Neturei Karta Join Hamas Rallies in New York and London on Shabbos

In New York

London 

Satmar Newspaper, "Der Blatt" calls Netanyahu a "Murderer"

Der Blatt, the Aronie Yiddish Newspaper, wrote an op-ed article in this week's edition, in reference to the funeral of  Avraham Walles, the radical Asra Kadisha member murdered by an Arab with a tractor.

Walles being arrested previously while protesting at a construction site

After blaming the murder of Avraham Walles on the Zionists, the article calls the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu a "murderer!" 

This article is no difference then the propaganda by Hamas!

I only cut out one paragraph of the lengthy diatribe that this author spewed against his fellow Jews!

I will loosely translate the clip:

"we know very well that it doesn't hurt, the murderer and crazy Netanyahu, that a young man of the Toldos Aaron was killed. 
He has no mercy on the (Wallas') orphans, it doesn't bother him at all that an extremist of Asra Kedisha was murdered.
The only reason he sent a condolance letter to the family is because he wants to have them in his "group" 
He wants to include Walles' death with the other martyrs that were murdered on the Zionist alter."

Rabbi Joseph Raksan murdered in Miami Beach on Shabbos by two Blacks

 A Brooklyn Rabbi visiting Miami was killed while walking to synagogue on Saturday morning.

Rabbi Joseph Raksin, 60, was walking with a friend to North Miami Beach synagogue Bais Menachem, at 1005 N.E. 172nd Terrace around 9 a.m. when two young men reportedly approached and shot him, Miami-Dade Police said.

Raksin was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he died shortly thereafter.
The two suspects ran away on foot and by bike and police still do not have a description of them.

Yona Lunger, a local Jewish community activist and member of the Shmira Patrol said that Raksin is from Brooklyn Crown Heights section, who was in South Florida to visit his granddaughter and other relatives.

Police have released a statement saying “At this time there is no indication of this being a hate crime,”.

But Brian Siegal, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Miami and Broward Regional Office, said he believes Raksin’s shooting may be connected to the recent act of vandalism at the nearby Torah V’Emunah, an Orthodox synagogue, 1000 N.E. 174th St.
Chesed Shel Emes is working wth medical examiner to avoid an autopsy.

Hava Holzhauer, ADL Florida Regional Director, said in a statement. “That at this time, it appears to be a robbery that went badly.”
“Currently no evidence has been brought to light that it was motivated by anti-Semitism”.
“This is a terrible tragedy. While the motivation for this crime is still being investigated, nothing can justify the killing of an innocent man walking to his place of worship to pray on his holy day.”
“We appreciate the professionalism that the Miami-Dade Police Department has shown in securing all the evidence surrounding the crime and assuring that this investigation remains an exceptionally high priority. Let us hope that the culprits are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice.” Said Holzhauer

All Ladies Chassidic Band "Bulletproof Stockings"

Perl Wolfe and Dalia Shusterman make up the band Bulletproof Stockings.

This takes “Ladies Night” to a new level.
An all-female Hasidic rock band will play Arlene’s Grocery on Thursday night — and the Lower East Side music venue has agreed to shut its doors to men.

Dalia Shusterman and Perl Wolfe, the Crown Heights, Brooklyn, duo behind the band Bulletproof Stockings, follow strict Orthodox rules that bar them from playing in front of men. The stricture also requires them to cover their hair, knees and elbows.

It wasn’t easy convincing Julia Darling, the manager of Arlene’s Grocery, which holds 110 people, to snub male clientele for Bulletproof Stockings’ biggest gig yet.
“Julia was pretty skeptical,” said Shusterman, 40, who plays drums and sings backup. “Turning away half the audience isn’t something that’s ever been done. They had to really think about it.”
Determined to prove they were worth it, she and Wolfe hit the streets, amassing a list of women who vowed to pack the tiny venue. Darling was immediately impressed.
“We said, ‘OK, we like your music and you guys did some guerrilla promotion out there,’ which showed us that they were really serious about playing here,” said Darling.
“We did take a little bit of a risk on them because this is one of their first gigs in New York City.”
So far, there have been no complaints from men about being excluded, even though Darling is confident they will sell out the venue.

The male employees at Arlene’s are exempt from the ban because they’ll be there in a work capacity.
“They have a right to uphold their religious views,” said Darling.
Bulletproof Stockings, which formed 2¹/₂ years ago, is named for the opaque tights Hasidic women traditionally wear. The band hits the stage at 7 p.m.

The one-hour set will be filmed for Oxygen Network’s upcoming show “Living Different,” which will feature the band in one episode. The docu-drama series is expected to debut in early 2015.
Wolfe, 27, and Shusterman describe their music as drawing influences from classical, blues, jazz and rock — as well as the women’s Hasidic backgrounds. The band’s sound has been compared to Florence and the Machine, Fiona Apple — and even throwback rockers the Black Keys.
“Hasidic alt-rock,” joked Wolfe, who sings and plays piano. “We’re making a new genre.”

The women hope Thursday’s gig will help encourage more female-only audiences. “Right now, it’s a little bit of a novelty,” said Wolfe. “But we see it becoming a new movement.”
Shusterman added, “We’re so excited! It’s unbelievable — just the fact that it’s happening, that people are really interested in (us).”

It is time for Jews to say to the New York Times: we’ve had enough.

by Rabbi Benjamin Blech

I write often for Aish.com. I write infrequently to the New York Times. Sometimes they print what I have to say. But this time I knew they weren’t going to publish my letter.

Here’s what I said:

To the editor:

In the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the New York Times has repeatedly insinuated that Hamas enjoys the higher moral ground based on the premise of proportionality – the number of its civilian victims far exceeds that of Israelis. Since my children and grandchildren live in Israel and have thus far been spared from death thanks to their shelter, the Iron Dome, and most certainly God, I beg you for some clarification. To my mind, the thousands of rockets that have targeted 6 million innocent civilians – a number that somehow resonates for me with great significance – have gratefully not succeeded in fulfilling the stated goal of those who fired them. By charter, Hamas has made clear its intention to slaughter all Israeli residents, men women and children. Were Israel not to respond forcefully to this threat, admittedly and most regretfully killing hundreds of civilians during this war they did not seek or initiate, the results would catastrophically be in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Israeli deaths. Please enlighten me as to how many Israelis need actually die and how many photos of butchered Israeli children would be required for Israel to regain the media’s favor? I can only hope it’s not another 6 million – because, starkly put, been there, done that.

And why was I so sure it was an exercise in futility to send this letter to them?

Because it’s now become clear that the New York Times has lost any claim to journalistic integrity by the way it continues to distort its reporting of a war initiated by an internationally recognized terrorist organization against the only democracy in the Middle East.

Ignored and completely forgotten by the supposed “newspaper of record” are the simple facts that

• Hamas started a fight with a clear-cut goal, as affirmed in its charter, of killing every Israeli, or to be more precise every Jew. That means men, women and children. By the way there’s a name for these intended victims. They are called civilians, a term not to be selectively used only for Arab citizens of Gaza.
• Hamas sent hundreds – by now thousands – of rockets specifically designed to maim and to murder as many of these civilians as possible and their lack of success in no way diminishes their moral culpability.
• Hamas has refused to accept every cease-fire offered – and broken every limited humanitarian-based agreement to mutually suspend conflict.

Instead what the Times offers its readers to the point of nausea are heartbreaking photos of suffering residents in Gaza without the context of the reason for their grief – a leadership safely ensconced in luxury far from the fighting who praise death and martyrdom as the noblest aspirations for their followers.

One can only wonder if the Times would have covered World War II in the same fashion, keeping score as over 1 million Germans civilians perished as compared to only 12,000 Americans – none of whom it may be recalled were in immediate danger of missiles over the American mainland. If morality is determined solely by number of innocents dying the New York Times must truly believe that United States bears an unspeakable measure of guilt for its role in stopping Nazi Germany from its murderous plans because, after all, in order to accomplish its mission it caused the death of innocent victims.

What is perhaps most astounding about the Times’s coverage is not only its lack of objectivity and its inability to view events with any semblance of moral clarity but something that Bret Stephens pointedly noted in his column in the Wall Street Journal that smacks either of amateurish incompetence or willful and evil distortion. As source for the numbers of victims in Gaza, as well as for the breakdown between combatants and civilians in this figure, the Times cites the Palestinian Health Ministry and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Just a little digging by a responsible journalist would reveal that that the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza is run by Hamas and the United Nations group gets his information from two Palestinian agitprop groups!

So even if war has been reduced to a game of numbers by the New York Times,the information it offers its readers is nothing more than propaganda filtered through what is supposed to be a reliable newspaper.

It is time for Jews to say we have had enough. It is time for Jews to say what Emile Zola said when he could no longer stand the lies, the fabrications, the deceits and the dishonesty of the press of his day as they falsely accused the Jew Dreyfus of treason when the real reason for their attack was because Dreyfus was a Jew: J’accuse.

We, even the liberals and leftists and the intelligentsia who have so long been taken in by the prestige and the esteem the New York Times has for so long enjoyed in their circles, must finally take note of reality. Loudly and clearly, as well as by way of cancellation of subscriptions, we must shout out J’accuse! We accuse the newspaper that has built its reputation on fairness and objective reporting of losing its way as it grants the moral high ground to terrorists and to those whose admitted goals are violence and terrorism.

Sent from my iPad

Geraldo Rivera says he can back Hamas against Israel because he has a tattoo of a Star of Davis on his hand! LOL!!!

Listen to this dope say at 2.44 in the video, that he has a Star of David tattooed on his hand, so that gives him the right to bash Israel??????

Geraldo Rivera recently referred to Israel’s killing of civilians as a “travesty,” for example, but Andrea Tantaros was having none of it. She called Rivera an “apologist for a terrorist organization” that hides weapons in schools and hospitals.1

Rivera mentioned the number of Palestinian civilians killed so far in the conflict–a tragedy, of course–but whereas he blames Israel for those deaths, Tantaros says Hamas is to blame for hiding its weapons and leaders behind human shields.

“You are unbelievable to defend Hamas,” she said, and argued that America “should get out of Israel’s way” and let them finish their operation to wipe out the terrorists in Gaza.

A Jewish right to a Jewish land

The Rebbe of Gur was visited by an official of the British Mandate. In the course of conversation the official informed the Rebbe that the British were poised to move out and leave Israel to the Jews. 
The Rebbe’s reply was a Yidishism – “Mi-heChe-Teise,” an idiom loosely translated as "let it be." Unsure of how to translate the Rebbe’s response, the interpreter said, “The Rebbe is pleased with the news.”

After the interview the interpreter asked the Rebbe why he was so casual in his response. The Rebbe replied, “G-d promised the land to our forefather Abraham, to our forefather Isaac and to our forefather Jacob. The British also want to promise us this land? Nu, Mi-heChi-Teise,” let it be…”

This is the true Jewish perspective of why Israel belongs to the Jew. We don’t require legal arguments or scientific proof to justify our claim to Israel. To us, Israel and the Jew belong to each other because it is inherent in our heritage. It is enshrined in the Bible, where it wasn't only promised us, but given to us.

That archaeology, sociology and anthropology buttress this claim is superfluous to the Jew. It’s nice to know that our tradition is corroborated, but it is hardly surprising to us nor is it necessary. It is not for science or history that we lay claim to Israel. It is for our G-d given right.

Yet Jews often shy away from making the Biblical claim outright. You hear Jews speak of the United Nations Vote for Partition in 1948. You hear Jews speak of a historical right to reclaim the land of our ancestors, but rarely does one hear Jews speak publicly about a G-d given right enshrined in the Bible.
The obvious reason is that such a claim would subject us to the counter-claim that Islam has its own tradition, its own holy book and isn’t subject to ours. While this is true, it essentially allows the other side to dictate the conversation. If we don’t claim our Biblical right out of respect for Islam and the secular west, we essentially discard our best, and truthfully our only, argument.

It is well known that some early Zionists weren't particular about Israel. As secular European Jews, their chief aim was to secure a homeland for Jews. They were willing to establish this land wherever they could. The British offered to provide a Jewish homeland in Uganda and in principle, the early Zionists weren't opposed. It was ultimately rejected, as Herzel told the Zionist Congress in 1903, because no other land would motivate Jews to accept marching orders. Only Israel holds that resonance and drama.
Jews would only leave their homes and businesses for the Holy Land, given us by G-d. The land whose loss we never stopped mourning and for whose shores, we never stopped yearning. The land of our fathers, the land of our glory, the land of our home, the land of our soul; only that land that would move the nation. No other land would do.

This is the only true reason Jews live in Israel today. It isn’t a gift of the UN and it is not ours by right of conquest. It isn’t ours on account of history, it is ours because G-d made it so. Had the UN given us California, we would not have gone. Had the Jewish people defeated the Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto, they would not have claimed that land.

Let us face the truth. The only reason we are in Israel is because it belongs to us and we belong to it. It is no less a part of our Jewishness than the Torah. Of the 613 commandments, 343 are unique to the land of Israel. We can survive anywhere, but we can thrive only there. Plainly put, if Israel weren't ours, we wouldn't have had a homeland.

Should we deny this essential truth only because Islam isn’t not prepared to accept it?

Instead we devise all kinds of new arguments. We claim it is ours because the UN gave it to us. That is a weak argument. The UN dictates all manner of things to Israel that Israel conveniently ignores. If the UN’s authority suffices to create the land, it should suffice to dictate to the land. If we won’t accept its dictates, how can we claim its partition?

We use the argument of our historical right, but it too doesn't work. If the tribes indigenous to America and Canada were to take up to arms to reclaim their historical lands, international law wouldn't support them. The fact is that when Jews returned to Israel to establish a government, there was an indigenous community on the land. We can’t just displace them because we lived there thousands of years earlier.
In fact, even if we posit that Jews lived in Israel thousands of years earlier, what of the tribes we conquered and displaced when we arrived? If historical rights are claimed, the descendants of those tribes should be located and awarded the land. In addition to Jews, Hittites, Philistines, Jebusites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and the Turks all controlled Israel at some point. How do we determine whose it really is? That we cannot identify the descendants of these nations doesn't justify our claim to it.

The only conclusive and resounding argument for a Jewish right to a Jewish land, is the Biblical one. G-d gave it to us. It is only through this argument that the others make sense. They buttress our G-d given right, but they can’t stand as independent arguments.

As He gave it, He also took it. We mourn the destruction of our Temple and the loss of our land, but we also know it why it was taken. It was for our sins that we were driven from our land.

“When you beget children and children’s children… and you become corrupt and make a graven image….. you will speedily and utterly perish from the land” “And you will return to the Lord your G-d with all your heart and all your soul… then the Lord your G-d will bring back your exiles and have mercy … and bring you to the land which your forefathers possessed.”

We hesitate to speak this truth because we are a diaspora people surrounded by nations. Even in Israel we hesitate to speak because we are dependent on the good will of these nations. Yet the Torah tells us that it is precisely in the diaspora, where we ought to seek and find G-d.

“From there you shall seek him out and you shall find him - if you shall seek Him with all your heart and soul. From there, from your exile and diaspora, where G-d is hidden and must be sought in order to be found, you shall seek Him. Don’t despair of finding Him and bringing Him to the attention of the nations. Seek Him with all your heart and soul, and you shall find Him."

Over and over we hear that these arguments are good for the synagogue, but not “out there.” The Torah tells us to seek G-d when we are “out there,” “From there you shall seek him out.” The mystics point out that the Hebrew word for there is sham and the Hebrew word for name is Shem. The two words are similar because they belong together. On the surface, there, represents a place where G-d needs seeking because He is concealed. Name connotes that G-d’s name is known. Yet the two words are comprised of similar letters because it is precisely “out there” that we should seek Him. And when we do, we make a name for Him. Sham, out there, turns out to be a most conducive place for Shem to make His name.

We are wary because on the surface G-d is utterly concealed “out there.” But the Torah enjoins us to have a little faith and make that leap. Though you are out there, tell your neighbors, colleagues and friends that Israel is yours because G-d gave it to you and because the Bible says it is so. Don’t worry that they will think of you as way “out there.” G-d told us to think differently. G-d said that your words will make a real difference. You will create a name for G-d and a bastion of support for Israel, even “out there.”

Rabbi Lazer Gurkow, a respected writer, scholar and speaker, is the spiritual leader of Beth Tefilah congregation in London, Ontario. He is the author of Reaching for God: A Jewish Book on Self Help, and his new book, Mission Possible: Living With Higher Purpose will be released this spring and can be pre-ordered by emailing egurkow@gmail.com

'Hand of God sent missile into sea'

More claims of divine intervention are being reported in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, with an operator of Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system saying he personally witnessed “the hand of God” diverting an incoming rocket out of harm’s way.

Israel Today translated a report from a Hebrew-language news site, which noted the Iron Dome battery failed three times to intercept an incoming rocket headed toward Tel Aviv last week.

The commander recalled: “A missile was fired from Gaza. Iron Dome precisely calculated [its trajectory]. We know where these missiles are going to land down to a radius of 200 meters. This particular missile was going to hit either the Azrieli Towers, the Kirya (Israel’s equivalent of the Pentagon) or [a central Tel Aviv railway station]. Hundreds could have died.
“We fired the first [interceptor]. It missed. Second [interceptor]. It missed. This is very rare. I was in shock. At this point we had just four seconds until the missile lands. We had already notified emergency services to converge on the target location and had warned of a mass-casualty incident.
“Suddenly, Iron Dome (which calculates wind speeds, among other things) shows a major wind coming from the east, a strong wind that … sends the missile into the sea. We were all stunned. I stood up and shouted, ‘There is a God!’
“I witnessed this miracle with my own eyes. It was not told or reported to me. I saw the hand of God send that missile into the sea.”

The commander’s account is reminiscent of a recent newspaper headline which trumpeted the possibility of supernatural protection.
“Their God changes the path of our rockets in mid-air, said a terrorist,” was the headline in the July 18 edition of the Jewish Telegraph.

It was a partial quote from Barbara Ordman, who lives in Ma’ale Adumim on the West Bank.
Her exact quotation was: “As one of the terrorists from Gaza was reported to say when asked why they couldn’t aim their rockets more effectively: “We do aim them, but their God changes their path in mid-air.”
She opened her piece by noting: “In October 1956, [Israeli Prime Minister] David Ben Gurion was interviewed by CBS. He stated: ‘In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.’”
Ordman also noted religious texts, specifically the Jerusalem Talmud, teaches Israelis not to depend on miracles for survival.
“It argues that we must not desist from our obligations and must not wait for miraculous intervention from the Supernatural,” she wrote.

Meanwhile, the Times of Israel reported a senior officer in Israel’s army said divine miracles protected his soldiers during fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Givati Brigade commander Col. Ofer Winter told the weekly publication Mishpacha that he “witnessed a miraculous occurrence, the likes of which he had never seen before during his military career.”

Winter indicated a predawn raid intended to use darkness as cover was delayed, forcing the soldiers to move toward their objective as sunrise was approaching.

Col. Ofer Winter

With the troops in danger of being exposed at daybreak, Winter explained how heavy fog quickly descended to shroud their movements until their mission was accomplished.
“Suddenly a cloud protected us,” he said, referring to clouds the Bible says guided the ancient Israelites as they wandered in the desert. “Clouds of glory.”

Winter said only when the soldiers were in a secure position, the fog finally lifted.
“It really was a fulfillment of the verse ‘For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to give you victory,’” he said, quoting Deuteronomy 20:4.
Why does the Bible say believers will sit on the throne of Jesus Christ and judge angels? Find out in your personally autographed copy of “The Divine Secret” by Joe Kovacs right now, or get autographed copies of both “The Divine Secret” and the classic “Shocked by the Bible” bundled together!

The Times of Israel notes Winter made headlines over an official letter he sent to battalion and company commanders July 9, telling his subordinates that “history has chosen us to spearhead the fighting (against) the terrorist ‘Gazan’ enemy which abuses, blasphemes and curses the God of Israel’s (defense) forces.”

The dispatch came under fire from some, since it portrayed the Operation Protective Edge as a religious war against non-Jews. The Israeli government’s stated aim is to stop rocket attacks at Israel and destroy a network of tunnels dug under the border from Gaza used to launch terror attacks inside Israeli territory.

In his interview with Mishpacha, Winter defended his message, saying everyone finds God when in combat.
“Anyone who attacked me for the letter apparently has only seen weapons in pictures, was never in combat, and doesn’t know what fighting spirit is,” he said, revealing that before going into action his custom was to recite the blessing with which the ancient Israelite priests would bless the army before it went to war.

“When a person is in a life-threatening situation he connects with his deepest internal truths, and when that happens, even the biggest atheist meets God,” he said, claiming soldiers see so many miracles, “it is hard not to believe [in God].”

Tisha B'ov

The Sin of the Spies - Today

The writer of this article is Head of Yeshivat Har Bracha and a prolific author on Jewish Law, whose works include the series on Jewish law "Pininei Halacha" and a popular weekly column "Revivim" in the Besheva newspaper. His books "The Laws of Prayer" "The Laws of Passover" and "Nation, Land, Army" are presently being translated into English. 

by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed

In this period of mourning the destruction of the Holy Temples, we must try our best to rectify the Sin of the Spies,  the root of all calamities. This week’s Torah portion, D’varim (Deuteronomy), repeats the story.

Our Sages said:“On the Ninth of Av, it was decreed that our fathers should not enter the Promised Land (as a result of the Sin of the Spies, which took place on that day), the Temple was destroyed the first and second time, Beitar was captured, and the city of Jerusalem was ploughed up” (Ta’anit 26b).

It is important to understand just what  the sin of the Spies was.  According to the pshat, the literal meaning of the verses, entering the Land of Israel in the spies' assessment would have involved risking their lives, and in order to save the lives of their children, it was necessary to remain in the desert. Should they have ignored the danger?!

Actually, however, their sin was that they looked at the cherished Land with abhorrence. Their basic attitude was that conquering the Land and settling it was a difficult matter – a serious “problem.” It would be better to remain in the desert – to eat bread from the heavens and the quail, and survive miraculously. 

Therefore, when they saw the giants and fortified cities, they made up their minds that it was impossible to conquer the Land, and "melted the hearts" of the people.

In the end, all of them were punished and delayed for forty years, “until the last of your corpses lie here in the desert”. They chose to protect their physical bodies, rejecting the vision of yishuv ha’aretz (settling the Land of Israel), and instead, remained dead corpses in the desert.

They did not understand. The Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael) is not the problem of Jewish existence – the Land of Israel is the solution.

Jews in the Diaspora and the Question of Eretz Yisrael

There were Jews in the Diaspora who wished to forget about the Land of Israel – to stop feeling like foreigners, and assimilate into their societies. But the Gentiles did not let them forget the Land of Israel. “Jews to Palestine” they shouted at them. 

Many Jews believed that if they could just forget about their connection to Eretz Yisrael, everything would be fine; after that, they would be accepted among the nations, and be able to influence them with their Jewish values. 

The Reform movement even erased the Land of Israel and Jerusalem from their prayer books.

In the end, there was the Holocaust, or at best, Communist decrees, and it was no longer possible to immigrate to Israel.

Because the Land of Israel is not the problem, it is the solution.

Students of the Vilna Gaon and the Precursor’s of Zion

The Vilna Gaon and his disciples began speaking about the importance of immigration to Israel and rebuilding the Land, but their words did not attract enough followers – the yishuv (settlement) in Eretz Yisrael was meager and poor. Even a generation later, when the gaonim Rabbi Kalisher and Rabbi Guttmacher aroused the public to immigrate to Israel and build it, only a few heeded their call, because the leadership and the people thought it was too difficult to immigrate to Israel and survive there. And in Europe, hardships and persecution increased on the one hand, and assimilation on the other.

Because the Land of Israel is not the problem, it’s the solution.

Founding of the Zionism as a Rescue Movement

We were not worthy of having multitudes of Jews immigrate to the Land of Israel motivated by a desire to fulfill the mitzvah from the Torah and the vision of Redemption, and anti-Semitism greatly increased. And thus the Zionist movement was founded as rescue movement for the persecuted Jewish people.

From the onset, it was clear that the place of refuge for the Jewish people would be in the biblical Land of Israel, including the eastern side of Jordan. With the grace of God, the nations of the world also recognized this at the time of the Balfour Declaration and the decision of the League of Nations.

However, when the Zionist leadership saw that the claim to Eretz Yisrael initiated problems and required struggles with the Arabs and the British, it was decided to solve the “problem” of Eretz Yisrael by conceding the eastern part in exchange for a promise to settle the western side of the Jordan and the transfer of the Arab population to the eastern side.

And wonder of wonders – conceding the eastern side of the Jordan did not solve the problem. The pressures and rioting in opposition to the Jewish settlement increased, and instead of the Arabs moving to the eastern side of the Jordan, masses flocked the western side to enjoy the fruits of Jewish settlement. The problem gradually intensified and the British restricted Jewish immigration and allotted parts of our holy Land to the Arabs – as well as land purchased by Jews.

Because Eretz Yisrael is not the problem, but the solution; therefore, conceding the eastern side of the Jordan only exacerbated the problem.

The Partition Plan

Nevertheless, the Zionist leadership did not learn its lesson and continued to relate to the extent of Eretz Yisrael as a problem, and in order to prevent bloodshed during the riots (1936-1939), agreed to give up most of the area west of the Jordan, in accordance with the proposal of the Peel Commission.

Instead of receiving peace, security and unrestricted immigration to save Jews from the claws of the Nazi’s, the riots continued and the British imposed further obstacles to immigration to Eretz Yisrael.

For indeed, the Land of Israel is not the problem, it is the solution.

Either We Build, or Engage in Saving Lives

When the Jewish people are worthy – we engage in the mitzvah of yishuv ha’aretz, attempt to bring as many Jews on aliyah as possible, settle as much of the Land as we can, and in this manner, attain peace and security, prosperity and immigration, respect among the nations, and strengthen the Jewish spirit. When we are not worthy to engage in yishuv ha’aretz, we are forced to engage in pikuach nefesh (saving lives).

In recent generations, at least we can take comfort that by the grace of God, with all the troubles and dangers, we are privileged to make some progress in settling the Land – but with great difficulty and agony.

Only following the tragedy of the  Holocaust were we able to find the strength to establish the State of Israel. Only because the Arabs continued to attack us with a lust for murder and destruction, were we able to liberate portions of our homeland and began to settle Judea and Samaria.

This is the significance of what our Sages said concerning the Redemption:

“If they are worthy, I will hasten it: if not, it will come in its due time” (Sanhedrin 98a) – if they are worthy – through the joy of building the Land; if not – through difficult and horrible suffering.

The Moral Predicament

Certain morally-conscientious people throughout the world argue against the State of Israel: “You are robbers, for you have forcefully conquered the Arab’s land” (in which they never had a state).

There are also morally-sensitive Jews who argue “occupation corrupts”. They believe that if not for this messianic affinity to Judea and Samaria all wars would cease, the world would consider us enlightened, and Israel would be the exemplary society they dreamed of establishing. For that to happen, first we need to get rid of the “problem” of the “territories” (a derogatory name for Eretz Yisrael).

In actual fact, the Arabs were granted broad autonomy in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip, but instead of peace – hatred and terrorism towards us increased tremendously, anti-Semitism spread throughout the world, and international pressure against Israel intensified.

Because the Land of Israel is not the problem, it is the solution.

If we are worthy – we settle the Land for the sake of the mitzvah. If not – we are forced to conduct repeated wars, and only through suffering are we privileged to slightly expand Jewish settlement.

The Problem of America and the Entire World

Even the United States and the rest of the Western countries have a serious problem with the Land of Israel. A little sarcasm is due: If not for the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, world peace could have been achieved long ago, the Muslims would have calmed down, and democracy would flourish in all countries. Instead of this, the world is forced to hear about more houses being built in the settlements.

And as long as Jews continue to build in the settlements the international media is forced to cover it, and does not have time to report about the millions of murdered people in Islamic countries, and about the hundreds of millions of starving and sick people in Africa. As long as the settlers keep behaving with horrendous violence by scribbling graffiti against the Arabs, world leaders and the U.N. are unable to find time to solve the problems of international terrorism, nuclear weapons, and global conflicts.

And here, they were able to begin solving the “problem”; they succeeded in expelling Jews from Gush Katif and freezing construction in Judea and Samaria. But for some odd reason tensions are on the rise, the Muslims are not satisfied, and anti-Semitic incitement is growing. Countries are collapsing in blood, fire, and pillars of smoke.

Because the Land of Israel is not the problem, it’s the solution. 

Through the building of Eretz Yisrael, nations who desire justice and peace could have sent a clear message to all the various terrorists that violence, falsehood and evil do not pay. This is the correct way for the West to put all evil regimes in their place. This is the way to bring peace to the world.

The War in Gaza

And so, we arrived at this complicated war in the Gaza Strip.

Had we been worthy – we would have engaged in the mitzvah of yishuv ha’aretz, building and expanding Gush Katif. We would not have sinned in the Oslo Accords, and not have granted the Arabs any collective rights in the Land of Israel. Indeed, we would have to deal with international pressure and threats from the Arab enemy, but handling such pressure would have been relatively easy. It could even have been a constructive and reinforcing struggle.

But since we were not worthy, we sinned in the Oslo Accords and the destruction of Gush Katif, we entered a complicated war in Gaza in order to save Jewish lives from the fires of Muslim terror, and our precious soldiers are forced to sacrifice their lives in the defense of the people and the country.

The Only Way to Win is Settling the Land

If the government continues to ignore the vision of yishuv ha’aretz, we cannot win the war. For the Arabs know that the key issue concerns the sovereignty over the land, and as long as they remain steadfast and their claims receive international attention – they win. Even if we kill thousands of their soldiers and citizens and destroy thousands of their houses, specifically on account of that, they will receive more funding to build their military strength.

And thus, we will have to go from one military operation to the next, to bend, twist, and confront international pressures – because the Arabs will always have demands, and there will always be more terrorists to violate the peace.

The only way to win is by returning to the mitzvoth of yishuv ha’aretz. If as a result of the war in Gaza the government comes to the realization that further talk about withdrawal from Judea and Samaria is forbidden and must expand the Jewish settlements, this war can then be depicted as somewhat of a victory.

If the enemy knew that as a result of the war the government would decide to build tens of thousands of homes in the settlements of Judea and Samaria, they would realize they have lost.

If they heard that the Israeli government intends to occupy Gaza, to rebuild the destroyed communities, to encourage the emigration of refugees and enemies of Israel, their dream of victory over Israel would fade, international pressure would gradually diminish, and the swamp of terror would eventually dry up.

The Role of Individuals

During the period of mourning over the destruction of the Temple, each individual should make an effort to rectify the Sin of the Spies by building the Land. Anyone who can join the settlements in Judea and Samaria is called to do so. 

Those who cannot move there for family reasons, or because they fill other important functions in education or in the community, are called upon to encourage those who can, to rise up and join the settlements.

Of course, those standing guard over the communities on the Golan Heights and the Negev, the Galilee and the Arava, should remain where they are. This call is directed to the residents of central Israel, who, without losing their jobs, can fulfill the great mitzvah of saving our nation from the existential danger of the establishment of a terrorist state in Judea and Samaria.

Because settling the Land is the solution, 

and in the building of Eretz Yisrael we will find comfort.

This article appears in the ‘Besheva’ newspaper, and was translated from Hebrew.