Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Gila Gamliel took the podium to explain why Zoabi’s actions undermined the democracy of which Zahalka spoke. “I hear MK Zoabi defining herself as a Palestinian and I ask – if you are a Palestinian, why are you a member of the Israeli Knesset?”Now there is a very interesting question which should have been asked of all Arab Knesset Members years ago. In fact it should be asked of all Arabs in Israel who claim Israeli citizenship. If you listen carefully to our Arab “parliamentarians” , they consistently invoke the concept of democracy to legitimize their “right” to deliberately sabotage the very country they allegedly represent. The fact is that they do not represent the Jewish state at all. They represent their constituency which are Israeli Arabs who seek to turn the Jewish State of Israel into an Arab country called “Palestine”, which is why they choose to call themselves “Palestinians”. In any other country this would be considered an act of war. In Israel it is “democratic” privilege!

Ms. Zoabi should not have had some of her privileges taken away. She should have been hanged for treason. She and her fellow party members have clearly expressed their “obligation” to represent and fight for the views of those who seek to dismantle the Jewish State. How dare we continue to legitimize treason within our own Knesset? How much longer will we refuse to see the blatant contradiction between a democratic state, which allows a foreign minority to seek our destruction; and a Jewish State which tolerates non-Jewish residents, who cannot become citizens but who accept our rule of law and our exclusive sovereignty here?

What our legislators are so proud to call “democracy” is an absurd effort to force our enemies to love us even as they work to destroy us from within. The Arabs have an enormous amount of Land in which they could easily build ten Palestines for these alleged refugees. In fact, had they truly wanted to do so, prior to 1967 they had all the lands they claim they want now in order to build another Arab state… so why did they choose not to build it back then? The only reason they are demanding that we build them a new state on Jewish soil is to make it easier for them to destroy what is left of Israel afterward. Should we be stupid enough to build them such a state you can be sure that not one Jew would be able to live there… yet in what would be of Israel, we would still be required to harbor the same enemies who have already begun to destroy us. Does anyone notice a dual standard here? Probably not. After all it is the Arabs who believe in protecting their exclusive sovereignty. We Jews believe in democracy.

Obama got a lot of flack from the Jewish community and others over his shabby treatment of Bibi last go round. He needed to smooth ruffled feathers and he did a masterful job.

Bibi, for his part, needed to show his constituents that he could get back into good graces with the American administration without giving away too much. The both of them spoke glowingly of one another and how much they both want peace. Key phrases like “confidence building measures”; “risks for peace”; “concrete steps”; “move the peace process further along in a very robust way,” may have been loaded with heavy implications but were truly vague and undefined terms.So they succeeded in very warmly agreeing to go forward with the “peace process” using terminology that each could interpret in radically different ways. Thus everyone was pleased.

I suppose that this is diplomacy at its best. But the reality is that is was just window dressing and meaningless banter to please the public.

While our leaders are busy trying to make it seem like there is a real peace process, the fact is that we are on a collision course that will eventually see us collide. Any honest observer knows that the current alleged “palestinian” entity was and is a fiction designed to destroy Israel. The more our Jewish leadership tries to pretend otherwise the greater danger to Jews. Although Bibi is a master politician and has done marvelous work in double-talking in both Hebrew and English, he crossed all red lines when he agreed to the concept of a PLO state upon Jewish soil. While he may still think that he can get the Arabs to agree to a state without sovereignty, this will never happen. If he had an ounce of honesty and loyalty to his Jewish heritage he never would have made such a statement. He has no right to barter Jewish land with anyone… certainly not those who would use it to destroy us. He was elected as a caretaker of the Jewish homeland, not delegated to treat it as his private property to dispose of as he chooses.

We Jews have faced countless challenges to our existence over the generations. The most difficult challenge to overcome is when so called Jewish leaders try to solve Jewish problems with foreign ideology. Yes, we always must pursue peace… but not at any price. There comes a time when we must be prepared to fight for Jewish principles rather than help to trample them. There is not now, nor will there ever be, another nation which has the right of sovereignty over Jewish Land. If there is a powerful nation which thinks it can wrest our country from us, let it try. But we dare not be a willing party to our own self destruction.

The political game of making believe we can live in peace with our would be murderers goes on. Geniuses like Obama and Netanyahu will make every effort to avoid the inevitable collision that is coming. But make no mistake, the day is coming, and sooner than we think, that Truth and falsehood will collide. The explosion will be devastating, but Truth will prevail.

Abbas charmed his audience of American Jewish leaders with his soft-spoken conciliatory tone; his rejection of violence; his recognition of the Jewish connection to the Holy Land; and his desire for peace. Clearly this gentle, grey-haired grand-fatherly fellow would never consider being untruthful when speaking to American Jews.

One can only imagine, had this group existed back in the thirties, if they would have had a dinner for Adolph Hitler and entertained his vision for world peace.Peace is always a noble goal. We should always seek peace. But the price we must pay does have its limitations. “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?” That was Patrick Henry’s courageous response when the youthful United States had to decide to either back down to England or fight for her principles.

I daresay that the Jewish State is in a far more crucial situation today than America was back then. To paraphrase Mr. Henry I would ask, “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to have us reject our obligations to our Father in Heaven?”

What are we Jews doing in Israel? Did we come here to create a model of the United States in the Middle East? The efforts of our so called leadership seem to be trying to do just that. If we don’t know who we are or why we are here how can we hope to fulfill our destiny?

The reborn Jewish State is the beginning of fulfillment of Biblical prophesy. The Jewish people were exiled from their homeland over two thousand years ago. Our G-d scattered us all over the world, yet, despite this fact we miraculously maintained our identity as Jews throughout the generations. Our G-d promised us that we would eventually return to this very land. Throughout the ages and all over the world we Jews prayed for the day we would be regathered to our homeland.

At the very bleakest moment of our history, right after the holocaust which destroyed a full third of our people, we picked up our scattered remnants and began to come home. Our new state was declared at a time when we were in no position to claim it. We had no army, nearly no weapons, no allies and we were weak and unprepared. Yet, despite the countless obstacles, with G-d’s help we reestablished Jewish sovereignty in our ancient homeland. Those brave Jews who fought against impossible odds gave no thought to the likelihood of success. They just did what they had to do. . . and miracles followed.

How ironic that today, when we have a modern army and a well developed country, we have leaders who are afraid to fight for it. Why did my leaders seek to negotiate with the likes of Arafat? Were they really afraid of the PLO? I think that they simply forgot who they were and why we are here. G-d sent us enemies to teach us how to be good Jews. But we choose not to learn. How many Arab leaders have said, “This is holy land and we simply cannot negotiate it with anyone”? When did you ever hear a Jewish leader make such a statement? Yet for the Arab it is a lie and for the Jew it is the Truth! Why is it that my leaders continue to insist that we have no choice but to live together with those who seek our destruction? Peace? The Arab definition of peace is a world without Jews. How do you negotiate those differences? Perhaps we should agree to disappear a little at a time.

I don’t care how sweet Abu Alla spoke. He is a murderer of Jews and Jews have no business talking with those who seek our destruction. I have written to this group and asked to be invited to speak in rebuttal to the PLO leader. I would invite those who support me to also write to:

President Robert Wexler
S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace
633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20004

Tel: 202.624.0850
Fax: 202.624.0855
info@centerpeace.org

The Living G-d of Israel decreed that His People, Israel, would wander in Exile and be dispersed all over the world. He also decreed that His People, Israel, would eventually be regathered from all over the world and return home to Zion, the Land of Israel, where they will rebuild Jewish sovereignty and conduct their nation according to the Law of G-d.Try as we will, we cannot rewrite Jewish destiny. We cannot decide to placate the world by agreeing to build a foreign entity on Jewish soil. It is not our right to do so, and any such attempt will not only fail, but will be accompanied by needless tragedy. The foolish attempt to make Israel both a Jewish and democratic state has exploded in our face. Our “equal, democratic” fellow Arab citizens have taken advantage of our stupidity to work to destroy the Jewish state from within. Our Arab Members of Knesset have openly supported the PLO and make no attempt to conceal their motives. Yet our allegiance to “democracy” seems to overpower our basic sense of survival! We have consistently failed to address the reality that we must make a choice. Either we have a democratic state and give up on the Jewish one. Or we insist upon a Jewish State whose citizens are limited to Jews. By continuing to ignore the impossible conflict here we guarantee continued strife and drive peace ever further away.

Zionism is a Biblical process. It is fulfillment of the prophesy that the Jewish People will return home from all over the world. This is already happening. No power on Earth can stop it from continuing unto completion… not even the government of the State of Israel. We cannot define our state by standards of the other nations of the world.

We are very different. We are part of a G-dly process which is not open for negotiation. When we try to negotiate our destiny we demonstrate a lack of faith in G-d and bring needless tragedy upon our own heads… but our destiny continues in spite of us.

If we had genuine Jewish leadership there would be no such thing as a moratorium on Jewish building anywhere in Israel. There would certainly not be any discussion of building a foreign entity upon Jewish soil. And any self respecting government would never tolerate any part of its citizenry challenging its sovereignty. Every Arab who calls himself a “palestinian” is really saying that he denies the legitimacy of Israel. Such a person has no right to live in the Jewish state, much less to be considered a citizen.

The Arabs have twenty two nations, each one of which is vastly larger than the entire Jewish State. If they wish to build themselves a new country there is no lack of land upon which to build. Why do they insist upon carving up the Jewish State to build a new country? It is not because they have any right or connection to this land. It is because, as Moslems, they cannot accept the concept of Jewish sovereignty anywhere in the Middle East. The only reason the so called “palestinian” concept was created was to destroy the Jewish State. And it seems to be working. The only reason it seems to be working is because our leadership is afraid to be honest, and does not really believe in G-d or Jewish Destiny. Without either there is no future for us. This is why our leaders are so desperate to make deadly compromises. Were they truly aware of the power we possess there would be no compromises. Genuine peace can only come when we do our best to please our Creator. Spitting in His Face will only drive peace further away.

My son, Avi, related to me a story about Rabbi Kook, Z”tl, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel. When a group of religious Jews from Europe came to visit Israel they also visited with Rabbi Kook. The rabbi asked them why don’t they move here. They replied that they made a careful financial calculation (Cheshbon), and determined that it just was not possible for them. To this the rabbi responded with the Torah portion describing how, before they could enter the Land of Israel, the Children of Israel first had to vanquish Sichon, the King of Cheshbon. When it comes to the Land of Israel, the rabbi admonished, we cannot make a financial calculation. We must rid ourselves of “Cheshbonot” and just come home. The group chose not to heed the rabbi’s advice and they perished in the holocaust.When we decided to come home we did so for only one reason… because Israel is our only home. One cannot be complete as a Jew while willingly living in Exile. We had no guarantees, no one really does. We just expressed our faith by doing the right thing and hoping that we would manage. I must tell you that, although we certainly had our share of problems, that one act of faith has been rewarded many times over. We raised all of our children here, in Kiryat Arba, two of whom were born here. Three of our five children are already married and having children of their own, and all are living here as proud Jews.

When our son, Avi, had his bar mitzvah here, one of our guests, Rabbi Shalom Gold, who was our rabbi in West Hempstead, was very impressed with the way Avi read the Torah. He assured me that were he raised in West Hempstead he would never have been able to be so proficient. Avi truly enjoyed learning. He eventually became able to read the Torah in the synagogue on a regular basis. Today Avi is married, living in Kiryat Arba and the father of a new baby girl. And if that isn’t enough, this very afternoon, in Jerusalem, he is going to receive his official certification as a rabbi by the two chief rabbis of Israel!

When I think of how life might have turned out were I not so “courageous” and “self sacrificing”, it truly frightens me. When I sound the shofar it is with the hope that I can arouse my brothers to their senses. The Exile was always and still is a punishment. For over two thousand years we had no choice but to make the best we could with our lot. Yet throughout the generations we yearned for the day when we would come home at long last. Well that day is here and the vast majority of our people choose not to think about it. Redemption certainly is not complete, but, even without Redemption it is still a tremendous mitzvah to live in the Land… even were it not under our control! Although our government does not relate to our homeland as it should and there is much to change to make Israel the Jewish State it is destined to become, now is the time to come home and participate in that change. To remain in Exile as a passive observer is to reject miracles and display a lack of faith in Jewish destiny.

My own life is proof that we are living through a Divine Process. I sound the shofar in an attempt to share that proof with others and enable them to save their lives and that of their families… both in a physical and spiritual sense. Time is running out.

P.S. – I just boiled down a three hour ceremony to about 45 seconds…

The only explanation I can come up with is the completely irrational reality of antisemitism. Jew hatred is an ancient practice dating back to Biblical times and continuing throughout every generation. As it says in our Passover Hagaddah, “In every generation there arise those who seek to destroy us, and every time our Creator comes to rescue us from them.”Helen Thomas is certainly no threat to the Jewish People or the Jewish State. But the very fact that such a respected individual can suggest that, sixty two years after the reestablishment of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel, Jews should just pack up and leave our homeland to our enemies, only serves as further proof that Jewish return to our ancient homeland is a supernatural event.

There is no other example in the history of the world of a tiny nation which was expelled from its homeland and lived in Exile scattered all over the world for over two thousand years. It is logically inconceivable that such a nation could possibly maintain its identity over such a long and diverse Exile. It is equally irrational that such an insignificant and scattered people should be so viciously hated in all times and places. And the most amazing fact of all is that such a people could even dream to return home after such a long Exile. Yet it was at precisely the weakest moment in her history, when a full third of her population was annihilated as the world watched in indifference, that, against all odds, the Jewish State was reborn.

Helen Thomas is old enough to remember when the term “Palestinian” was reserved for Jews living in the Holy Land prior to the rebirth of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. This fact makes it even more difficult to understand how she could suggest that the Arab claim, which originated in 1964, could have greater legitimacy than that of the original inhabitants.

We Jews have no shortage of enemies. This too is part of our destiny. The time is coming, and sooner than we think, when the nations of the world will gather together in an effort to destroy the Jewish State once and for all. Isn’t this the message of Iran today? Yet those who know Biblical destiny realize that the purpose for this effort transcends the hatred by our enemies. Much like our first redemption from Egypt, which saw the mighty Egyptian army attempt to drown us at the Red Sea, only to be themselves destroyed by our G-d, the coming redemption will see our enemies destroyed with even greater miracles than we saw that the Red Sea. The result will be universal recognition of the Creator of all of Mankind, and respect and love for His Chosen People, Israel.

Thank you, Helen Thomas, for reminding us that Jew hatred is an incredibly irrational thing that defies explanation. It only serves to reassure us that our redemption is very close.

If our own leadership is not willing to openly state that Israel is the exclusive homeland of the Jewish People, there are other entities which are all to happy to take it from us. It may sound nice to proclaim that we are both a Jewish and democratic state, where both Arab and Jew have equal rights. Yet such a statement is, in fact, a denial of both concepts. If we are a democratic state then all people living here have equal rights to determine how the country is run. If we are a Jewish State then only Jews can determine how the country is run. As a result of the confusion we have brought upon ourselves we have neither a Jewish nor a democratic country! It is we who have opened the door to our enemies to destroy us from within, and it should be no surprise that our enemies are all too happy to use all of the tools we have given them.Can anyone imagine a Jew having a position of political leadership in Egypt or Jordan? Then how is it that we have Arab enemies of the Jewish State as members of our Knesset where they actively work to destroy Israel? We treat acts of terrorism, which are really acts of war, as if they were simple criminal offenses and thus deny the fact that we are in a state of war with a segment of our own population. If you deny that you are at war then how can you ever hope to win it? We have in fact determined that we have no choice but to live together with those who are committed to destroying us. This is pure insanity.

When Sharon unilaterally pulled out of Gaza did he really expect our enemies to be grateful? To them it was a military defeat of Israel and just another step closer to destroying it. To the Arab mind Gaza is already a PLO state. Make no mistake, the flotilla of supplies was an overt act of war designed to demonstrate that Gaza is sovereign PLO territory where the Jewish State has no authority. The organizers knew that Israel would not permit the boats to dock in Gaza. Aside from preparing to fight with Israeli soldiers, they knew they would be beaten and they prepared television crews to show the world how cruel Israel is.

Facts are unimportant. It is the image that counts. Propaganda is the specialty of the Arabs. They have convinced the entire world, including most of my Knesset, that a bunch of hooligans from various Arab countries are indeed a legitimate and separate Arab nation which has prior rights to my country! What is far worse is the fact that it is my own government which lends credence to this outrageous farce. The Arab kicks us, blames us for brutality and we apologize!

If the whole world accuses us of brutality and of oppressing Arab inhabitants of our country, rather than try to explain that we are not brutal and that all we want is to live together in peace, we should live up to our reputation. Were we to act with self respect and simply remove our enemy population once and for all, we would get the same condemnation we are already suffering, but we would at long last get the albatross off of our neck and begin to become the proud self-respecting Jewish state we were meant to become.

If we hadn’t given Gaza over to the Arab terrorists in the first place there would never have been a flotilla. If we hadn’t decided to include Arabs as equal citizens in a Jewish State we would not have the kind of terror we face here every day. And if we had declared all of Judea Samaria and Gaza as part and parcel of the Jewish State and deported all those who call themselves “palestinans”, countless lives, both Jewish and Arab, would not have been lost.

It is we, in our efforts to be “objective” at the expense of our own identity and self respect, who have sown the seeds of our own self destruction. Until we have leadership which isn’t afraid or embarrassed to act as proud Jews we will continue to suffer and push peace yet further away.

Gary Cooperberg is planning a speaking tour in the states for the beginning of November. Now is the time to invite him to your area. Contact him here.

The reestablishment of the Jewish Homeland in the Land of Israel only served to further anger those who prefer not to recognize our Creator. Seeing such a tiny and hopeless country defying all odds by daring to declare its independence, our enemies sought to destroy us even before we could begin to grow. We were attacked with a bloodlust that defied description. Had we lost even one war the Jewish nation would have perished. Yet every time we were attacked we defeated our enemies and returned to more of our ancient homeland… again in defiance of logic.

Today we are far more able to defend ourselves than ever before. Yet our enemies continue to pursue us and our leaders continue to make futile attempts to reason with the unreasonable. The most amazing aspect of our continued growth is that it has taken place in spite of a leadership which consistently refuses to see the miracles and even tries to undo them!!

The Jewish State is not just another country. It is not dependent upon U.S. dollars or military aid as most choose to believe. It is the beginning of fulfillment of Biblical prophesy which no power on Earth can alter, as hard as they may try.

When I first began to understand the magnitude of what it means to be Jewish, I immediately understood that living in the Land of Israel was part and parcel of Jewish identity and destiny. I developed an inexplicable yearning to come home to a Land where I had never been. I remember looking skyward every time I heard the sound of an airplane, and, upon seeing the plane, I would imagine that it was going to Israel and how I longed to be on that plane. The power of that longing resulted in enabling me to move my family to Israel. This too was clearly a defiance of logic. There are so many logical reasons for a Jew not to leave his American Exile. . . but none is valid. We are all destined to come home. If we choose to come, and do so in spite of apparent difficulties, we can actually hasten redemption. If we think it prudent to wait we will eventually find that the Exile will spit us out and that our homecoming will be less than glorious.

It is difficult for me to explain to people that my homecoming was not an act of sacrifice, rather an effort to become more complete as a Jew.
That effort was rewarded far greater than I could have ever imagined. I live in a beautiful home in the city of Abraham. I wake up each morning before dawn, as did our Father, Abraham, and pray at the Cave of Machpelah, where he would pray and were he rests with his wife, Sarah; his son and daughter-in-law Isaac and Rebecca, and his grandson and his wife, Jacob and Leah. This is a privilege beyond measure, and an unfathomable reality.

My wife and I had the pleasure of raising our children here, in Kiryat Arba. And now we are watching our grandchildren grow up here as well.
Most of my grandchildren only speak Hebrew, another miraculous and wondrous reality resulting from our decision to come home. So perhaps you can understand why it bothers me so when visitors “praise” me for my bravery and self sacrifice. How can I ever explain to them that it is truly they who are brave and self sacrificing by risking their lives and that of their children by willingly remaining in Exile? This is an illogical reality which too many fail to see.

Like the Jewish State itself, I have grown and thrived in spite of logic. I have given my children and grandchildren fruit from the tree of life which cannot be tasted anywhere else in the world. And I cannot understand why any Jew in the world would willingly settle for less.

If you ever thought that you might want to invite me to your area, but were concerned about how to afford to invite me, think again. I am more concerned about reaching out to people than I am about raising money. If you have been thinking about planning aliyah and have friends who are like-minded and would like to speak to an American Jew who took his family home let me know. And if you have a group of friends who meet regularly in one another’s homes to ponder the amazing reality of Biblical Redemption and would like to invite me to join you please feel free to do so. Project Shofar is an independent non-profit organization with no political connections. Our purpose is purely to be educational and in service to our Creator.While it may seem strange that most of my financial support comes from people calling themselves “Christian Zionists”, this fact is really not so strange. It is just another example which proves that the Biblical process of Redemption is well underway. When non-Jews take notice and recognize that the rebirth of the Jewish State in the Land of Israel is the beginning of fulfillment of Biblical prophesy rather than just another political phenomenon, especially when so many Jews fail to make that connection, this factor alone is fulfillment of Biblical prophesy and a clear indication that Redemption is truly happening.

As an observant Jew who will not speak in a church sanctuary, I happily go out to speak to such Christians and welcome their support and seek to satisfy their need to participate in the Biblical process of Zionist Redemption. As the nations of the world gather together with the goal to destroy the Jewish State, only those with a pure faith in the Living G-d of Israel have the strength to stand against the vast majority. It is nothing less than supernatural for people to ignore their eyes and ears and serve an invisible G-d at their own peril. Yet we are living in the beginning of the era which will demonstrate to the entire world that there is only One Creator. And it will be via the Jewish People and the Jewish State that this enlightenment will arise.

To ignore this reality and pretend that Biblical destiny is just a nice story is to jeopardize your future. For the Jew it is time to make plans to come home. And for the gentile it is time to realize that any attempt to weaken the Jewish connection to the Jewish homeland is a sin against our Creator and will only result in needless tragedy for those who engage in such futile attempts.

The tiny reborn Jewish State was hated and opposed even before it was reestablished. That, in spite of overwhelming odds and confusion even among our own people, it was not only established but has grown and thrived ever since, defies rational explanation. The process of Jewish Redemption is destined to continue unto completion no matter how seemingly impossible the obstacles. We can already see this from recent history. There is no doubt that the future will see even greater miracles.

Although I am considering a trip to the states in August, I am willing to consider coming whenever the need presents itself. With Shofar in hand I will go wherever I am called upon to sound the Shofar and proclaim Biblical Truth. You can always reach me here.