Israeli Arabs mourned on Israeli Independence Day - Jews celebrated and protested; Arabs launched rockets into Israel - Ariel Sharon was heckled.
Thousands of Israeli Arabs commemorated Israeli Independence Day by holding "Nakba" demonstrations in Jewish towns that they claim were occupied by Arabs before Israeli independence was declared in 1948.
In areas under Palestinian Authority control sirens sounded to protest Israeli Independence Day.
In northern Israel, Hizbullah fired rockets that smashed through a bakery in Shlomi Wednesday night, bringing an end to the Independence Day celebrations there.
In Gaza, a mortar shell landed in N'vei Dekalim and Gadid Wednesday night. However, that did not stop more than 50,000 Jews from traveling to Gaza Thursday to participate in celebrations there, and to show solidarity with the Jewish communities slated for expulsion in coming months.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was severely heckled and jeered by the crowd at the annual Bible Contest, one of the major televised events of the year, as a girl held up a sign, "Jews do not expel Jews".
22 yeshiva students were detained by police after sneaking into areas under PA control. The students were on their way to Sanur, one of the Jewish towns slated for expulsion. In another incident, "settlers" entered into an Arab-occupied town and had to be removed by soldiers.
In Gaza, Sderot and Gush Katif, referendum activists set up polling stations, enabling many people to cast their votes in favor of the Alternative Jewish Disengagement plan. More than 20,000 ballots were distributed.
This is Israel today in a nutshell. Perhaps the most important lessen of the day is that the Arabs refuse to accept an Israel of any size. The Arabs consider us thieves for creating the state. And they came out in the thousands to commemorate the "Nakba" (catastrophe).
Jews celebrate, but Arabs lick their wounds and recall their defeat, plotting to return to lands not only in Gaza and "the liberated territories of 1967", but in Haifa, Ramla, Jerusalem, Jaffa, Lod, Acre, Galilee and... where not? Our leaders continue to delude themselves into thinking that by giving the Arabs some refugee camps in Gaza, they will be satisfied. The Arabs openly reject that notion.
The Jewish masses are not buying the nonsense anymore, either. Thousands upon thousands traveled to Gaza, despite the Kassams falling, to show their opposition to Sharon's planned surrender of the land and expulsion of the Jews who live there.
Other Jews seek more creative and radical ways to protest the planned expulsion and to show their disregard for IDF closures, as well as to assert Jewish sovereignty, even in areas already surrendered by Israel and classified as "Area A". Even the noble kids in the Bible contest jeered the prime minister.
Indeed, something new is in the air - a tense feeling of rebellion against the government for their disengagement plans and for their total disregard of the will of the nation of Israel. No government can last for long when it becomes clear that the government ignores the needs and the will of their nation.
This is why an independent referendum is so vital. Rabbi Meir Kahane, in the last book he wrote - in 1990, before he was assassinated - called Revolution or Referendum, lays out the battle plan for a referendum to impose the will of the people. In the end, the only way to appease the people will be through permitting a referendum to allow the people to vote on the urgent security issues that endanger every Jew in Israel. Revolution or Referendum is evolving before our very eyes.
Thousands of Israeli Arabs commemorated Israeli Independence Day by holding "Nakba" demonstrations in Jewish towns that they claim were occupied by Arabs before Israeli independence was declared in 1948.
In areas under Palestinian Authority control sirens sounded to protest Israeli Independence Day.
In northern Israel, Hizbullah fired rockets that smashed through a bakery in Shlomi Wednesday night, bringing an end to the Independence Day celebrations there.
In Gaza, a mortar shell landed in N'vei Dekalim and Gadid Wednesday night. However, that did not stop more than 50,000 Jews from traveling to Gaza Thursday to participate in celebrations there, and to show solidarity with the Jewish communities slated for expulsion in coming months.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was severely heckled and jeered by the crowd at the annual Bible Contest, one of the major televised events of the year, as a girl held up a sign, "Jews do not expel Jews".
22 yeshiva students were detained by police after sneaking into areas under PA control. The students were on their way to Sanur, one of the Jewish towns slated for expulsion. In another incident, "settlers" entered into an Arab-occupied town and had to be removed by soldiers.
In Gaza, Sderot and Gush Katif, referendum activists set up polling stations, enabling many people to cast their votes in favor of the Alternative Jewish Disengagement plan. More than 20,000 ballots were distributed.
This is Israel today in a nutshell. Perhaps the most important lessen of the day is that the Arabs refuse to accept an Israel of any size. The Arabs consider us thieves for creating the state. And they came out in the thousands to commemorate the "Nakba" (catastrophe).
Jews celebrate, but Arabs lick their wounds and recall their defeat, plotting to return to lands not only in Gaza and "the liberated territories of 1967", but in Haifa, Ramla, Jerusalem, Jaffa, Lod, Acre, Galilee and... where not? Our leaders continue to delude themselves into thinking that by giving the Arabs some refugee camps in Gaza, they will be satisfied. The Arabs openly reject that notion.
The Jewish masses are not buying the nonsense anymore, either. Thousands upon thousands traveled to Gaza, despite the Kassams falling, to show their opposition to Sharon's planned surrender of the land and expulsion of the Jews who live there.
Other Jews seek more creative and radical ways to protest the planned expulsion and to show their disregard for IDF closures, as well as to assert Jewish sovereignty, even in areas already surrendered by Israel and classified as "Area A". Even the noble kids in the Bible contest jeered the prime minister.
Indeed, something new is in the air - a tense feeling of rebellion against the government for their disengagement plans and for their total disregard of the will of the nation of Israel. No government can last for long when it becomes clear that the government ignores the needs and the will of their nation.
This is why an independent referendum is so vital. Rabbi Meir Kahane, in the last book he wrote - in 1990, before he was assassinated - called Revolution or Referendum, lays out the battle plan for a referendum to impose the will of the people. In the end, the only way to appease the people will be through permitting a referendum to allow the people to vote on the urgent security issues that endanger every Jew in Israel. Revolution or Referendum is evolving before our very eyes.