The Poll Will Determine Nothing

Why We Must We Struggle for Each and Every Outpost

Last month marked the anniversary of an extremely important historical event that, unfortunately, is neglected by the national consciousness. As Michael Freund reminds us in an article in the Jerusalem Post, more than 500 years ago on March 31, 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella signed the cursed edict that called upon the Jews of Castile and Aragon to choose between two options: either to convert, or to leave Spain. Most of the Jews of Spain elected to leave. It is estimated that close to two hundred thousand Jews were uprooted from their homes and expelled.

How ironic and how tragic it is that on the very day on which we commemorate the signing of the expulsion order from Spain, the Prime Minister of Israel gave the order to destroy the Hazon David synagogue in Kiryat Arba. Anyone who sees the site is astounded, and asks himself why the Prime Minister sent hundreds of police officers and soldiers to destroy a single building at the entrance to Kiryat Arba, a building that functions as a synagogue and that was built in memory of two precious Jews who were murdered by the Arab enemy. Why does the Prime Minister insist on totally razing this small structure? On the other hand, we could also ask why the residents of Kiryat Arba-Hebron are so persistent about this place, and despite its destruction, return to rebuild it. The answer is clear. The struggle over Hazon David and the other outposts that Ariel Sharon intends to destroy in the coming days and weeks is not a struggle just for these places: it is a struggle for all of the Land of Israel.

The destruction of outposts is just a full dress rehearsal for the real show that Ariel Sharon plans - the uprooting of totally legal settlements, razing them to the ground, and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Jews ? men, women and children. It is important that we understand the gravity of the situation: the moment that Sharon gave the order to destroy the synagogues in Tapuach and in Kiryat Arba, he officially became the operational arm of the Hamas movement.

These are undoubtedly harsh words, but let's think about this for a moment. The program of the Hamas speaks of the total razing of Jewish settlements and the expulsion of Jews from Eretz Israel, with their supreme goal being the destruction of the State of Israel. The Hamas is incapable of realizing this program. Although they murder us in the hope that we will uproot ourselves and abandon all of Eretz Israel, they are not physically capable of leveling Jewish settlements and expelling Jews from their homes. And now, here comes Ariel Sharon and proposes doing their work. How ironic. On the one hand, Sharon eliminated Yassin, while, on the other, he announces that he himself is about to implement what Yassin so desired to do.

Accordingly, the reason why we must be so persistent regarding each and every outpost is so that the Israeli public, the government and the army will say: "If it takes so much manpower, money and time to destroy a single structure, and the stubborn settlers do not give up, but keep returning to rebuild the place, we will never be able to destroy even a single settlement."

Don't Get Overly Excited by the Likud Poll

We Will Never Budge from Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Naturally, we hope, and expect, that the majority of the Likud membership will express loyalty to Eretz Israel and vote against Ariel Sharon's plan, a plan of capitulation and surrender that, even from the security aspect, is dangerous for Israel. Accordingly, even a Likud member who does not care for Eretz Israel as a value, but is concerned for his personal welfare, must vote against the plan. Each of us must join the major efforts by Moshe Feiglin's group within the Likud, and the Council of Jewish Settlements in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, to convince those Likud members to vote in accordance with the principles of the Likud platform, and not according to the principles of Ariel Sharon's capitulation platform.

But we must not be naive. We all know that on the eve of the elections, Omri Sharon brought tens of thousands of people into the Likud from various sectors, whose connection to the Likud is like our connection to a political movement in Zimbabwe - and for the sole purpose that, when the time comes, they would vote for Sharon.

Accordingly, we must be cognizant of the possibility that Sharon will be victorious in this poll. It therefore is extremely important that, already today, we proclaim: "We really don't care what the results of the poll will be." Of course, it would be nice if there would be a majority against the Sharon unilateral evacuation plan for Judea, Samaria and Gaza; however, even if there were to be a decisive majority for the program of uprooting from Eretz Israel and the expulsion of Jews, this does not obligate us and we have no intention of honoring such a decision. This should be reiterated, more than once, and made crystal-clear: even if 120 Members of Knesset, and all the government ministers, and even 100 percent of any poll, were to vote in favor of the uprooting of settlements, such a decision would still constitute a crime against the people of Israel in its land, a crime against Zionism and a crime against the Will of the Creator; therefore, we do not intend to honor it. We are remaining in our homes.

There are matters on which not even a decisive majority is entitled to decide. Just as a majority in a referendum or in the Knesset cannot force all of us to violate the Holy Sabbath, one of the things on which a majority cannot decide is the uprooting of Jews from Eretz Israel and the handing over of Eretz Israel to foreigners.

Eretz Israel is not the private real estate of the Sharon family, the Likud movement, or even of this entire generation. Eretz Israel was given to us by G-d, for all eternity, and no leader, in any generation, has the right to hand it over. Period. Accordingly, we must make every effort and work extremely hard to ensure that the results of the Likud poll will be in our favor, but we should not get overly excited if we lose in the poll. In either event, we are staying. As the slogan in the demonstrations declares: "We shall never budge from Judea, Samaria and Gaza!"

The leaders of the national camp, rabbis, leaders of the Council of Jewish Settlements in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and public figures must have the courage to adopt this fundamental position. We must not be carried away and follow the cliches of the secular Left about "the sanctity of democracy and the will of the majority." For us, the people of Israel, the Land of Israel and the Torah are sacred.

Passover, specifically, is a fine time to slaughter the holy cows of the secular Left. Our forefathers, too, overcame their fear, as Rabbi Hayim Druckman explains in his [Hebrew] book, A Little of the Light. The question arises, why is the Shabbat preceding Passover called the "Great Sabbath?" The answer is that this is so called because of the miracle that was performed on this day. The next question is: What miracle?

The conventional explanation is as follows: On that Shabbat that preceded Passover in Egypt, the Israelites were commanded to take a lamb for the Paschal sacrifice. The Egyptians saw and heard from the Israelites that they were about to slaughter the Egyptians' god, but the Egyptians were afraid and did not harm the Israelites. In commemoration of this miracle, this Sabbath is the "Great Sabbath."

Rabbi Druckman gives another, and very intriguing, explanation: "We want to say that the fear of the Egyptians is merely a consequence. The truly great miracle is that the Israelites dared! The fact that the Israelites dared to take the god of Egypt, to tie it to the legs of the bed, and to proclaim that they are about to slaughter it in accordance with the Lord's command to them - and that they did not fear the Egyptians - this is the great miracle! This, then, is the source of the Egyptians' fear. So that we may go forth to freedom. Freedom must burn within us. [...] All the wondrous occurrences of recent generations are a result of the blazing forth of the spark of freedom within us, of our standing straight and tall, of our abhorrence of the Exile, of our ascent to the Land, and our self-sacrifice for it. [...] Matters begin with us, by the mercies of the Lord, may He be blessed, who gives us the strength to triumph. If we stand upright, if we speak out, with full belief in our words, then we 'break the teeth' of the others. This has been so from the time of the Redemption from Egypt to our days."

In conclusion: During the time of the Expulsion from Spain, whoever wished to remain Jewish had to leave Spain. Today, when enemies, both internal and external, seek to destroy the Jewish state by the expulsion of Jews, the struggle for the existence of the Jewish state consists, specifically, of embracing the land and remaining in every individual place. In Egypt, the Jews gathered their courage and shouted forth in a loud voice, before the entire world: "Let my people go to the Land of Israel!" Now, on Passover 5764 (2004), we must dare to cry throughout the entire world: "Let my people stay in Eretz Israel. All of Eretz Israel belongs to the People of Israel, in accordance with the Torah of Israel, and there is no power in the world that will move us from here!"

Only by conducting ourselves in this manner will there be a joyous and meaningful Passover for those who reside in this blessed Land of Israel.

[The foregoing is an adaptation of Nadia Matar's Hebrew-language broadcast program on Arutz-7.]