Painted Into The Colonialist Corner

By Moshe Feiglin

When Israel lost its sense of justice and adopted the justice of its Arab enemies instead, it painted itself into a corner. It lost its legitimacy to react to acts of war or terror in any way other than mere colonialistic policing necessary to "keep the peace." According to the Amnesty report released this week, even the missiles that exploded last summer in Haifa did not lend legitimacy to the IDF's sterile reaction.

Paradoxically, it is specifically the Disengagement from Gush Katif and Northern Shomron that transformed Israel into a colonialist state, whose actions are measured by the yardstick of "occupation." As long as Jewish settlements flourished in the Gaza Strip, Israel could claim ownership over the very part of the Land of Israel that the Arabs used as a bridgehead to stake their own ownership claims. But when Israel expelled itself from the bridgehead, the enemy forces immediately traversed it, and brought the battlefield to Sderot, Haifa and Ashkelon. Israel's right to exist in the remaining parts of the Land of Israel was lost; its claim to Jewish ownership of Sderot is not essentially different from its claim over the destroyed Gush Katif. The homeowner who surrenders a few rooms of his house to the bully does not establish his ownership on the rest of the home. Just the opposite. If the bully perseveres, he will have a much stronger claim. The police groups of the world -- Amnesty and the like -- will justifiably stand by his side.

Today, after the Expulsion, we are nothing more than foreign occupiers in the remaining parts of our Land. The more that we "disengage," the more we will be transformed into foreign -- illegitimate -- colonialists in the small amount of territory that will remain in our hands.

"The Jews are simply white colonialists who came from Europe and disinherited the Palestinian children from their land. The Germans should pay the price of the horrors that they inflicted on the Jews -- not the Palestinians. Let the Germans find a place for the Jews somewhere between Germany and Austria -- not in our neighborhood," explains Achmadinijad. And what do the Jews answer as they shake hands with the leader of the Palestinian Liberation (from Jews) Organization? "You are right. But as long as we are already here, take a few rooms and just let us stay in Sderot."

That is how Israel painted itself into a corner. For now, the residents of Sderot are paying the price. But they will not be alone for long. Ultimately, the government's fear of the public will override its fear of Winograd, and it will be forced to enter Gaza. Clearly, the Hizbollah will join in the fray. The IDF, though, can no longer fight to win. Twenty years of anti-riot equipment, concrete reinforcements, armored jeeps, understanding the enemy and sensitive but determined war against its brothers have turned the IDF into the world's largest police force. It is a large, expensive and effective police force. But it is not an army.

To our sorrow, the IDF buried its soul in the sands of Gush Katif, leaving Israel's citizens defenseless. Ultimately, we will have no choice but to rebuild the IDF -- without the commanders of the Expulsion and without women in the tank turrets. But as long as the enlightened defeatist consciousness continues to rule in Israel, there is no chance to effectively change the army. After all, the IDF is the people's army. That is why the next round of fighting will drag us into a defeat worse than in the previous round.

The person who most inherently exemplifies this enlightened defeatist consciousness is none other than the man running for the chairmanship of the Labor party -- former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. There is no other person who is more responsible for Israel's defeat in Lebanon last summer. The man who ordered the IDF to flee Southern Lebanon and ushered Hadera into Katyusha range is much more dangerous to Israel's security than Amir Peretz.

Any healthy society would relate to Barak according to the historic model that France set after it was defeated 67 years ago. But Israeli society accepts Barak's candidacy and his goal to be Israel's next Defense Minister without raising an eyebrow. The enlightened defeatist consciousness has conquered our entire society. Israel has no Charles de Gaulle with a consciousness of victory. We are all Petain. All we are looking for is a Defense Minister who will best flee the country that does not belong to us.

To extricate us from our solution-less corner, we need much more than another futile victory of the Right. Like de Gaulle after World War II, we, too, must establish the Second Republic of the State of Israel. The revolution in consciousness needed to accomplish this will not come from another routine exchange of our Right sock for our Left sock. We must redefine our founding ethos, our national goals, the values that will guide us and the constitution that will protect them.

Likud or National Union Party?

Traditional Right Winger (TR): You belong to the Likud? Aren't you embarrassed? The Likud drove the Jews out of Gush Katif! You voted for Sharon? You will vote for Bibi? Bibi surrendered Hebron and shook Arafat's hand! He voted in favor of the Expulsion!

Manhigut Yehudit Member (MY): And what do you intend to do?

TR: I am going to become a member of the Ichud Le'umi (National Union Party). They are staging a major membership drive. Then they will unite all the Right wing parties. Together, the Right will be a serious force and will make its voice heard.

MY: And who will be Prime Minister?

TR: Whoever is elected.

MY: But you know who will be Prime Minister. Whoever will head the Likud. Effie Eitam, for example, thinks that Netanyahu will head the Likud. That is why he is already working with him hand in hand.

TR: Don't you think that Effie Eitam as Defense Minister in the Netanyahu government is a positive development?

MY: Now it is my turn to ask questions. Do you really think that another round of Bibi as Prime Minister is what will solve Israel's problems? Do you understand that when you become a member of the National Union Party you have effectively voted for Netanyahu to be Prime Minister? Do you understand that you are simply recycling the same method used by all the Right wing parties of the past and present? You leave yourself with no options. As soon as Netanyahu veers Left, you will become irrelevant --even if you have 15 Knesset seats!

TR: So what is your solution?

MY: I suggest that we stop trying to influence the Prime Minister, and instead work on becoming the Prime Minister. I suggest that we all become members of the Likud. We will be one large party that includes a strong Jewish National camp. That's right. Silvan Shalom, Netanyahu, and you and I. In the Likud, we will fight for the top spot. We will fight for leadership and not mere influence. Leadership means taking responsibility for the Nation of Israel and implementing a revolutionary, Jewish solution to Israel's problems.

TR: Feiglin doesn't have a chance to win the Likud primaries or to influence the Likud.

MY: Many members of the Likud agree with Feiglin and want to see him leading the Likud. They just need to be convinced that he can actually succeed. When you join the Likud, the numbers convince them. Not only will you be electing the head of the Likud, you will also be able to choose its list of Knesset candidates. This time, all members of the Likud -- and not just Central Committee members -- will vote in the primaries for the Knesset members.

TR: But if the entire Right unites under the Ichud Leumi, it will be a formidable force in politics, and will not have to be identified with the party that expelled the Jews from their Land.

MY: Let's face it. The potential voters for the Ichud Leumi, even if it unites all the Right wing parties, basically come from the religious Right sector. The average Israeli, who identifies as a Jew but does not see himself as a sector, will not vote for it. But if the entire National Camp joins the Likud, it will authentically represent the Jewish majority. The Likud can then elect a leader who represents its constituency. It will appeal to the largely traditional Jewish majority in Israel and will have excellent chances of winning the national elections.

In other words, the major membership drive has been going on for years. Whoever has not yet joined the Likud has surrendered from the outset. He has already come to terms with our hopeless situation and perpetuates it. But those who have joined the Likud stand a fighting chance to bring about the revolution that will save Israel from disaster.

TR: And what if Netanyahu manages to expel Feiglin from the Likud?

MY: Both Netanyahu and Sharon tried to expel him from the Likud, but did not succeed. Feiglin has a lot of grass roots support in the Likud, and it is most unlikely that he will be expelled.

TR: And what if Feiglin doesn't win the primaries? Does that mean that I have to vote Likud anyway?

MY: Of course not. If the newly elected leader of the Likud and its Knesset list do not reflect your beliefs, you can vote as you please.

TR: O.K. You have given me some food for thought. I'll consider joining, but I'm in no rush.

MY: According to Likud rules, a new member must wait 16 months before voting. So the sooner you sign up, the better your chances of helping Israel now!

You can make a difference. Now is the time to support Manhigut Yehudit. Click here for our on line secure donation form. If you are an Israeli citizen, now is the time to sign up for the Likud. Click here for our English registration form. For more information, call (Israel) 02-996-1123 or (USA) 516 620 2475.

Winning Day Seven Of The Six Day War

By Moshe Feiglin

Translated from the Makor Rishon newspaper 7 Iyar, 5767 April 25, 2007 "I did not get any instructions to conquer the Sinai," apologized Six Day War Southern Commander Shaika Gavish in an interview with Israel's Makor Rishon newspaper. "My objectives were very clear: To destroy the Egyptian army, to open the straits and to prevent hostilities from the Gaza Strip. Period. And that is what we did." "I stood here next to Brigade Commander Mota Gur," related Rabbi Yisrael Ariel who was a soldier in the battle for Jerusalem, "when IDF Chief Rabbi Goren arrived. He seemed to be looking for something. 'How can I help you?' Mota Gur asked Rabbi Goren. 'I am looking for a place on the Mount of Olives to bury the IDF casualties,' the Rabbi answered. 'Why look on the Mount of Olives?' the paratrooper Brigade Commander and liberator of Jerusalem asked in surprise. 'After all, in a few months, it will all go back to the Jordanians.'" The paratroopers fought like lions, but the mindset of the leadership and the High Command was exactly the same then as it is today. Exactly as Shaikah Gavish described it. We did not come as liberators; we did not come as children returning to their ancient homeland; we certainly did not come to connect to Israel's holiness or to our Jewish identity. We came to solve a technical problem and to leave. Israel's Six Day War political leadership was by and large made up of the pioneers of the Second aliyah. Their sons, who controlled the military leadership, were brought up on rebellion against the "Jewish exile mentality." They derisively called the ambivalent Eshkol government "the Jews." That expression is the quintessence of the auto-Anti-Semitism on which the second generation of "proud Israelis" on the kibbutzim and on the beaches of Tel Aviv was raised. While the Nation of Israel joyously reunited with Israel's newly liberated Biblical landscapes, its leadership began to look for ways to rid itself of those identity-laden territories. The tension between the nation that desires to connect to its homeland and the interminable leadership that simply wants to solve a problem and disconnect has been part of our lives since the day after the Six Day War. It is the conflict of the seventh Day of the Six Day War. And it is still not resolved. When it became clear that giving "this whole Vatican" -- in the words of Moshe Dayan -- to the Jordanians was not an option, the Six Day War military leadership, which had already assumed the political leadership of the State of Israel, was forced to look for another outlet. It came up with the detestable option of recognizing the Palestine (all of it) Liberation (from the Jews) Organization. The handshake between the Chief of Staff of the Six Day War (Rabin) and the arch terrorist and the advent of the Oslo era were meant to once and for all provide the disconnecters with victory over the connecters, the Israelis over the Jews -- even at the price of withdrawal from Zionism's basic principles. Arafat did his job by agreeing to accept most of the "cursed territories" (as Leftist politician Yossi Sarid called them). But terror escalated, the settlements continued to develop despite the terrible price that Oslo exacted from them, and the disconnecters were left with just one more option -- unilateral withdrawal. The destruction of the Jewish settlements in Gush Katif and Northern Shomron was the ultimate expression of the internal conflict that has been raging in Israel since Jerusalem was "liberated." After the Expulsion, it seemed that the outcome of the conflict had been determined. It looked like the Jews had been defeated and that Israel would now "converge" into the state of Tel Aviv. But actually, we are witnessing the opposite process. The enlightened Israeli tyranny that destroyed its internal enemy has been left without any goal around which it can unite the nation and its army. One year after the Expulsion, Israel suffered a humiliating defeat in Lebanon. Since then, all the arms of the enlightened tyranny fight each other, hastening their quick descent into oblivion. The Jews, though, are waking up. The energies that we saw at the return to Homesh are no less potent than the energies of Sebastia one generation ago. They leave no doubt as to the outcome of the conflict that started on the seventh day of the Six Day War.

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The Jerusalem Knock Out

By Moshe Feiglin

Translated from the Makor Rishon newspaper. 28 Iyar, 5767 May 16, 2007 "Shalom, this is Gideon Levi from the Ha'aretz newspaper," said the voice on the other end of the phone line. "On Sunday, I will be moderating a symposium on the topic of Jerusalem. Health Minister Yuli Tamir will be there, Faisal Husseini from the Palestinian Authority will speak, and I will be happy if you would also come," he says. The Jerusalem Theatre is filled with Jerusalem Leftists -- all sorts of "human rights" types. A film depicting the suffering of Jerusalem's Arabs under the Israeli occupation is screened. At the end, the audience is palpably angry. "I am honored to present the Jerusalemite who holds the Education portfolio in the Palestinian Authority, Dr. Faisal Husseini," says Gideon Levi. Loud applause accompanies Husseini as he ascends the steps to the stage and seats himself near the small coffee table at center stage. "Our second guest is Health Minister Professor Yuli Tamir." The honorable minister also enjoys loud applause as she sits next to Husseini. "And our third guest, Mr. Moshe Feiglin." I don't hear any catcalls, but the absolute silence shouts even louder. I walk between the rows of seats to the stage. But before I could ascend the stairs, Husseini gets up, stands at the top of the steps and greets me with his outstretched hand. His hand remains in the air. I ignore him and seat myself next to Yuli Tamir. "Before we begin our discussion," Levi says, "I must ask you a question, Mr. Feiglin. A respectable, mature person gets up in your honor and wishes to shake your hand. Why don't you respond in kind?" "Mr. Husseini is my enemy," I answer simply. "He wants my Jerusalem. Would you shake the hand of someone who demands your home?" The discussion begins. Husseini speaks about his family who has lived in Jerusalem for 600 years. He speaks of the good neighborly relations between the Arabs and Jews, depicting the pastoral Garden of Eden that existed in Jerusalem before the Jewish conquest. "When the occupation will end," he concludes his words to the vigorous nodding of Minister Tamir, "we will once again live in peace." "You know what, Faisal?" I turn to Husseini in a friendly tone. "We have something in common that nobody else in this auditorium shares." Husseini looks at me in surprise. The audience becomes alert, waiting for peace to break out in the hall. "I think that you and I are the only people in this entire auditorium that believe in G-d," I continue. "You do believe in G-d, isn't that correct, Mr. Husseini?" Husseini nods his agreement. "Now look," I continue. "I have brought a Bible with me. This is my holy book." I take a Bible out of my briefcase and place it on the coffee table. "Jerusalem appears in my holy book more than 800 times. You can count if you would like." Husseini nods his head, looking confused. "I also brought another book," I continue as I pull a Koran that I had borrowed from the library out of my briefcase. "This is a Koran. It is your holy book. Is that correct?" Husseini nods his agreement. I place the Koran on the coffee table next to the Bible. "Can you please count how many times Jerusalem appears in your holy book? You will not have to work hard, because it doesn't appear at all. Now tell me -- to whom does Jerusalem belong? To the People of the Bible or the People of the Koran?" To my surprise, the audience begins to applaud. This is the language with which we will retain our sovereignty over Jerusalem.

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Counting The "Olmert"

By Shmuel Sackett
International Director, Manhigut Yehudit

Everybody asks me when Ehud Olmert is going to resign. With a popularity rate of just 3% it seems clear that his days as Prime Minister are coming to an inevitable end. Corruption scandals are all around him, Israeli society is crumbling and the Winograd Commission's report on his total failure during last year's Lebanon war is the nail in his political coffin. In Israel, the countdown to his resignation is called "Sefirat Ha'Olmert". How convenient to come exactly during these days!

The truth of the matter, however, is that I am not concerned about when Olmert will resign. I am worried about something far more important: Who will take his place?

In 1992, the Prime Minister of Israel was Yitzhak Rabin and everybody asked, "When will we get rid of this guy?" After that we got Shimon Peres and everybody asked, "When will we get rid of this guy?" Next came Bibi Netanyahu and everybody asked, "When will we get rid of this guy?" (Start seeing a trend yet???) After Bibi came Ehud Barak and -- you guessed it --everybody asked "When will we get rid of this guy?" Then came Ariel Sharon and his plan to throw 8,000 Jews out of their homes. Our response? A loud yell: "When will we get rid of this guy?" Now we have Olmert.

I need to ask some powerful questions. Are we eternally doomed with Prime Ministers who constantly disappoint, frustrate and anger us? Is this our national fate? Should we just accept this and deal with it?

I refuse to believe that! I refuse to accept this as an eternal punishment that we simply have to learn to live with.

Bad leadership in Israel is not a terminal illness. We can change those who lead us!

The key to making this happen is by changing direction -- not just names and faces. In 1996 when the people of Israel chose Netanyahu over Peres they didn't change direction. They merely got a Prime Minister who was 30 years younger and spoke a better English. Bibi was -- and still is -- committed to the Oslo peace process and the creation of a Palestinian State. He met with Arafat and even hugged him! He signed away Hebron, gave more weapons to bloodthirsty Arabs and proceeded down the path that Rabin had started. This continued with Barak who passed the baton to Sharon who then gave it to Olmert. Don't you see? It's a relay race!!! It doesn't matter what party they are from or if they consider themselves "right", "left" or "center". They are all on the same team because they all share the same dream!

What is needed is a breath of fresh air -- a change of focus and a totally new game plan. Luckily, this is not just "wishful thinking". A new leader exists in Israel who has been deeply involved in the political scene for the last six years and who has built his following on a totally different set of priorities. The Jerusalem Post calls him "a force to be reckoned with." Israel's largest paper, Yediot Aharonot, says that he is "one of the strongest men in Likud." The weekly Makor Rishon newspaper called him "one of the top ten most influential politicians in Israel today" and Ha'aretz refers to his rise in politics as "a strategic threat to Netanyahu and his party in the next election."

His name is Moshe Feiglin and he has built his impressive support by following a different set of priorities. His focus is on Jewish identity. He wants to turn Israel from the state of the Jews into the Jewish state. He wants a society based on Jewish values, an army that fights with Jewish pride and an educational system that teaches every Jewish child about his/her heritage. He is a leader who is not running away from the world but not apologizing to it either. He is proud of being a member of the Chosen People yet he understands what a heavy responsibility it bears. Being Jewish doesn't embarrass Moshe Feiglin -- it energizes him! It guides his every move and infuses him with unconditional love for all of our people.

Moshe is not looking to create a state based on Jewish law. He believes that this is reserved for the days of Mashiach. His job is to teach Jewish concepts and values, set a proper example for all to follow and motivate the nation to appreciate its unique place in the world. His plan calls for all of this to be done with love and tolerance for every Jew, regardless of level of observance.

I urge you to learn about Moshe Feiglin. Read his plan, understand his vision and identify with his dream. His website is: www.JewishIsrael.org and it contains a wealth of information. Other politicians are vague about the issues and cloud their positions in mystery and double-talk. Moshe is not like that. Everything is spelled out and he is very clear on all issues; from the simplest to the most controversial.

After reading his material, please send me an email and let's start a serious correspondence on how we can bring his dreams to fruition. I can be reached at: Shmuel@manhigut.org. Hopefully, you will arrive at the same conclusion that Jonathan Pollard did when he sent a letter endorsing Feiglin in the Nov. 2005 Likud primaries: "I believe that Moshe Feiglin may be the only leader in Israel today who understands that power is a test, not a gift, and that it must be wielded judiciously. I want to express that support for Moshe is a vote to restore Israel's national honor and integrity."

May our great and holy Nation merit that kind of leadership very, very soon!


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A Conversation With Mr. Israeli Leftist On The 3% Solution

By Jason Gold

Mr. Israeli Leftist (MIL) looks over my knitted kippa, and techeilet-laden tzizzit and comes to the obvious conclusion. "Ah, you are a religious Zionist Kitzoni!". Where are you from? Hebron, no doubt, eh?"

I respond that no, I am not from Hebron although I will be spending a visit there for a number of days including Shabbat. He starts to visibly cringe at the thought.

"You seem like a nice guy, he says. Why would you go to a place with a few hundred Jews surrounded by thousands of Arabs? To pray at a shrine? What, are the patriarchs helping us today with what's going on? Please. Let them have the Machpela and the freedom house and the whole thing and all the other shtachim where the trouble originates from."

I look at MIL and ask in an amused way does he really still buy into the notion that the shtachim and mitnachalim who live there are the answer to the world's problems with Islamofascism and that giving it all away will soothe the Arab breast and make peace break out in our time? Didn't he learn that we tried the giveback experience multiple times only to meet with abject failure?

"Well, then," he asks me, "What is your solution?"

I patiently begin to explain about the moral bankruptcy of all of Israel's secular leadership from year 1 through year 59. How each generation has gotten worse and worse leading to our current gang of Sharon's thugs and bunglers. How the erstwhile PM with a 3% approval rating and his Josef Stalin look-alike DM are circling the wagons post-Winograd report in a pathetic effort to hang on to the throne rather than doing the fall-on-the sword routine for honor and all that. I also explain how every problem this country has can be traced to a lack of faith-based leadership and why secular leadership no longer works here.

"So what, do we put the Mafdal or the Chreidim in charge?" he says looking at me in horror and beginning to tremble and appear physically ill. "I mean I know the 3% solution isn't really working but come on now!!!"

No, I say soothingly. We need faith-based non-coercive leadership that everyone can be comfortable with and that will eventually inspire people like you to start thinking seriously about Jewish Identity rather than reviling it.

I reach into my pocket and pull out a Manhigut Yehudit card and it is as though I have aimed the sun into the vampire's tomb.

"FEIGLIN???!!!" He screams out. "Oh my Gd. That extremist??!!! "No, no, no" he says as he as he appears ready to either retch or pass out. But then he suddenly becomes serious and looks at me expecting another volley.

I ask him them what is his solution might be aside from the tired old leftist slogans we've heard before. Where is your leadership? Ayalon? Barak? Peres? Beilin? How about the Hadash party?

He laughs. "Labor? Meretz? Please they are almost irrelevant even with a bright young guy like Ayalon who has bought into the fantasy of withdrawal to the green line and peace will be ours. The others? Ha! Ready for embalming. "

"Even the so-called right, what a choice. Bibi? Please, is that the best you guys can do? Mafdal? National Union? Shas? Special interest groups, all of them." And besides, a kippa-wearing PM? C'mon, really? Like we need a theocracy here?"

I patiently explain that Feiglin and Manhigut are not about coerced religion or theocracy but then it hits me. I tell him it's not religion or a kippa-wearing candidate that he objects to, but it's something else isn't it?

"Of course, he admits. "I am worried a kippa-wearing or faith based government as you call it will do to people like me what we have been doing to you datiim all along."

I smile and tell him quite frankly, vengeance is Gd's domain and also we will be too busy cleaning up your mess to worry about petty revenge issues. So I put the question to him again on who would he vote for?

He smiles.

"Feiglin," he replies clearly enjoying the look of shock on my face. "Why? Because at least here is an intelligent man, untainted by corruption, with ideology, with a plan, a vision. I may not agree with it, I may spend every night at his home protesting his plans when he becomes PM, but at least I know I can have an intelligent dialog with someone honest and forthright."

We shake hands to part and I ask him if I'll see him in Hebron soon.

"Not so fast," he replies. "what did Einstein say before he became nominally respectful? "I am not ready to be delivered into the hands of the priests"?

I smile and nod. OK, I tell him, then I guess Har Habayit will have to do for now.

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Good Morning Israel

Good Morning, Israel

By Moshe Feiglin As this update is being written, all eyes are focused on Olmert, his government and the unfolding political drama in Israel. The Winograd Commission methodically described the failure of the Leftist leadership. But in truth, it didn't take a big expert to understand -- from the very outset of the Lebanon War -- that the purpose of the war was neither to free the captives nor to stop the rocket fire on Israel's north. Attempting to free the captives with massive air raids is like trying to catch a mosquito with a bulldozer. The claim that the purpose of the war was to stop the rocket fire on Israel's north was a coarse lie -- clear to anybody who dared face the truth. It was the war, itself, that triggered the rocket fire on Israel. As soon as the IDF stopped shooting, the rocket fire stopped, as well. Sadly, the purpose of the war was far less patriotic. From the very beginning of the war, Manhigut Yehudit had the audacity to tell the truth. We angered many people and caught a lot of flak. But two weeks into the fighting, Olmert himself confirmed what we had been warning of: The war was meant to promote further unilateral withdrawals. Despite his declaration, though, no other Right wing or religious body had the courage to ask tough questions or to oppose the military fantasy of the leaders of the Expulsion from Gush Katif. The Israeli Right, bereft as always of any true path or independent thinking, once again dragged along after the Left. It supported Olmert's War of Convergence with all its might. In the words of MK Efi Eitam, of the National Religious Party at the beginning of the war: "I think that this Defense Minister (Peretz) conceals in his personality -- and specifically because he is free of past traumas -- the potential to be Nasrallah's strategic surprise." While Eitam was lauding the strategic virtues of Defense Minister Peretz, we wrote the following in our weekly update: "What movement will be able to rehabilitate Israel from its state of physical and moral destruction? It will have to include two factors: One, that it is not part of the problem. It must have correctly identified the reality facing Israel, warned of it, and under no circumstances joined the chorus of fools building its own reputation on the basis of the old concepts. The second factor is willingness to lead. It is not enough to be right. One also has to be accessible to the public -- to be in the leadership arena. In other words, to be relevant. Simply put, Manhigut Yehudit must ready itself to take the steering wheel." Dear friends, there is only one movement that correctly identified reality, fearlessly warned of it, and under no circumstances joined the chorus of fools. We had better get ready to take hold of the steering wheel. Leadership that Sees Straight The partial picture that the Winograd Commission has revealed, almost a year after the Lebanon War, was articulated by Manhigut Yehudit in crystal-clear language before and during the war. We have chosen just a few quotes of many from Manhigut Yehudit's weekly updates to show just how prescient Manhigut Yehudit was: Before the War (Weekly Update 1 Nissan 5766 -- March 30, '06) Olmert's deceptive swagger ("It's going to be fun to live here") will quickly shatter on the hard ground of reality. The possibility of a belief based revolution for leadership of the country is closer than ever. (Weekly Update 8 Nissan, 5766 -- April 6, '06) Parallel to the nihilism that plagues Israeli society, our enemies are undergoing the opposite process. The more that we lose any connection to truth and justice; the more they are empowered with their vision of Moslem justice. The explosion seems unavoidable. After Kidnapping of Gilad Shalit (Weekly Update 3 Tamuz, 5766 -- June 29, '06) The belated IDF response (the purpose of which is to "look good" in the eyes of the world) that includes the entry of infantry into Gaza, unnecessarily endangers the soldiers. The kidnapped soldier could have been freed in other ways, without endangering our soldiers. After all, we hold the key to all the basic necessities (water, electricity) of Gaza. At the Beginning of the War (Weekly Update 17 Tamuz, 5766 -- July 13, '06) The responsibility for the fact that our enemies strike at us and that we are incapable of stopping them rests entirely on Israel's G-dless leaders. Israel's politicians and advisors have dragged us into the current process of collapse with open eyes. They are motivated by ideological and personal decadence and are responsible for their tragic results. There is no reason to appeal to their conscious. It is buried deep in the sands of Gush Katif. There is no reason to help them fight on Israel's borders. This is a pointless war of deception that endangers soldiers and civilians for no reason and with no goal. They must all be replaced -- from the Prime Minister and Defense Minister through the Chief of Staff and Chief of General Security Services -- from the President of the State through the Supreme Court Chief Justice. They all share responsibility for the debacle that we have been warning about for years. (Weekly Update 24 Tamuz 5766 -- July 20, '06) The War of Convergence finds Israel facing off with an enemy (Hamas and Hizbollah) that is fighting for its beliefs. Israel's leadership, though, has no belief with which to counter them. That is why Israel will necessarily be defeated. War to Promote Convergence (Press Release 8 Av, 5766 -- August 2, '06) Olmert's declaration that the war in the north will facilitate the convergence plan has created a situation in which every soldier fighting now in the north is bringing about the destruction of Israel with his very own hands. The officer Ro'i Klein, who jumped on a live grenade to prevent it from harming his soldiers, could not possibly have understood the depths of the lowliness for which our leaders sent him to fight. Olmert is using Ro'i's noble act of self sacrifice to actualize the destruction orders on the house that Ro'i built in the settlement of Eli, and to drive his widow and children out of their home. He learns nothing from experience as he madly hastens the end of the State of Israel, taking cynical advantage of the dedication of Israel's most faithful citizens. Has Winograd Gotten to the Root of the Problem? Of course not. The Commission is working on the basis of current consciousness. It has analyzed why the train that is racing on the track to nowhere is doing so ineffectively. The questions that it chose to evaluate are all on the plane of the "how" and not the "why." The Commission concluded that the objectives of the war were not clear. But it missed the point. There was a clear objective to the war. The following article was written by Moshe Feiglin after the war, during the debate over which, if any, type of Commission of Inquiry would investigate the war: The Commission of Inquiry's Conclusions By Moshe Feiglin 29 Elul 5766 23.08.06 The following are the conclusions of the Commission of Inquiry that will not be established. And if it is established, the parameters of inquiry will not be correctly defined. And if they are defined, it will not have the appropriate authority. And if it does, it will be afraid to speak the truth. And if it does speak the truth, Israel's media and justice system will be sure to delegitimize it. 1. The Facts A. With the retreat from Sinai, Menachem Begin sanctified the borders of pre- 1967 Israel. The price was the elimination of the principle of Zionist settlement. B. With the retreat from Lebanon, Ehud Barak sanctified the borders of pre-1967 Israel. The price was the elimination of the principle of Zionist security. C. With the retreat from Gush Katif, Ariel Sharon sanctified the borders of pre-1967 Israel. The price was the elimination of both Zionist settlement and security. D. The Unilateral Withdrawal Principle became the official religion of the State of Israel. E. On the platform of this principle, the Kadimah party was formed, the Convergence plan was hatched and Ehud Olmert became Prime Minister. F. It soon became apparent that from the borders of withdrawal, the IDF cannot even defend the lives of its own soldiers. G. The abduction of the soldiers threatened the Withdrawal and Convergence concept -- the horse upon which Olmert rode to the premiership. H. That is why Olmert hurried out to war. This was a war to prove Israel's ability to defend itself after unilateral withdrawal. In short, it was a war to save the Convergence plan. That is why the Left supported the war even more than the Right. I. Olmert turned to the arrogant Chief of Staff, who convinced him that it was possible to triumph from the air. J. But the Hizbollah was not playing their game, and began to shoot rockets into Israel's north. K. It took the Chief of Staff two weeks of rockets falling into Israel's cities to internalize what an army cadet learns early in training school -- winning means conquering territory. L. But conquering territory contradicts the principle of Withdrawal and Convergence upon which a new generation of army commanders was educated. M. This produced confusion in the IDF's orders to its fighting forces. Enter Lebanon but leave, conquer but retreat, fight but don't win. N. The result: 156 casualties, the abducted soldiers remain in captivity, more rockets fired into Israel at the end of the war than at the beginning, Hizbollah stronger than ever, Israel's deterrence factor shattered and the threat of Israel's destruction more tangible than ever. 2. Conclusions A. The war was not fought to protect northern Israel from the Hizbullah's rockets. On the contrary, the war is what caused them to be fired. B. The goal of the war was patently political -- to defend the concept of unilateral withdrawal, the Convergence plan and Olmert's government. C. If Israel's entire political and military elite that was involved in any way with unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon and Gush Katif is not immediately replaced, Israel's existence is gravely endangered. Does the Opposition Offer an Alternative? The Opposition has never had a better opportunity for political gain. But although it is making some noise, it offers no true alternative. The Opposition, almost in its entirety, jumped blithely on to the war bandwagon, without giving a thought to the day after the war. Now Opposition head Netanyahu calls for the government to resign. But he and his colleagues are all part of the problem. Those who attempted to partake of the spoils of power that the war seemed to promise can not propose themselves as an alternative. They have nothing new to offer. With G-d's help, this current crisis will help bring about the major shift toward Jewish consciousness that Manhigut Yehudit has been working so hard to achieve. Primaries Rapidly Approaching There is only one movement in Israel that correctly analyzes reality, fearlessly swims against the stream of fools -- even when that is most unpopular -- and also presents an authentic leadership alternative. That is Manhigut Yehudit. The first step, of course, is winning the rapidly approaching Likud primaries. When the Likud members hear what we have to say, they connect to our message. It is urgent to reach out to them now. To volunteer, contact the Director of the Anglo Division in Israel, Dovid Shirel shir@manhigut.org, phone: 02-996-1123.

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The 3% Solution and A Conversation With Mr. Israeli Leftist

By Jason Gold

Mr. Israeli Leftist (MIL) looks over my knitted kippa, and techeilet-laden tzizzit and comes to the obvious conclusion. "Ah, you are a religious Zionist Kitzoni!". Where are you from? Hebron, no doubt, eh?"

I respond that no, I am not from Hebron although I will be spending a visit there for a number of days including Shabbat. He starts to visibly cringe at the thought.

"You seem like a nice guy, he says. Why would you go to a place with a few hundred Jews surrounded by thousands of Arabs? To pray at a shrine? What, are the patriarchs helping us today with what's going on? Please. Let them have the Machpela and the freedom house and the whole thing and all the other shtachim where the trouble originates from."

I look at MIL and ask in an amused way does he really still buy into the notion that the shtachim and mitnachalim who live there are the answer to the world's problems with Islamofascism and that giving it all away will soothe the Arab breast and make peace break out in our time? Didn't he learn that we tried the giveback experience multiple times only to meet with abject failure?

"Well, then," he asks me, "What is your solution?"

I patiently begin to explain about the moral bankruptcy of all of Israel's secular leadership from year 1 through year 59. How each generation has gotten worse and worse leading to our current gang of Sharon's thugs and bunglers. How the erstwhile PM with a 3% approval rating and his Karl Marx look-alike DM are circling the wagons post-Winograd report in a pathetic effort to hang on to the throne rather than doing the fall-on-the sword routine for honor and all that. I also explain how every problem this country has can be traced to a lack of faith-based leadership and why secular leadership no longer works here.

"So what, do we put the Mafdal or the Chreidim in charge?" he says looking at me in horror and beginning to tremble and appear physically ill. "I mean I know the 3% solution isn't really working but come on now!!!"

No, I say soothingly. We need faith-based non-coercive leadership that everyone can be comfortable with and that will eventually inspire people like you to start thinking seriously about Jewish Identity rather than reviling it.

I reach into my pocket and pull out a Manhigut Yehudit card and it is as though I have aimed the sun into the vampire's tomb.

"FEIGLIN???!!!" He screams out. "Oh my Gd. That extremist??!!! "No, no, no" he says as he as he appears ready to either retch or pass out. But then he suddenly becomes serious and looks at me expecting another volley.

I ask him them what is his solution might be aside from the tired old leftist slogans we've heard before. Where is your leadership? Ayalon? Barak? Peres? Beilin? How about the Hadash party?

He laughs. "Labor? Meretz? Please they are almost irrelevant even with a bright young guy like Ayalon who has bought into the fantasy of withdrawal to the green line and peace will be ours. The others? Ha! Ready for embalming. "

"Even the so-called right, what a choice. Bibi? Please, is that the best you guys can do? Mafdal? National Union? Shas? Special interest groups, all of them." And besides, a kippa-wearing PM? C'mon, really? Like we need a theocracy here?"

I patiently explain that Feiglin and Manhigut are not about coerced religion or theocracy but then it hits me. I tell him it's not religion or a kippa-wearing candidate that he objects to, but it's something else isn't it?

"Of course, he admits. "I am worried a kippa-wearing or faith based government as you call it will do to people like me what we have been doing to you datiim all along."

I smile and tell him quite frankly, vengeance is Gd's domain and also we will be too busy cleaning up your mess to worry about petty revenge issues. So I put the question to him again on who would he vote for?

He smiles.

"Feiglin," he replies clearly enjoying the look of shock on my face. "Why? Because at least here is an intelligent man, untainted by corruption, with ideology, with a plan, a vision. I may not agree with it, I may spend every night at his home protesting his plans when he becomes PM, but at least I know I can have an intelligent dialog with someone honest and forthright."

We shake hands to part and I ask him if I'll see him in Hebron soon.

"Not so fast," he replies. "what did Einstein say before he became nominally respectful? "I am not ready to be delivered into the hands of the priests"?

I smile and nod. OK, I tell him, then I guess Har Habayit will have to do for now.

Climbing For Independence In Chomesh

By Michael Fuah

The march to Homesh on Israel's Independence Day was tough, but it was a genuine march of independence. The estimated 13,000 marchers did not wait for the authorization of the government, the Defense Minister, the army or the police. They marched. Abandoning their vehicles at whatever point they were blocked by the army or the police, these loyal Jews -- religious, secular and ultra-Orthodox -- hiked through the fields, up the sides of mountains, down steep slopes, across kilometers of green hills and winding roads and finally made it -- exhausted -- to Homesh. There were lots of teenagers, an impressive amount of "golden-agers," parents, little children trying to keep up with their older siblings and an amazing amount of babies in carriages who were half-pushed and half carried over terrain patently inaccessible to anything other than 4x4 wheels. Even a blind man, a man on crutches and a teenager in a wheelchair managed to make the climb. The sight was reminiscent of the prophet Isaiah's comforting words to the Land of Israel, "Raise your eyes and see, they are all gathering and returning to you." (Isaiah 60:4). People were marching across the Shomron from every direction. And nobody was going to stop them. "Hey, what is a State Supremacist (Mamlachti in local jargon) like you doing here?" a famous rabbi from a Mamlachti yeshiva laughingly asked me. "You tell me," I answered him with a smile, as it was clear that he wanted to explain himself. "I am only where the army authorizes us to be," he answered, trying to convince himself that he didn't cross the lines. "Rabbi," I said to him, "today you are a criminal, along with me. No excuses will help. The Expulsion Law from the days of the "Disengagement" prohibits Israeli citizens from being here. But enjoy yourself. This is true independence." The above conversation took place at the foot of Homesh. The Rabbi, who undoubtedly understood that he was violating the "Israeli" law, made it up to Homesh nevertheless, and joined us for the Mincha prayer on the ruins of the Homesh synagogue. For years, we have been used to events that are completely organized, with busses to shuttle us to and from our destination, a route that is appropriate for all ages, designated parking areas and people whose job it is to keep order everywhere. Even at Kfar Maimon, where a tremendous crowd had gathered to revolt against the evil Expulsion decree, the Yesha leaders -- fully coordinated with the army and police -- managed to gag the revolutionary energies there until they completely dissipated. True, the built in disobedience of the organizers of the march to Homesh had a price. There was no official route. No grandstand with flags and huge amplifiers awaited the thousands that arrived. No famous cultural icons performed on the makeshift stage. And the only way to get back to our abandoned vehicles was by foot. So as darkness descended, the thousands began the trek down from Homesh. The three hour march in the dark wasn't easy for the teenagers, or for the seniors, the parents of small kids or the people with the baby carriages. But it was worth it. Groups of teenagers sang Jewish songs of joy and rebuilding the Temple all along the way. Liberation was in the air; freedom from the laws of the "Israeli" government and from the old leadership that is emotionally and economically subservient it. The revolutionary consciousness that Manhigut Yehudit encourages has made a major public breakthrough. With G-d's help, the great success in Homesh will help to propel the leadership revolution forward, full steam ahead. Manhigut Yehudit is about building the nation's will for leadership that will foster Israel's ultimate redemption. That is our purpose and the goal that makes successes like Homesh so significant. A hearty yashar koach to all the Manhigut Yehudit members who made it to Homesh, and made Manhigut Yehudit's presence there very visible. May we all be privileged to merit Israel's redemption soon!

No Need For Coercion

By Moshe Feiglin


Last night, the siren announcing the commencement of Israel's Memorial Day for its fallen soldiers and terror victims caught me in the middle of Road # 60, in Wadi Haramiyah. Like Israelis throughout the country, I got out of my car and stood in silence for the duration of the siren. But I was not in the middle of a major highway. I happened to be alone on the road that winds all the way from the hills of Judea, through Binyamin and north through the hills of the Shomron. Wadi Haramiyah, where I stopped my car, is the place where -- just five years ago -- ten Israeli citizens and soldiers were murdered by an Arab sniper.

The siren on my car radio was a bit distant. Israel's official radio station, the Voice of Israel, doesn't exactly broadcast to Judea and the Shomron. But when I got back in my car and began the winding climb through the hills of Binyamin, the reception cleared and I was able to hear Israel's official Memorial Day ceremony. The solemn and dignified Master of Ceremonies invited the Honorable Acting President, Mrs. Daliah Itzik, to speak in memory of the fallen soldiers. At that point, I turned off my radio. The darkness and quiet of the Binyamin hills seemed more appropriate to the gravity of the evening than the voice of the Honorable Acting President.

It is easy and natural for a Jew to identify with the Nation of Israel, its pain and its fallen heroes. We should not make light of that solidarity. It may be the only expression we have of an all encompassing Israeli culture. On the other hand, though, identification with the State's official symbols and ceremonies is extremely problematic.

When people ask me if there will be "religious coercion" in the Manhigut Yehudit-led Jewish State, I use the Memorial Day siren as an example. Is there any law in Israel that requires one to stand during the Memorial Day siren? Of course not. And if there were such a law, I would probably not have stopped my car in the middle of the dark, lonely road in Wadi Haramiyah to stand in silence. But the Memorial Day siren is an inseparable part of my culture. In an authentic Jewish State, a person eating falafel on Passover would feel just as uncomfortable as a person who would walk down the street whistling a tune during the Memorial Day siren. Laws and coercion will not make Israel's public space Jewish. What we need is a cultural revolution that will transform our Torah into our culture.

The State of Israel: Obstacle or Key to Jewish Destiny?

By Moshe Feiglin

Translated from the Ma'ariv NRG website.

On the morning of Holocaust Memorial Day, Israel announced that it would allow the transfer of fifty million dollars worth of weapons and military aid to the Presidential Guard of Abu Mazen. Does anybody doubt that these weapons will ultimately be used against us? Reality has proven time and again that Jews are murdered as a result of these weapons transfers. So why do we allow them to continue?

"How did the Jews of the Holocaust era allow the Germans to do what they did?" the brave Israelis arrogantly proclaimed. "After all, they knew where they were leading them. Weak-kneed pushovers!"

And what about us? We clearly understand that Jews will be killed with these weapons. What are we doing about it? It seems that as we mark the 59th year of Israel's independence, the blood of the Jewish People is still cheap. It is only natural that the Arabs of Gaza must be supplied with weapons and that in half a year or so those weapons will kill Jews. Then we will supply them with more weapons to protect us from the weapons that we gave them today, that were supposed to protect us from the weapons that we gave them yesterday. That's just the way it is; we have no control over it. We must come to terms with this Russian roulette, absolve ourselves of any responsibility and hope that we or our loved ones will not pay the price.

Luckily, we can still demonstrate. And there actually were demonstrations just before Holocaust Memorial Day. They were even stormy. Proud and strong Israelis blocked traffic, burned tires and even got arrested. They are not pushovers -- why should they pay almost one thousand shekels per month for their university tuition? But demonstrations against the weapons being transferred to Gaza? About the Jews that will die? Why demonstrate? It is a fact of life that a certain percentage of Jews will be killed in terrorist attacks. It is like the sun that rises in the east. Have you ever seen a demonstration against the rising of the sun?

After Israel's news announced the weapons transfer, Holocaust survivor and former Knesset Speaker of the House Dov Shilanski was interviewed. "For me," he said, "the State of Israel is the guarantee that the Holocaust will never happen again." I deeply respect Dov Shilanski, but I could not understand the basis of his opinion: Israel's military strength? That has turned out to be disappointing, at the very least. Anybody who can't figure out why should drive over to Sderot. The exile mentality that has changed? It has only gotten worse. We have recently encountered a new mass-murderer who unabashedly announces his intentions to destroy Israel. "Let the Germans give you a state," he says. "Why do the Arabs have to pay the price of your Holocaust?" And the brave, new Israelis have no answer. They are helpless. Just like the Holocaust Jews whom they ridicule, they desperately wait for the redemptive strike on Israel's crowded population center.

According to all logic, Shilanski is wrong. The State of Israel that denies itself to death is leading us toward another Holocaust. If I did not believe in G-d, I would get my family out of Israel post haste. But I believe in the G-d of Israel and His Nation. I believe that G-d's will is that we remain in Israel. I believe in the Bible and in the prophecies that reassure us that the final redemption will be eternal.

The question is not if we will survive, but what will be the price. And that depends on us. When we flee our Jewish identity and destiny, our enemies flourish. I believe that when we connect to our national identity, new, fresh forces of life will awaken within our Nation. It is then that we will understand the importance and power of our State. We will understand that although the State of Israel had been used to deny Jewish destiny, it is actually the tool that expresses it. When we connect to our destiny, we will do much more than merely exist or survive. And nobody will dare dream of destroying Israel.

Manhigut Divrei Torah

Ed. Note- Each week we will try to send out selected Divrei Torah on the parasha that is consistent with the Jewish Leadership theme. Below are two from Yeshivat Machon Meir, www.machonmeir.org.il. Shabbat Shalom.

PARASHAT TAZRIA-METZORA

3rd of Iyar 5767 21/04/07

Rabbi Dov Begon – Rosh Yeshiva of Machon Meir
Message for Today: “Despite Everything – the State of Israel, Foundation of G-d’s Throne on Earth”

A hundred years ago, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, zt”l wrote about the difference between the State of Israel (which at the time was still just a vision) and the rest of the nations of the world:
“A normal country is like a large insurance company. It is not the source of its citizen’s supreme joy. Ideals, which are the crowning glory of mankind, hover above a country and do not touch it.
“Not so a country founded on ideals and inherently based on the most lofty message. Such countries truly constitute their citizen’s greatest joy. Therefore, the State of Israel is truly the most supreme on the scale of joy, and it constitutes the foundation of G-d’s throne on earth. Its entire purpose is that G-d should be one and His name one, truly the greatest source of joy.” (see Orot 160)

Indeed, we daily conclude our prayers with the words, “The L-rd shall be King over all the earth. On that day shall the L-rd be One and His name one” (Zechariah 14:9). In the future, people will be so happy that even in response to strict divine justice [i.e., bad tidings], for which we presently recite, “Blessed is the Judge of Truth” – they will recite, “Blessed is He who is good and benevolent” [presently recited in response to good tidings]. (See Pesachim 50a). And all this will be when the State of Israel appears and is revealed in all its greatness and glory.

Today, Rav Kook’s vision of the State of Israel which has to serve as a light to the nations, and in which a person has to find his supreme joy, is seemingly crumbling before our eyes, as we witness the spiritual and moral deterioration occurring amongst the governmental authorities and some of its leaders. True, we rejoice on the fifty-ninth birthday of our beloved country, and we rejoice over the millions of Jews who are being gathered in from the world over to the land of our life’s blood.

We rejoice over the enormous economic development. Yet we ask ourselves, seeing the nadir to which we have fallen: Shall we ever emerge from the moral and spiritual crisis visiting our country, and if so, how? We know with full certainty that all this is a descent for the sake of ascent, as Rav Kook said:
“All those building up the nation will arrive at the depths of this truth, that our nation will be build and consolidated, and will be restored to its strength, to all the foundations of its life by way of its faith and its fear of G-d, its hallowed noble content spreading and becoming stronger and more developed. Then, with a voice full of valor and might they will proclaim with a loud cry, ‘Come, let us return to G-d!’” (Orot HaTeshuva 15:11)

Quite the contrary, the present crisis will quickly lead to a great movement of return to ourselves, our Torah, our roots, our Father in Heaven. Through this, we will merit to see not only the physical building of our country, but also the revealed benevolent soul of our nation which will shine on the entire world. As Rav Kook said, “The State of Israel is the foundation of G-d’s throne on earth.” And as the prophets of Israel said, “For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of G-d from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:4). Speedily in our day, Amen!
With blessings for a joyous Independence Day,

Looking forward to complete salvation,


Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Yaakov Halevy Filber- Guest Lecturer at Machon Meir

"In the Land You Inherit” (Leviticus 14:34)


(Wishing a complete recovery to Professor Yosef Ben Shlomo)


The three components comprising Jewishness are the People, Torah and Land of Israel. The people are the human component of the People of Israel, the Torah constitutes the moral-spiritual content of the people, and Eretz Yisrael is the piece of land, and the only place, where the Jewish People can fulfill their complete destiny.

From the Temple’s destruction until today, we have not yet merited the complete unity of these three components. When they are totally and completely united, then will come the complete redemption of the Jewish People. In our day, we are in the midst of a process on the way to an encounter with this triumvirate. We call this process “Atchalta DeGeula” [the start of redemption]. It is a stage that Israel has reached after suffering much evil in our long exilic journey.

Since Israel’s emergence on the stage of history, the nations have tried to harm each of these three components, discerning in their blindness that these constitute the secret to Jewish survival. We have seen their attempt to destroy us physically since the days when Abraham was thrown into the fiery furnace by wicked Nimrod. Then came Esau, who sought to smite Jacob, with his children. In his heart he wanted to uproot everything. Then there was Pharaoh, who killed the males, and Amalek, who attacked the weak as Israel were leaving Egypt. So did it go on from then until now, as we say in the Pesach Haggadah: “In every generation, they rise up to destroy us.”

Another way to harm and to destroy the Jewish People was to harm their spiritual stamina by imposing decrees to make them abandon their religion. Regarding these two attempts Isaiah said (54:17), “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment thou shall condemn.” Rambam in Igeret Teiman interpreted this verse the same way.

The attempt at physical and spiritual annihilation was chiefly the lot of our people in exile. Since our people’s return to their land 100 years ago, a new front has been started by the nations in their hatred of Israel, chiefly focusing on their opposition to recognizing the right of the Jewish People to Eretz Yisrael, land of their forefathers.

There were two beacons of light that shined up our people regarding Eretz Yisrael. The first was the Balfour Declaration, which recognized the right of the Jewish People to the two sides of the Jordan. In time, however, nothing remained of that declaration. The second was the decision of the U.N. to partition the half that remained from Eretz Yisrael. Yet even the limited decision regarding the partition borders encountered the opposition of all the Arab countries, which began a war against us to drive us out of our homeland. Here as well, G-d did not abandon His people, granting us victory over our enemies. Through G-d’s kindness, we established the State of Israel, albeit on a small part of our land. Regarding this victory, we mustn’t belittle our own contribution either, our human effort. In fact I heard this idea from Rav Abramsky (after the I.D.F.’s victory in the Six Day War (see my book “Ayelet HaShachar”, page 231). Rav Abramsky said that our victory in the Six Day War was by virtue of the self-sacrifice of the I.D.F.’s soldiers. We can say the same thing about the Israeli War of Independence as well, that the solid faith in the rightness of their path that beat in the people’s heart, and the profound recognition of our right to this land were what gave Israeli society, which was small in quantity, the staying power and the devotion to confront the large numbers that rose up against us to destroy us.

Yet our national memory has been weakened, precisely now, after our becoming consolidated in the Land. Perhaps due to the higher standard of living of Israel’s citizens, a weakening in the connection to Jewish sources has occurred, and an erosion in their belief in the rightness of our path. The weakest amongst us deny our right to our ancestral land. It is interesting that these deniers do not concentrate on just one component. Rather, they try to harm each of these three components making up the completeness of the Jewish nation. They try to diminish the Torah, to hurt the Jewish People by distorting the concept of “Who is a Jew?”, and they fight to disengage from sections of our homeland that have come into our hands, and to uproot Jewish settlements from there and to hand them over to foreigners. The Jewish People are waging a two-pronged battle, a war against the Ishmaelites from without and a war against our denying brothers from within. Truthfully, the erosion from within poses the greater danger for us. That is the true threat that endangers our staying power more than the threat from the external enemy, as it says, “Your destroyers and annihilators shall go forth from you” (Isaiah 49:17). Using all the tools available to us, we must increase our work to influence public opinion. We must place at the top of our agenda “the rightness of our path”. Moreover, we must help our generation, in particular the young, to encounter our sources that deal with the historic, eternal covenant of the Jewish People with Eretz Yisrael, starting with Torah sources, on through historical and literary sources, and including poetry, art, and even games, songs of Eretz Yisrael, etc. We must make use of every educational means we can to introduce into the awareness of the citizens of Israel the supreme value of Eretz Yisrael for the Jewish People.

Israel's Broken And Bleeding Heart; Stalled Halfway Up The Mountain; Shabtai Ben Dov On Independence Day; Back To Chomesh

Israel's (Broken Bleeding) Jewish Heart: By Moshe Feiglin

Translated from the Ma'ariv NRG website. 24 Nissan, 5767 (April 12) The Prime Minister categorically denied the existence of any secret addendum to the agreement with the Hamas. But then again, nobody understood why supervisors from the Nature Society now mysteriously joined the security guards at the entrance to Israel's shops, restaurants and busses. One way or another, Israelis quickly got used to two inspections at the entrance to all public places: One by the security officer and the other by the nature supervisor. Shortly, another inspector joined the two already guarding Israel's doorways. It was a policewoman from the Sexual Assault Department. It seemed a bit strange at first, but in light of the frequent assaults on women -- the police officer quickly became part of the familiar scene. After all, what doesn't the State do to protect the security of its citizens? When the Israeli POWs finally returned to their overjoyed families, a wave of happiness engulfed the country. Time and again, the pictures of the families embracing their loved ones were broadcast on Israeli television and the entire nation collectively shed tears of relief and joy. Even the Prime Minister's popularity began to show signs of resuscitation. But then it was time to release the terrorists. Nobody was surprised by the familiar sight of the rows of new busses carrying the "Palestinian freedom fighters" to their homes, brandishing the V for victory sign from the bus windows. The Arab Knesset members that insisted on photo ops with the murderous heroes didn't surprise anyone either. "Just as I claimed in the past," said MK Bashara upon his return from his shuttle between Bin Laden and Nasrallah, "the Hizbollah won, and for the first time since 1967 we have experienced the taste of victory." (A true quote from Bashara's speech in sovereign Israel's Um El Fahm, on June, 5, 2000). The Israelis get used to everything. Nothing can surprise them anymore. Just like their ancestors who got used to Pharaoh and Chmelnitzki and attempted to get used to Hitler, they got used to the current blow. But the last bus in the row managed to break through even the most impervious walls of Israeli apathy. It wasn't exactly a bus. It was an armored truck. The driver looked nervous, the guards seemed frightened and even the Arab MKs didn't run to be photographed with the newly liberated heroes. And then, out of the armored truck, the lions, just now freed from the Safari Zoo in Ramat Gan, descended. "We insisted on eliminating any signs of occupation," the Hamas spokesman explained. "The Israelis must understand that they cannot imprison entire populations behind bars and then expect us to release their captives." "What could we do?" the government spokesman groaned as he rolled his eyes toward heaven. "The commandment to free captives outweighs all other commandments." "I don't remember why, the spokesman added, "but they demanded that we also release him, so we did". "Who???" the reporters clamored. "Him!" the spokesman answered and pointed at (convicted serial rapist) Benny Selah, broadly smiling at a frightened camerawoman as he descended from a Prison Service vehicle. "But don't worry; preventative professional forces are already in place throughout the country. Today we have proven that we have a true, Jewish heart." Stalled Halfway Up the Mountain? Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel's Independence Day, which will be celebrated this year on Tuesday, Iyar 6 (April 24) leaves many Israelis feeling ambivalent. On the one hand, we are all genuinely thankful to G-d for the miraculous rebirth of the State of Israel. On the other hand though, pessimism and despair prevail; recent polls show that most Israelis do not believe that the State of Israel will exist in thirty years from now. So should we be happy, or should we despair? To answer that question, we have to take an honest look at what the State of Israel means to us. Throughout the long years of exile, the Land of Israel was the dream destination of all Jews. But that dream had other components, as well. In essence, when the Jews fervently prayed, "Next Year in Jerusalem" they imagined a Jerusalem complete with the rebuilt holy Temple, the Mashiach, the Sanhedrin, Jewish values and joy, all basking in the glow of G-d's Divine Presence. That dream is still the dream of the Jewish People. It is the peak of the mountain that we collectively climb throughout the generations. Upon arriving in the Holy Land, of course, we collided with reality. Jerusalem and most of the Land of Israel were desolate and a far cry from the dreams of the millennia. With G-d's miraculous help and with the determination of the Jewish People, the State of Israel was established. It was the fulfillment of a dream. But it was no more than an important step toward the fulfillment of Judaism's ultimate dream of redemption. True, the State of Israel does afford Jews at least some measure of protection. It did provide a safe haven for the Holocaust survivors. On the other hand, though, it presents itself as the summit of the Jewish -- or rather the Israeli -- dream. No more Temple, no more Mashiach and no more Sanhedrin. The modern State of Israel poses as the ultimate substitute for Jewish destiny. For its secular leaders and ideologues, we have already reached the summit; there is nothing more to strive for. (Except for some sort of inaccessible and elusive "normalcy.") Even worse, those who still dare to dream the dream have become the enemy. With no dream, there is no way to reach the top of the mountain. Not only that, but there is no way to remain mid-point in the grueling climb. If the mountain climber deludes himself that the steep side of the slope is actually the summit, he is doomed to fall. So how can we celebrate the establishment of a State that has essentially created a roadblock on the way to the peak of the mountain? How can we celebrate when we see the police preventing Jews from praying on the Temple Mount? The black uniformed Expulsion squads? The corruption, immorality and cynicism? My answer to those questions is very simple. When I celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut, I sincerely thank G-d for the miracles of the past. But more than that, I thank Him for the potential that the State of Israel holds for the future. For although in the present, the State of Israel has mutated into an obstacle to redemption, I believe with all my heart that it is the tool that the People of Israel will use to ultimately merit the Mashiach, the Temple, the Sanhedrin and the holy glow of G-d's Divine Presence throughout Israel and the entire world. In other words, we must measure the State of Israel with the yardstick of Israel's destiny -- not merely its existence. By the way, that is the only yardstick used by much of our youth. Manhigut Yehudit has its sights set on the Jewish peak of the mountain. We are doing our utmost to make that dream a reality. May we all meet soon at the summit! With blessings for a meaningful and optimistic Yom Ha'atzmaut, Moshe Feiglin 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 Shabtai Ben Dov on Independence Day The famous Jewish philosopher Shabtai Ben Dov lived the rebirth of Israel. He was born in Europe, orphaned, made aliyah to Israel during the British mandate, joined the underground Lechi organization, fought the British, spent six years in a prison camp in Africa, returned to Israel in 1948, and fought against the invading Arab armies, losing many friends in the process. Shabtai Ben Dov did not experience the current despair; he was an integral part of the Zionist euphoria of renaissance. Nevertheless, his writings reflect the condition of the State of Israel and the way that we relate to Yom Ha'atzmaut today: "Independence Day is a decisive day. Not because it renewed our nation's sovereign tools and not because it solved the need for a Jewish state. The State represents something far more important: It established a state of Jews just hundreds of meters from the Temple Mount. The hearts of at least some of those Jews are filled with courage, knowledge of Israel's destiny and the feeling of complete ownership of this Land, while the rest are nurtured at least partially by the fountains of longing for the liberation of Jerusalem. The Nation, though, does not heed the fact that the newly born State of Israel is nothing more than a way station. It relates to it as the end goal. Thus, not only has Independence Day become a tool to divert the Nation from its imperative future, it also creates a barrier between it and its past, from which its future is born." Back to Homesh! On Tuesday, Yom Ha'atzmaut, thousands of lovers of the Land of Israel will once again make the climb to Homesh, one of the settlements destroyed in the Expulsion. Although returning to Homesh alone does not deal with the root of Israel's problems, it is an important expression of the brave new Jewish spirit of faithfulness sweeping through our country, and our youth, in particular. So get out your backpacks, your hiking boots and your faith in the G-d and People of Israel. The meeting place is at Shavei Shomron on Tuesday morning. Manhigut Yehudit will be there. The first Manhigut Yehudit group will set out from the back gate of Shavei Shomron at 8:45 a.m. and will visit the ruins of Sebastia and ancient Shomron on the way to Homesh. The second Manhigut Yehudit group will set out from the back gate of Shavei Shomron at 10:30 a.m., under the guidance of Shaul Cohen. For those coming later, meet near the Homesh water tower. The main Homesh event will take place at 4 p.m. Looking forward to seeing you! Keep up to date with the latest articles and audio updates. Visit our "What's New" Webpage