Disconnected: Chapter 2

Disconnected: a Look Back on the "Disengagement"

Israel's channel 20 has a series about the "disengagement", that is to say the destruction of the Jewish towns in the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria and the expulsion of their residents. It is in Hebrew and you can see the first chapter by clicking here. For me, watching this was very, very painful. It brought back all of the bad memories of what happened ten years ago.

The Expulsion From Gush Katif and the Sin of the Spies

Most of this week's Torah portion deals with the "sin of the spies". It's been almost ten years since the expulsion from Gush Katif. In my mind, the expulsion was in many ways a repetition of that ancient sin, a sin which our sages view as being the seed of the destruction of the Temples and the exiles that we the Jews as a nation have suffered. I believe in the power of Teshuvah, that it is possible to learn from mistakes and that by doing so, we can make ammends for the bad deeds that were perpetrated. Of course, the first step is realizing that a mistake was made!

Ariel Sharon in the Name of the Lubavitcher Rebbe: Jewish Nationalism is Not Enough

Now that Ariel Sharon has passed away many are struggling with the question: Was he a hero or a traitor? The man made many important contributions to the State of Israel and its security. On the other hand, his parting shot, the destruction of the Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria, will be an everlasting blemish on his name.

I will not delve into this question. Instead, to mark his passing, I am putting up this clip which I originally saw here. In it, Ariel Sharon tells us what he heard from the Lubavitcher Rebbe on the importance of keeping the commandments.

Pollard Speaks Out

It is a painful read. Especially since it seems to me that he is correct:

• Israel is the only country in the world ever to voluntarily expel its own citizens from chunks of its homeland in order to hand over the land to its enemies.

• It is the only country in the world ever to voluntarily destroy the homes and businesses of its own citizens, leaving them with shattered lives and broken promises.

• Israel is the only country in the world ever to voluntarily dig up and transport the graves of its dead so that the land could be turned over to its enemies.

The State of Israel also holds unenviable world records for betraying those who serve the state, including the following:

• Israel is the only country in the world to restrain its military from rescuing a wounded soldier, for fear of provoking the enemy and risking its approval ratings with the world. The soldier, injured by enemy gunfire at a Jewish holy site, slowly bled to death needlessly while the IDF stood by and watched.

• Israel also remains the only country in the world ever to voluntarily cooperate in the prosecution of its own intelligence agent, refusing him sanctuary, turning over the documents to incriminate him, denying that the state knew him, and then allowing him to rot in a foreign prison for decades on end, cravenly forgoing its right to simple justice for the nation and for the agent.

• Additionally, Israel is still the only country in the world ever to violate its own system of justice by repeatedly releasing dangerous, unrepentant murderers and terrorists back into the civilian population with impunity. No other country in the world has ever done this! In summary, Israel has the dubious distinction of being the only country in the world so befuddled by moral ambiguity that it is willing to dishonor its dead, betray its bereaved, and disgrace its citizens for the sake of political expediency.

Read the entire article!

Post 9th of Av Post

1) This web site is a must! Go ahead click on the link.

Here's a news report about the web site:

2) Here is another sign of Europe's moral decay.

3) Eight years have gone by since the destruction of Gush Katif.

Uri Ariel Talks About the Expulsion

Parshat Shlach: Of Men and Grasshoppers

This week's Torah portion deals with "the sin of the spies". Ten of the twelve spies that Moses sent to gather intelligence on the land of Canaan were not strong enough in the "faith" department.

"And the LORD said unto Moses: 'How long will this people despise Me? and how long will they not believe in Me, for all the signs which I have wrought among them?"

They did not believe that the children of Israel, with God's help, would be able to conquer the land of Israel. They saw the Canaanites and their fortifications, and they did not believe that they had the military might to beat these people. One verse is quite telling:

"And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."

Indeed, if a person thinks that he is small and of little worth, it is no wonder that others think of him in the same way.

I myself encountered a "spy" almost eight years ago, in the early days of this blog. To my great sorrow, back then the grasshoppers got their way and the Jews of the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria were expelled from their homes. It was quite obvious even back then that nothing resembling peace would result from this crime. Now, eight years, thousands of missiles and a few wars later, I wonder if the guy from "Ohel Hidrabrut" has had second thoughts. After all of the suffering that the "disengagement" caused, I wonder if he has repented and become a man.

I Told You So!

This just in:

Israelis who were opposed to the Oslo Accords and the Gaza disengagement have once again been vindicated, said Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, Rav of the town of Har Bracha and the Rosh Yeshiva of the Har Bracha Yeshiva – and they must continually remind their fellow Israelis of how right they were. In this case, he writes in his weekly column in Besheva, Arutz Sheva's weekly magazine, the need to educate Israelis about the dangers of surrendering land to Arabs takes precedence over what many consider to be the breach of courtesy by those who say “we told you so.”

Fine! Here is something that I wrote way back in January, '05:

Soldiers will continue to die when the Arab ingrates blow themselves up at the border crossings which were set up for their economic benefit. Israeli towns and villiages near Gaza will become the victim of PA police snipers. The Islamofascists will continue to target Israeli civilians with homemade missiles and probably with more sophisticated ones that will be smuggled accross the Egyptian border under the Egyptian army's watchful eyes.

I told you so!

Update:A translation of Rav Melamed's full article is here. Please take the time to read it. I particularly liked the following:

It is generally believed that religious people are less realistic, because they rely more on their faith than on an objective analysis of reality, whereas people lacking faith are able to analyze a situation objectively, and as a result, their short-term assessments are more accurate.

Yet here we have a situation where precisely those who are faithful to Torah, the nation, and the land assess the situation accurately, whereas the unbelievers are mistaken in their delusions and false hopes – which repeatedly blow-up in all our faces.

The explanation for this is that they are no less religiously committed – to a form of idol worship. Their god is called ‘Peace Now’ or ‘human rights’. This is exactly the sin of idolatry – taking one value and worshipping it, without giving consideration to balance with other values.

In contrast, Jewish faith is careful to state that God is exalted above all definition, for He is beyond all values, and all of them are included within Him. God desired to grant merit to Israel, and gave them Torah and mitzvoth with the aim of teaching them to balance values. The leftists, who are alienated from their Jewish heritage, are searching for a god who will give hope and meaning to their lives. Many of them previously believed in communism, and embittered the lives of many people. Today, they believe in ‘Peace Now’, and bring all these troubles upon us.

Some Thought Provoking Links

Adelson, Raisman in top 5 on Forward 50 list of influential Jewish Americans: Not that these lists mean too much, but is an 18 year old gymnast really one of the most influential Jews in America?

From disengagement to terrorism: Nadav Shragri reminds us how we got to where we are today.

Young Woman Viciously Assaulted in Mugging Attempt: Business as usual in Crown Heights?

the Theft of 48 Million NIS isnt the worst part: Rafi's thoughts on Kehillas HaMasmidim

The Truth About the Housing Protests IV

From Arutz 7:

Protesters seeking housing they can afford are doomed to failure – unless they repent for standing by silently as Jews were expelled from their homes in Gush Katif. So says Rav Daniel Stavsky, in a brief segment of his weekly Torah lecture that has been making the rounds online.

“Those who ask for homes, for housing, and six years ago did not protest the expulsion of 10,000 Jews from their homes, and the demolition of their homes – it didn't pain you then? You did not take to the streets? You have no right. You have no right,” the rabbi declared.

“You didn't care, it didn't pain you, you didn't go out to the streets. Now you want 'a home, a home, a home.' You have no right.”

Protesting high housing prices “will not help,” Rav Stavsky stated. However, he said, there is one possible solution.

“Repentance is possible. You can repent; certainly you had been misled,” he said, adding that many felt unable to admit their pain over the expulsion from Gush Katif even to themselves, due to heavy social pressure.

After a little bit of searching I found the clip:

The Truth About the Housing Protests

Yes the cost of housing in Israel is high. The question is "why"? Well you do not have to be Stanley Fischer to know the answer: it is called supply and demand. There is a lot of demand for housing, while supply is lacking, hence high prices.

The expulsion of thousands of people from their homes in the Gaza Strip and Northern Samaria six years ago did not help the housing shortage. Certainly the various building freezes that were imposed on Israel by the Obama administration did not provide the homeless with with a place to put their heads. The hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants living in Israel also play a part in the housing crisis. However, even without these factors, it seems to be that that the crisis would still be here, although to a lesser degree. Let's hope that the government takes steps that will help in the long term without harming Israel's surprisingly strong economy.

With regards to the tent protests, the Israeli public knows very well what is going on. They know who is funding it, and they know what their true objectives are. We are talking about the nefarious New Israel Fund. As Emily Amrousi wrote:

Furthermore, it is clear that the demonstrations were professionally organized and publicized. They're about as authentic as a bottle blonde. The same could be said for the media's blatant mobilization to the cause.

I also saw the following from Dror Eydar:

The demonstrations over housing and the cry of the middle class require fundamental treatment, and one gets the impression that the proposed plan is aimed in that direction. The government -- with its leaders, ministers and advisers -- has to continue repeating the principles of the economic plan, and start working in the field. That's the way the hypocrisy of the professional inciters will be revealed, and they will be left on their own with their anger.

In summary, we are talking about a genuine problem and a largely bogus protest movement.

The Best Article About the "Disengagement" Ever

Moshe Dann tells it like it was and is:

The expulsion of 10,000 Jews from their homes five years ago was not a localized event in the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria. It was a national implosion, a national disgrace. It caused enormous physical, psychological, social, cultural, military and strategic damage to the entire nation – and it still does. Like an ecological disaster, its foulness still seeps through our foundations, and continues to poison us.

Undermined by enforcing a political agenda, the entire political system, the media and judicial institutions refused to act responsibly. Basic civil and human rights of Jews were abandoned. Those responsible for welfare and proper compensation misled and lied; led by Sela, the Disengagement Authority, our country was in denial. Our own political and many spiritual leaders – those for whom we voted, in whom we trusted – failed to organize and prevent this catastrophe. Ministers who disagreed were fired; public debate was suppressed.

Read the rest!

"Disengagement" Soldiers Repenting

The Besheva magazine has published some interesting stories lately. Last week, the story was about a secular soldier that took part in the disengagement even though she did not want to. She regrets what she did and is now religious. This week, the story is about a secular soldier that refused to take part in the disengagement. She also became religious and now lives "over the green line".

BTW, the articles are in Hebrew.

Rav Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l

Last night myriads of mourners packed Reines Street in Kiryat Moshe/Givat Shaul. Some of them were fortunate to be right in front of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu's synagogue. They were able to see those delivering the eulogies. I was not among them. I showed up early for the funeral, but not early enough. Reines Street was already packed with a diverse group of people that came to pay their last respects to one of the greatest rabbis of our generation.

Like I said, it was a diverse group: National religious, "Lithuanians", Hasidim, Sephardim, traditional and even secular Jews were there. The Rabbi was a not only a great Torah scholar of great piety and a wise man, he was also a unifying force in the nation, respected by all.

He loved the nation, and the nation loved him! He was accessible. Anyone who had a question could visit him in his office. You could also catch him on Fridays outside of the Mikvah building. People would wait for him there to ask him questions after his pre-Sabbath immersion. On Sabbath you could catch him on his way back from the synagogue. On such occasions he was surrounded by admirers anxious to ask a question or to hear whatever the rabbi was saying.

He stood on the front lines against the "disengagement". Despite his prayers, the Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip were destroyed and their inhabitants were forcefully expelled from their homes. He did his best to prevent what was a violation of Torah law, a colossal tactical and strategic mistake, a crime against the communities and their inhabitants, and a crime against the Jewish people as a whole.

Rabbi Eliayahu also made his voice heard with regards to another injustice: the continuing incarceration of Jonathan Pollard. Pollard found in Rabbi Eliyahu a spiritual leader and a source of hope.

Our neighborhood was blessed by three giants of Torah: HaRav Shaul Yisraeli zt"l, HaRav Avraham Shapira zt"l and HaRav Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l. All of them were rabbinical court judges and respected authorities of Jewish law. They are gone and they have no replacement!

Jpost Lies

See how the jpost editorial lies:

Radical settler Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, of the Har Bracha hesder yeshiva pre-army academy, instructed national-religious recruits to disobey orders that run contrary to the Land of Israel ethos. Though his institution is funded by the Defense Ministry (and Diaspora donors), Melamed let it be known that government officials would have to come to his mountain if they wanted to parlay; he would not come down to them.

Of course anyone familiar with Rabbi Melamed knows that he instructs his students to disobey any order that is contrary to Jewish law. The Rabbi has explained many times that the Torah has commanded us to settle the land of Israel. What's more, destroying Jewish towns in the land of Israel is a very serious sin. The silly editors of jpost are simply not telling the truth. The issue at hand is not "Land of Israel ethos". Shame on them for lying! Shame on them for making fools out of themselves!

Even Ha'aretz had to integrity to report that we are dealing with Jewish law and not "Land of Israel ethos":

Melamed has repeatedly urged troops to refuse to obey orders during the evacuation of settlements, and he reiterated this in his book.

"A simple halakha [law] is that it is forbidden for any person, whether a soldier or an officer ... to participate in the strictly forbidden act of expelling Jews from their homes and handing over any portion of the Land of Israel to enemies," he wrote. "Those who violate this violate several commandments of the Torah ... Moreover, anyone who considers the situation realistically knows with certainty that any such action encourages those who hate us and endangers the lives of many in Israel."

In another part of the book, Melamed wrote in favor of serving in the IDF, "in order to carry out the extremely important commandment of defending the nation and the land. However, we must reiterate that an order that facilitates an expulsion must be refused."

In response to the question, "What if many soldiers refuse; will that not cause the army to collapse?" Melamed wrote: "If many refuse, no such order will be given. At most, senior commanders will have to resign. On the contrary, it would be good if this happened. The majority of the senior officers are contaminated by politics. They are not commanders who can lead the army to victory, as was shown in the Second Lebanon War."

Special Melave Malkah in Honor of Anti-Evacuation Soldiers

Last night I went to a special Melave Malka. It was in honor of the soldiers that waved the "Shimshon will not evacuate Homesh" sign. These soldiers were sentenced to 20 days in military prison. They finished serving their sentence, and a party was made for them.



Outside the hall where the party was held, a small group of demonstrators from the Labor Party. Their signs say, "On the right and on the left insubordinate people we will not tolerate", "No to insubordinate people rightists and leftists", "When protesting leave the uniform on the side", "We have one army". I guess that means that when Michael Ben Ari becomes Defense Minister they will faithfully obey orders and evacuate Arab villages. ;-)>




Inside the hall a mechitzah separated the men from the women. Cake and soft drinks were served to a crowd that I estimate numbered about 300. There was a pretty decent band and even I, with my two left feet, danced a little bit. I also took some pictures of the event. At a certain point in the evening the organizers stated that the event was closed to the press, and that they requested not to take pictures. I respected their request and even what I photographed inside the hall before they requested I am not publishing.

The first featured speaker was Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba (Hebron). He spoke about the fact that for a Jew, the laws of the Torah supersede any other obligations that he may have. "There is no need to say that if the king decreed to negate a commandment of the Torah that we don't listen to him" (Rambam, Laws of Kings 3:9).

Rabbi Dudi Dudkewitz of Yitzhar talked about two different instances of "refusing orders" in the Torah, and what the results were. If I remember correctly one was when Shaul requested that his servants kill the Priests of Nob. The servants refused. Then Saul commanded Doeg the Edomite to kill the Priests, which he did (see 1 Samuel Chapter 22, 2 Samuel Chapter 21). The second case was when David commanded Yoav to conduct a census. Yoav tried to get out of it, but in the end he did it. In both cases the orders were fulfilled. However, in the first case, where there was a clear cut refusal, the house of Saul was held responsible and not the nation of Israel. In the second case, where Yoav kind of fudged the orders but did not refuse outright, the entire nation of Israel was held responsible and punished (see 1 Chronicles Chapter 21).

One of the soldiers that held up the sign and spent time in prison also spoke. He mentioned that many other soldiers in the unit took part in the act.

The crowd itself was interesting. It was a mix of Kachniks, Chabadniks, and Chardalim (although not of the mamlachti type). Moshe Feiglin was also there.

Israeli General: Disengagement Was a Mistake

I knew that! What he said:

The 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria was "utter nonsense" from a security perspective, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yiftah Ron-Tal, at the time OC Ground Forces, said Thursday.

Speaking to Army Radio, Ron-Tal said: "Today it's obvious to everyone - at the time it was perhaps under debate - that this was an event that, besides being rough, was simply utter nonsense from a security perspective."

Ron-Tal further described the pullout as a "terrible event." He said he had opposed the plan "in the deepest sense of the word," security-wise, belief-wise and on the national level, and that he had let this opposition be known.

Vote Orange Because We Were Right!

What Disengagement?

We're back in the Gaza Strip again:

The government authorized the IDF to send ground troops back into central Gaza Tuesday, following an early morning roadside bomb explosion and a rocket-propelled grenade attack that killed one soldier and wounded three others, one seriously.

Hamas warned that it has not agreed to a "calm" and that its previous ceasefire announcement is dependent on Israel's re-opening Gaza crossings to all commercial traffic.

"This is a serious attack," Defense Minister Ehud Barak told soldiers during a visit near a base close to the scene of the attack and at the same time it occurred. "We cannot accept it and we will retaliate. I do not think there is any point in saying how."

He carried out his threat within hours as troops reached Khan Yunis in central Gaza. Local residents reported tank fire and Israel Air Force jets over the area. Arab sources also reported that the Air Force struck a terrorist target, killing or wounding three people, but the IDF has not confirmed the counterterrorist action.

Hamas responded with mortar fire on the Eshkol region, causing no damages or injuries but returned the area to the status quo of the days before the Cast Lead operation against the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza.

The attack on the IDF patrol occurred around 8 a.m., after two or three terrorists were seen by local Arabs to be planting the roadside explosive that was detonated as an army vehicle passed.

Troops opened fire immediately, and one Arab was killed. His identity was not confirmed, and Gaza sources claimed he was a farmer.

The attack came at the same time United States Middle East envoy Sen. George C. Mitchell was scheduled to confer with Egyptian officials prior to his arrival in Israel tomorrow.

And so it goes.