                                                                 A Voice From Hebron
                      by Gary M. CooperbergBibi Proves Kahane Right
                         April 26, 1996
                                
     About ten years ago, MK Rabbi Meir Kahane, zt"l, H"yd, stood at the podium in the Knesset
and warned the people of Israel, "You have a clear choice.  You can choose me, or you can choose
Arafat".  It was a remark which, at the time, seemed outrageous.
     Then, on September 13, 1993, a mere three years after Kahane's assassination, a stunned
Israel and a stunned world watched in disbelief when Prime Minister, Yitzchak Rabin, shook hands
with the terrorist murderer, Arafat, and began the Oslo accords which virtually set the stage for the
handing over of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel to the PLO.
     The Likud and others lambasted the Prime Minister and vowed to undo the terrible damage
when they got into office.  Now, on the eve of new elections, the brightest hope of the alleged right
wing opposition, Binyamin Natanyahu, stunned his backers by declaring his intention to uphold the
Oslo agreements and to consider meeting with Arafat!
     So now the Israeli electorate has a clear choice.  They can permit Peres to continue to
dismantle the Jewish State, or they can permit Bibi to do it his way.  Either way we get Arafat!
     Kahane was right.  Even now one feels the need to pinch himself to be certain that he is not
living a nightmare.  How is it conceivable that our right to choose has been taken from us?  Kahane
knew that no one else had the courage to defy world opinion.  He warned us and offered us the
leadership-- the only leadership-- which would have made a difference.  We didn't believe him.  We
turned our backs upon him as the power brokers destroyed him as a viable alternative.  He was then
taken from us permanently as our punishment for our indifference.
     Now what do we do?  Do we march gleefully to the polls to choose the method of our self
destruction?  How dare we continue to lie to ourselves that we have a genuine democracy; a true
choice; a proud Jewish State?  Kahane demanded that we choose between a democratic state or a
Jewish State.  We insisted upon having both.  We now have neither.
     The time is long overdue for the Jewish people to start to act like Jews.  Who elected Moses? 
Who chose David to be our King?  Who will choose the authentic Mashiach?  
     Jewish leadership is not determined by what the people think.  It is decided by the Living G-d
of Israel.  He, alone, determines who is qualified to lead the Jewish people.  We, the authentic
servants of the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, must, at long last, accept our role.  Redemption
is not to be found in the polling place.  It will not be found in the Knesset, which, itself, has rejected
our G-d.   It will be found in ordinary Jewish homes.  It will be found on the lips of humble Jews who
place all of their faith and trust in their Creator.  It will be found among the masses of Jews returning
from all four corners of the world to their seemingly precarious homeland.  It will be found among
unflinching, simple Jews who have already established their homes here, especially in areas which our
so called leadership wishes to give away to our enemies.
     Make no mistake.  The redemption is well under way.  We only need to look in the right
places in order to see it.  It is to be found in humble Jewish homes; in Kiryat Shmona, the Golan
Heights, Kiryat Arba-Hebron, Nve Dekalim, Netzarim and all of the Jewish enclaves throughout
Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.
     There is no political solution to our situation. We must reject all of the foreign values and
ideologies foisted upon us.  We must recognize all of the incredible miracles performed for us in our
lifetimes, not the least of which is our return to our ancient homeland and the re-establishment of
Jewish sovereignty here.  We must openly and fearlessly oppose all efforts to undo those miracles by
those who sign agreements with our enemies and reject our Divine right to all of our holy inheritance. 
And, most important of all, we must truly recognize from whence our strength comes.  We must turn
all of our hopes and expectations to our Father in Heaven.  For it is only He who will save us.
       Peres is not King of Israel.  He and all the others like him, serve only one purpose.  They test
our faith in the Living G-d of Israel.  That faith has been put to the test many, many times throughout
Jewish history.  Those who fail the test fall by the wayside.  Those who pick up the challenge merit
participation in the unbroken chain of Jewish history and destiny.  That is our real choice.