                                                               

                      A Voice from Hebron
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg
                        November 4, 1997
             Your Silence will Invite Annihilation

     Prime Minister Netanyahu made us all proud when he first visited the White House.  For
two hours he met privately with the President of the United States and, when he emerged, for the
first time in Israeli history it seemed like the Israeli Prime Minister actually got the President to
see things his way.  "Peace with security", Netanyahu's political platform, was proudly
annunciated by President Clinton.  No peace agreement can be signed without assuring the
security of the Jewish people.
     Up until this point we were more than pleased with our Prime Minister and filled with real
hope for the future.  But then he added his commitment to honor the Oslo agreements.  In effect
he negated his own victory!  On the surface it seems more than reasonable to honor any
agreement as long as our interests are maintained.  But, upon honest evaluation, it becomes clear
that Oslo and security are two opposite ends of the pole.  You cannot have both.  If you have
Oslo you relinquish your security.  If you have real security, you don't have Oslo.  That is an
axiomatic fact.
     Hebron is the proof of this assertion.  Oslo requires that we remove the Israeli Army from
most of this hotbed of Arab terrorism.  While, on paper it may seem reasonable to allow the Arabs
to govern and police themselves in most of the city, while we maintain a strong military presence
in the area where Jews live, a brief on site visit will convince anyone of the impossibility of this
stance.
     While standing atop the highest roof of the Jewish apartments in the Avraham Avinu
complex, if you look straight ahead with your eyes slightly raised and make a full circle you will
realize that the entire Jewish community is completely encircled by hills which are populated by
tens of thousands of Arabs.
     At the present time, with our military control as well as intelligence operations, when we
learn of a potential threat the army can impose curfews on the area and can conduct searches for
terrorists.  Should we pull back, as suggested in the Oslo agreement, we will lose our intelligence
information as well as the option to impose curfews.  
     Rabbi Levinger explained to me what this would mean in very real terms: 
      "The moment that Arafat decides to act, all he would have to do is raise a hand or make a
phone call.  At once all of the Moslem religious leaders would raise the call on the loudspeakers
of the mosques surrounding the Jewish community.  Allah hu achbar; itbach el yehud' (G-d is
great; slaughter the Jews) would resound throughout the hilltops.  Within minutes thousands upon
thousands of crazed Moslem fanatics would respond to the Islamic mitzvah' and prepare to give
their very lives for the glory of Allah.  They would not even need guns.  Knives and hatchets as
well as metal pipes would suffice.  The IDF would stand prepared to defend, but upon seeing
women and children among the mobs, would hesitate.  Even if they wouldn't hesitate the
overwhelming odds would make it impossible to hold them back, but political considerations
would impede their willingness to shoot freely.  We are completely surrounded with no way to
escape.  In my estimation, even with the IDF troops present to protect us, it would take about
two hours to annihilate every Jewish man woman and child in Hebron."
     I asked the Rabbi if he did not accept Prime Minister Netanyahu's promise to defend and
protect the Jewish Community.  His response was simple.  There is simply no way to protect us if
any agreement is signed which will give the PLO authority in Hebron.
     Contemplating the Rabbi's observations I went home to Kiryat Arba and stood on the roof
of my apartment building.  Again, I turned around in a complete circle.  While Kiryat Arba is
much larger than the Jewish Community in Hebron and populated with more than ten times as
many Jews, the situation here really isn't much different.  If we lose military control and give it
over to the PLO, the grim scenario painted by Rabbi Levinger could just as easily apply to Kiryat
Arba and the other isolated Jewish communities throughout Judea and Samaria.  We are all vastly
outnumbered by the festering Arab population.  If they are given the military advantage and led by
professional terrorists it would be virtually impossible for the IDF to prevent the destruction of
Jewish communities all over these lands.
     If we are already indulging in considering what could happen, lets take it one step further. 
Once Arafat commits himself to his jihad, and commences to attack all of our communities
throughout Judea Samaria and Gaza, as the IDF rushes to our defense, suddenly we find ourselves
under attack by Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan who have come to the "defense" of their
"Palestinian" brothers.
     While we certainly have a fine army with the most sophisticated weaponry, are we truly
prepared to deal with an all out war on all fronts as well as from within?  And dare we assume
that our Arab citizens within the so called "green line" would not rush to join their "Palestinian"
brothers as well?  
     Add to this situation the fact that many of our soldiers have lost interest in fighting.  They
view the "peace process" as our only choice for the future and blame the government for
recklessly endangering the country by provoking a war.  Many have already threatened not to
participate in the next war!  We have a large political segment in the Knesset which sides with
Arafat and which would impede a full scale war of defense owing to their confusion as to who is
the enemy.  
     Is the above merely a nightmarish fantasy, or could it really happen?  How can we prevent
it from happening?  There is only one way.  The State of Israel must immediately reject the Oslo
suicide plan in its entirety.  Let the Prime Minister open his eyes and announce the fact that we
cannot have security and Oslo.  It is still not to late.  Anyone who does not do everything in his
power to stop the redeployment in Hebron shares responsibility for the coming conflagration
which will claim more Jewish lives all over Israel than in any combination of our past wars.  If you
care about the future of Israel then don't hesitate another minute.  Write letters and send copies of
this article to members of the Israeli Knesset, to the Prime Minister as well as to the President of
the United States and your representatives in the Congress.  Tell them that Oslo is not a peace
process, rather a one sided war process designed to destroy Israel. While the Jewish State is part
of a Divine Process and can never be destroyed, our foolishness can still bring death, destruction
and needless tragedy to all peoples of the region.  If we don't stop Oslo now, we share in the guilt
for the horrors which will arise from it. 