Monday, October 22, 2007
Capital For Sale
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Stand At Attention In Memory Of The Murderer
March 19, '01
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Where Is The Bottom Of The Barrel?
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The Temple Mount And Rachel's Tomb
Chairman of the Likud
Has Anybody Seen Rachel's Tomb? |
Rachel is the quintessential Jewish matriarch. She represents the Shechinah (G-d's Divine Presence) and the eternal connection between the Nation of Israel and the Land of Israel. Traditionally, Jews throughout the generations have poured out their hearts in prayer and tears at Rachel's Tomb in Beit Lechem, always feeling that they have come home to their mother. The result is that access to Rachel's Tomb is difficult, at best, and often -- impossible. Rachel's Tomb before the concrete walls.
Rachel's Tomb after the concrete walls. (Photos courtesy of Israel National News.com) This Tuesday, the 11th of Cheshvan (Oct. 24) will be the anniversary of Rachel's death. Traditionally, tens of thousands of Jews would stream to her tomb to pray. Since the concrete barriers have been constructed, tens of thousands of Jews still attempt to reach her tomb on this day, with varied degrees of success. The problem is not only the concrete walls that surround the Tomb. The problem is the concrete walls that surround the hearts of Israel's leaders. May the prayers of all those who reach Rachel's Tomb be answered and may we merit a new, authentically Jewish government in Israel soon! |
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Sunday, October 14, 2007
How To Become A Distinguished Israeli Leader
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Don't Doven At The Kotel
But I want to go one step further. It is very easy to blame Prime Minister Olmert, President Peres and their gang for what they are doing. These people have made their careers out of destroying all that is dear to our tradition. Olmert and Peres are currently busy at work trying to give Hebron and Bet El to the enemy and when that is done -- G-d forbid -- they will try to give away Kever Rachel, Kever Yosef, Elon Moreh, Shilo and more.
My question is where are the Rabbis during this crisis? Where is "Da'as Torah"? Where are the Gedolim (rabbinic leaders)? Their silence is deafening. How come all the Rabbis were up in arms when anonymous bones were found during the building of Highway #6 yet not a sound is made when walls of the Bet Ha'Mikdash are found -- and destroyed??? Those bones caused quite a stir. Massive rallies were held and physical battles were waged with the Israeli police. The violence was so intense that the Israeli government gave in and rerouted an entire section of the road, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars. The Rabbis declared the victory a sanctification of G-d's Name and didn't even care when scientific proof was presented that these bones were not even Jewish!
Where are the battles over the Bet Ha'Mikdash? Where is the outcry, the willingness for self-sacrifice for the Sanctification of G-d's Name?
There is none. Do you know why??? Because nobody has touched the Kotel. For thousands of years we have prayed and cried at the Kotel, the place where G-d's "Shechina" (Divine presence) never left. The Kotel has served us just fine and even though G-d restored Har Ha'Bayit to our hands, our people prefer to remain at the Kotel. I understand that there is a great Jewish-law debate over ascending Har Ha'Bayit and if one follows the ruling that says that going to Har Ha'Bayit is forbidden, then you should indeed not go there, but that doesn't change what is happening.
Even if you do not go to Har Ha'Bayit, you should be outraged by what is happening there. A Jew must protest every act of desecration of G-d's Name in the world and certainly when it is being carried out on our holiest site. But not a word has been said. Olmert is allowing it, the police are allowing it and -- sadly -- the Rabbis are allowing it too.
This is why I wrote not to pray at the Kotel. Hashem's house is burning at this very moment and I do not recommend saying, "But the backyard is fine so we'll go there". Especially if you do not go up to Har Ha'Bayit, do not go to the Kotel. At least not while the fire is still burning.
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The Gaza Yo Yo
By Moshe Feiglin
Translated from the NRG website
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Albert Einstein
Defense Minister Barak has made it clear. A major military incursion into Gaza is just around the corner.
Strangely enough, I find myself strongly opposed to entering Gaza. The world is upside down. It used to be that the Left would oppose military action while the Right would demand it. But not any more. The Left needs military action to fuel its peace processes. "Victory will create momentum for the Convergence." Remember? The Right, on the other hand, is beginning to free itself of the automatic reflex that always demands to "let them have it." It is beginning to understand that military action will not necessarily defend Israel. Sometimes it can serve the opposite purpose; government hegemony, for example.
Not long ago, a massive brainwashing campaign took place in Israel. The nation was dragged into an operation known by the Orwellian code name, "Disengagement." In reality, it was the destruction of an entire settlement region, the razing of hundreds of homes and the scattering of their residents in every direction. It cost 27 billion dollars (10 years of US aid), brought terrible suffering upon ten thousand people, tore the nation apart, eliminated the final remnants of Israel's democratic culture and encouraged the enemy to attack.
We paid the price of all the above to achieve one thing: Disengagement. So that "our soldiers will not have to endanger themselves in the alleys of Gaza." The truth, though, was eventually told by television personality Yair Lapid. The real reason for the Disengagement was simply to defeat the Left's political opponent. "We had to teach the settlers a lesson," he explained. Disengaging from Gaza was simply the excuse. So now, after we have paid the terrible price, the Defense Minister proclaims that our sons will return to Gaza? For what? To retreat once again? How can we play this cruel yo yo game with the lives of our soldiers?
It is important to understand that when Barak announces that a military incursion into Gaza is near, he is admitting in no uncertain terms that all the concepts touted to justify the Disengagement have failed. There is no other way to understand it. If you send troops to fight once again according to precisely the same failed concept, you are simply playing with human life. After all, it is clear that even after the most successful military action, a new set of left wing journalists and protesters will see to it that the IDF retreats from Gaza in no time. And then the Kassams will explode here once again.
Those who do not recognize their mistakes, should not play with the lives of our sons. It is time to admit that the concept of land for peace and security has failed. Since this concept was adopted and applied in the Oslo Accords, we have a lot less peace and a lot less security. Many more Israeli citizens were killed in terror attacks since 1995 than in all the years of Israel's existence until the Accords were signed.
In truth, I would oppose these agreements even if they did bring peace and security. But the point being discussed in this article is if the policies that engendered these agreements have achieved the goals that their proponents set for themselves. Clearly, the answer is negative. The Oslo concept, the Disengagement concept, and the concept of land for peace have completely failed.
Going into Gaza for yet another round endangers our soldiers' lives for no reason. We must understand that true security will come as a result of Jewish settlement and Arab emigration. If we return to Gaza, we must do so with the intent purpose of declaring Israeli sovereignty there, encouraging the Arabs to emigrate from there (they want to leave anyway) and rebuilding the destroyed communities of Gush Katif and the entire Land of Israel.
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Why Attack Bibi?
· Netanyahu was the man who, as Prime Minister, gave the National Camp's approval for continued retreats, arms transfer and terrorist release in the framework of the Wye Accords.
· Netanyahu was the man who voted in favor of the Expulsion, remained in the government and paved the way for all the vacillating ministers to follow suit.
He has nothing to lose from joining the government. He can only gain. The right wing public has no alternative to the Likud and Lieberman (the National Union party is not on the playing field). Just as he did before the Expulsion, Netanyahu will resign from the government just prior to the elections and all will be forgiven. The columnists in the right wing Makor Rishon newspaper will explain why Netanyahu is the only chance and everyone will crown him as the last Zionist leader. In the meantime, Netanyahu will be able to leave the Opposition desert while Olmert protects him from the poison pens of the Left. He will once again be at center stage and his hopes to become prime minister will be high. After all, the Rightist voters are used to being betrayed by their "leaders."