Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane spoke today with Housing Minister Effie Eitam, head of the National Religious Party and one of the prime opponents of the disengagement plan. Kahane said, "Prime Minister Sharon says, 'The plan will be passed on Sunday, period.' Do you have any idea where he found this majority that he has long been seeking?"
Eitam: "I don't know, but I do know that we are now standing at one of the most critical junctures for the future of Zionism and the People of Israel" - and he explained why. Regarding the possibility of accepting a compromise proposal that would postpone the implementation of the withdrawal/expulsion for a year from now, or that would merely "declare a government intention" to retreat from Gaza, Eitam said the following:
"One of the great rabbis of Israel with whom we consulted said, 'Let's say that a government in Israel decides that the Sabbath will no longer be a day of rest, but that this decision will only take effect in a year from now - can anyone imagine that we would remain in the government?!'
"It must be clear that the battle now is to raise awareness of the rot and corruption inherent in uprooting living, flowering, legal communities. This thing - which comes from the truly impure thought that it's OK to do business with living parts of the Land, the People, and the Torah - this thought is truly impure, and we must have no part of it. And all those [such as Eitam's competing party colleague, Minister Zevulun Orlev - ed. note] who say, 'Let's just remain a little bit longer and we'll see how it develops - I say No! This very thought of the political leadership of Israel has to be fought, before it turns into actions.
"The NRP, and I personally, plan to fight against it with all our strength. We will go from town to town, from yeshiva to yeshiva, from person to person, and we will awaken the healthy forces in the nation that, as we have seen, are not willing to accept this lie. There's a story about a town where everyone began going insane, little by little, until there were only two people left who were still sane. They said to themselves, 'How will we know that we're still sane? Maybe they'll convince us that we're the crazy ones!' So they decided to make themselves a mark on their foreheads - tefillin on their heads, so to speak - that would remind them, whenever they looked at each other, that they were OK - and that even though the whole world had gone crazy, and even though commentator after commentator, and public official after public official, and rogue after rogue comes with all sorts of rotten merchandise, they will stand strong - and from these two sane people will come the salvation of the entire crazy country. We plan not to be two sane people, but thousands of us who will not allow these warped ideas to take over."
Eitam then admitted that the "weakness that we expressed, to some extent, when we allowed the Road Map to go through, was the beginning of this slippery slope. Although we made it contingent upon the cessation of terrorism, which we knew would not happen - but still, in principle, this helped the weakness take root... So now we have to repair this... As I said, the intentions alone are very bad, and have to be uprooted before they can be turned into actions."
"There is something else, and we have to say it out loud and without fear. We have another partner in this process of the Redemption of Israel and our return to the Land of Israel, and that is G-d. If you look at the entire history of Zionism, from the day it began, you see that it was always implemented in a joint manner - our actions, together with His. There have always been miracles. For instance, the recent referendum looked like it was going to be a walk-away victory for Sharon - but suddenly, the combination of our total dedication, and our faith, and our belief in the little speck of life, truth and holiness that is found in the heart of each and every Jew - turned the tables. We must not think that if we merely add one and one, it will come out two, and that everything goes according to predictable, rational rules... We are currently charged with one thing: strengthening the truth. G-d is not a coward, and He knows how to get things done, and when He sees that we are dedicated to this truth, there is no limit to what can be done."
Eitam: "I don't know, but I do know that we are now standing at one of the most critical junctures for the future of Zionism and the People of Israel" - and he explained why. Regarding the possibility of accepting a compromise proposal that would postpone the implementation of the withdrawal/expulsion for a year from now, or that would merely "declare a government intention" to retreat from Gaza, Eitam said the following:
"One of the great rabbis of Israel with whom we consulted said, 'Let's say that a government in Israel decides that the Sabbath will no longer be a day of rest, but that this decision will only take effect in a year from now - can anyone imagine that we would remain in the government?!'
"It must be clear that the battle now is to raise awareness of the rot and corruption inherent in uprooting living, flowering, legal communities. This thing - which comes from the truly impure thought that it's OK to do business with living parts of the Land, the People, and the Torah - this thought is truly impure, and we must have no part of it. And all those [such as Eitam's competing party colleague, Minister Zevulun Orlev - ed. note] who say, 'Let's just remain a little bit longer and we'll see how it develops - I say No! This very thought of the political leadership of Israel has to be fought, before it turns into actions.
"The NRP, and I personally, plan to fight against it with all our strength. We will go from town to town, from yeshiva to yeshiva, from person to person, and we will awaken the healthy forces in the nation that, as we have seen, are not willing to accept this lie. There's a story about a town where everyone began going insane, little by little, until there were only two people left who were still sane. They said to themselves, 'How will we know that we're still sane? Maybe they'll convince us that we're the crazy ones!' So they decided to make themselves a mark on their foreheads - tefillin on their heads, so to speak - that would remind them, whenever they looked at each other, that they were OK - and that even though the whole world had gone crazy, and even though commentator after commentator, and public official after public official, and rogue after rogue comes with all sorts of rotten merchandise, they will stand strong - and from these two sane people will come the salvation of the entire crazy country. We plan not to be two sane people, but thousands of us who will not allow these warped ideas to take over."
Eitam then admitted that the "weakness that we expressed, to some extent, when we allowed the Road Map to go through, was the beginning of this slippery slope. Although we made it contingent upon the cessation of terrorism, which we knew would not happen - but still, in principle, this helped the weakness take root... So now we have to repair this... As I said, the intentions alone are very bad, and have to be uprooted before they can be turned into actions."
"There is something else, and we have to say it out loud and without fear. We have another partner in this process of the Redemption of Israel and our return to the Land of Israel, and that is G-d. If you look at the entire history of Zionism, from the day it began, you see that it was always implemented in a joint manner - our actions, together with His. There have always been miracles. For instance, the recent referendum looked like it was going to be a walk-away victory for Sharon - but suddenly, the combination of our total dedication, and our faith, and our belief in the little speck of life, truth and holiness that is found in the heart of each and every Jew - turned the tables. We must not think that if we merely add one and one, it will come out two, and that everything goes according to predictable, rational rules... We are currently charged with one thing: strengthening the truth. G-d is not a coward, and He knows how to get things done, and when He sees that we are dedicated to this truth, there is no limit to what can be done."