Zionist Orthodox Rabbis Urge Netanyahu To "Show Courage"
Right-wing rabbis leaders sent letter of support to Netanyahuin anticipation of his upcoming meeting with US President Barack Obama. "You must stress everywhere, the rabbis wrote, "that our national and historical right applies to all parts of our country."
Rabbis urge PM to 'show courage' in US
Right-wing religious leaders sent letter of support to Netanyahu ahead of his meeting with Obama. 'You must stress everywhere that our national and historical right applies to all parts of our country'
Kobi Nahshoni • Ynet
Greetings from Kiryat Arba: Six senior right-wing rabbis sent a letter of support to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, ahead of his upcoming meeting with US President Barack Obama and Congress address.
"We wish you all the best as you resist pressures and threats, for the dignity of our people and our land," the rabbis say in their letter. "May you sanctify God's name and glorify our state in front of all gentiles."
The letter's authors include Kiryat Arba Rabbi Dov Lior, Rabbi Nahum Eliezer Rabinovich, head of the Ma'ale Adumim hesder yeshiva, and Samaria's Chief Rabbi Elyakim Levanon.
"Ahead of your trip abroad to handle diplomatic issues related to the future of the State of Israel, we send you our greetings," they wrote. "The God of Israel will send you his holy support for the success of your national mission in favor of the people sitting in Zion."
'National dignity'
In their letter, the rabbis discuss their expectations from the prime minister ahead of the trip. "As the messenger of the people sitting in Zion, we remind you that you must stress everywhere that our national and historical right applies to all parts of our country, a country promised to us by God, and decent people from other nations know this too.
"We have no doubt that if you show courage and national dignity, the gentiles will appreciate it too and you'll succeed in your meetings," they conclude.
About two years ago, before presenting his peace plan, Netanyahu received a similar letter of support from Rabbi Zvi Tau, the head of a major stream in the religious Zionism movement, who called on him not to give in to international pressure and firmly resist Obama.
Close but no cigar...
The Americans, the Israelis, the Palestinians, the Quartet and the EU are close to getting the solution right but the cube is stuck. Some groups are going too far on certain points whilst others are not going far enough. I believe there are some conceptual limitations in the various plans. Current global GDP is approx $60 Trillion. At 4% growth that will reach $275 Trillion by 2050. The current GDP of the areas of Israel, Judea and Samaria/The West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia is approximately $1.6 trillion. This region can grow by at least 5% p.a. over the coming 38 years. If the right command structure is put in place the Holy Land will be a platform of peace, stability and prosperity. The whole world will benefit from this centre of unfolding potential. This is not blue sky thinking. There are concrete benefits to the correct plan and vision prevailing.
Posted by: Adam Neira | May 20, 2011 at 01:59 AM
please remind me again it is the Palestinians who wish to push the Jews into the sea and destroy their nation...yeah right!
Posted by: Loco | May 20, 2011 at 03:01 AM
You do not make peace with your friends.
You make peace with your enemies.
But, the real test of any peace deal will not be geographic solutions, but if the Arab's stop teaching their children to hate us.
Posted by: state of disgust | May 20, 2011 at 08:56 AM
when it comes to these type of issues rebbies are the worst to listen
they do not rely on realities of the world they just have have belief and that is what guides them no matter the consequences when they fail
of course it they have a simple answer if they do
there are to many secular Jews or the frum jews need to repent.
they are never wrong
Posted by: seymour | May 20, 2011 at 08:57 AM
You do not make peace with your friends.
You make peace with your enemies.
But, the real test of any peace deal will not be geographic solutions, but if the Arab's stop teaching their children to hate us.
Posted by: state of disgust | May 20, 2011 at 08:56 AM
true but this just might be the the age old question
what came first the chicken or egg
Posted by: seymour | May 20, 2011 at 10:05 AM
I hope Netanyahu tells Obama to stuff it.
Posted by: effie | May 20, 2011 at 10:31 AM
Actually, on the hasbara front a lot can be done to neutralize Arab propaganda.
A lot of our sages in the Middle Ages wrote books in Arabic or Judeo-Arabic.
These can be easily distributed through the following media:
1. via internet (in Arabic)
2. via videos in Arabic
3. CD's
Also a regular internet radio talk show in Hebrew and Arabic, constantly repeating similarities between Judaism and Islam.
A regular internet radio talk show- showing exclusively positive points about what the Koran says about Jewish claims to the Land of Israel, and also the Koran's repeated statements about the validity of Torah.
Regular talk show with Israeli politicians and businessmen from all over the Middle East about what is possible IF there is true peace ie. as far as economic development, etc.
Posted by: Dave | May 20, 2011 at 10:46 AM
>You do not make peace with your friends.
You make peace with your enemies.
Correction: you make peace with your *former* enemies. *after* the war is over, and hostilities have ceased indefinitely, one can make peace.
Now, how does one get to that point:
Sometimes negotiations occur during a cease-fire. If either side is intent on continuing hostilities, or using negotiations as a ruse then no good will come of it.
Posted by: Yoel Mechanic | May 20, 2011 at 10:50 AM
It's silly to label the position that Israel is a sovereign country as "right wing". Believing in Israel right as a Jewish State could be left wing, right wing, or non-partisan
Posted by: Yoel Mechanic | May 20, 2011 at 10:52 AM
I agree with Yoel.
Frankly, I think Obama is doing Israel a favor. If the Rabbis have there way there will be a state with no Jewish majority that currently bears the name "Israel." It is not right or left wing to hope for a Jewish state, and that requires a Palestinian state - one the Palestinians will accept.
Encouraging Israel to fantasize that the Palestinians will accept little bits of territory surrounded by Israeli checkpoints and without air or water rights is not helpful.
Encouraging Israel to believe that Hashem will make the Palestinians disappear is also not helpful.
The question is:
Do you want A Jewish state or do you want THE Jewish state? We can have A state, but it will not be THE state.
Anyone who helps Israel accept A state is acting in the best long term interest of Israel's Jews. Anyone who encourages Israelis to hold out for THE state is encouraging Israel to walk a path that leads to disaster.
Posted by: invhand | May 20, 2011 at 11:49 AM
Effie: "I hope Netanyahu tells Obama to stuff it."
What is Netanyahu going to do? Threaten to withhold Israeli military and economic aid to the U.S. Threaten to withhold his vote in the UN Security Council?
Go ahead and tell the U.S. to stuff it! Like he has that type of leverage.
Posted by: danny | May 20, 2011 at 01:02 PM
Too late. Netanyahu gave Obama a much needed and public wedgie...
Posted by: effie | May 20, 2011 at 04:11 PM
Please.
Netanyahu is dishonest.
What Obama said is no different than what George W. Bush said, and Netanyahu knows this.
But Netanyahu played to his right wing and to America's Jewish right wing, and he did so primarily for 2 reasons:
1. To get reelected.
2. Because, unlike Bush, Obama might actually be able to negotiate a deal, and Netanyahu doesn't want a deal.
Posted by: Shmarya | May 20, 2011 at 04:15 PM
Jake Tapper disagrees with you...
Posted by: effie | May 20, 2011 at 06:01 PM
And?
I just watched a GW Bush speech from 2005 where he calls for 1949 lines to be the basis for a peace deal.
Perhaps Tapper made a teeny weenie error.
Posted by: Shmarya | May 20, 2011 at 07:42 PM
What Bush said in 2005 is irrelevant and it was wrong. Obama is president now and Israel would have to be insane to roll back to the 1967 borders. And please don't tell me about concessions. When did the arabs ever honor an agreement?
Posted by: effie | May 20, 2011 at 08:05 PM
What Bush said in 2005 is irrelevant and it was wrong.
The point is that what Obama said is actually a little better for Israel than what Bush 2 said, yet the Orthodox and right wing response has been much harsher against Obama. Funny how that is.
Israel would have to be insane to roll back to the 1967 borders
Obama did N-O-T say that Israel should roll back to the 1967 borders.
What he said is that any deal should be BASED on the 1967 borders, but with LAND SWAPS included.
And that is a better deal than Bush 2 advocated and it is the same deal Barak wanted.
Posted by: Shmarya | May 20, 2011 at 08:14 PM
Whether the Jews like it or not, they cannot claim Palestine as theirs' because of a claimed gift from God. It has no legal basis and never will, and honest Jews know it. Besides, if God gave it to them, how come they're had so shed so much blood to acquire it? No cigar, there.
That aside, I support an Israeli state simply because the Palestinians are willing to accept it.
However, the 1967 borders is mute. The Zionists will never retreat because they are criminally insane and use God as an excuse for their insanity.
Posted by: Joe the Philosopher | May 21, 2011 at 01:34 AM
I say cede them their state and let them make a fine mess of it. Get rid of the problem. Let them have the old ruins, sand dunes and farkokte olive trees, and throw in a few donkey herds to sweeten the deal.
Posted by: A E ANDERSON | Auckland, New Zealand | May 21, 2011 at 07:49 AM
"Whether the Jews like it or not, they cannot claim Palestine as theirs' because of a claimed gift from God. It has no legal basis and never will, and honest Jews know it. Besides, if God gave it to them, how come they're had so shed so much blood to acquire it? No cigar, there."
Firstly i am not Jewish (religion or ancestry wise) before anyone makes any comment that i am biased.
To answer your first question, if God gave them that land why did they have to shed blood to get it in the first place.
Well when the jews first obtained the land (Under the Judge and prophet Yeshua or Joshua) much blood was shed as there were already peoples in the land and it took some time before Israel had fully conquered it.
Secondly there will be no peace until either Israel or Palestine ceases to exist because lets face it, neither are happy with what is there now. And in the end Palestine will fall and the kingdom of Israel will be restored to it by Hashem. Those who say Israel relying on Hashem will get them nowhere are lost and deluded. If it were not for the great men of Israel relying on Hashem the world would not be what it is today. (this is clearly evidenced by the amount of transliterated hebrew names people give their children each year.)
Thirdly, legal basis does not apply to God as he is not bound by the laws of men, whether this peace deal succeeds or not eventually the nation of Israel will be fully restored.
Fourthly, if it were not their God-given right to that land why would the europeans decide to re-instate Israel after world war 2. After the slave trade africans were not sent back to their homelands and i am 99% certain that no-one will ever re-instate the Gypsy state although they have also been persecuted. They could simply have promised to be kinder to the Jews. Simply put its all under Hashem's control.
Posted by: gentile christian | May 21, 2011 at 02:42 PM
It really shocks me that so many here seem to be on the Arab Side. Feh!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Dovy | May 22, 2011 at 01:38 AM
To Dovy,
How many sides are there on a Rubik's Cube ? How many coloured squares are there ? How many permutations are there ? Is it true that a cube no matter how diabolical its configuration can always be solved in 27 moves ?
Can you solve a cube by only looking at one side ?
Posted by: Adam Neira | May 22, 2011 at 01:55 AM
I will answer the concerns listed below here. Obviously there is more to expound on. There are limits to what can be presented on an internet forum.
We glibly hear of West Bank Gaza Arab state. What does Israel do with 500,000 Jews of the West Bank especially those close to Arab hotbeds like Nablus. If they won’t go back to Israel, shoot them or leave them to fight for survival when IDF withdrawel occurs? Do we just send in useless UN Peace Observers as has occured in many genocide situations?
A – They stay where they are but there will be no more settlement expansion.
How does a 2 state Gaza and the West Bank trade? A fenced off road or does Israel open her borders to all?
A – There will not be two states if a Messianic Kingdom is established.
The USA spends millions on keeping Mexicans hungry for work out.
A – You can have a Messianic Kingdom in the Middle East encompassing the Temple Mount, Jerusalem, the State of Israel proper, Judea and Samaria/The West Bank, Gaza, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon and still have sovereign nation states elsewhere. A border fence between America and Mexico is thus warranted. So your premise which leads to your next question is fallacious.
What can be expected of Arab terorists hungry for revenge? Or do we expect Arab anger to just dissipate like the supposed buddy association occuring now having forgotten the hundreds of killings between Hamas and Fatah over the Hamas Gazan takeover!
A – It is possible for a serial murderer to become a doting grandfather with the right modalities. Geo-politics is just an extension of psychology. Think the Sefirot as a tool.
Gaza has access to the sea but destroyed/lost 90% of her factories between 2005 and 2007, who is going to invest money and set up industries in a landlocked West Bank?
A – Singapore 50 years ago was a swamp. Japan in 1946 was on its knees.
60% of the Gazan population is under 25 years of age and are jobless. The same demographic problems prevale in the West Bank. How many years will it take to stablise this are even though one see’s GNP growths of 9% listed for the West Bank!
A – Not an easy task by any means but with some level of security people feel safe and an economy starts to tick over. Growth rates of 10% p.a. for Gaza and the West Bank/Judea and Samaria are very possible from 2014 to 2049.
How many West Bankers will then turn their attention to blaming Israel and lobing rockets etc especially with the propergandising of various Mullahs?
A – Yes it is true that economic opportunity does not deny the fomenting of hatred, witness UBL, but in 99% of cases when a person has real hope and opportunities to improve their lot they are less disposed to violent rebellion.
It took less than 3 months of Nazi propagander to activate the Latvians to kill their Jews, a country without any previous anti-semitic history! How many of the dispersed 4.3 Arab refugees are going to rush “home” to the West Bank making the situation worse ?
A – The right of return issue requires a regional and international solution. If great infrastructure developments take place in the existing places like Gaza, the West Bank and Southern Lebanon people will be happy to stay where they are. I don’t really care where my grandfather if I am happy where I am right now. I am y take an academic interest in the subject. If there is a case of theft of property then I would be more interested in the issue.
A – The key question here is “Does G-d give us land to covet or share ?” Who has ultimate sovereignty over all the land on Planet Earth ? I can explain how this issue of past land wrongs can be solved, but there is not enough space here and I am not the quickest typist. The spoken word and all my work from the last fifteen years is ready for the right audience. Regarding the idea that a tsunami of people will “rush” in. Most Palestinians are not going to rush back wanting to settle in the Holy Land. Many Palestinians, like Jews are quite happy in their current nation.
What happens in a devided Jerusalem?
A – It will not be divided. Look up the study “A special regime for Jerusalem” by John Bell, Michael Bell, Mike J. Molloy, Tom Najem. I like the following names for the 150,000 sq,m, trapezoid piece of land in Jerusalem : The Centre For Unfolding Potential; The Noble Sanctuary; The House for All Nations; The Temple Mount. Forget the Third Temple issue for the time being. A divine command and control structure can reign. i.e. CEO Special Regime/Moshiach/Wise Counsellor etc – Sanhedrin – International Agencies/Auditors/National Advisors/Ambassadors/World Bank/World Defence Force – The Nation States.
Those wanting to remain under the Israelies where they get pensions, hospital care …..?
A – The bureaucracies of the State of Israel, Gaza, Judea and Samaria/West Bank will have to be merged. A new structure will need to be formed. There are enough computer experts, systems analysts and designers as well as smart civil servants on all sides with the requisite skills who can erect the right architecture.
How many Arabs will flood into Israel under claims of devided families as occured with the Berlin Wall?
A – This issue will need to be dealt with in a mature fashion. Genuine cases of familial separation will be considered. But people exploiting the regulations for pure profit will not be included. Also the issue becomes moot if the general welfare of the region increases over time and in a swift manner.
If Hamas recognises Israel tomorrow, how long can a Peace agreement be expected to last?
A – Everyone is coming to the realisation that they are going to have to learn to accommodate and respect each other’s hopes, dreams and fears. G-d really does want peace to reign. Evil can be redeemed. In all darkness there is light.
Will it be a Egyptian model Peace type agreement?
A – No. A far more multifaceted and nuanced. Redemption means to “counter-balance”. A Rubik’s Cube no matter how diabolical its configuration can always be solved in 27 moves. Get the metaphor for Middle East and World Politics ?
I have many more answers for the various questions ready. With the right team around it is possible to make the right moves on the cube. Various people can be given certain elements of the puzzle to solve.
As I have been saying for more than fifteen years now. Violence is not innate. The universe is stable, ordered, benevolent and expansive.
Posted by: Adam Neira | May 22, 2011 at 01:58 AM