Thirteen years after the Gaza “Disengagement,” a group of women from the Chabad area of Crown Heights in Brooklyn is calling on the Israeli government to heed the Lubavitcher Rebbe's advice and act to retake Gaza.
“Crown Heights Women For The Safety And Integrity of Israel calls on the Israeli Government to take affirmative action against the relentless assault being waged from Gaza against our fellow Jews in Sderot and Southern Israel.
This week marks the unfortunate anniversary of the foolish Expulsion from Gush Katif. Having to recall that and the successive wars and terrorism that have ensued since is disheartening enough but in view of current events, we are simply appalled that Defense Minister Liberman dares to suggest dangling another carrot in front of Hamas by promising to reopen gateways into Gaza! It is time to reach for the stick and restore Law and Order by retaking the Gaza Strip.
In addition, we would be remiss if we did not comment on Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks in Sderot last week. Presumably he went there to reassure residents that the Government has their back. Instead, he unabashedly advised them to “be prepared for a protracted campaign” because the conflict with Gaza is a kind of 'exchange of blows that doesn’t end with one punch.'
Considering the fact that Sderot residents have been forced to live under fire for more than two decades, Mr. Netanyahu’s comments were stunningly insensitive and must have felt more like a punch in their faces.
The Prime Minister’s remarks follow nearly every Israeli leader before him who erroneously believed that under-responding to terrorism would draw the world’s sympathy and ultimately work in Israel’s favor vis-a-vis negotiations and future 'peace' agreements.
Not only has this theory failed to win friends but at the expense of thousands of Jewish lives, and municipal growth and development, it’s put the pressure on Israel to relent repeatedly on more and more of its territory and security.
Last week’s Knesset vote that rescinded sole discretionary war declaration powers from the Prime Minister and Defense Minister, then, seems to be a fresh step towards reversing this kind of misguided thinking. We hope this is a signal that at last the collective voice of the Jewish People is being heard which insists on the right to live securely in our Homeland, and free from menace, protected by an elected government.
Indeed, this voice resounds with the viewpoint of the Lubavitcher Rebbe who implored Israeli and Jewish leaders to put politics aside and focus first and foremost on protecting Jewish lives.
In sync with Jewish Law, the Knesset and Cabinet’s vote means that protecting Jewish lives is not a game of politics but rather an obligation in Pikuach Nefesh [saving lives].
Virtually every Knesset and Cabinet member holds a copy on paper and in their heart of the Rebbe’s key points for protecting Jewish lives. They are straightforward, sensible and as relevant today as when the Rebbe first said them:
Look to military experts who are not under pressure politically to decide security needs.
Plan strategy and follow through until the job gets done.
Settle Jews throughout the entire Land, particularly in the places most contested - but without lots of noise and fanfare - because a Jewish presence is the best deterrent against enemy infiltration and aggression as it signals that we Jews really do believe in our G-d Given right to live there.
Rather than repeat the same old ideas being floated to resolve the crisis from Gaza or the Palestinian Authority-led incitement and terrorism, the Knesset and Cabinet vote opens the door to giving the one alternative that’s never been tried a chance:
Restoring Law and Order by removing the warring leadership and all pockets of resistance beginning with retaking Gaza.
It should be needless to say, but we’ll say it anyway: Every mother and wife is Israel should feel confident that the Israeli Government stands by their sons and husbands in the IDF and Reserves and will not send them out to restore peace with halfway measures that would only jeopardize their mission and safety.
But to paraphrase the Rebbe - 'when the enemy sees that you rose at dawn with a show of force and are ready to strike first, he will give up - saving not only Jewish lives but even those of the enemy!'
Zehut party leader Moshe Feiglin has a plan that resolves the so-called 'refugee' problem. It offers the Arabs living in Gaza and under the Palestinian Authority a choice of either relocating elsewhere with a generous exit package or remaining by pledging allegiance to the State of Israel and its laws. This plan releases these people from the grip of corrupt leaders and brings them the promise of a better life. Interestingly this is actually something the Rebbe quietly suggested all the way back in the early 1950’s.
We’ll take it a step further and add that introducing them to the 7 Universal Noahide Laws about which the Rebbe spoke of will also help to free them from the culture of violence and hatred their leaders have pressed on them for decades in order to keep up their fight against Israel.
Renewing the Jewish presence in Gaza will also right the wrongs committed by the 2005 Expulsion and restore peace and prosperity to Israel’s Southern region, coast and Sinai border.
As to the objections and inevitable complaints that will arise, the Rebbe offers some sage advice: “it makes no difference whether Israel settles one place or the entire border...”
Finally, in keeping with the Rebbe’s life long motto: we suggest: HaMaaseh HuHaIkar [The main thing is action]."