On
the morning of Holocaust Memorial Day, Israel announced that it would allow
the transfer of fifty million dollars worth of weapons and military aid to
the Presidential Guard of Abu Mazen. Does anybody doubt that these weapons
will ultimately be used against us? Reality has proven time and again that
more Jews will be murdered as a result of this new weapons transfer. So why
do we continue to allow it to happen?
"How did the Jews of the
Holocaust era allow the Germans to do what they did?" the brave Israelis
arrogantly proclaimed. "After all, they knew where they were leading them.
Weak-kneed pushovers!"
And what about us? We
clearly understand that Jews will be killed with these weapons. What are we
doing about it? It seems that as we mark the 59th year of Israel's
independence, the blood of the Jewish People is still cheap. It is only
natural that the Arabs of Gaza must be supplied with weapons and that in half
a year or so those weapons will kill Jews. Then we will supply them with more
weapons to protect us from the weapons that we gave them today, that were
supposed to protect us from the weapons that we gave them yesterday. That's
just the way it is; we have no control over it. We must come to terms with
this Russian roulette, absolve ourselves of any responsibility and hope that
we or our loved ones will not pay the price.
Luckily, we can still
demonstrate. And there actually were demonstrations just before Holocaust
Memorial Day. They were even stormy. Proud and strong Israelis blocked
traffic, burned tires and even got arrested. They are not pushovers -- why
should they pay almost one thousand shekels per month for their university
tuition? But demonstrations against the weapons being transferred to Gaza?
About the Jews that will die? Why demonstrate? It is only natural that a
certain percentage of Jews will be killed in terrorist attacks. It is like
the sun that rises in the east. Have you ever seen a demonstration against
the rising of the sun?
After Israel's news
announced the weapons transfer, Holocaust survivor and former Knesset Speaker
of the House Dov Shilanski was interviewed. "For me," he said, "the State of
Israel is the guarantee that the Holocaust will never happen again." I deeply
respect Dov Shilanski, but I could not understand the basis of his opinion:
Israel's military strength? That has turned out to be disappointing, at the
very least. Anybody who can't figure out why should drive over to Sderot. The
exile mentality that has changed? It has only gotten worse. We have recently
encountered a new mass-murderer who unabashedly announces that he wishes to
destroy Israel. "Let the Germans give you a state," he says. "Why do the
Arabs have to pay the price of your Holocaust?" And the brave, new Israelis
have no answer. They are helpless. Just like the Holocaust Jews whom they
ridicule, they desperately wait for the redemptive strike on Israel's crowded
population center.
According to all logic,
Shilanski is wrong. The State of Israel that denies itself to death is
leading us toward another Holocaust. If I did not believe in G-d, I would get
my family out of Israel post haste. But I believe in the G-d of Israel and
His Nation. I believe that G-d's will is that we remain in Israel. I believe
in the Bible and in the prophecies that reassure us that the final redemption
will be eternal.
The question is not if
we will survive, but what will be the price. And that depends on us. When we
flee our Jewish identity and destiny, our enemies flourish. I believe that
when we connect to our national identity, new, fresh forces of life will
awaken within our Nation. It is then that we will understand the importance
and power of our State. We will understand that although the State of Israel
had been used to deny Jewish destiny, it is actually the tool that expresses
it. When we connect to our destiny, we will do much more than merely exist or
survive. And nobody will dare dream of destroying Israel.
