future generations and paved the path, thereby allowing their offspring to follow in their footsteps. However, as every parent knows, the future is always a question mark. A parent can lay out the roadmap, but whether or not the children will follow the marked route is up them, it’s their choice. Ariel and Menora Hazani are perfect examples of traveling a straight line, following the map in the right direction. From Hebron and Kiryat Arba, to Sebastia and Elon Moreh, following in the footsteps of their father’s and their father’s fathers – all the way back to our Forefathers.
When visitors ask me to explain our faith, to explain our optimism, I can readily point to young couples like the Hazanis, who are carrying the torch, sparks of light amongst many shadows. Such sparks are so important and necessary, especially today, with all that is happening.
This is the trail followed by Abraham, still traveled by his offspring, four thousand years later. From Elon Moreh to Hebron, from Hebron to Elon Moreh – this is the heritage of our people; this is the eternity of our Land; this is the legacy of Elon Moreh.
With blessings from Hebron.
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By Elyakim HaEtzni
Yediot Achronot
October 16, 2004
MK Zahava Galon (Meretz) asked why Jewish trespassers have not been expelled from the Arab wholesale market in Hebron. The deputy defense minister answered that the present sensitive situation in Hebron does not permit it, for the moment.
To innocent listeners, who are upset at the fact that Arabs have been displaced from their property, I address this commentary.
The market was part of the “Avraham Avinu” Quarter until the 1929 pogrom. I took a blood sample from this event, in the way of a memorandum presented to the British high commissioner by Hebron’s community: “… the Rabbis, Meir Kastel, 68 years old, and Tzvi Drabkin, 70 years old, and five other young men … were robbed, castrated, tortured and murdered…The baker, Noah Immerman was roasted alive on an oven, Rabbi Ya’akov Orlanski HaCohen…was found…praying…they took his brain from his skull and his wife’s intestines were crushed…the pharmacist, Ben-Tzion Gershon, lame, unable to move, who served in Hebron for 40 years, kindly assisting many Arabs, they cut off his nose and fingers, killed him, raped his daughter and murdered her with awful torture. The teacher Dubkinov and Yitzhak Abushdid were strangled with a rope…six synagogues…including 64 Torah scrolls, many of them ancient, from the Spanish exile, all were stolen and desecrated…”
In response to this, the remainder of the community was expelled ‘for their own safety,’ and the murderers inherited them. Following the Jordanian occupation, King Hussein built a fruit and vegetable wholesale market on part of the quarter, rented it to the Hebron municipality, who rented it to wholesalers. When the city was liberated, it was discovered that the Jewish property, including the wholesale market, was still registered in the name of its Jewish owners, but was transferred to the Custodian for Enemy Property (Israel). In fact, the Israeli military government did not return the property to its owners, but continued to rent it to Arabs under the title “property of the Israeli enemy!”
The Jews who returned to the quarter were forced to pass through the crowded wholesale market, leading to many incidents. In any case, as the city grew, the area was no longer appropriate for a market and the wholesalers turned to the mayor to find a more suitable site. However, he refused, in order to prevent Jewish return to the area.
In the meantime, Hebron Arabs returned to murdering Jews. Yeshiva student Aharon Gross was stabbed to death opposite the wholesale market. Other murders, including the Goldstein carnage, forced the government to close the market. The Israeli custodian did not renew the lease with the city and the wholesalers found another location, much more appropriate. Two intifadas left scars, and most terribly, the murder of infant Shalhevet Pass, next to the wall of the wholesale market.
This is the key to much friction between Hebron’s Jews and the government, who were afraid to ‘openly and rightfully’ return, as Hertzl said, that which was stolen from them, fearing ‘what the world and the left would say.’ So it was that Hebron’s Jewish community, just as any other living, healthy organism expects to grow and develop, was left to do for itself, by itself.
So it was that the ruins of the Avraham Avinu synagogue were renovated, originally built by Spanish exiles, only after demonstrations; so it was at the ancient Jewish cemetery, only after scandals; so too did Jews return to pray at Ma’arat HaMachpela, only after sit-down strikes and protests; so too was the return to Beit Hadassah, only after women snuck into the basement, followed by the murder of six men by a terror gang, men who had come on Sabbath eve to say Kiddush for the besieged women.
After Arab rights to the empty wholesale market expired, families who had waited much too long due to government refusal to allow new construction, transformed the buildings into livable apartments. During a Supreme Court hearing, initiated by the Hebron municipality, the State argued that the Hebron municipality had no rights to the site and that the only title-holder was the Israeli Custodian for Abandoned Property, who issued an eviction order against the Jewish residents of the market. The order was appealed to an ‘appeals committee’ which, by majority vote, upheld the decision to expel the Jews. One of the judges accepted the settler’s claims and another recommended that the custodian rent the property to its present inhabitants. A request was forwarded, but is still pending. The reader can judge: where is the logic and justice?
Two questions remain: To the Arabs – When you transformed the Jewish Quarter with blood and fire into an Arab market, there wasn’t yet a ‘conqueror, refugees, or a Jewish state. So, why?
And to Zahava Galon – Thousands of eviction orders against Arabs in Yesha and Israel have been issued and are not implemented. Why, among them all, does only the wholesale market keep you awake at night?
Elyakim HaEtzni
y David Wilder
The Jewish Community of Hebron
October 18, 2004
hebron@hebron.org.il
So, what’s the answer?
Is the magic solution a national referendum? Can we legitimately decide the fate of Eretz Yisrael in a national election? Who can participate in such a crucial ballot? May ‘leaders’ of Yesha, and more specifically, those people participating in the ‘Yesha Council’ rightfully take responsibility to claim that ‘we will accept the results of a referendum’ dealing with chopping up our land?
The only answer to these questions is an unconditional NO!
Let’s examine these questions, and their possible answers in greater detail.
First: Who has the right to take part in a referendum about Eretz Yisrael. Let’s take into account that we’re not talking about how high taxes should be, who must participate in active army service, or other such mundane issues. We are not even discussing whether or not a Jew has the legitimate right to live in Eretz Yisrael. We are talking about evicting Jews from Eretz Yisrael. We are talking about unilaterally abandoning our land to sworn enemies who have murdered, in cold blood, over 1,500 people in the past ten years, since the “Oslo piece accords” left our land in pieces. We are talking about fleeing a land area bordering Israeli cities, which will be controlled by a ‘palestinian prime minister,’ who said, only a few days ago, "Unfortunately, up to now the Palestinian security forces have not been able to control this situation and we bear a very big responsibility for this," Qurei was quoted as saying in al-Ayyam, a Palestinian daily. "There's still chaos, still killing." (Greg Myre – The New York Times – Friday, Oct. 15, 2004). \
So, who has the right to vote? There has been much talk about who can vote. For example, can hundreds of thousands of Arabs, ‘citizens’ of the State of Israel participate in such an election. Or, what kind of majority is necessary for such an issue to be decided: a regular 50% plus one majority, or sixty percent of the population?
However, I’m not referring to these questions, as legitimate as they are. My sights are set on Jews who live in New York, Buenos Aires, Paris, Johannesburg, or, even in Oslo. Eretz Yisrael belongs to the Jewish people, ALL the Jewish people, wherever they may be. Some live here, in the State of Israel, and many others, (unfortunately), still reside elsewhere. But that does not mean that these millions of people may be silenced, that their voices cannot be heard, when dealing with our land. It is theirs, just as much as it is mine. For many years I have told groups “Hebron belongs to you as much as it does to me. The difference is, we live here, and today, you don’t. We are the keeper of the keys, ensuring that Hebron will always be accessible to whoever wishes to visit here.
So it is too about Gush Katif, so it is too about Homesh and Sanur in the Shomron, so it is too about Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shemona. Citizens of the State of Israel, living in our land, are the keepers of the keys, keeping our Eretz Yisrael Jewish, for the Jewish people. But it is our land, whether we live here or not.
How can we, in Israel, leave our brethren out in the cold? How can it be decided to amputate a living, healthy limb from a healthy living body, without consulting with the patient, whose limb is to be severed? The patient isn’t only Avraham in Hebron, Yitzhak in Jerusalem, and Ya’akov in Eilat. The body, Eretz Yisrael, a G-dly possession, has been delegated to the Jewish people, including the Avrahams, Yitzhaks and Ya’akovs who live in Alaska, Melbourne, and Tokyo. What about them?
Second: Concerning the Yesha council (The Council of Judea, Samaria and Gaza). Yesterday a delegation of Yesha leaders met with Sharon about the planned ‘disengagement.’ Speaking after the meeting they, labeled it a disgrace, calling the Prime Minister ‘unyielding and heartless.’ One of them men was quoted as saying, ‘either someone is controlling Sharon or he is taking Prozac or another tranquilizer.
One of the purported goals of this meeting was to convince Sharon to accept a national referendum to determine the fate of Gush Katif. One of the questions put to these men by various journalists is, “will you accept the results of such a plebiscite?” This morning, the Maariv-NRG web site quoted these men as saying, “we will honor a clear result of a national referendum.” They did not guarantee to end all protest should the referendum pass, but did promise to conduct opposition in a ‘more relaxed atmosphere.’
I have written before, and I reiterate here: Yesha council leaders have no mandate to decide whether or not Yesha residents will ‘accept’ or reject the results of such a referendum. A vast majority of Yesha council leaders are elected mayors of their respective towns or municipal areas. They were elected to provide municipal services to their constituents. They were not elected by the general Yesha population and have no collective power to make such fateful decisions ‘in the name of Yesha citizens.’
Third and most importantly: Can the question of Eretz Yisrael be decided in a national referendum? The obvious answer: Of course not. Why? Very simply, Eretz Yisrael does not belong to us. What about our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. How can we deny them their land? It belongs to them too. What right do we have to deny them their birthright, especially when the question is not whether or not to ‘conquer the land’ rather, it is to simply stay put. How can we give away what belongs to them too.
But most notably: Eretz Yisrael is a G-d – given land, it belongs to Him, He gave it to us. One does not give away, abandon, or run away from G-d –given gifts. A week ago we began reading the Torah – the Five Books of Moses, from the beginning. The most important Biblical commentator, Rashi – Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzhak, living in France almost a thousand years ago, understood, even then, the controversy surrounding Eretz Yisrael. His first Biblical commentary asks why the Torah beings with “In the beginning” and doesn’t begin with the commencement of the Jewish people, in the days of Moses. His answers concisely, “Thus, should the nations of the world say to Israel, ‘You are robbers, for you have taken by force the lands of the Seven Nations,’ they [Israel] will say to them: "All the earth belongs to G-d. He created it and gave it to whomever He saw fit. It was His will to give it to them and it was His will to take it from them and give it to us." For this reason will read next Shabbat how Abraham was commanded to go – to walk to Eretz Yisrael.
So, what’s the answer? No elections, no referendums, no negotiations. Rather, to know, to understand, to internalize, once and for all, Eretz Yisrael is not for sale, not even to the highest bidder, not at any cost. None of it, not now, not ever.
With blessings from Hebron.
(See pictures: www.hebron.com/news/shimsh.htm)
by David Wilder
The Jewish Community of Hebron
October 11, 2004
Shalom.
Last week, during the Succot holiday, Hebron hosted well over 40,000 visitors to the city of Abraham. The streets teemed full of people, women, children, men, walking from neighborhood to neighborhood, from site to site. Special tours of the kasba, usually off-limits to Jews, added an exceptional flavor to the festivities, as well as group visits to the Cave of Otniel ben Knaz, the first judge in Eretz Yisrael, thousands of years ago. And of course, let’s not forget the main attraction, Ma’arat HaMachpela, filled to the brim, with crowds waiting on line outside for a chance to pray inside. Loudspeakers outside the 2,000 year old structure requested that visitors shorten their prayers in order to allow others to worship also, without having to wait hours on line.
In short, it was an amazing week, a true sign of Am Yisrael’s support for Hebron’s Jewish community. And not only that. Without any doubt, all those tens of thousands who visited Hebron, as well as other communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, fully espouse continued Jewish presence in Neve Dekalim, Kfar Darom, Netzarim, and all the other heroic communities in Gush Katif. The over 8,500 people living in Gush Katif should know that Am Yisrael stands with them and behind them, forever.
Following such an uplifting week, you might expect that this week would be something of a letdown, getting back to the normalcy of a regular week. But we are far from that. Hebron’s spirit keeps reaching higher and higher. Last night was one such example of Hebron reaching for the stars.
The evening didn’t begin after sunset. Actually it began early yesterday afternoon, with a large group of people running around outside Ma’arat HaMachpela, in the Machpela gardens. There, tables and chairs were unloaded, and a caterer began practicing his expertise: transforming an outdoors garden-park into an exquisite banquet hall. The tables were adorned, serving areas set up, and after a few hours of hard work, everything was ready.
Next to Ma’arat HaMachpela a Chupa, or bridal canopy, was assembled. And a little ways away, a white chair was placed under a tree on the Machpela lawn. A couple of hours later the young bride sat in that chair, waiting for her soon-to-be husband to come get her.
But this was not to be an ordinary wedding. In truth, I don’t know if there is ever an ‘ordinary wedding.’ Every wedding is special. But sometimes, a wedding represents more than a personal affair between two people, two families. So it was last night.
In truth, last night’s wedding begins, maybe almost a hundred years ago, when Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook, later to be Israel’s first Chief Rabbi, arrived in the ‘Holy Land,’ in Eretz Yisrael. But if I begin there, this commentary will stretch out over a few weeks, rather than a few minutes. So I’ll begin over a decade ago, when Rav Kook’s grandson, Rabbi Shlomo Ra’anan and his wife Chaya, came to live in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron. Rabbi Ra’anan, a brilliant Torah scholar in his own right, was a very humble man, lived a very simple life, and traveled daily to study at the Jerusalem Torah center his grandfather founded many years earlier, Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav. The Ra’anan’s lived in an ‘ordinary’ two-room caravan home in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood, with six other families. He was a happy man, a constant smile covering his face, who knew all of the children in Hebron by name, and loved to give them candy, always found in his pockets.
It was just over six years ago, at about eleven o’clock at night. Sixty-three year old Rabbi Ra’anan bade goodnight to his wife, who was sitting in their small living room, and started to get ready for his evening’s rest. Only hours before, having returned from Jerusalem, he participated in a wedding outside Ma’arat HaMachpela. He was photographed there, radiating joy, as always. He was invited to stay for the party, but preferred to go home to be with his wife, and to rest in preparation for the following day’s trip back to Jerusalem.
As he was getting ready for bed, an Arab terrorist suddenly jumped through the room’s open window, and began stabbing the Rabbi. Screaming, Rabbi Ra’anan ran into the living room, with the terrorist following. There, a macabre tug-of-war developed between the terrorist and Chaya Ra’anan, both pulling at the Rabbi, in between them. The terrorist, knife in hand, continued stabbing the Rabbi, until he collapsed. He looked for a moment at Chaya, and then fled through the back window, but not before he ignited and hurled a fire bomb inside the Rabbi’s room.
Chaya quickly pulled her fatally wounded husband outside, to escape the flames of the quickly spreading fire. Others in the neighborhood were able to extinguish the fire before it spread throughout the neighborhood, but they were unable to save their beloved neighbor. Rabbi Shlomo Ra’anan was buried the next day, early Friday afternoon, on the Mount of Olives, overlooking Temple Mount in Jerusalem, next to his grandfather, Rav Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook, and his uncle, Rav Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook. Earlier he was eulogized before thousands, outside his grandfather’s yeshiva, Merkaz HaRav.
Chaya Ra’anan continued to live in her caravan home in Tel Rumeida. The room where her husband was killed was transformed into a study center, and her son-in-law, Rabbi Yisrael Shlissel, Rabbi of a small community in the Shomron, began traveling daily to Hebron to teach young married men, preparing for Rabbinic exams. One morning, while driving on the TransJudea road, a few kilometers outside of Hebron, Rabbi Shlissel suddenly saw an armed Arab standing in the road, in front of his car. The terrorist opened fire with his automatic weapon, at the car. Rabbi Shlissel, having no where to go, simply ducked, putting his head down under the dashboard, with his foot still on the gas pedal. Miraculously he was not hit.
You might expect that following such a traumatic event, Rabbi Shlissel would have bid farewell to teaching in Hebron. Perhaps he might even have suggested that his mother-in-law, Rabbi Ra’anan’s widow, join him and his wife elsewhere.
Well, maybe someone else, but not the Shlissels or the Ra’anans. A short time later Rabbi Yisrael Shlissel, together with his
wife, the Ra'anan's daughter, Tzippy, and their many children, moved into the Avraham Avinu neighborhood in Hebron. They too had to weather barrages of bullets, shot at their home from the Abu Sheneh hills, less than a kilometer away. But, like the rest of us, their faith carried the day, and they began living regular lives in Hebron.
Last night Rabbi Yisrael and Tzippy Shlissel, together with Chaya Ra’anan, and at least a thousand other people, participated in the wedding of the Shlissel’s oldest son, Shimshon, to a lovely young woman, Miriam Haas, from Beit El. The wedding, in the plaza outside Ma’arat HaMachpela, was a tremendously joyous affair, which included participation of Rabbi Avraham Shapira, former Israeli Chief Rabbi, and one of the undisputed leaders of the nationalist-religious movement today.
The throng sang traditional wedding tunes as the Rabbi married Shimshon and Miriam, only meters from the cave purchased by Abraham, almost 4,000 years ago, here in Hebron. As the ceremony ended, a friend of mine whispered to me, “I get the feeling that the grandfather (Rabbi Ra’anan) is here with them.” I added, “not only is he here, but the great-great grandfather (Rabbi Kook), is certainly here too.”
And as the crowd sang, “Asher Barah Sasson v’Simcha” – (G-d, who created joy and happiness), I could almost see them, Rav Shlomo Ra’anan, together with his grandfather, Rav Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook, and his uncle, Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook, singing and dancing together, in the shadows of Ma’arat HaMachpela, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, illuminating the site with an overwhelming sanctity of ‘sasson v’simcha’,
joy and happiness, together with the bride and groom, the ‘chatan v’kallah.’
With blessings from Hebron.
by David Wilder
The Jewish Community of Hebron
October 5, 2004
Shalom.
We have all been asking ourselves the same question, over and over again. Why? What happened to Ariel Sharon? Why is he insisting that Israel abandon Gush Katif and evict people from their homes?
The difficulty is compounded following the tragic events at the end of last week: Kasam missiles hitting Sderot, killing two babies, aged two and four. And this on the heels of the terror mortars and missiles in Neve Dekalim, which left a young woman dead, soldiers killed, and a mother of two shot to death by terrorists.
For the past couple of days Israeli troops have, much to the chagrin of the Europeans, moved en masse into several key strategic points in Gaza, including the infamous Jabalia refugee camp. Dozens of terrorists have been wiped out, including major producers of Kassam missiles, and those who operate them. This, in order to prevent further attacks on Sderot.
In a radio interview late Saturday night, Sharon emphasized that all rocket attacks on Sderot and ‘other Israeli communities must be stopped completely, ‘allowing the eviction to take place quietly,’ i.e., not under fire. Of course, it must be asked why Sharon didn’t take major offensive action many months ago, thereby preventing literally thousands of daily attacks on Gush Katif communities. It is quite clear that the State of Israel, according Sharon, is divided into different types of people: there are those who live in cities like Sderot, who have real red blood, and then there are others, like those living in Netzarim, Kfar Darom and Neve Dekelim, whose blood isn’t quite so red. Jewish sacrifices in Sderot are unacceptable; Jewish blood spilled in Gush Katif is another story.
What is imponderable is what exactly Sharon expects will occur following (G-d forbid), the retreat from Gaza. Israeli forces will totally pull out, leaving the entire southern border open to attack. Hamas has promised, time after time, to hit Ashkelon. Does Sharon believe that Hamas terrorists are liars? Hamas doesn’t lie – it tells the truth. They believe in the destruction of the State of Israel and they say it. They promise to kill Jews, and unfortunately, they do it. They guarantee that they will bomb Ashkelon, and I have not doubts that they will do their best to fulfill their pledge. And they have no plans to stop there.
So what does Sharon think – that fleeing from Gaza will solve all our problems, that Hamas will turn into our best friends? Far from it. When you run away from terror, the terror just follows you, like a tail. You cannot escape it or avoid it. The only way to deal with terror is head on – to destroy it. Ariel Sharon is accomplishing exactly the opposite. And it is hard to believe that he doesn’t know it. So, what’s up?
The following thesis is conjecture only. I have no proof of what I am about to say. I don’t have ‘connections’ with ‘higher-ups’ who have ‘leaked’ information to me. Truthfully, it is very difficult, if not down right impossible to accurately analyze the current situation because there is too much that is unknown. You can only analyze a situation based on the data available. When critical data is unavailable, the analysis can only be defined as unreliable.
That having been said, I would like to offer a possible explanation of Ariel Sharon’s escapades. The key is Iran and the magic word is nuclear weapons.
Only a few days ago Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi said, "Nobody has the right to deny Iran its right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.” Last week, Iran defied the International Atomic Energy Agency by saying it was resuming the enrichment of uranium. Iranian Vice President Reza Aghazadeh said the country had started converting raw uranium into the gas needed for enrichment, an important step in making a nuclear bomb.
According to the internationally acclaimed security publication Janes, the Iranian reactor is an authentic nuclear threat: “A heavy water reactor is among the most dangerous in existence from a proliferation perspective…According to David Albright, Director of the Institute for Science and International Security, the IR-40 will be able to produce 8-10kg of plutonium per year - approximately one to two bombs' worth of nuclear material. The IAEA holds that 8kg of plutonium constitutes a "significant quantity" - enough to build a nuclear weapon. [http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jir/jir031114_1_n.shtml]
How is Israel reacting to the Iranian threat? Last week Defense Minister Shaul Mufaz stated that Israel has to be prepared to deal with what he called the Iranian “threat”.
“All options have to be taken into account to prevent it,” he was quoted as saying.
Earlier this month, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Israel is “taking measures to defend itself.”
What’s the connection between this and Gush Katif? My guess is this:
Ariel Sharon knows that Israel will have to strike first against the Iranian nuclear reactor, regarding this presently as the gravest strategic threat to Israel’s existence. He also knows that the mission may include preemptive strikes against Hizballah, stationed in Lebanon, and possibly also against Syria. He also knows that the entire world will condemn these actions.
In order to lessen the ‘damage’ as he sees it, before hitting Iran, he pulls Israel out of Gaza, in essence, saying to the world, ‘look, you see, I really want peace. I did what no other Israeli prime minister could do – now leave me alone and let me protect my country.’ Then Israeli warplanes bomb the Iranian reactor. In other words, in Sharon’s eyes, Gush Katif, and four Shomron communities are a necessary sacrifice in order to remove Iran from the nuclear club. He expects that the rest of the world will leave him alone after pulling Israeli families out of the homes.
He couldn’t be more wrong.
- Israel doesn’t need any excuses to destroy the Iranian threat. An Iranian nuclear bomb threatens not only Israel, but all of world peace. Where would we all be today if Israel hadn’t destroyed the Iraqi nuclear plant in 1981? Iranian Islamic fundamentalist leadership would have no qualms using the ‘bomb’ against Israel, nor would they hesitate to use it against any western nation, all of whom they view as ‘infidels.’
- Sharon’s fleeing from Gaza in order to placate world opinion creates, in itself, an existential threat to our state. True, if your leg is infected and must be amputated to save your life, then there is no choice. But in this case, the infection is left festering and the healthy limb is to be removed.
- This also establishes a very dangerous precedent for the future. Israel will be told, in no uncertain terms, ‘if you want to continue to protect yourself from outside threats, without international intervention, chop off another part of your body.'
- And perhaps most important, the world will never let us be. They assisted Hitler, actively or passively, sixty years ago. And they haven’t changed.
In other words, we must do whatever is necessary for self-preservation. And we must not play into the hands of our enemies, attempting to cosmetically ‘look good,’ in their eyes.
We must unconditionally guarantee destruction of the Iranian threat, we must stay put in all our land, and we must not allow the Iranian connection to disassemble our state.
With blessings from Hebron.
Hebron/Arutz7-INN Commentary
Har HaBayit b’yadenu
by David Wilder
The Jewish Community of Hebron
September 27, 2004
Shalom.
For the past few days we’ve been hearing commentators discuss the probable catastrophe that will occur should Muslim Ramadan prayers take place on a particular section of Temple Mount, called Solomon’s stables.
Perhaps an introduction is in order. In just over three weeks, on the 15th of October, (which is the last day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei), the Arabs celebrate the beginning of the month of Ramadan. According to Muslim faith, it was during the month of Ramadan that the Koran ‘was sent down from Heaven.’ Moslems ostensibly fast from sunup to sunset daily, for the entire month. According to once source, “Ramadan is a time when Muslims concentrate on their faith and spend less time on the concerns of their everyday lives. It is a time of worship and contemplation.” [http://www.holidays.net/ramadan/story.htm]
(I might add, it is also a time that Arabs use to try and kill Jews.)
Where, at all, is the Muslim connection to Jerusalem and Temple Mount? According to Lebanese Arab journalist Joseph Farah, it is not true that “the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem represent Islam's third most holy sites. In fact, the Koran says nothing about Jerusalem. It mentions Mecca hundreds of times. It mentions Medina countless times. It never mentions Jerusalem! With good reason. There is no historical evidence to suggest Mohammed ever visited Jerusalem. So how did Jerusalem become the third holiest site of Islam? Muslims today cite a vague passage in the Koran, the seventeenth Sura, entitled "The Night Journey." It relates that in a dream or a vision Mohammed was carried by night "from the sacred temple to the temple that is most remote, whose precinct we have blessed, that we might show him our signs." In the seventh century, some Muslims identified the two temples mentioned in this verse as being in Mecca and Jerusalem. And that's as close as Islam's connection with Jerusalem gets -- myth, fantasy, wishful thinking.
And he concludes, “Meanwhile, Jews can trace their roots in Jerusalem back to the days of Abraham.” ”[http://www.masada2000.org/templemount.html]
In an essay by Lambert Dolpin, “In A.D. 691 Caliph Abd el-Malik commissioned the best architects to build the Dome of the Rock. His plan was based upon a Fourth Century Christian shrine on the Mount of Olives marking the site of Jesus' Ascension. The Caliph's new shrine was deliberately built as a political, economic, and religious counter attraction to Mecca. Medina and Mecca, the two cities holy to Islam, were under the control of a rival Caliph. Abd El-Malik sought to build up the importance of Jerusalem as an Islamic center for pilgrimage and worship. The holy spot of Judaism was now to be identified with the spot where Mohammed's horse ascended to heaven.
Another indication that Jerusalem was not considered of great importance to the Muslim armies is the fact that it was one of last cities taken by the Syrian Muslims after the death of Mohammed. It was conquered by a mediocre commander, and not by Omar himself. The Arabs first called the city Ilya (Aelia Capitolina) rather than Beit el-Maqdas (the holy house). An early Muslim proverb says, "One prayer in Mecca is valued as ten thousand prayers; a prayer in Medina is valued at one thousand prayers; and a prayer in Jerusalem at five hundred prayers."
Although Abd El-Malik had commissioned the structure, it became known as "The Mosque of Omar." The structure, however, was not (and is not today) a mosque, but rather a shrine.” [http://www.templemount.org/allah.html]
In any case, literally tens, and even hundreds of thousands of Arabs worship at Har HaBayit, Temple Mount in Jerusalem during Ramadan, especially on Friday afternoons.
Recently, studies conducted by engineers, including a team from Egypt, concluded that the supports in the area called Solomon’s Stables, (named as such during the Crusader period,) are very weak and will likely collapse in the event that tens of thousands of people fill the site. According to Israeli sources, the area can suitably hold up to 30,000 people, yet during Ramadan prayers, that number is multiplied several times over.
There are several reasons for this weakened condition. According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, over the past few years, the Waqf, or Muslim religion trust, has conducted unauthorized and unsupervised construction in that vicinity, in an attempt to expand Arab control of Temple Mount. This has caused tremendous deterioration of the structural supports.
An Ha’Aretz newspaper article concerning illegal work at the area states: "At the end of November 1999, the Waqf tricked the government of Israel, and under the pretext of opening an emergency exit to the Solomon's Stables mosque - which had been built illegally and inaugurated in December of 1996 - the Waqf took advantage of the negligence of the government of Israel and its indifference to the fate of the archaeological remains on the Temple Mount, dug a huge 2,000-square meter pit beneath the Temple Mount some 13 meters deep, and opened a main door to the Solomon's Stable mosque 10 meters wide and 13 meters high.
During the excavation, Waqf workers using three bulldozers removed some 12,000-15,000 tons of earth filled with antiquities from all periods, without IAI supervision and without any sifting of the soil to locate and remove archaeological artifacts." [http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/474445.html]
In addition, the recent earthquake which shook Israel also weakened these supports.
The result of these studies points to, not a possible collapse, rather an almost certain disintegration of the floor, causing tens, if not hundreds of thousands of casualties.
So what is Israel doing in order to prevent this calamity, which almost inevitably would be blamed on the Jews?
The State of Israel sent high-level representatives of the police force to speak with members of the Jordanian government, trying to convince them of the seriousness of the impending disaster. They are also pleading with Waqf leadership to restrict the number of visitors allowed on Temple Mount during Ramadan.
Of course, Arab reaction to Israel’s begging has been that of derision and scorn. Israel’s pleas are nothing more than a hoax in an attempt to keep Arabs from worshiping at their ‘holy site.’ Any effort by Israel to prevent Muslims from praying on Temple Mount will result in nothing less than jihad!
What should Israel do? First of all, we should never plead or beg about what is rightfully ours. Temple Mount is the most sacred place in the world. The First and Second Temples were constructed on Temple Mount hundreds and thousands of years before Muhammad was born. This site has been politicized by our enemies in an attempt to delegitimize Israel’s most basic claims to our land, Eretz Yisrael. The Arab world in general, and most specifically the Waqf, is a declared enemy of the State of Israel and rejects our very existence in our land. Why should Israel negotiate with them?
Why must Israel send ‘police representatives’ to speak to the Jordanians? Temple Mount falls within the sovereign jurisdiction of the State of Israel. It is the undeniable heart and soul of Jewish spirituality. Why must we get down on our knees before any foreign nation, concerning anywhere in our land, and particularly, Temple Mount?
What Israel must do is clear. Har HaBayit – Temple Mount must be immediately closed to all visitors. Jewish law forbids anyone from treading on this sacred ground. And if that is difficult for some to swallow, the possibility of tens of thousands of people buried beneath the rubble of a collapsed floor should be enough to convince anyone needing convincing. We need not ask anyone, we need not appeal to anyone.
By means of contrast, the Statue of Liberty in New York City was closed for a number of years, due to structural faults and security problems. Did the United States ask the French, who gave Lady Liberty to the Americans in the 1800s, if they minded? Did the U.S. ask anyone in the free world their opinion – after all, the Statue of Liberty represents freedom, democracy and international friendship. Closing such a monument is an insult to the entire Western World!
Drivel and gibberish! No greater nonsense could possibly be spouted! So why must Israel bend over backwards to spew out such idiocy. In June 1967, General Motta Gur exclaimed, “Har HaBayit b’yadenu” – “Temple Mount is in our Hands.” Almost 40 years later, the time has come to apply these words in actions, showing the nations of the world, and proving to ourselves: Har HaBayit b’yadenu!
With blessings from Hebron.
Hebron/Arutz7-INN Commentary
by David Wilder
The Jewish Community of Hebron
September 20, 2004
Shalom.
At the time of this writing, Monday morning, I’m sitting and listening to the radio. Usually when I write I turn everything off; it’s difficult to write and listen to someone talking, simultaneously. This morning is an exception to the rule.
Only a few days ago was the beginning of the New Year. We say, ‘the old year and its curses is behind us, the new year and its blessings are before us. Yesterday was Tzom Gedaliah – a fast day occurring annually immediately after Rosh HaShana. (See “Reserved for Arik – May 26, 2003 [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/article.php3?id=2326].) Despite the prayers, hopes, and perhaps even expectations of a real, substantive change of heart were quickly dashed. It almost wants to make you cry.
What’s at the top of the news? The Committee to Abandon Eretz Yisrael, otherwise known as the ‘disengagement authority’ – under the traitorous leadership of Yonatan Bassi, is on the verge of sending one thousand seven hundred letters to Gush Katif residents. This letter is a ‘personal notification’ from Bassi to these thousands of brave souls, notifying them of the impending eviction and expulsion from their homes, jobs and land.
Following a short discussion about this letter, the radio discussion turned to an interview with people connected to the ‘Shabas,’ short for ‘Sherutai Batei HaSohar’ – or, in plain English, the Israeli prison system. The topic of conversation: How the Shabas is preparing for mass arrests and incarceration of hundreds and thousands of ‘extremists’ who oppose Sharon’s acquiescence to the terrorists. Perhaps they will try and squeeze us all into existing cages. If there is not enough room, maybe they’ll construct camps in the Negev. And, in truth, it wouldn’t surprise me if they utilize British-initiated methodology: conceivably they’ll evict ‘extremist leaders’ from the country, possibly to Africa. With this regime, anything is possible.
But, of course, in order to understand the above-mentioned paragraphs, it is mandatory to be familiar with the ‘extremist leadership. So www.ynet.com provides us with a ‘who’s who of the extreme right’ [in Hebrew -http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/1,7340,L-2942745,00.html], which includes, among others, a picture of a bearded fanatic praying and of Torah-giant, Hebron-Kiryat Arba Chief Rabbi, Dov Lior. Rabbis and believers are always the first to go.
Well, happy New Year.
So where does this leave us? What can be said that hasn’t been said before? In my opinion we have little choice but to continue on the same path, going in the same direction. For example, this coming Succot, Gush Katif must be flooded with people. The roads should be clogged like they were on Yom HaAtzmaut – Independence Day. All of Yesha as well, should be overflowing with people. Especially the communities in north Shomron, also slated for destruction. Ariel Sharon and his cronies must know that we are not giving up, and will never throw in the towel. Eretz Yisrael belongs to us and we will never abandon our homeland.
In Rosh HaShana interviews Sharon declared that ‘it pains him too’ to ‘disengage’ from Gush Katif. We must repeat, like a mantra, that it ‘pains us’ to verbally attack Ariel Sharon and ministers in his government. It hurts to define certain Israelis as ‘collaborators’ and ‘traitors.’ I’m sure Women in Green leader Nadia Matar wasn’t laughing as she wrote to Yonaton Bassi, in reply to his letter to Gush Katif “I am including a document chillingly similar to the letter you are about to send, in essence, all you have to do is change the date from 1942 to 2004, and the place of expulsion from Berlin to Gush Katif, and here, your letter is ready…Yonaton, know that there is no escape from the simple truth: Everyone who takes part in the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif and northern Shomron, is participating in an anti-Semitic act and will be remembered in disgrace for eternity. You can still resign from you disgraceful job, entering into Yom Kippur, the Day of Judgment, unsoiled and with a clear conscience, without being part of the modern Judenrat – the expulsion authority.”
I have absolutely no doubt that Nadia did not write these words with joy or delight in her heart. But what can you do – the truth must be told, loud and clear.
Excuse me if I seem to divert for a moment – but there are events that cannot be ignored and are, one way or another, connected to the above-mentioned current events.
For the past few days Israel has been in an uproar over our latest visitor. An L.A. Times headline reads: Madonna's Pilgrimage Throws Israel Into a Tizzy [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg madonna20sep20,1,4892492.story?coll=la-home-world]. An Israeli headline, quoted in the paper, screams: “Hail to the Queen.” Last night she participated in a special “Kabbalah” conference in Tel Aviv.
Now, anybody with anything more than a basic knowledge of Judaism knows that “Kabbalah,” otherwise known as ‘Jewish mysticism’ is one of the most sacred realms of Jewish religious thought and culture. The enigmas of Judaism were carefully concealed by our Sages, ages ago, and are uncovered only to those suitable, people of a purified, sublime character and observance. It is very difficult for a Jew to reach such spiritual heights. But Madonna and Kabbalah – this is a true contradiction. For example, again, from the L.A. Times, “Some observers noted no small measure of irony in the fact that an entertainer who made a name for herself by combining religious imagery and sexual provocation is now engaged in what those around her describe as a deeply personal and heartfelt spiritual journey.” On the one hand, she “made a candlelit visit to the grave of a Jewish sage, Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, the author of a revered Kabbalah commentary,” but on the other hand, the report describes her as “clad in a slinky, low-cut, leopard-print dress.”
It goes without saying that one of the foundations of religious Judaism is modesty, exemplified by modest dress for everyone, but especially stressed concerning women’s apparel. How can such a non-Jewish woman, dressed in clothing described as ‘slinky and low-cut’ have anything to do with the holy of holies of Judaism?
The worst of this is the fact that Israeli ministers fell over backwards to make her feel at home, including Ehud Olmert, who spoke at last night’s ‘Kabbalah conference’ and Gideon Ezra, who thanked her for coming to Israel.
So, what does this have to do with abandoning Gush Katif? Unfortunately, everything. When trying to fathom how a state’s leadership can decide to chop itself up, uproot its citizens and abandon its land to enemies, we must look around, and see a larger picture. When a country’s leadership can participate in idolizing an anathema to Jewish thought and tradition, a person who represents the very opposite of true Jewish culture, it is not difficult to understand how they can decide to rid themselves of what really is important and significant to our people.
It is truly ironic that the Madonna circus, together with Bassi’s Gush Katif letter, should be born on the days between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, the holiest days of the year. I call on our leadership, no, not only our leadership, I call on all of us to do a ‘heshbon nefesh,’ a deep internal searching of our souls, to seek out who and what we really are, and with that, perform the ultimate act of ‘tshuva,’ of repentance, to ask G-d to forgive us for repelling His goodness, for rejecting the supreme gift He granted us after two thousand years of exile, for giving us back our land, our holy land, our Eretz Yisrael.
With blessings from Hebron.
Hebron/Arutz7-INN Commentary
The Mother of the Sons is Happy
by David Wilder
The Jewish Community of Hebron
September 13, 2004
Shalom.
Today I want to tell you a story that I heard a few days ago. It is such an amazing episode, and a fitting way to begin the high holy days of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.
Just in case you are wondering, the following account is 100% true. It happened to my son-in-law’s sister, Mina, and her husband Yoav, who live in Kiryat Arba. I heard it from Yoav on Friday night.
One day Mina was in Jerusalem, running around, doing errands. As she started to get onto a bus in the city, a woman in front of her turned around and attacked her. She hit her, kicked her, and viciously beat her. It was a very ugly event, and it left Mina hurting, physically and emotionally.
When the event finally concluded Mina made her way to her husband Yoav’s place of employment. Yoav is an expert scribe. He writes Torah scrolls by hand on fine parchment. Arriving at his office, Mina related what had happened to her a short time before. Of course, hearing the story, Yoav was quite upset and decided to approach an important Rabbi to ask his advice about what to do.
At that time, Rabbi Shamai Gross, a Torah scholar and judge was visiting Yoav’s office. Yoav approached him and repeated Mina’s story, asking his council. The rabbi, after hearing the story, told Yoav and Mina to sit down in the office, and in a few minutes he would come speak to them. A few minutes later he sat down with them and told them about a tremendous argument that had occurred in his community between two men, which threatened to tear the neighborhood apart. In the midst of the ongoing quarrel the Rabbi approached one of the men involved and said to him: “I want you to fully forgive the other person, absolving him of all blame. If you do this, you will receive a present from G-d, whatever you want. All you have to do is exonerate the other person.”
When the man finally agreed to forgive the other person, he had a very small list of requests, being childless for twenty years. He had of course, only one desire.
Nine months later his wife gave birth to their first child, a son.
The Rabbi concluded by saying, I just arrived back from this child’s brit milah – ritual circumcision.
“Now,” said Rabbi Gross to Mina, “if you agree to fully pardon the woman who attacked you, no questions asked, you can have whatever you want. G-d will grant your wish.”
Mina, her head still spinning from the recent attack, and also stunned by the story and the Rabbi’s promise, agreed, fully forgave the other woman, and left for home. The Rabbi looked at Yoav and said, “Yoav, I see you didn’t understand.” Yoav, startled, asked, “What didn’t I understand?”
“Yoav,” answered the Rabbi, “now, right now, go home, and make your decision. This minute, leave work, leave everything. Now!”
So, Yoav went home to Kiryat Arba and sat down in the living room with a cup of coffee. “So Mina,” he said, “what do you want? You have an open contract with G-d.”
Mina looked at Yoav and said, “I want a son.”
Yoav, slightly shaken, responded, “But Mina, we have eight children. Isn’t that enough?”
“We haven’t had a child in five years and I want a baby, I want a son, with the following characteristics,” and she detailed exactly what she wanted. Yoav looked at her and said, “if that’s you want, so be it.”
And nine months later Mina gave birth to a baby boy.
However, that’s not the end of the story. Once the baby was born he had to be named. Yoav had a secret dream: to name a son after a famous rabbinic scholar who had been killed during the Holocaust, Rabbi Yisachar Shlomo Teichtel. Rabbi Teichtel had written and extensive treatise about the value of Eretz Yisrael, and was known to be a genius. However, such a name is not common in Israel and Yoav didn’t know exactly how to approach suggesting the name to Mina.
Following the birth, Yoav spoke to Mina and suggested: “We were so fortunate to have such a miracle, perhaps we should give thanks to G-d, and maybe represent that in the baby’s name. Maybe a name like Yisachar (which, in Hebrew) incorporates the word ‘sachar’ which means reward), would be appropriate.
He then continued, “We could call him Yisachar Shlomo, after the author of the famous book about Eretz Yisrael.”
Mina’s reaction was very lukewarm. “It’s such a long name, and very ‘heavy.’ I’m not sure that I like it.
Yoav replied calmly that she could name the baby whatever she liked, he would be satisfied with whatever she chose, and left it at that.
In the meantime, it was doubtful whether the baby would be circumcised on the eighth day following his birth, because the bilirubin count in his blood was very high. Yoav was sure the brit would be delayed and they’d have more time to decide on a name.
Two days before the brit was supposed to take place, the moyel or ritual circumciser, notified Yoav that he had broken his finger and would not be able to perform the ceremony. However, he suggested someone else, who could replace him. Yoav called him and set up a time to meet and allow him to examine the baby, to determine whether or not the brit could take place on time.
Yoav and Mina drove to the man’s home, at a community between Hebron and Jerusalem, called Beitar. As they took the baby and left their car, they looked up at the street sign. To their shock, it was the same name as Rabbi Yisachar Shlomo Teichtel’s book about Eretz Yisrael. On the spot they decided that this could not be coincidence, and decided to name the baby after the great Rabbi.
Within a day, the baby’s bilirubin count dropped from 15 to 7, an almost unheard of reduction, and the brit took place on the eighth day, as scheduled. The sandak, the person honored to hold the baby during the ceremony, was none other than Rabbi Shamai Gross, who had, nine months earlier, promised Mina whatever she so chose, if she agreed to forgive the woman who had attacked her. The baby’s name: Yisachar Shlomo.
The story doesn’t end here.
This past Saturday afternoon, we attended a wedding meal of a friend married a few days earlier. One of the participants at the meal was Rabbi Shmuel Yaniv, a well-known Torah scholar who has written a number of books about Torah, the Hebrew alphabet and the letters’ numerical equivalents (gematriot). Following the meal Mina approached the Rabbi and asked for a blessing for her family and children.
The Rabbi, who knew nothing of the above-told story blessed her, and concluded his blessing with the words, “you are ‘the happy mother of the sons.’ This phrase, which is, in Hebrew, Em HaBanim Smecha, is also the name of the book about Eretz Yisrael, written by her baby son’s namesake, Rabbi Yisachar Shlomo Teichtel, zt”l, hy’d.
That, my friends, is the strength and power of forgiveness.
With blessings for a happy, healthy and sweet New Year, a year of joy and good, from Hebron.
A Glorious Past, Present and Future
by David Wilder
The Jewish Community of Hebron
September 6, 2004
Shalom.
Last week I was invited to participate in a ‘debate’ to be held before a group of 16 Israel activists. Most of them, in their early twenties, were from Europe. Two-thirds of the group were Jews, and the others Christian, excepting one man, a Turkish Muslim.
My opponent during the debate was Teddy Katz, introduced as a ‘historian.’ Prior to the event, I did some basic internet research to see who I was up against. A ‘leader’ of what is called ‘Gush Shalom’ or the ‘Peace block,’ Katz has, as I quickly discovered, a very colorful history. Let me briefly quote to you from two articles I discovered during a ‘search’ for Teddy Katz:
“Teddy Katz, a doctoral candidate at Haifa University was found guilty in a Tel Aviv District Court of making false accusations against the Alexandroni Brigade, a Haganah platoon from the 1948 War of Independence.
The salient facts are these: On May 22, 1948, the Alexandroni Brigade under the command of Bentz Pridan, was ordered by the Haganah High Command to take the Arab village of Tantura, a vital link in the coastal supply route. The elders of the village wished to negotiate a truce but the younger men in the Arab town insisted on a fight. Bitter house-to-house combat followed, leaving 14 Israeli soldiers and 70 Arab villagers dead. The Arab wounded were evacuated and treated in Israeli hospitals.
But Katz had deep suspicions about the official history. His analysis of events, drawn from first hand and supposedly unimpeachable sources, uncovered the slaughter of 200 defenseless Arabs in one of the worst depredations of the war. So confident was he of his thesis that he gave extensive interviews to the press and his story was syndicated by Reuters.
The Brigade's survivors, infuriated by Katz's assertion that they had perpetrated a cold-blooded civilian massacre, filed suit to challenge his version. They claimed that Katz had made up the entire story, and that the brigade had conducted its military operations lawfully, appropriately and with honor.
The Court agreed with the plaintiffs and found that not only had Katz fabricated the story, but that much of the Arab testimony he produced to defend his case, contradicted his claims. Cassettes of his interviews were handed to the prosecution who found that in response to questions about the massacre, his interview inquiries had been so leading as to collapse in self-mockery. The court demanded that Katz publicly apologize to the Brigade's survivors and awarded unspecified damages.”
This was written by Avi Davis in November, 2001.
And a second source:
“It was revealed in September 2002 that former Palestinian Authority minister Feisal Husseini paid $8,000 for the legal defense of Teddy Katz… He indicated, however, that he does not believe there have to been anything wrong with taking money from Husseini.” [http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=203871&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y]
So, knowing that a historic liar was going to be sitting opposite me gave me the shivers. He was obviously going to lie through his teeth. The question was, how to approach such an opponent.
I prepared several of my most recent articles to hand out to the group, as well as the above-quoted paragraphs. In truth I planned on reading this to the group at the end of the session in order to prove to them who they were listening to. However, as it turns out, I didn’t have to. He basically did all the dirty work himself.
First of all, he came on very very strong – much too strong. I certainly didn’t mince words and let my opinions be known in the strongest of terms. However, Katz went overboard. From reactions I received later, it became clear that he quickly lost credibility with the listening audience. Of course he had nothing good to say about anyone, from David ben Gurion to our present Prime Minister. But what were his biggest mistakes? First, he claimed that the newly born state of Israel ‘had all the advantages during the War of Independence,’ because they had ‘so long to plan it.’ This as opposed to the Arabs, who, in his eyes, were taken by surprise. I asked him how this could possibly be true, keeping in mind that only three years before Jews had been shoveled into ovens at Aushwitz, as well as the fact that all Arab countries in the world had declared war on the fledgling state, which was hungry not only for food, but also for man-power and weapons.
Katz claimed that Israel had ‘wiped out’ over 550 Arab villages, of which ‘only 50 had taken any military actions against the State.” This was followed by two extraordinary statements: 1) “If I had a choice between this (i.e. – removing Arabs from their homes and villages), or giving up, I would give up”, i.e. relent on the idea of a Jewish state.” 2) Israel is the second largest ethnic-cleansing country in the history of the world, second only to Nazi Germany.
I think these two remarks really blew everyone away. But his last remarks, while summing up, were the real winners. He asked these foreign visitors, and I paraphrase his statements, ‘to go back home and tell your governments that we have problems here, that we don’t know how to take care of ourselves. They should send over their armies and make order here.’
If I hadn’t been sitting down I think I would have fallen down.
At this point I won’t repeat everything I said – those of you that hear me or read my articles know exactly what I think, and I certainly didn’t say anything contrary to my basic beliefs about our rights to the land of Israel.
What is interesting were some of the reactions. As I left the building to drive home, a young man followed me, introduced himself and told me that he is a Muslim from Turkey. One of the subjects that had been broached during the discussion was UN resolution 181 from November 1947, which would have created an Arab majority and Jewish minority, an idea which Teddy Katz did not oppose. Speaking about this, the man said to me, “you know, I’m not an Arab, but I am a Muslim, so I have the opportunity to speak to Arab Muslims freely. You should know that they have all told me the same thing: they would never allow a Jewish minority to live together with an Arab majority.” In other words, they would kill everyone.
Later on, during a group discussion about the debate, one of the group leaders again said that the two people speaking represented the far left and the far right. Again, the Turk raised his hand to comment: ‘What do you mean, far right. I didn’t hear anything far-right. I agreed with just about everything he said, he didn’t say anything wrong and he sounded pretty mainstream to me.’
The end result was that most of these 16 Europeans viewed the representative from Hebron as much more ‘mainstream’ than Teddy Katz, who represented the Arabs much more than he represented Israel. And this was without publicly denouncing him as a proven fraudulent historian. I hope, after reading the material I gave them, the rest of the truth sank in.
This experience left me with two contradictory feelings. On the one hand, I was happy that my presentation was more acceptable to those listening than the ideas presented by my adversary. On the other hand, it was very upsetting to hear such distortions, being delivered as ‘Israeli history’ by an Israeli born Jew, whose views can only be described as ‘self-hatred.’ Teddy Katz must despise himself, belonging to such a ‘terrible people,’ who have committed such ‘horrid crimes.’ After all, we’ve survived. I can only but feel sorry for such people, whose real knowledge and understanding of their people is virtually non-existent, a Jewish people with a past, present and future gloriously second to none.
With blessings from Hebron.
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