                      Prime Minister Rabin
       How Many More Jews Will you allow to be Murdered?
                       November 15, 1993
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg

     Last summer, Erez Shmuel, a young yeshiva boy who often prayed with my vatiken
minyan at the Cave of Machpela, was ambushed on a Friday,  in broad daylight, on his way to
recite psalms at the Cave.  His body was found drained of blood as he had been repeatedly
stabbed by Arab murderers.
     Just a few months ago another young man, also a member of my special early morning
minyan, was attacked by a knife wielding Arab, but fortunately sustained only light injuries.
     Two weeks ago, Rabbi Chaim Druckman had his car run off the road while on his way
to Hebron on Sunday morning.  Arab murderers fired machine gun bullets into his car,
murdering the young driver, although the rabbi miraculously was not seriously injured.
     Now, this morning, another young man, forty-year old Avraham Zarbiff, father of ten
who lives in Hebron, another veteran member of my early risers' minyan at Machpela, was
walking to the Cave when he was assaulted by ax wielding Arabs with murderous intent. 
Hearing his attackers approach, Avraham turned on them and caught ax blows to his head and
face.  Instantly he responded by firing his pistol, killing one of the attackers on the spot.  He
was soon disabled by his wounds and the other attacker got away, taking Avraham's pistol
with him. As of this writing, Avraham is still in the operating room where doctors are trying to
put him back together again.
     If you insist upon living with snakes you cannot help but expect to get bitten once in a
while.  There are three options to take: 1. You can take your chances with the snakes; 2. You
can abandon your home to the snakes; or 3. You can get rid of the snakes.
     The government of Israel has always acted in favor of the snakes.  While they have
tolerated our insistence upon living in Hebron as a foolish one before, never have they ever
considered the possibility of removing the snakes.  As Rabin sits with the biggest serpent of
all, he and Peres have a vision of removing us from the city of our Fathers and leaving the
snakes to guard the graves of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
     While coexistence is a noble concept, it has become abundantly clear that we simply
cannot coexist with those whose very purpose for living is to destroy us.  Rabin has told us
that we can spin around like a propeller and have all the demonstrations we want and it will
accomplish nothing.  He has nothing but scorn for the opinion of the Israeli population.  
     American Jewish opinion, however, might just have an affect upon our Prime Minister. 
If the flow of American dollars is as much as possibly threatened, our fearless leader will break
out into a cold sweat.  I really don't know if it will help or not, but if enough American Jews
threatened to stop buying Israeli bonds or contributing to UJA unless the Israeli government
takes steps to ensure the Jewish future of Judea Samaria and Gaza and the Jewish holy places
there, it just might give Mr. Rabin second thoughts about selling our Fathers' graves to Yassir
Arafat.
     I live in Kiryat Arba.  I still go every morning before dawn to pray where Avraham
Avinu prayed.  There is no logical reason for my wife to have to worry whether or not I will
come home alive.  The invincible Israeli Army controls these areas.  Yet, Jews in recent
months have been attacked and murdered under the very noses of our army.  Rabin would
have us blame the victims.  I blame the defense minister who has decided to pay for a phony
peace with the bodies of innocent Jewish victims.  There is a big difference between dying for
your country in a war and needlessly being murdered because you are Jewish, especially in a
Jewish state with a Jewish army.  
     There is no excuse for such attacks to continue in a Jewish country.  It continues only
because the likes of Rabin refuse to stop it by removing the murderers.  That is a sin for which
there is no forgiveness.