Jewish Destiny; The Return To Chomesh; Out Of The Frying Pan.....

Jewish Destiny

"You are the children of Hashem, your G-d," the Creator tells His children, tying His tortured nation to Him with an unbreakable bond that does not allow the Jewish people to disappear from the world stage. The nations of the world look at the children of G-d, who bear testimony to the ethical essence of humanity, with a mixture of anticipation and hatred --marveling at the riddle of the Jewish Nation. Over three hundred years ago, Louis the Fourteenth asked the famous French philosopher Blaise Pascal if he had proof of the existence of the supernatural. Pascal answered, "Surely it is the Jews, your majesty, the Jews." The prominent Russian author Lev Tolstoy wrote the following about the Jews: "The Jew is the symbol of eternity. He is the one who for so long had guarded the prophetic message and transmitted it to all mankind. A people such as this can never disappear. The Jew is eternal. He is the embodiment of eternity." - Lev Tolstoy (What is the Jew?) Famous American author Mark Twain concurred: "The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed; and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?" - Mark Twain ("Concerning The Jews," Harper's Magazine, 1899) The Jew may be able to deceive himself, but he cannot deceive the non-Jewish world. The burden of his testimony to G-d's oneness weighs heavily on his back -- even when he convinces himself that he is no longer a "Jew," but rather "enlightened," a "Zionist," an "Israeli," or a "liberal." The source of the dead end in which Israeli society is trapped today is its attempt to build a "normal" Jewish state -- a state that denies its historical destiny. To emerge from the crisis, the Jewish People must reconcile the State of Israel with its Jewish destiny. The State of Israel must consciously become the conduit to the fulfillment of the historical destiny of the Nation of Israel. If it does not fulfill its role, the State loses the essence of its existence and rapidly disintegrates. The Jewish People, whose very existence testifies to the oneness of G-d, must be an exemplary model for all of humanity. The Jewish Nation must rectify the world according to the Divine dictates that it has borne since it received the Torah at Mount Sinai. Only a new leader motivated by the ancient/new Jewish destiny can take control of the helm, steer the ship off its collision course and bring it to safe shores. We need Jewish leadership --leadership with faith and the desire to walk in G-d's ways. Manhigut Yehudit is leading the way toward the Jewish leadership that the Nation of Israel -- and the entire world -- so sorely need. Return to Chomesh A wonderful group of people, among them Manhigut Yehudit members, have organized a return to Chomesh -one of the Northern Shomron settlements destroyed in last summer's government-instituted pogrom against the settlers. The return to Chomesh is an extremely important act, and Manhigut Yehudit supports and encourages all those who participate in it. It is important to remember, though, that the forefront of the battle for the Land of Israel no longer runs through the settlements. It is important to return to Chomesh. But even if the return is successful, it will not stop the State from collapsing. The classical Zionist approach of another acre and another trailer-home may have been relevant to its time. Today, though, the formula doesn't work. In our struggle for the Land of Israel, we are sometimes enticed by the ritual with which we are familiar. But the front lines of the battle for the future of the State are in the race for leadership. The hundreds of thousands that struggled for Gush Katif could have established authentic Jewish leadership long ago -- and with just a fraction of the effort. If they had channeled their energy into creating new leadership for Israel they would have succeeded. And Gush Katif would still be flourishing. May G-d bless the loyal Jews returning to Chomesh. With His help, we will also return to Gush Katif. We will settle the entire Land of Israel and make it flourish, under Jewish leadership that will be committed to the Jewish People, its Land and its G-d. The return to Chomesh will take place this Monday, Nissan 7 (March 26). Meet at 13:00 at Shavei Shomron. Organized groups will make their way toward the ruins of the settlement. Please bring food, warm clothing and other basics for two days. For more information contact Shaul Cohen: 052-607-0117, shaulc@mahigut.org. You can turn the State of Jews into the Jewish State. Join Manhigut Yehudit Today Joining Manhigut Yehudit is much more than just a donation. Now you're part of the team! Learn about our special Members Club From the Frying Pan into the Fire Again?: By Moshe Feiglin We cannot ignore the fact that it was Right wing governments that relinquished most of the territories liberated in 1967 to the Arabs. Sadly, the only governments that destroyed flourishing and completely "legal" settlements were those elected with the votes of the Jews faithful to the Land of Israel. The Labor government built Gush Katif. Those elected under the Likud ticket destroyed it. It wasn't only Olmert and Livni who voted for the destruction and expulsion. Netanyahu and Shteinitz also raised their hands in favor of the crime. These facts may be uncomfortable, but they are true. So it is not surprising at all that the public that has remained loyal to the original ideology of the National Camp finds itself in a quandary. What is better? Olmert with 3% public support and with no legitimacy to perpetrate consequential strategic damage, or Netanyahu, with 30% public support, ready and willing to carry out the dictates of the Left and the US? In truth, the question is strictly academic, because the National Camp has almost no influence on this issue. Never has such a failure of a Coalition merited such a silent Opposition leader. Fear of the Left has rendered the Right silent and paralyzed. Its silence has become strategy bordering on ideology. That is how things look today from the comfortable Opposition corner. We can only imagine how they will look after the "victory." In the current state of affairs, without charismatic Opposition leadership, the future of the government is in the hands of every force in the arena but the Likud. Netanyahu is certainly a bit more honest and much more talented than Olmert. During the primaries, when I expressed my opinion that Netanyahu is the most talented man to have served as Prime Minister of Israel since Ben Gurion, the political commentators rubbed their eyes in amazement. But ideological backbone and leadership skills are not among the talents with which Netanyahu has been blessed. Those who expect the other elements of the Nation Camp to do the work for Netanyahu and topple Olmert's government are in effect highlighting the fact that Netanyahu is not a leader. So which is preferable? To perpetuate the current dismal state of affairs or to support Netanyahu? Neither. The Left is the brain and the soul of Israel's collapse. But the Right -- lacking an alternative ideology -- has become the arm that executes the Left's policies. "Sharon wants a Palestinian state and you tell me that I lost?" said Yossi Sarid after his Leftist party, Meretz, lost the 2003 elections. Unfortunately, he was right. The Left -- regardless of what the voters determine -- has taken control of Israel's reality. It is the Left alone that dictates the national agenda. "And what is your alternative?" Peres called from the Knesset lectern to then-Opposition-head Netanyahu. Netanyahu, despite all of his rhetorical skills remained speechless in the face of the demagogue that had just brought the Oslo Accords to the Knesset. And thus, when Netanyahu was elected on the waves of Zo Artzeinu's protests and the general mobilization of Chabad and the rest of the National Camp, he in no time hugged Arafat and declared that he had found a new friend. It wasn't a one-time gaffe. Netanyahu's actions ever since repeatedly testify to the fact that he is captive to current reality, with absolutely no ability to change it. Whoever attempts to choose one of the above options will necessarily err, because he is accepting the rules of the game as they are: He will have given his vote and his electoral power to one of the two -- either to the soul of the collapse, or to its executing arm. There is no choice but to set out on a new path. Clearly, we must be rid of Leftist leadership. It is also clear that Israel's leadership must come from within the National Camp -- in other words, from its leadership tool -- the Likud. This means that we must join the Likud and strengthen it as much as possible. But there is a condition: We must provide the Likud with a true ideological answer to Peres' question. And we must provide it with genuine leadership that will be capable of actualizing its ideology.