By Shmuel Sackett
March 19, 2006
Everybody I spoke to is depressed over what happened in Amona. Jew beating Jew. 216 settlers, mostly youth, sent to the hospital. Members of Knesset Effie Eitam and Aryeh Eldad injured. Rabbis spoke about it on Shabbat. Some cried. Many mentioned the terrible pictures, the testimonies of the youth and the articles written by witnesses. In short, people were shocked, saddened and extremely angry.
I saw it completely differently. To me, the events at Amona were uplifting, inspirational and extremely motivating. Before Amona I was depressed and frustrated. Today I am flying high. Allow me to explain.
The biggest tragedy of the Gush Katif "disengagement" was that it took less than 4 days to expel 10,000 people from their homes. FOUR DAYS!!! 30 years of life were destroyed in four days. Synagogues were smashed, graves were dug up, businesses ruined, Yeshivas demolished and lives shattered in just four short days.
After that horrible tragedy SOME Rabbis in this community spoke about it. I did not see anybody cry nor did I see extreme grief or anger. Gush Katif was spoken about quickly and in passing. It seemed to me that even those who spoke about it did so to "fulfill their obligations." Nobody's summer vacation was interrupted (G-d forbid) as trips to Hershey Park and Shabbat in the Catskills continued. A major tragedy happened in Klal Yisrael and it was life as usual.
To this day, that tragedy continues. Most of those 10,000 people are still homeless and unemployed. The government has not compensated them as promised. Those proud people, who incredibly managed to grow delicious bug free vegetables from sand, which we all bought -- especially for Pesach-- have been reduced to shnorrers. And our response to this Jewish pain and suffering? Nothing! No community outrage, no speeches on Shabbat, no tears.
Want to know why? Want to understand why even people reading these words right now sympathize with the Jews of Gush Katif but do very little, if anything to help them? Because they didn't fight! The wonderful holy Jews in Gush Katif cried, hugged the soldiers and at most sat and were carried away. It is true that there was a little fight in Kfar Darom, but it was already too late. The overwhelming majority of people simply surrendered their homes, businesses, mikvehs, yeshivas and shuls to the Israeli government who promptly brought in bulldozers and demolished 30 years of hard, gut-wrenching work and self-sacrifice.
Subconsciously, you simply cannot respect people who do not defend their homes and families. Think about the following scenario: A very religious man, complete with a flowing beard, starts beating your child and smashing your home. You refuse to hit him back because he is a fellow Jew and instead, stand there the whole time watching. After this beating, you approach your neighbors for financial help in repairing your home and for your child's medical expenses. You explain that you had neither health nor home insurance. Who would give money to this man? Who would respect him, after he did nothing during the beating of his child? That is exactly what happened in Gush Katif and that is why the issue is totally ignored.
Amona was different. In Amona there was a fight. In Amona there was a struggle and people's eyes were opened. No longer will we sit by as they evict us from our homes. No longer will we go into exile simply because some politicians told us so. 5,000 police and IDF soldiers had to come to Amona to carry out their orders and it was not easy. People were hurt. Jewish blood was spilled but in the process, respect was restored.
Afterwards there was an uproar and I am glad there was! That uproar came because we fought back against the forces of evil. That uproar came because 2,000 youth came to Amona to restore the honor and dignity that was lost in Gush Katif. Had they not come and had the IDF just dealt with the 9 families who lived in the "illegally built" houses, you would have not heard a word! Not a single word.
This can be seen in other areas as well. Consider Har Ha'Bayit (The Temple Mount). What happens today on Har Ha'Bayit is the greatest Chilul Hashem (desecration of G-d's Name) yet not a word is said. Why? Because we are not fighting for it! The day that 2,000 Jews show up and demand a Jewish presence on Har Ha'Bayit -- as prescribed by Jewish law -- is the day we become serious about our holiest place on earth. Those 2,000 Jews may suffer greatly at the hands of the Israeli police and many, from both sides, will be injured but it will be worth it for that is the way to restore pride and dignity to our people. That is the way to show we are serious about regaining control of G-d's Mount and in Sanctifying His great and holy Name.
After the events at Amona, I spoke to my friend Michoel whose son received 5 stitches in the head. An Israeli policeman repeatedly beat him with his club. After tending to the wound in Hadassah hospital and driving over 100 miles back home (they live in the Lower Galilee), Michoel called me. He told me that he was proud of his son. I asked to speak to his son, who just turned 17. The young man told me that he was happy. I said, "Happy? With a cracked head and 5 stitches? What's there to be happy about?" He said that during the summer he was in Gush Katif and the leadership there refused to put up a struggle. He was dragged out of the home he was staying in like a sack of potatoes. He was embarrassed and ashamed. He went home crying. Today, he said, was different. Today nobody dragged him out. He fought hard and gave it his best shot. Although he was injured, he was proud. He was happy to have had the chance to fight for the land.
This is not an easy concept to understand, especially from 6,000 miles away. The obvious two questions are; When will this end... with someone getting killed, G-d forbid? Is this what its coming to, Jew vs Jew?
Those are indeed difficult questions but they must be addressed to the Israeli government, not the protestors. The government must decide how much force will be used. As was proven in Amona, none of the holy youth will give back more than they receive. The question of force is in the hands of the authorities.
As far as Jew vs Jew is concerned, how interesting that the Torah portion of Bo, the portion we read during the week of the battle in Amona, contained the famous verse; "And the Erev Rav (mixed multitude) left with them..." Any Jew that mercilessly beats an innocent youth whose only "crime" is clinging to the Land is not a Jew. That vicious monster is a member of the Erev Rav whom the Vilna Gaon states is our final enemy before the coming of Moshiach.
The battle of Amona was a Kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G-d's Name) and will be remembered for a long time. May it inspire us to keep fighting for the people of Israel, the land of Israel and the Torah of Israel.
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