The seeds of Jewish destruction...I sit here reading these words of Menachem Begin and I know that he was right; worse, he still is, decades after he has left us.
Humiliate us? Actually, in this Begin was a bit off; the latest reincarnation of this horrible fate is that we rush to humiliate ourselves.
Rather than stand beside the Christian and Muslim with pride in our heritage, we rush to assimilation; to lose the essence of what we are. We try to Humiliate us? Actually, in this Begin was a bit off; the latest reincarnation of this horrible fate is that we rush to humiliate ourselves.
emulate in the hope of fitting in and so we take the Christmas tree and call it, God help us, a Chanukah bush. The only bush in the Torah is the burning one and we didn't hang flashing lights on it and put presents under it!
Rather than stand against our enemies, who use lies and mistruth to indict Israel for uncommitted crimes, our leaders have crumbled. We meet violence with withdrawal; lies with apologies.
On May 31, 2010, Turkey sent a flotilla of ships to challenge the legally declared naval blockade of Gaza. The organizers made a pretense of being on a humanitarian voyage.
A lie, as Israel offered to deliver whatever meager humanitarian aid they carried aboard the boats.
A lie, because many of the people onboard were armed and waiting. Israeli soldiers descended onto the ships and were immediately and violently attacked. Three were seriously wounded, beaten, knocked unconscious, stabbed, thrown down to a lower deck. Israeli soldiers finally moved in to save their comrades and the attacks continued and in the battle that ensued, 10 thugs, referred to in the media as "activists" were killed.
The International Criminal Court ruled that there was insufficient reason to investigate Israel's role in the flotilla deaths but never got around to condemning the chief instigators and those who funded this atrocity. At first, Israel stood firm and tall and, indeed, Menachem Begin would have been proud. For years, Israel has correctly answered Turkey in the negative when any mention was made of an apology, compensation, or any admission that our forces did anything that any other nation would not do.
"During the Holocaust it was after the enemy had humiliated the Jews, trampled them underfoot, divided them, deceived them, afflicted them, drove brother against brother, only then could he lead them, almost without resistance, to the gates of Auschwitz. Therefore, at all times and whatever the cost, safeguard the dignity and honor of the Jewish people." -- Menachem Begin
Yesterday, our security forces were attacked on the Temple Mount by rock-throwing, fireworks-shooting mobs. Today, in response, the Israeli government has closed the Temple Mount. Finally, I thought as I saw the headlines. Wonderful, especially during the "holy" month of Ramadan, let the Palestinians learn that violence doesn't pay! Good. We have finally closed the Temple Mount to the...to the...in disbelief I read that the Prime Minister of Israel has closed the Temple Mount to the Jews.
"Stand united in face of the enemy. We Jews love life, for life is holy. But there are things in life more precious than life itself. There are times when one must risk life for the sake of rescuing the lives of others. And when the few risk their own lives for the sake of the many, then they, too, stand the chance of saving themselves."-- Menachem Begin
There are things more precious than life and more horrible than death, Menachem Begin wrote in his book, The Revolt. That phrase has stayed with my all of my life since the time I first read them as a young teenager dreaming of living in this land. Yes, there are things more precious than life - because in protecting them, ultimately, we are indeed protecting life itself. This concept is reaffirmed in the Torah. There are three things that Jews are commanded to avoid, even at the cost of death. What the Israeli government did yesterday...and today, puts Jewish lives further at risk.
Surrender. Humiliation. Hamas continues to hold the bodies of two of our sons and yet Netanyahu continues to return the bodies of dozens of terrorists. Our forces are attacked on the Temple Mount, and Netanyahu responds by preventing JEWS from entering the Temple Mount.In our long annals as a nation, we rise, we fall, we return, we are exiled, we are enslaved, we rebel, we liberate ourselves, we are oppressed once more, we rebuild, and again we suffer destruction, climaxing in our own lifetime in the calamity of calamities, the Holocaust, followed by the rebirth of the Jewish State.
"So, yes, we have come full circle, and with God’s help, with the rebirth of sovereign Israel we have finally broken the historic cycle: no more destruction and no more defeats, and no more oppression – only Jewish liberty, with dignity and honor."-- Menachem Begin
Break the cycle, Bibi. No more destruction. No more defeats. No more oppression. Dignity and honor, Bibi. For God's sake, stand up. We have returned. The ghettos are gone. Stand up, Bibi. Stand up!
Remember: the seeds of Jewish destruction lie in passively enabling the enemy to humiliate us.