I once knew a couple whose married life wasn't working out. Usually when there are marital problems, both parties share some blame, and I'm sure this was no exception. However, at the time that I met them, the wife was doing everything in her power to sabotage the marriage. She was abusive and continually betrayed her husband, being unfaithful as much in spirit as in body, and yet she refused to completely leave him, instead accusing him of the infidelity that she perpetuated. For some reason she wanted him to end the marriage.
Yet, he was "hopefully blind." Continually turning a blind eye to her abuses, he walked gingerly; afraid of doing or saying anything that might "alienate her." He controlled his anger and frustrations, continually trying to woo his wife back to him. His efforts were an utter failure. It seemed the more he chased after her, the more she abused his trust and fidelity. It took a long time before he realized that they hadn't been married for a long time. By the time he had enough, the situation had deteriorated so far beyond normalcy that no reconciliation was possible. The divorce was, to say the least, an ugly affair.
The national-religious camp is currently in the same boat as this poor man was. As hard as they try, they just can't seem to find legitimacy in the eyes of their bedfellows in the State of Israel. Afraid of appearing extremists, afraid of "alienating the public", they constantly hedge their initiatives, diluting their message, and giving permission to the opposition to take them to task and betray them yet again. In their (well-intentioned) pursuit of conciliation, the leaders of the national-religious camp are actually making any reconciliation all the more remote.
It's time to "wake up and smell the coffee." If the religious nationalist camp wants the rest of the country to take it seriously, it has to take itself seriously and demand its due.
There are elements within Israeli society that have been continually inciting towards civil war, while at the same time regularly accusing others of the very same incitement.
In the past six months, former heads of the Shin Bet outlined in detail a plan (illegal, immoral and illegitimate) of attack against the settlers and the settler movement. Shortly thereafter, with the criminal incarceration of Noam Federman, elements of that very plan were implemented. Then, two synagogues were maliciously destroyed, one in Tapuah West and one in Kiryat Arba. Yet, this time, unlike at Yosef's Tomb, it was not Arab marauders carrying out the desecration, with the authorities simply turning a blind eye, but the authorities themselves.
And then, the prime minister of Israel, elected on the votes of the very same national camp, set forth on a campaign of transferring the Jews from their homes, en mass - a Jewish ethnic cleansing the likes of which hasn't been seen, even in anti-Semitic Europe, since the establishment of the State of Israel.
Wake up, Jews, wake up! The battle is for nothing less than the very soul of the Jewish Nation.
It's almost comical. The only group in Israel that is still waving the flag with any fervor is the group that is most viciously attacked by the state that flag represents.
The religious nationalist camp, it seems, finds itself in a peculiarly difficult quandary. Viewing the birth of the State of Israel as the beginning of the Redemption, it is having trouble reconciling this profound belief with the political state and the liberal camp's infidelity to the "shared" Zionist vision. This view has, to a certain extent, imbued the State, and its organs (and by extension its actions) with a certain level of holiness in the minds of many of members of this camp.
Wake up!
Considering our current situation, this view needs to be altered. We need to recognize that while the return of political sovereignty and the beginning of the ingathering of the exiles may have heralded a potential that, G-d willing, may lead to Redemption; that Redemption is far from guaranteed. In fact, the irony is that it will only be realized if and when the state is redeemed from the very liberal Western worldview that spawned it. If it is to be holy, then the state of the Jews needs to be sanctified and purified on all levels. It must be transformed from a state of Jews into a Jewish state.
It seems to me that if we are to avoid, G-d forbid, a civil war, then the religious nationalist camp has to stop worrying about "alienating" an already alienated sector. Just as they declare vociferously about the language of the debate with the Arabs ? that it must be from a position of strength, for any sign of weakness merely begets more pressure and demands ? so too must the language of the debate with our fellow Jews be pointed and direct, free from all of the second-guessing, free from the language of capitulation. We can not be court Jews beseeching and groveling before the sovereign.
In truth, much of the division in this country is misunderstood. It is a mistake to see the nation as divided along a nationalistic, Left and Right, divide. Instead, I would suggest that it is more clearly divided along theological lines. We have a large diverse "camp of G-d" (thank G-d), which stands opposite the liberal camp in this country. Most of the nation truly wants to live in a Jewish State. And not in another "normal" Western country whose national language is Hebrew.
The Camp of G-d, the Jewish camp, as diverse as it might be, speaks a common language, which is completely different from the liberal worldview that dominates the media and the public arena.
The "right-wing" liberal varies only in degree from his left-wing secular partner. He may have more sentiment for tradition and "Jewish values", but only when those values don't interfere, or can be remade into his liberal Western worldview. This is why, when the pressure is on, and push comes to shove, they will seemingly "switch" tracks, jettisoning their "traditional values" for hard-core secular "practical" solutions. When the only real choices in the Israel-Arab divide are between liberal capitulation and waging a "religious war", the liberal right-winger would much rather concede the battle than change his worldview.
The time has come for all those who are part of the camp of G-d to stop fighting amongst themselves and come together in unity against the greater adversary. The adversary has the initiative, it is true, but the battle is not yet lost.
The time has come to meet the challenge head-on and fight for the soul of the Jewish Nation.
The time has come for the camp of G-d to raise its voice. There is only one resolution to this conflict, aside from continual diplomatic concessions, yet that alternative can only be exercised by a man of faith, a man of Torah. No one who believes in the power of world opinion will be able to stand against the world powers, especially America, and do what must be done to resolve this conflict. No one will risk his political future, not Ariel Sharon and not Binyamin Netanyahu, to truly lead the Jewish nation where it must go in order to realize its potential, unless his heart burns with the fire for HaShem.
It is time for those that are "for HaShem" to rally to His banner and leave behind those empty traitors, with all of their calculations, realities and second-guessing. It must be remembered and constantly intoned, "The Nation of Israel Lives" and "HaShem is the Living G-d." The time has come for those who believe such, to act on that belief. Then the rest of this sweet and dear nation will come to recognize the truth and gladly follow our lead.
Yet, he was "hopefully blind." Continually turning a blind eye to her abuses, he walked gingerly; afraid of doing or saying anything that might "alienate her." He controlled his anger and frustrations, continually trying to woo his wife back to him. His efforts were an utter failure. It seemed the more he chased after her, the more she abused his trust and fidelity. It took a long time before he realized that they hadn't been married for a long time. By the time he had enough, the situation had deteriorated so far beyond normalcy that no reconciliation was possible. The divorce was, to say the least, an ugly affair.
The national-religious camp is currently in the same boat as this poor man was. As hard as they try, they just can't seem to find legitimacy in the eyes of their bedfellows in the State of Israel. Afraid of appearing extremists, afraid of "alienating the public", they constantly hedge their initiatives, diluting their message, and giving permission to the opposition to take them to task and betray them yet again. In their (well-intentioned) pursuit of conciliation, the leaders of the national-religious camp are actually making any reconciliation all the more remote.
It's time to "wake up and smell the coffee." If the religious nationalist camp wants the rest of the country to take it seriously, it has to take itself seriously and demand its due.
There are elements within Israeli society that have been continually inciting towards civil war, while at the same time regularly accusing others of the very same incitement.
In the past six months, former heads of the Shin Bet outlined in detail a plan (illegal, immoral and illegitimate) of attack against the settlers and the settler movement. Shortly thereafter, with the criminal incarceration of Noam Federman, elements of that very plan were implemented. Then, two synagogues were maliciously destroyed, one in Tapuah West and one in Kiryat Arba. Yet, this time, unlike at Yosef's Tomb, it was not Arab marauders carrying out the desecration, with the authorities simply turning a blind eye, but the authorities themselves.
And then, the prime minister of Israel, elected on the votes of the very same national camp, set forth on a campaign of transferring the Jews from their homes, en mass - a Jewish ethnic cleansing the likes of which hasn't been seen, even in anti-Semitic Europe, since the establishment of the State of Israel.
Wake up, Jews, wake up! The battle is for nothing less than the very soul of the Jewish Nation.
It's almost comical. The only group in Israel that is still waving the flag with any fervor is the group that is most viciously attacked by the state that flag represents.
The religious nationalist camp, it seems, finds itself in a peculiarly difficult quandary. Viewing the birth of the State of Israel as the beginning of the Redemption, it is having trouble reconciling this profound belief with the political state and the liberal camp's infidelity to the "shared" Zionist vision. This view has, to a certain extent, imbued the State, and its organs (and by extension its actions) with a certain level of holiness in the minds of many of members of this camp.
Wake up!
Considering our current situation, this view needs to be altered. We need to recognize that while the return of political sovereignty and the beginning of the ingathering of the exiles may have heralded a potential that, G-d willing, may lead to Redemption; that Redemption is far from guaranteed. In fact, the irony is that it will only be realized if and when the state is redeemed from the very liberal Western worldview that spawned it. If it is to be holy, then the state of the Jews needs to be sanctified and purified on all levels. It must be transformed from a state of Jews into a Jewish state.
It seems to me that if we are to avoid, G-d forbid, a civil war, then the religious nationalist camp has to stop worrying about "alienating" an already alienated sector. Just as they declare vociferously about the language of the debate with the Arabs ? that it must be from a position of strength, for any sign of weakness merely begets more pressure and demands ? so too must the language of the debate with our fellow Jews be pointed and direct, free from all of the second-guessing, free from the language of capitulation. We can not be court Jews beseeching and groveling before the sovereign.
In truth, much of the division in this country is misunderstood. It is a mistake to see the nation as divided along a nationalistic, Left and Right, divide. Instead, I would suggest that it is more clearly divided along theological lines. We have a large diverse "camp of G-d" (thank G-d), which stands opposite the liberal camp in this country. Most of the nation truly wants to live in a Jewish State. And not in another "normal" Western country whose national language is Hebrew.
The Camp of G-d, the Jewish camp, as diverse as it might be, speaks a common language, which is completely different from the liberal worldview that dominates the media and the public arena.
The "right-wing" liberal varies only in degree from his left-wing secular partner. He may have more sentiment for tradition and "Jewish values", but only when those values don't interfere, or can be remade into his liberal Western worldview. This is why, when the pressure is on, and push comes to shove, they will seemingly "switch" tracks, jettisoning their "traditional values" for hard-core secular "practical" solutions. When the only real choices in the Israel-Arab divide are between liberal capitulation and waging a "religious war", the liberal right-winger would much rather concede the battle than change his worldview.
The time has come for all those who are part of the camp of G-d to stop fighting amongst themselves and come together in unity against the greater adversary. The adversary has the initiative, it is true, but the battle is not yet lost.
The time has come to meet the challenge head-on and fight for the soul of the Jewish Nation.
The time has come for the camp of G-d to raise its voice. There is only one resolution to this conflict, aside from continual diplomatic concessions, yet that alternative can only be exercised by a man of faith, a man of Torah. No one who believes in the power of world opinion will be able to stand against the world powers, especially America, and do what must be done to resolve this conflict. No one will risk his political future, not Ariel Sharon and not Binyamin Netanyahu, to truly lead the Jewish nation where it must go in order to realize its potential, unless his heart burns with the fire for HaShem.
It is time for those that are "for HaShem" to rally to His banner and leave behind those empty traitors, with all of their calculations, realities and second-guessing. It must be remembered and constantly intoned, "The Nation of Israel Lives" and "HaShem is the Living G-d." The time has come for those who believe such, to act on that belief. Then the rest of this sweet and dear nation will come to recognize the truth and gladly follow our lead.