Bibi's Slippery Slope

By Moshe Feiglin

25 Shvat 5770
Feb. 9, '10

In its Friday edition, the Makor Rishon newspaper cited senior American sources reporting that Netanyahu has already surrendered almost everything; the Golan, almost all of Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, even some areas inside Israel's 1967 border. In exchange, the State of Israel will be allowed to keep a few settlement blocs. And what has Netanyahu achieved for Israel in exchange for this far-reaching agreement in principle? Nothing. Certainly not peace and not even international recognition that Israel is a Jewish state.

This is not really earth-shattering news. For years, we have been warning that Netanyahu is liable to drag us down a slippery slope. In the end, Netanyahu will not get the settlement blocs. But he will have succeeded in violating the integrity of Israel's 1967 borders.

The simple and sad truth is that the only thing preventing this collapse is Arab intransigence. The Arabs, it turns out, really do not want a state. None other than British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, not exactly known for his affection for Jews, stated to the British Parliament in 1947: "To the Jews, the essential point of principle is the creation of a sovereign Jewish State. To the Arabs, the essential point of principle is to resist to the last the establishment of Jewish sovereignty in any part of Palestine."

Nothing has changed in the 63 years that have passed since then. The main goal of the Arabs who live in the Land of Israel is to prevent us, the Jews, from having a Jewish state. They do not want their own state. If they really did want one, they could have had it many times over. They have consistently sabotaged every golden opportunity for a state offered them by Israel, with the support of the entire world.

What then, is wrong with Netanyahu's strategy? Maybe he is right when he agrees to surrender everything, leaving the Arabs to once again refuse and appear intransigent?

That may be fine in an anonymous battle of wits. But when the prime minister of Israel agrees to surrender Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel and Jerusalem, it has far reaching and serious implications. No other leader in the world would dare commit such an act. On the practical plane as well, Netanyahu is playing with fire. When Arafat, alone in exile in Tunis, felt he had no choice, he "accepted" the idea of "peace" - at least for the cameras. He got what he wanted and then, of course, surprised the world with his continued campaign of murderous violence. Likewise, Abu Mazen does not want a state, but if the Americans force it down his throat, he just may take it.

If that happens, G-d forbid, it would mean that the only territory in the world that does not have an official sovereign today - Judea and Samaria - will be internationally recognized as non-Jewish territory. The Nation of Israel will have officially surrendered the inheritance that it received from the Creator and that was recognized as such by the nations of the world.

Nationalist Attorney Elyakim Haetzni writes as follows:
"'Fate' or Divine Providence has left the Chosen Land open for the Chosen People, as there is no state in the world that has 'right of return' to Yesha according to international law. The Jordanians invaded and in 1988 they surrendered their claim; the British Mandate that preceded them no longer exists; the Turkish, in the Treaty of Lausanne, surrendered their rights and the Marmelukes are in the museum. All that is still valid, so long as there is no other sovereign, is the mandate that recognized the historical rights of the Jewish nation to re-establish its national home in the Land of Israel and instructed the British to 'encourage dense settlement on the ground, including state lands.' Thus, we are still the rightful owner, and only the rightful owner can surrender his rights.

If, however, a Palestinian state is established with Israel's consent, our land will be considered 'Palestinian'. Afterwards, when the Palestinians breach the agreement and the IDF will once again conquer Shechem, we will always be forced to retreat, because it will be 'Palestinian land.' Nazi Germany was destroyed, but it was exchanged for 'a different Germany,' because it was still 'German Land.'

Woe to the Jewish leader whose name will go down in history as the person responsible for turning Israel's land into Palestinian land. There are Jews who would prefer to die rather than be responsible for such a historical catastrophe, equal to all the physical dangers facing us put together."

In the meantime, "fate" or Divine Providence has saved the Promised Land for the Jews. But in Gush Katif we learned that Divine Providence also expects us to take practical action. We are not on the high, Biblical level of "G-d will fight for you, and you remain silent." And as we know from our Sages, we must not rely on miracles.

Sadly, Netanyahu is not among those Jews who would "prefer to die rather than be responsible for such a historical catastrophe." If given the opportunity, he will certainly send this particular historical catastrophe our way. Clearly, he must be replaced - and the sooner the better.

And now for the good news. The past months have seen a tremendous surge in registration for the Likud. Soon, Israel's political system will emerge from its winter hibernation and that is traditionally the time for political crises - both inside and outside the Likud. We do not know exactly when the Likud members will once again be casting their votes for the new leader of their party. We do know, however, that this scenario will take place and it is very possible that it will happen sooner than we think. Those people who register for the Likud now will be perfectly positioned to prevent the re-election of the same "catastrophe."

If you are an Israeli citizen and have not yet registered, you can register in English on-line here. If you have already registered and would like to check out your status on the Likud voter book, click here.