One day, we will understand their real contribution. This day may come too late for the fissures and fractures among Israelis and Jews worldwide. If that is the case, the recognition will be even more poignant.
Let's make it clear: the settlers, particularly the ideological, religious ones, are the enemies of the current Israeli government. This is not by choice, certainly not. The settlers moved to their present towns and villages as 'agents' of the government and of the people of Israel. The nation hoisted them proudly on its shoulders. Now, the most influential part of the nation is up on the settlers' shoulders, working to topple its own foundations. This is called "progress" and "enlightenment" and some other words whose meanings have been hopelessly twisted.
To the settlers of Gush Katif: you are the heroes of the Jewish people in these trying times. You constitute one of the last barriers between a continuation of the national mission and some form of physical and spiritual collapse.
Yet, the nation, or so it has said, has declared war on you. It has abandoned you to the Kassam rockets, to the prospect of bulldozers uprooting synagogues and graves. It has labeled you.
Or has it? It's safer to say that the public is divided about you. Two camps, where the dividing line between them is not religion per se, but it is about backbone, common sense and Torah values all mixed together. More than that: the pro-settler camp is, I am convinced, larger than those that yearn to uproot you. It is the silent majority of Israel and it has been stilled.
The Sharon-Peres government was forced upon Israelis by machinations, by shredding the electoral mandate, and by the clever use of corruption by an establishment hell-bent on removing Judea from modern Israel. The Arabs are a pretext; they tried to destroy the state before the settlements and they will try afterwards. They are the excuse - an excuse that becomes an indirect tool against your existence.
That is what I am saying. The Israeli government of April 2005 is using the Kassams and the knowledge of the rebuilding terrorist infrastructure to help you see the wisdom of abandoning your homes.
Here I meant to write about how the 'Left' and the media, etc., have demonized you. But what does this matter now? You understood it all along. The why of this demonization is clear enough - your steadfastness and loyalty to the true meaning of "or lagoyim". It is clear enough.
The times ahead are sure to be even more trying. Ariel Sharon has built new wings onto the prisons in Israel just for you and those who will stand with you. The police are obviously instructed to let their emotions run wild when faced with protestors. No doubt, there are times when that protesting zeal should be tempered, for violence will not help win the day. And alienating the average Israeli with tire-burnings and the like is foolish.
Much uncertainty lies ahead. The prime minister is now 'working' the US media to convince pro-Israel Americans that you are the primary problem now. Abbas is 'on board' for peace (until next week) in this Orwellian world, while you are pictured as violent rebels, Khomeinists and Jewish Osama Bin-Ladens.
I firmly believe that the Jewish people as a whole, and a majority of Israelis, are with you. All of Sharon's measures - detailed elsewhere - are meant to marginalize you and frighten the silent majority into acquiescence. What will happen, I do not know. But I believe this silent majority is waking up, day by day. I believe that its soul is Jewish to the core. If not, the nation is in deep trouble, and so too is every corner of the Galut.
If history is any guide, the Arabs will undo the Sharon Plan at some stage. It may come too late for Gush Katif, but this battle over your homes is also a test for the Jewish people. The test is here, right in front of us.
Let's make it clear: the settlers, particularly the ideological, religious ones, are the enemies of the current Israeli government. This is not by choice, certainly not. The settlers moved to their present towns and villages as 'agents' of the government and of the people of Israel. The nation hoisted them proudly on its shoulders. Now, the most influential part of the nation is up on the settlers' shoulders, working to topple its own foundations. This is called "progress" and "enlightenment" and some other words whose meanings have been hopelessly twisted.
To the settlers of Gush Katif: you are the heroes of the Jewish people in these trying times. You constitute one of the last barriers between a continuation of the national mission and some form of physical and spiritual collapse.
Yet, the nation, or so it has said, has declared war on you. It has abandoned you to the Kassam rockets, to the prospect of bulldozers uprooting synagogues and graves. It has labeled you.
Or has it? It's safer to say that the public is divided about you. Two camps, where the dividing line between them is not religion per se, but it is about backbone, common sense and Torah values all mixed together. More than that: the pro-settler camp is, I am convinced, larger than those that yearn to uproot you. It is the silent majority of Israel and it has been stilled.
The Sharon-Peres government was forced upon Israelis by machinations, by shredding the electoral mandate, and by the clever use of corruption by an establishment hell-bent on removing Judea from modern Israel. The Arabs are a pretext; they tried to destroy the state before the settlements and they will try afterwards. They are the excuse - an excuse that becomes an indirect tool against your existence.
That is what I am saying. The Israeli government of April 2005 is using the Kassams and the knowledge of the rebuilding terrorist infrastructure to help you see the wisdom of abandoning your homes.
Here I meant to write about how the 'Left' and the media, etc., have demonized you. But what does this matter now? You understood it all along. The why of this demonization is clear enough - your steadfastness and loyalty to the true meaning of "or lagoyim". It is clear enough.
The times ahead are sure to be even more trying. Ariel Sharon has built new wings onto the prisons in Israel just for you and those who will stand with you. The police are obviously instructed to let their emotions run wild when faced with protestors. No doubt, there are times when that protesting zeal should be tempered, for violence will not help win the day. And alienating the average Israeli with tire-burnings and the like is foolish.
Much uncertainty lies ahead. The prime minister is now 'working' the US media to convince pro-Israel Americans that you are the primary problem now. Abbas is 'on board' for peace (until next week) in this Orwellian world, while you are pictured as violent rebels, Khomeinists and Jewish Osama Bin-Ladens.
I firmly believe that the Jewish people as a whole, and a majority of Israelis, are with you. All of Sharon's measures - detailed elsewhere - are meant to marginalize you and frighten the silent majority into acquiescence. What will happen, I do not know. But I believe this silent majority is waking up, day by day. I believe that its soul is Jewish to the core. If not, the nation is in deep trouble, and so too is every corner of the Galut.
If history is any guide, the Arabs will undo the Sharon Plan at some stage. It may come too late for Gush Katif, but this battle over your homes is also a test for the Jewish people. The test is here, right in front of us.