                                                               
                      A Voice from Hebron
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg
                        October 2, 1996
                Redeployment or Counter attack?

     How far have we descended into the abyss of self-contempt?  The former government of
Israel, secretly and without the knowledge or consent of the Israeli people, broke their own law
and met with the PLO.  From this sinister treachery came forth the Oslo agreements which
elevated murderous terrorists into statesmen; made Arafat into a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; saw
the Israeli government embark upon a road of suicidal surrender to the PLO, ceding Jewish land
to them as well as calling terrorists "policemen",  providing them with uniforms, arms, and
training.
     Mr. Netanyahu and the Likud lambasted Peres time and time again for jeopardizing the
safety of Israel.  With every terrorist attack he demanded that the peace talks be stopped.  He
rightfully condemned the absurd Rabin paraphrase of Ben Gurion, "We will make peace as if there
were no terror, and we will fight terror as if there was no peace process."
     Our new prime minister did us proud as he went to Washington and actually got Clinton
to repeat his own campaign pledge, "Peace with security".   We were disappointed that Mr.
Netanyahu did not trash Oslo from the outset.  He had every right to and it would have been in
Israel's self interest to do so.  Instead he chose to play a very dangerous political game which
gave credence to Oslo and Arafat.  Worse than this, he found the need to meet and shake hands
with our worst enemy.  
     No matter how noble his intentions, our prime minister set a grave precedent.  He gave the
impression to the nations of the world that Israel, from right to left, unanimously recognizes and
accepts the Oslo accords, and the legitimacy of the PLO.  Not only was this a political blunder of
the lowest order, but a chilul HaShem. . . a desecration of the Jewish G-d.
     Then Mr. Netanyahu was given a second chance to redeem himself.  In the recent
outbreaks of violence several of the so called PLO "police" shot and killed their Israeli "partners". 
In one case an Israeli soldier who was seriously wounded saw and recognized his attacker as one
who had served with him on a joint patrol!!
     This was a golden opportunity for our leadership to rightfully declare Oslo null and void. 
Once our so called "partners" begin to shoot us with the weapons we gave them, the time for
discussion is over.  One would have expected our prime minister to stand up and, in righteous
outrage, declare all out war against the PLO.  We owe no explanation to anyone.  We were
attacked and it is our right and obligation to eliminate those who seek our destruction.
     Instead, the very same Mr. Netanyahu who was so quick to condemn Peres for not
stopping the talks after a terror attack, picked up the telephone and called Arafat!  And, what is
even more humiliating, Arafat declined the invitation for a meeting!   
     It is shameful that our prime minister saw fit to run off to Washington in response to being
attacked by the puny PLO.  What obligation to we have to continue upon the path to our own self
destruction?  This is the road we expected from Peres.  But from Netanyahu?  
     The fact is that there is no more right wing in Israel.  Even Moledet's Zeevi limited his
suggestions to taking the guns away and permitting only high ranking officers to carry pistols.  If
this is our extreme right wing then the time has come for all of us to recognize that we now have
only one place to turn.  And that is to our Father in Heaven.  Only He will help us now.  All
leadership has been taken from us.  We don't even have a hopeful candidate.  
     If we are honest with ourselves we will realize that this has always been the case.  Who
decided to fight for our independence?   Who took the decision to redeem Judea and Samaria and
return to all of Jerusalem?  The answer to both questions is the same.   Our Arab enemies and
none other.   And who will make the decision which will lead to our complete redemption?  Once
again, and shamefully so, it will be our enemies.  
     As a direct result of the Oslo suicide pact our enemies can taste our destruction.  Their
patience is wearing thin as we are not self-destructing fast enough for them.  Thus we already saw
Arafat's PLO begin to take the initiative in an effort to force us to retreat faster.  This effort is
emboldening the Arab world as well.  We already have seen signs of collusion shown by Syria,
Egypt, and yes, even Jordan.  While they all still feel that much can be done to weaken us via
international "peace" negotiations, clearly they also feel that the time is coming very close for
them to close in for the kill.  Sadly and embarrassingly our greatest hope is that they jump the gun
and start the war before we are completely emasculated.  This seems to be what will happen.
     What we Jews fail to understand is that our problem does not lie with our enemies.  The
problem lies exclusively in our hands.  Ever since 1948 the Living G-d of Israel has given us the
means to bring complete redemption.  We preferred to copy American democracy.  We invited
our enemies to share our homeland with us.  We were surprised to discover that they had no
interest in sharing what they believed was all theirs.  We closed our eyes and ears and pretended
that all was fine.  When, in 1987, they threw rocks at us, we put plastic windows on our cars and
learned to "live with it".  When they began to murder us by shooting us in our cars, our
government decided to build new roads.  When they murdered commuters on public buses in Tel
Aviv and Jerusalem, we gave them Gaza and Jericho as well as many other Jewish cities.  Is it any
wonder then that they feel that by rising up against us we will give them Hebron and Jerusalem?
     What I am about to say is not a political statement or a campaign.  It is merely an
observation.  The call to transfer our Arab enemies outside of our homeland went unheeded and is
no longer a possibility.  All that stands before us is victory or defeat.  We will either destroy our
enemies or they will destroy us.  This is the reality no matter who sits in the government.  The
longer it takes our leadership to recognize this reality the more devastating will be the results. 
There is no other alternative.  Continuing the so called "peace" talks will only delay the inevitable,
and delay is not to our benefit.  Now is the time to act.  We have every justification to do so, and
every delay on our part is an act of criminal negligence.  If war is inevitable, and it is, it is better to
win then to lose.  Although we cannot lose, because the G-d of Israel watches over us, the longer
we oppose His Will the more needless suffering we will bring upon ourselves.  The time to
destroy Amalek is now. "... wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens, don't
forget".
