Ediblog.com
Israel or Palestine?
By Ariel Natan Pasko
I read in the news not long ago something that caught my eye. A headline,
"Breslov Hassidim Arrested On the Way to Joseph's Tomb." I know I
can't praise them for "breaking the law". Officially, violating a
military order barring Israeli citizens from entering PA autonomous areas.
But I just can't help myself from thinking, congratulations, for keeping the
issue in the news. Since Operation Defensive Shield in April 2002, groups of
Breslover Hassidim have regularly tried to get to Joseph's Tomb in Shechem
(Nablus) to pray.
Recently another group of Breslov Hassidic Jews tried to go to pray at
Joseph's Tomb. It was the week that we read in the Torah that Jacob had
bought the place where he set up camp for his family, in Shechem, upon
returning to the Land of Israel for "100 Kesitahs" (Genesis
33:19). Jewish tradition says that Joseph is buried on that plot. But this
time, "Palestinians" shot at the Breslovers, injuring seven, four
seriously. Islamic Jihad and the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades both claimed
responsibility for the attack. But what has the Israeli Army and Police
chosen to do? Arrest nine members of the Hassidic group, that's what.
Why have they had to try and out fox the Israeli Army, to sneak into
Shechem? Why does the Israeli government have to protect its citizens from
themselves and deny them access, when they want to pray at a Jewish holy
site? Why doesn't the Israeli government secure the area, and re-open it to
visits by Jews?
The answer is that Joseph's Tomb was supposed to be under Israeli control
according to the Oslo Agreement. Jew's were supposed to be free to go learn
Torah and pray there. The Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva - Joseph Lives Rabbinical
Seminary - was there. But on October 7th, 2000, three days after Israel
Television Channel Two reported that then Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz said
that he would pull the Israeli forces from Joseph's Tomb if the situation
worsens, PA mobs overran the site, killed a soldier, and stole our heritage
again.
The "Palestinians" quickly ransacked the place, burning Jewish
prayer books, and repainting the white dome roof, Muslim Green, transforming
the Biblical Joseph's resting place into a Muslim holy site. The Israeli
government then under the mis-leadership of Ehud Barak, didn't think it was
worth fighting over to hold onto. Jewish holy sites, our connection to our
past, and to our Land, didn't matter. And that gets to the heart of the
problem. Whose land is it? Whose Holy Sites are they? Who cares more?
In an interview published in Ma'ariv (Feb. 16, 2001), then IDF Deputy Chief
of Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon regretted the decision to abandon Joseph's
Tomb in Shechem. Gen. Yaalon said that the pullback "fired up the
fighting spirit of the Palestinians… It will be a grave error if
Israel continues to pull out of other areas or settlements under fire."
But our present Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon missed the point. Beyond the
operational need to be seen as strong against "Palestinian"
violence, Israel has to be strong in its belief in the rightness of its
cause. Jews have to feel connected, as the Holy Breslovers do, to Jewish
tradition, the Jewish past, and the Jewish future. That's the only way to
overcome these spiritual imperialists.
What did the Arab hordes do when they captured Joseph's Tomb & Yeshiva?
They Islamicised them. Recently it's been discovered that they destroyed the
tombstone. They stole our history for themselves again, as they have for
over 1400 years. Islam you see is a successionistic religion. That is, they
want to succeed Judaism. They steal our Patriarchs & Matriarchs. Notice
their claims to the Ma'arat HaMachpela (Tomb of the Patriarchs) in Hevron,
where Abraham & Sara, Isaac & Rebecca, and Jacob & Leah are
buried. They also claim Kever Rachel (Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem) as
theirs. Our prophets and leaders, Moses & Aaron, King David & King
Solomon, all are Muslims according to this Arab imperialist movement.
Whereas early Christianity settled with having stolen our spiritual heritage
and claimed to succeed us; Islam, the Islamic world, the Arabs of Eretz
Yisrael, and the so-called Palestinians, go further. Not only do they claim
ownership to our history and spiritual tradition, but they also claim
ownership to our Homeland.
When "Palestinians" speak about the "right of return"
they don't just refer to Judea and Samaria - the West Bank - and Gaza, they
include, Acre and Jaffa and Haifa and Safed and Jerusalem. All of
"Falistin" is holy to them, because it is Holy to us. Palestinian
nationalists and Islamic fanatics speak with burning enthusiasm about
"Falistin-Palestine". It's a pity so few Jews speak with equal
fervor about our HOLY PROMISED LAND and HOLY SITES.
That's why seeing the Breslovers trekking out to Shechem, brightens the
heart. The Breslovers you see aren't "settlers," aren't interested
in politics, they're just simple Jews who still feel the need to connect to
Jewish history & tradition. Their sustained effort for over a year and a
half now, to get to Joseph's Tomb to pray, has more than anything else, kept
the issue percolating just below the surface.
With all the effort made by the United States to end the violence,
formulating the Mitchell and Tenet Plans, and then the Quartet's (US, EU,
UN, Russia) Road Map, no one has explicitly stated that Joseph's Tomb will
return to Israeli control. The recent "private" Ayalon-Nusseibeh
Peace Petition, and "private" Beilin-Abed Rabbo Geneva Initiative
assume that the Jews will give it up.
According to the text of the Roadmap released by the State Dept. on April
30, 2003, "As comprehensive security performance moves forward, IDF
withdraws progressively from areas occupied since September 28, 2000 and the
two sides restore the status quo that existed prior to September 28, 2000.
Palestinian security forces redeploy to areas vacated by IDF." The
emphasis is on Israeli withdrawal, not "Palestinian" withdrawal.
Where is Joseph's Tomb? I don't expect the US, EU, UN or Russia to care
about our ancestors. I know the Arab-Muslim world wants to steal our
history. But, where is the Israeli government? Where is Chief of Staff
Ya'alon? Where are the Jews of Israel?
And that's why it's so heartening to see the Breslovers, simple believing
Jews, not "settlers" - as if that would some how lessen the value
- not "nationalists," but simple believing Jews, who still are
burning with enthusiasm for OUR HOMELAND, OUR HISTORY, OUR TRADITIONS, and
yes OUR ANCESTORS. Their actions prove that JOSEPH'S TOMB - and all of our
Homeland - isn't just for military or political purposes, isn't just for
"settlers," but for simple believing Jews too!