One day last week, the morning the headline read: ?Moslem Attacks Fellow U.S. Soldiers in Kuwait?. The Times report of the incident stated: ?Many soldiers said that today's incident cut deeper than an enemy attack.?
The next day?s headline read: ?Army Destroys Home of Terrorist Victim?. How familiar. Just like the previous day?s news, it is an attack from within. The cut is very deep.
It is confusing and frustrating. It brings doubt where there should be trust. It is indicative of the stories of Jewish conflict before the destruction of the Second Temple. It is frightening.
The eviction of Netanel Ozeri?s widow and children is reminiscent of behavior by Nazis or Communists, who would storm Jewish homes in the middle of the night. The main difference is that in this case there was not just a small group of uniformed thugs, there were dozens of soldiers with ready bulldozers.
The whole event gets more confusing as the contiguous circumstances are taken into consideration.
In the previous week, Arabs had been throwing rocks at travelers between Kiryat Arba and the Gush Etzion junction, causing damage to cars and buses. The army claimed they did not have enough personnel to deal with the stone throwers. Yet, in the middle of the night, dozens of security personnel were available to awaken a Jewish mother, put her in handcuffs in front of her children and take her from her home. And there were ample bulldozers to raze the house that was built by her husband, and that still contained many of their personal belongings.
Terrorists are given 12 hours notice before their homes are destroyed. In that time, they can take their possessions and they also have a right to appeal to the court system to possibly save their homes. No such human decency was accorded the Ozeri family.
Torah teaches the importance of being especially considerate of widows and orphans. In this case, a widow and orphans were being treated worse than terrorists. The perpetrators are people in positions of power, suffering from lack of moral clarity. They are dangerous people.
What possible excuse could the army and politicians have for such a raid? That the structure was illegal? Across the valley there are a hundred Arab homes that were built illegally. The army does not touch them. That there was pressure from abroad? This week, the world is focused on the war with Iraq, no foreign power is pressuring the Israeli government to take action against ?settlers?. So, even this lame excuse has absolutely no relevancy.
Just a week before the raid, on Purim, community leaders brought Purim gifts to the chief army personnel in the area. The encounter was pleasant and friendly. Now, the community feels betrayed.
There was no moral basis for the evacuation of Hilltop 26; for the evacuation and for the method of evacuation. If the Prime Minister does not condemn the act, it will be a message that he acquiesced. Chances are he was more influential than just the green light of silence.
On one of the websites of Chabad, a recent news brief indicates that the prime minister is well aware of what is going on in Hevron:
?This year Prime Minister Ariel Sharon enjoyed a Purim farbrengen with the leaders of Agudas Chassidei Chabad of Israel, headed by Rabbi Shlomo Maidanchik. At one point, Sharon asked his secretary to bring him the letter that he received from the Rebbe on 12th Ellul, 5728 [1968]. In it, the Rebbe wrote, ?If there is a conflict between an Israeli youth and an Arab youth in Hebron, since there are more Arab youths there than Jews, the Israeli will probably be hit? On whose side do you think the Israeli military police who are stationed there will be??
?Sharon remarked, ?When I first received this letter, I did not understand what the Rebbe wanted. But today we can all see how right he was.??
Good morning, Mr. Prime Minister. The Rebbe was right about this and the Rebbe was right about everything else he said concerning Shlaimos HaAretz (the integrity of the Land of Israel):
* concessions are a sign of weakness which will only lead to requests for more concessions;
* at the slightest suspicion of danger, make a pre-emptive strike to protect Jewish lives;
* the land belongs to G-d, the creator of heaven and earth, He gave it to the Jews as a gift, we have no right to hand it over to anyone else; and
* the world complains if we enclose a porch in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, build a new home or build a new settlement - so we should establish settlements throughout Eretz Yisroel (the Land of Israel).
Twenty-six is the numeric equivalent of G-d?s name. It may take a miracle, but, despite devious schemes and midnight raids, the dedicated Jews of Kiryat Arba-Hevron - Jews who have moral clarity and are willing to make sacrifices - will see to it that Hilltop 26 will continue to be a place where Jews serve their Creator.
--------------------------------------------------------
Aliza Karp writes about issues of concern to the Jewish world, including the Lubavitcher Rebbe's perspective on defending Israel, with special focus on the Jewish community of Hebron.
************
Spend Passover with Arutz Sheva at a resort in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Kfar Pines (near Hadera). Click here for info.
The next day?s headline read: ?Army Destroys Home of Terrorist Victim?. How familiar. Just like the previous day?s news, it is an attack from within. The cut is very deep.
It is confusing and frustrating. It brings doubt where there should be trust. It is indicative of the stories of Jewish conflict before the destruction of the Second Temple. It is frightening.
The eviction of Netanel Ozeri?s widow and children is reminiscent of behavior by Nazis or Communists, who would storm Jewish homes in the middle of the night. The main difference is that in this case there was not just a small group of uniformed thugs, there were dozens of soldiers with ready bulldozers.
The whole event gets more confusing as the contiguous circumstances are taken into consideration.
In the previous week, Arabs had been throwing rocks at travelers between Kiryat Arba and the Gush Etzion junction, causing damage to cars and buses. The army claimed they did not have enough personnel to deal with the stone throwers. Yet, in the middle of the night, dozens of security personnel were available to awaken a Jewish mother, put her in handcuffs in front of her children and take her from her home. And there were ample bulldozers to raze the house that was built by her husband, and that still contained many of their personal belongings.
Terrorists are given 12 hours notice before their homes are destroyed. In that time, they can take their possessions and they also have a right to appeal to the court system to possibly save their homes. No such human decency was accorded the Ozeri family.
Torah teaches the importance of being especially considerate of widows and orphans. In this case, a widow and orphans were being treated worse than terrorists. The perpetrators are people in positions of power, suffering from lack of moral clarity. They are dangerous people.
What possible excuse could the army and politicians have for such a raid? That the structure was illegal? Across the valley there are a hundred Arab homes that were built illegally. The army does not touch them. That there was pressure from abroad? This week, the world is focused on the war with Iraq, no foreign power is pressuring the Israeli government to take action against ?settlers?. So, even this lame excuse has absolutely no relevancy.
Just a week before the raid, on Purim, community leaders brought Purim gifts to the chief army personnel in the area. The encounter was pleasant and friendly. Now, the community feels betrayed.
There was no moral basis for the evacuation of Hilltop 26; for the evacuation and for the method of evacuation. If the Prime Minister does not condemn the act, it will be a message that he acquiesced. Chances are he was more influential than just the green light of silence.
On one of the websites of Chabad, a recent news brief indicates that the prime minister is well aware of what is going on in Hevron:
?This year Prime Minister Ariel Sharon enjoyed a Purim farbrengen with the leaders of Agudas Chassidei Chabad of Israel, headed by Rabbi Shlomo Maidanchik. At one point, Sharon asked his secretary to bring him the letter that he received from the Rebbe on 12th Ellul, 5728 [1968]. In it, the Rebbe wrote, ?If there is a conflict between an Israeli youth and an Arab youth in Hebron, since there are more Arab youths there than Jews, the Israeli will probably be hit? On whose side do you think the Israeli military police who are stationed there will be??
?Sharon remarked, ?When I first received this letter, I did not understand what the Rebbe wanted. But today we can all see how right he was.??
Good morning, Mr. Prime Minister. The Rebbe was right about this and the Rebbe was right about everything else he said concerning Shlaimos HaAretz (the integrity of the Land of Israel):
* concessions are a sign of weakness which will only lead to requests for more concessions;
* at the slightest suspicion of danger, make a pre-emptive strike to protect Jewish lives;
* the land belongs to G-d, the creator of heaven and earth, He gave it to the Jews as a gift, we have no right to hand it over to anyone else; and
* the world complains if we enclose a porch in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, build a new home or build a new settlement - so we should establish settlements throughout Eretz Yisroel (the Land of Israel).
Twenty-six is the numeric equivalent of G-d?s name. It may take a miracle, but, despite devious schemes and midnight raids, the dedicated Jews of Kiryat Arba-Hevron - Jews who have moral clarity and are willing to make sacrifices - will see to it that Hilltop 26 will continue to be a place where Jews serve their Creator.
--------------------------------------------------------
Aliza Karp writes about issues of concern to the Jewish world, including the Lubavitcher Rebbe's perspective on defending Israel, with special focus on the Jewish community of Hebron.
************
Spend Passover with Arutz Sheva at a resort in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Kfar Pines (near Hadera). Click here for info.