                    Nir   College   Commentary

November 1992                                       Cheshvan 5753
                  Only When G-d is brought into
                the Picture will we achieve Peace

                      by Gary M. Cooperberg

       With the current pressure upon the Rabin government to make territorial concessions
to Syria, it is incredible to observe the ideological gymnastics performed by so called Rabbis and
right-wing thinkers to justify the concept.  Two prestigious contributors to the Jewish Press,
Rabbi Menachem Porush, and Mr. Dan Nimrod of Canada, are but two glaring examples.
       Rabbi Porush postulates that, because Mubarak personally told him so, peace will result
from our giving Syria the Golan Heights.  He then seeks historic and halachic justification for the
Jewish State to relinquish Jewish land to goyim.  There is no such justification, but the very fact
that such a figure suggests that there might be is nothing less than a chilul HaShem.
       Then we have Mr. Nimrod whose heart is in the right place, but whose head isn't.  In
a Jewish Press article he suggests that, since it is impossible for us to negate the concept of Land
for Peace, that we endorse the concept but just change the rules.  While we all know that it is the
Arabs who have the Land and Israel who has the peace, there is no way we will ever convince the
world.  This entire lie was created in order to destroy Israel.  To lend credence to the fraudulent
postulate that one can achieve peace by giving away that which belongs to him, no matter how
honorable your intentions, makes you no better than those who initiated this fraud.  One doesn't
make a lie better by redefining it.  The only way to deal with a lie is to repudiate it.
       Peace is a goal which every government of the Jewish State has had as its highest
priority.  The problem arises when one allows his desire to achieve peace, or any worthy goal, to
blind him to Truth.  The Truth is that peace is not a commodity that can be purchased for land or
money.  Real peace, in which all parties treat one another with mutual respect and honesty has
never existed in our imperfect world.  
       The only kind of peace nations have been able to come up with is the kind that is
enforced with armed might.  The Land for Peace formula was tried when Britain and the United
States conceded Czechoslovakia to Hitler, for true peace in our time.  But, when all was said and
done, the only way peace was achieved was when Germany was physically smashed in war.
       The facts are really quite simple.  Israel exists and the nations would really prefer it
didn't.  It matters not how we present our case, as Truth and logic are irrelevant to those who
would see our country destroyed.         The only thing the world understands and respects is self respect backed with action.  Let
us call a spade a spade.  What is really meant by land for peace is that if Israel is willing to self-destruct, she will then have the peace of the grave.  Need one engage in a debate to determine that
such a concept is not an item for discussion?
       If we really hope to find a way to reach a state of peace, the very first thing we must do
is establish our credibility as a self-respecting nation.  It is high time that we begin to act like a Jewish
State and stop trying to be an impartial negotiator.  Some steps which could immediately be taken
by an honest Jewish government in order to display strength and self-respect, and thus earn the
respect of our friends and foes alike, include:
       Immediate annexation of all Jewish lands in our control;
       restricting citizenship to Jews;
       outlawing the use of the Palestinian concept in anything       other than an historical one as an act of treason against  the state;
       and issuing a clear and unequivocal rejection of any           territorial compromise on our part, including the Land of  Israel on the east bank of the Jordan River.
       
Only after such steps are taken by an Israeli government will we be in a position to sit and discuss
peace with our enemies-- on our terms.
       The above concepts are no less realistic than the ones suggested by Porush or Nimrod. 
The main difference, however, is that these proposals do not compromise our allegiance
to the One who gave us our Land and our heritage.
