Among the speakers at the Binyanei HaUmah Convention Center were: Rabbis Zalman Melamed, Yaakov Yosef, David Druckman and Shalom Wolpe; former Gush Katif spokesman Eran Sternberg, Atty. Elyakim HaEtzni, Noam Arnon, Baruch Marzel, Moshe Leshem and others.
Popular rock singer Ariel Zilber surprised the crowd by performing a song usually reserved for hareidi-religious audiences, known as "B'Shilton HaKofrim." The words are, "In the regime of heretics we do not believe, and their laws we do not consider. We will walk in the way of the Torah and sanctify G-d's Name. G-d is our King."
Film clips from the expulsion from Gush Katif and northern Shomron were shown, and plans were announced to establish a museum for Gush Katif. Certificates of honor were distributed to those who sat in jail for protesting the uprooting as well as soldiers who refused to take part in the disengagement.
Most of the speakers called for renewed momentum to settle parts of Judea and Samaria. Excerpts from some of the speeches:
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed of Beit El, the Yesha Rabbis Council, and Yeshivat Beit El:
"These very days, there are those who continue to make additional plans of uprooting and destruction, and these must be countered in various ways... Several decades from now, people will not believe that after 50 years of existence of the State, a government in Israel uprooted dozens of communities, threw Jews out of their homes, and gave the enemy land on which to base itself so that it could attack us... Everyone who took part in the crime of the expulsion must know that he will be remembered in infamy... We are certain of the Master of the Universe that we will go from these troubles to times of blessing, when all of the Land of Israel will be only ours, just as G-d has promised us."
Former spokesman Sternberg [pictured] called upon youth not to enlist in the IDF "until the army returns to being the Israel Defense Forces," and not the expulsion forces. Addressing the youth, he said, "Smile and go to jail" if an illegal order is given. Sternberg said that he felt several months ago that protesting outside the Prime Minister's Office against the expulsion plan was a waste of time, and that the protests should have been directed against the army that was to carry it out.
Kiryat Motzkin Rabbi Druckman:
"Torah comes before everything, as every child in heder [school] knows. Just as the Baal Shem Tov's father wrote in his will, we must not fear anything in the world except for G-d. We must state clearly and strongly that the Land of Israel is all ours, and the Land, Torah and G-d of Israel are all one... We do not know what the future holds in store, and so we must strengthen ourselves in faith and mitzvot [Torah commandments], especially the two that the Lubavitcher Rebbe [promoted], tefillin and Sabbath candles."
Former right-wing Knesset Member Elyakim HaEtzni of Kiryat Arba: "The grandchildren of those who carried out the crime of expulsion will be ashamed of their grandparents. There can be no forgiveness for those who carried it out, or for those who gave the expelling forces black uniforms reminiscent of the Holocaust, or for those who showed the world that a Jewish house can be razed in a few minutes while an Arab house cannot be destroyed at all." He mocked the "love will conquer all" approach taken by part of the nationalist camp during the months leading up to the expulsion, saying it leads to a feeling that the country can simply move on to the next expulsion.
Earlier in the day, Arutz-7's Amatzia HaEitan spoke with Shai Gefen, one of the organizers of the event. Gefen said that the gathering's motto was, "Disengaging from the regime, re-connecting with the Nation." The event was designed to help prepare for the struggle for Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem, "which has already started," Gefen said. He added that the public also needs an outlet for its strong feelings and to condemn those who carried out the expulsion. "Following this great crisis," Gefen said, "the People of Israel wish to be uplifted. Holding this gathering on the day on which we begin asking for rain [the 7th day of Heshvan] symbolizes our desire to enter a period of blessing."
Popular rock singer Ariel Zilber surprised the crowd by performing a song usually reserved for hareidi-religious audiences, known as "B'Shilton HaKofrim." The words are, "In the regime of heretics we do not believe, and their laws we do not consider. We will walk in the way of the Torah and sanctify G-d's Name. G-d is our King."
Film clips from the expulsion from Gush Katif and northern Shomron were shown, and plans were announced to establish a museum for Gush Katif. Certificates of honor were distributed to those who sat in jail for protesting the uprooting as well as soldiers who refused to take part in the disengagement.
Most of the speakers called for renewed momentum to settle parts of Judea and Samaria. Excerpts from some of the speeches:
Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed of Beit El, the Yesha Rabbis Council, and Yeshivat Beit El:
"These very days, there are those who continue to make additional plans of uprooting and destruction, and these must be countered in various ways... Several decades from now, people will not believe that after 50 years of existence of the State, a government in Israel uprooted dozens of communities, threw Jews out of their homes, and gave the enemy land on which to base itself so that it could attack us... Everyone who took part in the crime of the expulsion must know that he will be remembered in infamy... We are certain of the Master of the Universe that we will go from these troubles to times of blessing, when all of the Land of Israel will be only ours, just as G-d has promised us."
Former spokesman Sternberg [pictured] called upon youth not to enlist in the IDF "until the army returns to being the Israel Defense Forces," and not the expulsion forces. Addressing the youth, he said, "Smile and go to jail" if an illegal order is given. Sternberg said that he felt several months ago that protesting outside the Prime Minister's Office against the expulsion plan was a waste of time, and that the protests should have been directed against the army that was to carry it out.
Kiryat Motzkin Rabbi Druckman:
"Torah comes before everything, as every child in heder [school] knows. Just as the Baal Shem Tov's father wrote in his will, we must not fear anything in the world except for G-d. We must state clearly and strongly that the Land of Israel is all ours, and the Land, Torah and G-d of Israel are all one... We do not know what the future holds in store, and so we must strengthen ourselves in faith and mitzvot [Torah commandments], especially the two that the Lubavitcher Rebbe [promoted], tefillin and Sabbath candles."
Former right-wing Knesset Member Elyakim HaEtzni of Kiryat Arba: "The grandchildren of those who carried out the crime of expulsion will be ashamed of their grandparents. There can be no forgiveness for those who carried it out, or for those who gave the expelling forces black uniforms reminiscent of the Holocaust, or for those who showed the world that a Jewish house can be razed in a few minutes while an Arab house cannot be destroyed at all." He mocked the "love will conquer all" approach taken by part of the nationalist camp during the months leading up to the expulsion, saying it leads to a feeling that the country can simply move on to the next expulsion.
Earlier in the day, Arutz-7's Amatzia HaEitan spoke with Shai Gefen, one of the organizers of the event. Gefen said that the gathering's motto was, "Disengaging from the regime, re-connecting with the Nation." The event was designed to help prepare for the struggle for Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem, "which has already started," Gefen said. He added that the public also needs an outlet for its strong feelings and to condemn those who carried out the expulsion. "Following this great crisis," Gefen said, "the People of Israel wish to be uplifted. Holding this gathering on the day on which we begin asking for rain [the 7th day of Heshvan] symbolizes our desire to enter a period of blessing."