The result of rewarding Violence is to Encourage Violence 
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg
                       September 25, 1994

     For nearly thirteen years I have prayed every morning at dawn in the Hall of Isaac at
the Cave of Machpelah.  My son had his brit mila at the spot which I then made my "makom
Kavua" to pray.  It was in this very spot where Dr. Baruch Goldstein, z"tl, H"yd, was brutally
murdered by an outraged, frenzied Arab mob.
     Several years ago I had been the unwitting and unsuccessful target of an Arab ritual
murder at that very spot.  The army dismissed the attempted attack as an attempt by a lunatic
and made no attempt to change security procedures to prevent other "lunatics" from attacking
Jews.  
     Over a year ago a young yeshiva student, Erez Shmuel, was knifed to death at
noontime as he was walking from Kiryat Arba to pray at the Cave for the ill father of his
friend.  Rabbi Waldman mounted a hunger strike at that time, demanding that the army raze
the ruins which provided cover for the cowardly assassins.  In a half-hearted response the
army fenced off a few alleyways and paved the path leading to the Machpelah building.
     About a year ago, Avraham Sharbiv, a resident of Hebron, was walking to early
morning prayers when he was attacked by two Arabs.  One slashed his jaw with an ax. 
Sharbiv pulled out his revolver and succeeding in killing one of his attackers and frightened the
other away.  The army made no effort to change security procedures then either.
     Then, last February, in a brutal reaction both to continued acts of murder of Jews in
Kiryat Arba, and to threats of mass murder by the arab  "worshipers" at Machpelah, Dr.
Baruch Goldstein gunned down 29 Arabs at the Machpela building on the holiday of Ramadan
while the mobs were being incited against Jews.
     Suddenly, in reaction to the unprecedented attack against Arabs by a Jew, the army
decided that the Cave of Machpelah is a dangerous place.  Now, almost magically, unlimited
funds have been made available to provide every possible security device known to modern
science at this holy site.  
     Today, a full eight months after the event of last Purim, the army still insists that the
building is "unsafe".  What puzzles me is, if it is unsafe inside a building which is guarded by
army troops, how can it be safe for Jews to pray out in the open in the streets of Hebron?  On
Rosh HaShanna and Yom Kippur the army offered personal escorts to all those who came to
pray out in the street opposite the Machpelah building.  How is it possible that the army is
incapable of having protected them had they entered the building?
     The fact is that the government of Israel has a policy priority directed at appeasing our
enemies.  It is this policy which sees prayer at our holiest site, the Temple Mount, permitted to
all religions, save Judaism.  The reason being that Judaism is offensive to Moslems who will
likely riot should we pray there.  Signs are evident that this same perverted reasoning may well
be employed at our second most holy site in the world for the same reason.
     But we Jews are, at long last, beginning to learn from our enemies.  If riots and
violence by Arabs are rewarded by our government, then it may well be that this government
will drive her citizens to use the same tools to achieve at least equal rights with our enemies.  
     Last Thursday of Chol Hamoed Succot, as every year, thousands of Jews came to
Hebron to visit the graves of our Patriarchs.  For the first time ever the IDF tried to forbid
them from going to Hebron on the pretext that a lone Arab was seen walking the streets
carrying a hand grenade.  The crowds lost patience with this limp excuse and forcibly marched
on foot to the Cave of Machpelah.  The crowd refused to accept the voluntary humiliation of
being restricted not to as much as approach the building.  They forced their way passed the
infamous seventh step and walked all the way to the doors at the entrance to the building,
where they could physically not go any further.  At this spot they stopped and prayed.
     Later twenty Jews from the crowd were arrested.  Thirteen were released and seven
were kept in custody.  At this moment we still do not know when or if the building will be
reopened to Jewish prayer.  But one thing is certain.  The Jews of Kiryat Arba will never
accept less than that which was already attained.   Any attempt to usurp Jewish rights at the
resting place of our Fathers and Mothers will be met with unceasing protest.   It will be a
grave mistake for our government to try to separate the children of Israel from their Fathers.