Rabbi Shlomo Aviner of Beit El called upon his congregants this past Shabbat not to take part in violent retaliatory actions against the Palestinians. He said he did not do so because he was asked to by GSS head Avi Dichter, as some reports had it, but rather, \"we have been saying this already for many years. True, the situation is difficult, and true, they are shooting at us, and it is a very difficult situation, but the solution is not to act like partisans. We are living in the State of Israel, which is not yet Paradise, and we have to be stubborn and strong, and whoever is more stubborn will win. We must remember that the responsibility for military action lies with the army. Thank G-d, the Jewish people have come to life, and we now have a state, and it is the army that must act. Our job is to exert pressure and try to convince and to help raise up the nation, and thereby the government, and thereby the army...
\"It is wrong to say that the army is not succeeding. The army has done and is doing very much, but of course they have not been 100% successful. Even those who don\'t understand the sublime value of the State, but instead think only in practical terms, should realize that taking private actions would only lead to the army taking action against us instead of against the Arabs. Arafat would love to have the residents act up, so he can complain that the army is not protecting the Arabs from the Jews, and then demand international intervention... What must we do now, you ask? Our strength lies in our mouths: We must demonstrate, and we must convince, and we must speak out. In a free country like ours, the government leadership acts according to public opinion - therefore we must try to influence public opinion. ... We must remember that we have problems, as can be expected in this world, but they are no longer the problems of a weak nation in Exile, but those of a free nation in its Land...\"
\"It is wrong to say that the army is not succeeding. The army has done and is doing very much, but of course they have not been 100% successful. Even those who don\'t understand the sublime value of the State, but instead think only in practical terms, should realize that taking private actions would only lead to the army taking action against us instead of against the Arabs. Arafat would love to have the residents act up, so he can complain that the army is not protecting the Arabs from the Jews, and then demand international intervention... What must we do now, you ask? Our strength lies in our mouths: We must demonstrate, and we must convince, and we must speak out. In a free country like ours, the government leadership acts according to public opinion - therefore we must try to influence public opinion. ... We must remember that we have problems, as can be expected in this world, but they are no longer the problems of a weak nation in Exile, but those of a free nation in its Land...\"