A Historical Week

We just experienced one of the most eventful weeks in the history of the State of Israel. I think that in historical importance it falls right behind the eventful weeks when the State of Israel was declared and the victory of the Six Day War. Many of us might not yet know it, but I firmly believe that this week will be looked at by history as the major turning point in the existence of the State of Israel.

G-d's hand was not just revealed once, but twice!

The first revelation was the wonderful victory in the referndum against Sharon's plan to uproot Jews from their homes.

The second revelation was the amazing coverage given to the totally improper conduct of the Israeli judicial system that included the blatant disregard of proper conduct by our own Judicial Leadership!

These two issues might look unrelated, but they are extremely related.

The Oslo process was not just a peace process, it was much more than that. It was a process to break the spirit of the Jewish people and to break the connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. This was best expressed in Peres' quote in 1996 when he lost the elections to Bibi Netanyahu - Peres is quoted as saying 'The Israelis lost and the Jews won'.

But, unfortuntely Peres was wrong, Netanyahu continued in the direction of Oslo, in the direction of the Israelis.

The Jewish connection to the land and the connection of the people to our religion has been deligitmized by politicians and the media for the past 10 years, all with the assistance of the Israeli Supreme Court.

But this week will become known as the turning point when the Land of Israel was reinvigorated with the spirit of the Jewish people. This is the beginning of the end of the "new" Israeli identity that Peres and the Left have always dreamed about creating here.

The Amcha have spoken. The tide is now about to turn.

People no longer want to have the "new" Israeli identity - most Israelis want to be Jews -Jewish Israelis - connected to their land, connected to their heritage and connected to behavior becoming of a Jew.

It has now become clear to all that the only way these changes will happen is if it comes from the Likud party. We are already witnessing thousands of religious people signing up for membership in the Likud. Why? Because the people of the Likud have spoken up to their spineless leadership and told them that they will no longer let them lead us down the path of Peres and the "new" Israelis. They clearly coneyed to their leaders that it is not so easy to disconnect Jews from their heritage or their homeland. The Likud has just been strengthened as the party of the Jewish people.

Change takes time, and not everything will go our way, but at least now the people have awaken, the leadership is shaken, the trust of the people in the system (Knesset and Justice) has reached rock bottom, and the only direction now is up.

Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are now living in exciting times. The people here in Israel will now begin taking back their country and making it the proud Jewish State it is supposed to be.

To all of you who are still not here yet - come home and help us make this happen because this is what being Jewish is all about.

Avi