There was a rock, not small in circumference, and very high. It was encompassed with valleys of such vast depth downward, that the eye could not reach their bottoms; they were abrupt, and such as no animal could walk upon, excepting at two places of the rock, where it subsides, in order to afford a passage for ascent, though not without difficulty. -- Josephus

There was a house, not small in size, located in Hebron. It stood between Jew and Arab, between Israeli and

The Jew was smart enough to know that others would question the sale.

Palestinian. As was the way of many things, an Arab sold the house to a Jew and the Jew was smart enough to know that others would question the sale - most especially his own government - and so he registered the sale, he videotaped the sale, he documented the sale.



Upon this top of the hill, Jonathan the high priest first of all built a fortress, and called it Masada. -- Josephus

When the sale was complete, young and idealistic Zionists moved in. They are called "settlers" by those who wish to discredit them. Families moved in, with young children, and built themselves a home. But they knew there would be trouble. Death is promised to an Arab who sells his property to a Jew, and while our government will easily go against a settler they will not lift their hand against this great Arab tradition of murder and blackmail.



They came within the palace, and so met with the multitude of the slain, but could take no pleasure in the fact, though it were done to their enemies. Nor could they do other than wonder at the courage of their resolution, and the immovable contempt of death which so great a number of them had shown. -- Josephus



They came within the building, and were met with those who stood and prayed. They surrounded the house, thousands against hundreds. Armed police and soldiers and the worst, those dressed in black. They used tear gas and physical force. They dragged each, one by one, ignoring the prayer books in their hands and the pain, the incredible pain, in their hearts. How could this be happening again? Had we learned nothing? I watched and could not do other than wonder at the courage of our children, at the resolution in their stand and the immovable contempt of government which so great a number of them had shown. A picture of Ehud Barak was mounted on the building. This, then, was our current general, who placed his troops against the house.



The outcome was inevitable. No one imagined it would end differently. The building was emptied, the mountain fell again; this time, by our own hands. The Olmert government will now claim victory, having removed the evil settlers from the building they bought, in the city of our fathers.



No words are attributed to Roman General Flavius Silva, but many have been awed by the story of Masada; and so someone wrote it down and, in that version, words were given to the Roman general, words that Israeli General

What victory can the Olmert government claim? What great battle did Ehud Barak wage against our youth?

Ehud Barak could easily say himself: “A victory? What have we won? We've won a rock in the middle of a wasteland, on the shores of a poisoned sea.”

The Olmert-Barak government succeeded in setting a Jewish army against Jewish youth and emptying a house bought by Jews in a city that holds the graves of our Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs. Little wonder that one of the most trained and well-armed armies in the world could easily evacuate youth who were unarmed. But what victory can the Olmert government claim? What great battle did Ehud Barak wage against our youth?

There is no victory in the evacuation of Beit Shalom in Hevron because, like Masada, the victory was already given to those who chose to make their homes there under harsh conditions, and not to those who, from the start, were dedicated to removing them. All of Israel promises that Masada shall not fall again. A far smaller number realizes that Beit Shalom is a symbol of much more than the empty building General Barak evacuated.