| By Moshe Feiglin |
| Translated from the Makor Rishon newspaper 7 Iyar, 5767
"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. |
"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."Click here to rate this post on JBlog
"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.
By Moshe Feiglin
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:
The Commission of Inquiry's Conclusions
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.
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?
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? 
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. 
"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.
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. 
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. 