A protest against the brutalization of Jews in Israel
Love of Israel & the Land
Norwalk, CT: At a recent Friday eve. Shabbat service, I had the pleasure and honor to call upon four post bar mitzvah teens, children of Beth Israel families attending the Bi-cultural Day School in Stamford. The eighth grade at Bi-cultural conducts an annual, month-long 8th grade class trip to Israel; where the students get to experience first-hand their appreciation of Israel and the Jewish people. The veteran educator and visionary Mr. Walter Shuchatowitz is the founder and principal emeritus of the school and is the initiator of this very worthy endeavor.
I asked these young men that they stand before the congregation as I charge them with the mission of taking along with them the Hebrew names of congregants and their charity contributions. The young men accepted with seriousness the responsibility to both pray and distribute Tzedakah on our congregation?s behalf at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
On Tuesday, prior to their departure, I entrusted each of the young men with a personalized envelope containing Tzedakah funds and a letter thanking them for being our community?s emissaries to the holy land, Israel. Why? Because we support Israel religiously, emotionally, and monetarily.
This support of Israel has always been an important part of our Jewish identity living in the Diaspora, and thus it has been the Torah observant community in particular that has been most active in sending its young men and women to study in Israel and to make Aliyah.
Diaspora - Israel Relationship Under Attack
Over the years, the religious sector within Israel, as well as all of Israel?s citizens, has been invigorated by the Aliyah from North America. Amongst its more famous members is the Noble Prize recipient Professor Robert Aumann, a graduate of City College and MIT. Over the years, Aliyah has helped solidify the bond between American Jewry and Israel.
Recently, this relationship has begun to show a marked deterioration. This deterioration was most strikingly apparent with the implementation of the so called disengagement and the destruction of the vibrant Jewish communities of Gush Katif, in which thousands identifying with the religious Zionist sector have been cruelly uprooted and displaced. The majority of them, even after five months, have no employment and their families are suffering emotional turmoil and deprivation as well as financial ruin. To our collective great shame most of the evacuees have not been reimbursed for the loss of their homes and jobs.
The words of the Nobel Prize Winner Professor Robert Aumann at the Herzliya Conference speak for themselves. He stated: ?The treatment of the expellees is a national disgrace, and everyone is silent... Israel's mad rush for peace has had the opposite effect." Further compounding the outrage of Gush Katif is the state sponsored victimization and brutality perpetrated against the protesters in Amona.
The Disinformation Campaign
It is an outrage that the State of Israel and its representatives in Consulates throughout the world are attempting to hide and obscure this fact from the public?s view. This was most apparent to me when the Rabbinical Alliance of America, Igud HaRabanim, asked that I, as Vice President of a delegation of prominent Rabbis representing our 700 plus membership, seek a meeting with the Consul General Arye Mekel at the Israeli Consulate in NYC. Their disregard to our calls for a meeting and their studied disinterest is indicative of what their superiors in Israel are doing to their own citizens.
The fact is, nearly all of the American organizations active in promoting American Israeli relations and, I suspect, most prominently the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, have been co-opted at the editorial level by the Israeli government. This is especially so with issues affecting the Religious Zionist and growing Chareidi sectors in Israel. The relentless attempt to marginalize the settler movement and the decades old canard against the Charedim and their supporters overseas has compounded the disconnect between Israel and North American Jewry.
It is apparent to any observer that this is a misguided policy being pursued by the present Israeli government. The relentless campaign of oppression of the settler movement has created a monstrous disconnect within Israeli society itself. Its ugliness became most manifest with the appearance of the photos and videos of the outrageous brutality and beatings hurled upon the thousands of citizens involved in the mostly civil protest at Amona.
The government of acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sent out uniformed (thugs) police and army to smash the heads of civilian protesters and expel them from their homes. As a result, a 15 year old boy lies in the hospital with a fractured skull and hundreds of protesters were seriously wounded including two members of the Knesset - former Brigadier General Effie Eitam, who received the Medal of Honor during the Yom Kippur War, and former Brigadier-General and Chief Medical Officer of the IDF Arieh Eldad, a foremost burn expert and plastic surgeon.
Complicating the matter are the rampant accusations of sexual molestation committed against women and girls by the Yassim police and Army units, and the total disregard of human rights and decency.
The Trampling of Human Rights is a Crime
Even after the State of Israel?s debacle at Amona, Acting Prime Minister Olmert had this to say: ?A line was crossed in Amona and this cannot be accepted.? He said the restraint and determination of the security forces that carried out the evacuation was admirable.
MK Eitam, who was wounded during the violence, said "30 years I fought on the battle fields, and I never believed that I would be wounded by a Jewish policeman while I was doing my duty as a member of Knesset." Indeed, these egregious violations of human rights passed right by the radar of the ever vigilant ADL and the other Jewish human rights organizations who are always assuring everyone?s rights, except of course those of the religious and observant Zionist sector in Israel.
The only organization in America to speak up was the Orthodox Union, which in a strongly worded protest called for a reckoning of the events in Amona.
A Plea for Unity within our Ranks
The sadest part of all is that we in the observant American Jewish community, including everyone from Agudah to Chabad, from the ?Yeshivish World? to Yeshiva University, are not speaking out clearly, forthrightly, and officially on the record, protesting against these excesses. Why not? What are we afraid of? Is it access to funding that is controlled by the avowed secular sector of Jews?
Surely we cannot remain silent as these abuses are aimed against the religious sector. Its time to unite and follow the Halacha of Pikuach Nefesh as clearly defined in the Talmud and Code of Jewish Law. No territorial concessions and no compromising the lives of Jews in Israel even for short term political gain, which brings in its wake long term hemorrhaging of life and limb. Haven?t the kassam rockets raining down in Sderot and Ashkelon, being launched from the destroyed Gush Katif area by both Fatah and Hamas, taught us anything?
King David in Psalms writes: ?Some (rely) upon chariots and some upon horses, but we (rely upon and) invoke the Name of the L-ord our G-D.? (Psalm 20:8). Anyone who has seen the horrific pictures of police horses in Amona (trained in Germany) trampling protesters will have their blood run cold.
The sad state of affairs we are in is reflected by the Animal Rights lobby in Israel. Tnu Lahayot Lihyot - Israel's main animal rights group - protested against the use of horses in Amona's evacuation on Wednesday. They suggested alternatives such as jeeps or motorcycles, so that no animals would be endangered. The animal rights group's spokesperson also noted that following the evacuation, one of the residents of Amona was taken to a court hearing, leaving behind a herd of 130 goats without any supervision. The spokesperson voiced her concern for the abandoned herd.
Do we need to say any more? It is time for all who have Emunah in Hashem to speak up. To keep silent is a desecration of our beliefs and faith.
Indeed, we need and want Moshiach now.
Love of Israel & the Land
Norwalk, CT: At a recent Friday eve. Shabbat service, I had the pleasure and honor to call upon four post bar mitzvah teens, children of Beth Israel families attending the Bi-cultural Day School in Stamford. The eighth grade at Bi-cultural conducts an annual, month-long 8th grade class trip to Israel; where the students get to experience first-hand their appreciation of Israel and the Jewish people. The veteran educator and visionary Mr. Walter Shuchatowitz is the founder and principal emeritus of the school and is the initiator of this very worthy endeavor.
I asked these young men that they stand before the congregation as I charge them with the mission of taking along with them the Hebrew names of congregants and their charity contributions. The young men accepted with seriousness the responsibility to both pray and distribute Tzedakah on our congregation?s behalf at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
On Tuesday, prior to their departure, I entrusted each of the young men with a personalized envelope containing Tzedakah funds and a letter thanking them for being our community?s emissaries to the holy land, Israel. Why? Because we support Israel religiously, emotionally, and monetarily.
This support of Israel has always been an important part of our Jewish identity living in the Diaspora, and thus it has been the Torah observant community in particular that has been most active in sending its young men and women to study in Israel and to make Aliyah.
Diaspora - Israel Relationship Under Attack
Over the years, the religious sector within Israel, as well as all of Israel?s citizens, has been invigorated by the Aliyah from North America. Amongst its more famous members is the Noble Prize recipient Professor Robert Aumann, a graduate of City College and MIT. Over the years, Aliyah has helped solidify the bond between American Jewry and Israel.
Recently, this relationship has begun to show a marked deterioration. This deterioration was most strikingly apparent with the implementation of the so called disengagement and the destruction of the vibrant Jewish communities of Gush Katif, in which thousands identifying with the religious Zionist sector have been cruelly uprooted and displaced. The majority of them, even after five months, have no employment and their families are suffering emotional turmoil and deprivation as well as financial ruin. To our collective great shame most of the evacuees have not been reimbursed for the loss of their homes and jobs.
The words of the Nobel Prize Winner Professor Robert Aumann at the Herzliya Conference speak for themselves. He stated: ?The treatment of the expellees is a national disgrace, and everyone is silent... Israel's mad rush for peace has had the opposite effect." Further compounding the outrage of Gush Katif is the state sponsored victimization and brutality perpetrated against the protesters in Amona.
The Disinformation Campaign
It is an outrage that the State of Israel and its representatives in Consulates throughout the world are attempting to hide and obscure this fact from the public?s view. This was most apparent to me when the Rabbinical Alliance of America, Igud HaRabanim, asked that I, as Vice President of a delegation of prominent Rabbis representing our 700 plus membership, seek a meeting with the Consul General Arye Mekel at the Israeli Consulate in NYC. Their disregard to our calls for a meeting and their studied disinterest is indicative of what their superiors in Israel are doing to their own citizens.
The fact is, nearly all of the American organizations active in promoting American Israeli relations and, I suspect, most prominently the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, have been co-opted at the editorial level by the Israeli government. This is especially so with issues affecting the Religious Zionist and growing Chareidi sectors in Israel. The relentless attempt to marginalize the settler movement and the decades old canard against the Charedim and their supporters overseas has compounded the disconnect between Israel and North American Jewry.
It is apparent to any observer that this is a misguided policy being pursued by the present Israeli government. The relentless campaign of oppression of the settler movement has created a monstrous disconnect within Israeli society itself. Its ugliness became most manifest with the appearance of the photos and videos of the outrageous brutality and beatings hurled upon the thousands of citizens involved in the mostly civil protest at Amona.
The government of acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sent out uniformed (thugs) police and army to smash the heads of civilian protesters and expel them from their homes. As a result, a 15 year old boy lies in the hospital with a fractured skull and hundreds of protesters were seriously wounded including two members of the Knesset - former Brigadier General Effie Eitam, who received the Medal of Honor during the Yom Kippur War, and former Brigadier-General and Chief Medical Officer of the IDF Arieh Eldad, a foremost burn expert and plastic surgeon.
Complicating the matter are the rampant accusations of sexual molestation committed against women and girls by the Yassim police and Army units, and the total disregard of human rights and decency.
The Trampling of Human Rights is a Crime
Even after the State of Israel?s debacle at Amona, Acting Prime Minister Olmert had this to say: ?A line was crossed in Amona and this cannot be accepted.? He said the restraint and determination of the security forces that carried out the evacuation was admirable.
MK Eitam, who was wounded during the violence, said "30 years I fought on the battle fields, and I never believed that I would be wounded by a Jewish policeman while I was doing my duty as a member of Knesset." Indeed, these egregious violations of human rights passed right by the radar of the ever vigilant ADL and the other Jewish human rights organizations who are always assuring everyone?s rights, except of course those of the religious and observant Zionist sector in Israel.
The only organization in America to speak up was the Orthodox Union, which in a strongly worded protest called for a reckoning of the events in Amona.
A Plea for Unity within our Ranks
The sadest part of all is that we in the observant American Jewish community, including everyone from Agudah to Chabad, from the ?Yeshivish World? to Yeshiva University, are not speaking out clearly, forthrightly, and officially on the record, protesting against these excesses. Why not? What are we afraid of? Is it access to funding that is controlled by the avowed secular sector of Jews?
Surely we cannot remain silent as these abuses are aimed against the religious sector. Its time to unite and follow the Halacha of Pikuach Nefesh as clearly defined in the Talmud and Code of Jewish Law. No territorial concessions and no compromising the lives of Jews in Israel even for short term political gain, which brings in its wake long term hemorrhaging of life and limb. Haven?t the kassam rockets raining down in Sderot and Ashkelon, being launched from the destroyed Gush Katif area by both Fatah and Hamas, taught us anything?
King David in Psalms writes: ?Some (rely) upon chariots and some upon horses, but we (rely upon and) invoke the Name of the L-ord our G-D.? (Psalm 20:8). Anyone who has seen the horrific pictures of police horses in Amona (trained in Germany) trampling protesters will have their blood run cold.
The sad state of affairs we are in is reflected by the Animal Rights lobby in Israel. Tnu Lahayot Lihyot - Israel's main animal rights group - protested against the use of horses in Amona's evacuation on Wednesday. They suggested alternatives such as jeeps or motorcycles, so that no animals would be endangered. The animal rights group's spokesperson also noted that following the evacuation, one of the residents of Amona was taken to a court hearing, leaving behind a herd of 130 goats without any supervision. The spokesperson voiced her concern for the abandoned herd.
Do we need to say any more? It is time for all who have Emunah in Hashem to speak up. To keep silent is a desecration of our beliefs and faith.
Indeed, we need and want Moshiach now.