Imagine this scene for a moment: It is High Holy Days, and you pray intensely for the return to Zion. You know that everyone around you has said the same prayer, and you have put your heart and your soul into this prayer.
Now imagine that the next day Yasser Arafat announces to the world that he has decided to remove all Palestinian presence from the Shomron and that he envisions a time in the not-too-distant future when "there will be no Palestinians left in the Shomron."
You would take this as a miracle, right? A divine sign from Hashem that full return to Zion was possible. You and your friends would speak of the miracle in hushed, excited voices and make plans for that day. You would begin to regard the Arab presence in the area as "temporary" and "not important." Whatever they said, whatever they did, you would laugh at and regard as the silly rantings of a people who would soon be gone from the land ? not just the Shomron, but all of Israel. Shomron would be just a start.
Now, look at what Ariel Sharon has done and the timing of his interview with Ha'aretz.
From all over the world, Moslem worshippers have flocked to Saudi Arabia to perform the Haj. They have "thrown stones at the devil," and they have prayed intently for the destruction of Israel. Imagine what the effect of Sharon's announcement, the day after their holiest day, that he sees a time in the not-too-distant future when there will be "no Jews left in Gaza."
I am sure they see this as a miracle. I am sure that they see this as a divine sign that Palestine is possible. I am sure that they, at this very moment, are speaking in hushed, excited voices and making plans for that day. Now, they will regard any Jewish presence in that area as "temporary" and "not important." Whatever the Jews in Gaza say or do, the Arabs will laugh at and regard as the silly rantings of a people who will soon be gone from the land. Not just Gaza, but all of Israel. Gaza is just a start.
Now, imagine you are a Jew living in Gaza with your wife and children. You have worked the land for years, and it has flourished as Hashem said it would, under the watchful eyes of Jews. You have built a house, a life, a future in Gaza ? but that life is now in immediate peril.
Where once you were seen as a legitimate steward of the land, you are now an interloper. You fear for your life in a way that you have never feared before. All support from the government, from the people of Israel, all the promises made for your future, and everything you have built your life upon has just eroded beneath you.
You know that in a very short time, squatters will come and take over your home, your land, maybe kill your family. You can't leave your house. You don't let your family out of your sight. The phone won't stop ringing as your neighbors report the situation from their lands and their homes.
Maybe, you pray, this whole thing is just a nightmare, just a passing phase in Sharon's seemingly erratic form of national policy. Perhaps he is just baiting the Arabs into a political game of cat-and-mouse, or perhaps he is just trying to alleviate pressure from foreign governments. Maybe this is some political strategy that he has decided will turn the tables on his enemies. But, for all the things that this "may" be or "might" be, there is one certainty: Sharon has just placed Jewish families in Gaza in immediate danger.
Not just Gaza, but all of Israel. Gaza is just a start.
There is nothing in the words or the timing of the words that Sharon has just shared with Ha'aretz that considers the lives of Jews in Gaza. There is nothing in the words or the timing of the words of Sharon that provide security for the Jewish people as a whole. In his desperate attempt to hold on to power in the face of mounting attacks on his character, his policy and his government, Sharon has finally stepped over the line. He has sold out his country.
This is a time when I expect the Jews of the Knesset to act with alacrity and honor. I expect them to give those families in Gaza true peace and safety by rejecting, completely, Sharon's plan, his words and his position. It is a time when the government of Israel needs to prove that it is acting in Israel's interest, and in the interest of all Jews.
It is finally time to ask the question: Is Israel really a country?
If so, the borders of that country must be sovereign, the government of that country must be sure, and the people of that country must be patriots ? willing to fight for every inch, every life, every community in that country. This is nothing less than any other country would do. Israel cannot and should not compromise itself for the pleasure of any foreign entity.
The government and the people of Israel must be willing to stand behind the idea that Israel is a nation with borders. If they give up their right to part of it, they give up their right to all of it. Not just Gaza, but all of Israel. This is just a start.
Now imagine that the next day Yasser Arafat announces to the world that he has decided to remove all Palestinian presence from the Shomron and that he envisions a time in the not-too-distant future when "there will be no Palestinians left in the Shomron."
You would take this as a miracle, right? A divine sign from Hashem that full return to Zion was possible. You and your friends would speak of the miracle in hushed, excited voices and make plans for that day. You would begin to regard the Arab presence in the area as "temporary" and "not important." Whatever they said, whatever they did, you would laugh at and regard as the silly rantings of a people who would soon be gone from the land ? not just the Shomron, but all of Israel. Shomron would be just a start.
Now, look at what Ariel Sharon has done and the timing of his interview with Ha'aretz.
From all over the world, Moslem worshippers have flocked to Saudi Arabia to perform the Haj. They have "thrown stones at the devil," and they have prayed intently for the destruction of Israel. Imagine what the effect of Sharon's announcement, the day after their holiest day, that he sees a time in the not-too-distant future when there will be "no Jews left in Gaza."
I am sure they see this as a miracle. I am sure that they see this as a divine sign that Palestine is possible. I am sure that they, at this very moment, are speaking in hushed, excited voices and making plans for that day. Now, they will regard any Jewish presence in that area as "temporary" and "not important." Whatever the Jews in Gaza say or do, the Arabs will laugh at and regard as the silly rantings of a people who will soon be gone from the land. Not just Gaza, but all of Israel. Gaza is just a start.
Now, imagine you are a Jew living in Gaza with your wife and children. You have worked the land for years, and it has flourished as Hashem said it would, under the watchful eyes of Jews. You have built a house, a life, a future in Gaza ? but that life is now in immediate peril.
Where once you were seen as a legitimate steward of the land, you are now an interloper. You fear for your life in a way that you have never feared before. All support from the government, from the people of Israel, all the promises made for your future, and everything you have built your life upon has just eroded beneath you.
You know that in a very short time, squatters will come and take over your home, your land, maybe kill your family. You can't leave your house. You don't let your family out of your sight. The phone won't stop ringing as your neighbors report the situation from their lands and their homes.
Maybe, you pray, this whole thing is just a nightmare, just a passing phase in Sharon's seemingly erratic form of national policy. Perhaps he is just baiting the Arabs into a political game of cat-and-mouse, or perhaps he is just trying to alleviate pressure from foreign governments. Maybe this is some political strategy that he has decided will turn the tables on his enemies. But, for all the things that this "may" be or "might" be, there is one certainty: Sharon has just placed Jewish families in Gaza in immediate danger.
Not just Gaza, but all of Israel. Gaza is just a start.
There is nothing in the words or the timing of the words that Sharon has just shared with Ha'aretz that considers the lives of Jews in Gaza. There is nothing in the words or the timing of the words of Sharon that provide security for the Jewish people as a whole. In his desperate attempt to hold on to power in the face of mounting attacks on his character, his policy and his government, Sharon has finally stepped over the line. He has sold out his country.
This is a time when I expect the Jews of the Knesset to act with alacrity and honor. I expect them to give those families in Gaza true peace and safety by rejecting, completely, Sharon's plan, his words and his position. It is a time when the government of Israel needs to prove that it is acting in Israel's interest, and in the interest of all Jews.
It is finally time to ask the question: Is Israel really a country?
If so, the borders of that country must be sovereign, the government of that country must be sure, and the people of that country must be patriots ? willing to fight for every inch, every life, every community in that country. This is nothing less than any other country would do. Israel cannot and should not compromise itself for the pleasure of any foreign entity.
The government and the people of Israel must be willing to stand behind the idea that Israel is a nation with borders. If they give up their right to part of it, they give up their right to all of it. Not just Gaza, but all of Israel. This is just a start.