Did Ben Gurion want a Jewish state?

Ben-Bayit has an important post which I will reproduce with some translation:

Amnon Lord in a recent column claims the answer is NO. In a wide-ranging discussion of the recent "revelations" that Teddy Kollek served as a British "informer" prior to 1948, Lord comes to the conclusion that what drove the Mapai during the 1940's was enabling absolute political hegemony over the "Yishuv" and in order to do that they cooperated with the British in 2 crucial areas: 1) keeping the local Jewish population quiet insofar as to what was happening to Jews in Europe. and 2) cooperating in uprooting the Jewish underground groups such as the Irgun and the Lehi.

According to Lord, the Mapai's purpose in all of this was to maintain political control - not necessarily to advance the cause of an independent Jewish state. For that matter he claims that Mapai was perfectly happy remaining in political control as a British vassal - as long as they had political control.

ב-1945, נוכח המאבק המתפתח בין בריטניה לבין המעצמות העולות - ברית המועצות וארצות הברית - על ארץ ישראל והמזרח התיכון, היה האינסטינקט הפחדני של הנהגת הסוכנות, קרי בן-גוריון ושרת, לקבל חסות ופרוטקשן מהשלטון הבריטי הקיים. מפא"י בכלל לא חתרה להקמת מדינה יהודית, אלא עודדה את הבריטים להישאר; המדינה היהודית הוקמה כמדינת אין-ברירה כאשר היה ברור שהבריטים זונחים את בן-גוריון וחבריו ומפקירים אותם לגורלם, אולי בציפייה שאלה יזעיקו אותם חזרה כדי להינצל משחיטה.

In 1945, in light of the conflict which was forming between Britain and the rising superpowers, the USSR and the USA, it was the cowardly instinct of the Agency leadership, that is Ben Gurion and Sharet, to receive protection from the British regime. Mapai made no efforts to establish a Jewish state, rather it encouraged the British to stay; the Jewish state was created as a "no-other-choice" state when it became clear that the British are abandoning Ben-Gurion and his friends and are leaving them to their own fate, perhaps with the hopes that this group [Ben Gurion] will call [the British] back in order to same themselves from [Arab] slaughter.

מבחינה מדינית, התנהגות כמו ההלשנה של טדי קולק יכולה לקבל צידוק רק אם האוריינטציה החד-צדדית לכיוון בריטניה מוכיחה את עצמה. אלא שהנהגת היישוב לא קיבלה שום דבר בתמורה לשיתוף הפעולה שלה במשך שנות המלחמה. עד 1942 ניתן היה להעלות ארצה אלפי יהודים כדי להצילם מידי הגרמנים, אך הבריטים לא אפשרו זאת, והנהגת הישוב המפא"יניקית לא לחצה עליהם ואפילו סייעה לעצור ספינות עולים. אותה אוריינטציה בריטית לא הניבה שום פרי גם אחרי המלחמה, באותה תקופה גורלית שבין מלחמת העולם למלחמת העצמאות. בניגוד למיתוס האקדמי התעמולתי הנפוץ היום, כאילו "העולם" שהרגיש אשם בגלל השואה הקים את המדינה היהודית, הבריטים, שהיו חלק קובע ב"עולם" הזה, בלמו עלייה לארץ והתנגדו נחרצות להקמת המדינה. הם גם עודדו את הערבים לתקוף את מדינת ישראל לאחר הכרזת העצמאות. לא ברור אם כך איזו תועלת לאומית ומדינית יכלה לצמוח ממדיניות הסזון. נראה שבאותה תקופה פוסט-מלחמתית שיתוף הפעולה של תחילת שנות ה-40 כבר הפך לעסק מושחת, לסימביוזה שארוחה אנינה של צדפות, רוסט-ביף ויין טוב, כפי שמופיע בדיווח על הפגישות בין קולק למפעיליו, מסמלת את מהותה.

From a political perspective, behavior such as the informing on Jews by Teddy Kollek can only receive legitimacy if the one-sided orientation towards Britain proves itself. Unfortunately, the leadership of the settlement receive nothing in return for their cooperation during the years of the war. Until 1942 it was possible to bring to Eretz Yisrael thousands of Jews in order to save them from the Germans, but the British did not allow this, and the Mapai leadership of the settlement did not pressure them and even aided them in capturing [illegal] immigrant ships. The same pro-British orientation did not give any fruit even after the war - during that fateful period between the world war and the war of independence. in contrast to the propagandistic academic mythology which is so popular today, as if the "world" which felt guilty because of the Holocaust established the Jewish state, the British, who were key players in this "world" obstructed immigration of Jews and firmly opposed a Jewish state. They also encouraged the Arabs to attack the state of Israel after the declaration of independence. It is thus unclear what kind of political or national benefit could have arisen out of the policy of informing on Jews [the "season"]. It seems that in that same post-war period, the cooperation of the early 40s had been transformed into a corrupt enterprise. [It transformed] into a symbiosis whose essence is captured by refined clam dinners, roast beef and good wine (as meetings between Kolek and his operators are described).

It is worth noting that not only was Kollek involved in informing on underground fighters, but he was also the one, as Lord points out, who handed over Joel Brand to the British - thus preventing his attempt at rescuing Hungarian Jewry.

באוטוביוגרפיה של שמואל תמיר, שיצאה שנים לאחר מותו, יש תיאור מפורט של "קליטתו" של יואל ברנד בקושטא על ידי אהוד אבריאל וטדי קולק. מי שקורא את הקטעים האלה לא יכול שלא להגיע למסקנה שמעצרו של ברנד על ידי הבריטים באחת מתחנות הרכבת בוצע בעזרתם הפעילה של קולק ואבריאל, כלומר שהם תפקדו כסוכנים בריטים. הסגרתו של יואל ברנד, שבא להציע לבריטים את העסקה של אייכמן להצלת יהודי הונגריה, נועדה קודם כל למנוע ממנו לקומם את דעת הקהל בארץ ובעולם היהודי. אפשר להתווכח אם היו סיכויים כלשהם לביצוע עסקת ה"משאיות תמורת דם"; אבל ודאי שניתן היה, בעזרת יואל ברנד, לבצע הרעשת עולמות על טבח יהודי הונגריה. זה בדיוק מה שהנהגת היישוב פחדה ממנו לאורך כל תקופת השואה, שמא דעת הקהל היהודית בארץ תצא משליטה.

In Shmuel Tamir's autobiography, which was published years after his death, there is a detailed description of Joel Brand's "absorption" in Istanbul by Ehud Avriel and Teddy Kolek. Whoever reads these sections can not help but arrive at the conclusion that Brand's arrest by the British in one of the train stations was achieved through the active aide of Kolek and Avriel, that is, that they acted as British agents. The handing over of Joel Brand, who came to offer the British Eichman's deal for the rescue of Hungarian Jewry, was intended primarily to keep him from stirring public opinion in Eretz Yisrael and in the Jewish world. One can argue whether there was any chance of success for the "trucks for blood" deal; But it is certain that it was possible, with the help of Joel Brand, to create a world-wide shakeup regarding the slaughter of Hungarian Jewry. This is precisely what the leadership of the Yeshuv feared throughout the entire Holocaust, lest the Jewish public opinion in Eretz Yisrael will move beyond its control.

So on this Holocaust Memorial Day and Independence Day period all I could think about was two things: 1) How the leaders of the Zionists (and later the State) will often do anything to maintain political power - and thus can't be trusted with our welfare and 2) How miraculous it is that the Jews have a state despite of all this.
Chag Sameach!!!

The dilemma of the anti-Zionist

The recent visit of the Neturei Karta to Iran and the swaths of condemnations by Hareidi publications of this act illustrate to me the impossible situation the mainstream Hareidim have arrived at.

If they root for the Arabs, Jews die.
If they root for the Jews, they are basically rooting for the success of the state which they despise so much since the state is doing most of the fighting.

So what do they do? I would assume that most are davening for some sort of open miracle that would somehow quietly and peacefully dissolve the state. However, any ideology that relies on Nisim Geluim leKatchila is an impoverished one which has no real plan for the future and nothing more to offer than depressing passivity.

Oh well, what am I complaining about? Every community has their problems - its just that this ones looks like a really big one to me.

Well, at least we have a security fence VI

Continued from here.

Well, after spending $1,000,000,000 on a security fence and destroying the lives of 10,000 precious Jews, channel 10 (reported in jpost here) wakes up to discover that the fence does not accomplish a thing:

Entire segments of the security fence near Jerusalem have been breached, allowing dozens of Palestinians to enter the country from the West Bank on a daily basis, Channel 10 reported on Monday evening.

According to the report, no fence remained at all for a stretch of some eight kilometers, and every meter or so, the upper part of the fence was bent.

Holes in the barrier were noted approximately every 100 meters, and the alarm system had been disconnected.

The discovery raises the question of the effectiveness of the barrier, which was built to keep terrorists from infiltrating the country.

Well, Neftuli, this is the 6th post on the topic. Are you ready to concede this point yet?

Excerpts from the secular bible

Jameel posts here about the response of MK Oron to criticism of his perverted legislation proposing to outlaw Jewish outreach to minors.

I will not be posting about the actual content of the letter. Rather I want to focus on the concluding sentence of the letter:

אני מבין שאתה לא מסכים עם דעתי זו ולכן איש איש באמונתו יחיה

I understand that you disagree with my viewpoint, and therefore, "[every] person in his own faith shall live"

The last portion of the sentence איש איש באמונתו יחיה is often used by secular Israelis to connote the ideal of freedom of conscience for all. They often quote it in a ‘biblical’ manner and I am pretty sure that many are convinced that this is actually a biblical verse. In truth, it is a prime example of the appropriation of a biblical concept by secular Zionism and turning it into a slogan either ambivalent or hostile towards religion.

In our holy literature, the phrase which closest approximates the above form is found in the book of Habakkuk 2:4

הִנֵּה עֻפְּלָה, לֹא-יָשְׁרָה נַפְשׁוֹ בּוֹ; וְצַדִּיק, בֶּאֱמוּנָתוֹ יִחְיֶה.

Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright in him; but the righteous shall live by his faith.

Traditionally, this concept has been used in our writings to teach the importance of being faithful to our God and His Torah. Of being true to our traditions and living a life of faith and goodness. It is a shame that instead of learning about our beautiful heritage, there are MKs who would rather legislate laws in order to keep large segments of society ignorant of it – and using corruptions of biblical verses no less!

The demographic problem

Read about what you can do to help on MevaseretZion.

ADL - Anti (self-)Defense League

ADL Slams MK Effie Eitam's Statements on Transfer of Arabs
12:33 Sep 12, '06 / 19 Elul 5766

(IsraelNN.com) The US-based Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has issued a condemnation of Knesset Member Effie Eitam (National Union-NRP) following Eitam’s call for the transfer of Arabs from Judea and Samaria and removal of Israeli-Arab Knesset members.

“Such inflammatory statements are irresponsible and display an ugly and abhorrent bigotry against other peoples and leads to incitement,” the ADL statement said. “Calls by public figures to ban minorities and expel them from their homes are abhorrent. These are irresponsible statements advocating collective measures that the ADL totally rejects.”

“Eitam’s remarks do nothing to further Israel’s quest to live peacefully among its neighbors and are an insult to its loyal Arab Israeli citizens,” the statement, issued by the group’s Israel office, concluded. “ADL rejects the notion of transfer of any people from their homes and homeland.”

The ADL was a vocal supporter of Ariel Sharon’s Disengagement Plan, which called for the forced expulsion of nearly 10,000 Jews from their homes in Gaza and northern Samaria.

I would be disappointed if I actually expected something from this band of hypocrites. Of course they are wrong - there is nothing morally wrong with the population transfer of a hostile population. There IS something wrong with leaving such a population in place and endangering the well-being of your own population. In truth, they understand this since they supported the expulsion of Jews when they felt it would better Israel's situation. Now, why all of a sudden does population transfer become a global moral standard? Hypocrites! When will they stop bowing at the alter of western civilization? Democracy is a practical tool, not an independent global value.

I am all for democracy (since it works well most of the time) but when the values of democracy endanger the well-being of 5 million Jews, they have to be compromised - period.

The generals as 'experts'

Joe settler has an important post for anyone who is still naive enough to think that the current set of Army brass in Israel are experts whose top concern is the safety of the population in EY:

Nine different Generals came to visit my friend’s reserve army unit after the war.

The Ramatkal (Chief of Staff) was also supposed to visit but after the hard time the 9 generals got he chickened out.

General Gantz (the head of all IDF ground units) came to the unit to explain what happened and to tell them we won the war (since it wasn’t obvious to anyone that we did). At the end he asked if anyone had questions.

One soldier got up, and said, “I have 2 questions for you, a personal question and an operational question.”

He continued, “My personal question is regarding the statement you made a year ago. You see I am a settler and I volunteered to fight in the IDF, and I want to know if after 100% of us settlers showed up to fight and die, do you still stand by your statement that "settlers are worse than Hizbollah"?”

For his second question he asked, “How come you sent in us ground units without first destroying all the enemy sniper positions and houses overlooking us?”

For the first question, he actually denied he said what he said, adding that “Aryeh Eldad is just trying to get brownie points”, but then he said that he doesn’t take back a word of what he said. I guess that means he did say it and still thinks its true.

Regarding the second question, he answered the tanks destroyed most houses marked as Hizbollah sites.

Unfortunately Gantz forgot to mention that most of the houses were apparently not marked.

At this point, the flustered Gantz had enough and ran away like all the other generals that visited this elite reserve unit.

Guest post from Raglei Mevaser

Formula to fight a war and win it, too:

The way to end the current mess is to recognize, as doresh does, that all "good" (i.e. religious) Muslims hate Israel and want to destroy it, as they and their leaders have been saying very publicly.

Acting with that enlightening knowledge firmly in mind, the next step is to announce that any village from which a rocket is launched will be flattened from the air, regardless of civilian presence. If civilians don't want themselves to be killed, let them police their own village and make darn well sure that not a peep escapes their area.

Of course any government leader who opens his mouth in hatred of Israel and calling for its destruction is found dead in his bed the next day. After all, guys, Hashem has given us our own army and intelligence. We're not supposed to go like sheep this time.

To defeat one's enemy, you've got to understand him. Arab culture is very much based on honor (refer to “honor killings” if you will). When the Arabs respected the Jews, after the awesome miracles of the previous wars, notice how quiet and subdued they were.

Once they sense weakness in Israel (stemming from lack of belief in G-d and twisted Christo "morals" like "tohar haneshek" rather than Torah-true morals) they are emboldened to raise their eyes from the ground and lick their lips hungrily. Like predators, they attack where they see vulnerability.

The beginning of the end (chas v'shalom) was after the War of Independence, when the leaders of the army and state of Israel begged the Arabs (who fled in anticipation of a post-victory bloodbath along the lines of what the Arabs would have done had the situation been reversed) not to flee for their lives but to come back and live peacefully with the Jews side by side.

The root of our present problem and the "middle eastern cycle of violence" is that we never declared unequivocally, as the Jewish people, that G-d gave this land to us, and only to us, and we will live here forever, with the Arabs living peacefully not among us, but in their 21 other countries. If we had annexed the “territories,” I doubt we would be in this situation today.

We are past due to claim what is rightfully ours, given to us by G-d Himself, and we’re paying in Jewish blood, which has become cheapened considerably lately in light of our reluctance to defend ourselves with overwhelming force born of conviction.

Important post from Jewish Worker

The pathetic leadership of Israel

Hashem Yishmor!

Report: Olmert favors German forces

Money quote:

"There is at the moment no nation that is behaving in a more friendly way toward Israel than Germany," he added. "If Germany can contribute to the security of the Israeli people, that would be a worthwhile task for your country. I would be very happy if Germany participated."

Well folks, there you have it. We are back full circle. Secular Zionists basically want to dismantle the state. Return to a situation when we are subjects of the nations of the world

(they have been behaving this way for a while, now they just want to make it official - and GERMANY nonetheless - boy, Freud would have a field day)

In truth, many chareidim would be happy with such a turn of events. It would prove to them that Jews really are supposed to be nebuch cases and that we should strive to be bigger nebuchs at every opportunity as they believe Hashem commanded.

So who is left? A she'erit pleita of national-religious Jews who have neither made the state into an avoda zara nor have they sold out the ancient hope of having a country of our own like the chareidim. The question is whether there is anything we can do to stop these people from completely destroying the vessels that were created in the past 50 years.

I am really not sure. I pray that Hashem sends us worthy leadership quickly. We need to be saved from evil hacks like Olmert.

Important post from Avi

JoeSettler posted the following on his blog. I believe that everyone must read this in order to understand what is really happening in Israel:

"I have not read any of the comments posted about my action on any of the lists and nor do I intend to. However, I did get some updates as to what was posted and I wanted to take the opportunity to tell you what made me take the drastic action that I did. (I do not plan on making any more posts or replies on this matter to any list).

First of all Olmert and Chalutz have already publicly declared that they can not promise that they will be able to stop the Hizbullah rockets falling on Northern Israel.

In addition, the UN is now working on a draft resolution that will allow a multi national force to patrol South Lebanon and give Lebanon a protected country status – which means that if any other country attacks it, the international community can then attack back.

Basically, put together, this all means that once the multi-national force is in South Lebanon and the Hizbullah continue to shoot rockets on Israel, Israel can NOT defend itself because, if it did, the international community would have the “legal” right to attack Israel. This is the ceasefire Israel will be forced to accept with the direction of the current political leadership.

What does this all have to do with my refusing to serve in the war up North?


Because the best of our soldiers are fighting and dying in house to house combat in Lebanon and millions of Israelis are refugees because our government places the lives of the enemy civilians over the lives of our own – this is not a way to fight, period, and definitely not a way to fight a war that must be won.

Because our government no longer intends to stop the rockets in the North, just like it has made peace with the fact that the rockets in the South are a fact of life that Israelis have to live with as well. Because Olmert is already on record saying that this war is being used to ensure that an international recognized border is implemented on the East as well, via the destruction of more yishuvim and the expulsion of more Jews from their homes in Yehuda and Shomron. Because this war is allowing Olmert to assist the Hizbullah in setting up rockets in destroyed communities in Yehuda and Shomron to then fire on Tel Aviv and the Mercaz.

I’m all for beating the Hizbullah, but wake up and realize that is not what Olmert is trying to do! He already admitted that dismantling the Hizbullah is no longer a demand in any future ceasefire and Israel is not even demanding that the international force disarm them – but the demand concerning the Hizbullah will be some lukewarm demand that basically means the Hezbullah will stay put in Lebanon (maybe a few kilometers away from the border - a lot of good with rockets that fly 150 kilometers)!

So why are we fighting this war?

Our brave soldiers are dying STAM fighting house to house in a war so that Olmert can prove to Israelis that we need to destroy yishuvim in Yehuda and Shomron in order to place a border on the West Bank – an act that will then allow the Hizbullan to fire rockets from the hills of Yehuda and Shomron on the rest of Israel.

I have taken the very uncomfortable step of refusing to serve in this war in order to give across a message to the rest of Israel – wake up! This war is more about disinformation and public statements (JUST LIKE THE GERUSH) and less about actual victorious results.

The government has already given up the fight, the fighting now is just to “look victorious” before a cease fire is implemented, but the Hizbullah has already won – they have proven to the Arab world that rockets could be shot on Israel and Israel WON’T do what is necessary to stop it.

Israel CAN do what is necessary, but Israel’s current leadership is focused making ourselves look good in the eyes of the world and not about protecting its citizens or soldiers. The political echelon and the army leadership no longer have the moral capacity to defend us as a country.

This is what I protest!

Unless the leadership leading this war changes and the target becomes to beat the Hizbullah so that NO more rockets fall on Israel in the future from the North (or from the South) using all military means necessary (and NOT placing the lives of civilians protecting the enemy before the lives of our own civilians and soldiers) then I call on the Israeli government to stop this war now instead of using Israeli civilians and soldiers as pawns in the war to ensure re-alignment, that will put all of Israel in danger.

Somehow this message has to get across because not enough of us are seeing through the media spins, so I took it upon myself to take this drastic action so that people can hopefully start to wake up.

Olmert’s public statement on his real purpose of the war (to ensure the re-alignment plan) allowed me to finally get up the guts to take off my uniform. He finally revealed the truth for everyone to hear and I thought it would be an immoral act to let it get by without any upblic outcry against the way this war is being manipulated.

I know many of you will disagree with me, but I have had enough of the years of derelict Israeli policy that has made Jewish lives hefker in our own country.

With all the justification to fight this war – please realize that the way our current leadership is running it, it is yet another derelict policy proving how Jewish blood is hefker – the government has already gone on record that it doesn’t intend to win the war, rather cause as much damage as possible to the Hizbullah before a ceasefire. Hence the Hizbullah (who will continue to get rockets from Iran and Syria after a ceasefire) will have won regardless of the media spins our politicians will come up with.

Yes, we must beat the Hizbullah, AND Syria AND Iran (the real handlers behind the Hizbullah) – but that is not what this war is about unfortunately.

I pray for the safety for all my friends and comrades who are up North fighting – for those who disagree with my action and for those who agree with me but told me that they are too afraid of the consequences for joining me in my act.

Screaming this at the top of our lungs after the war would be too late – Am Yisrael needs to hear this now to hopefully help stop this from all happening and sometimes drastic actions are necessary to get messages across. Believe me, this step is most painful for ME and not for any of you who have the luxury of throwing your two cents into an email and not paying any consequences. This is a well thought out life decision that will have repercussions on my life today and in the future in ways that are impossible for me to know today – but I took the decision anyway because I thought it was the correct thing to do.

Disagree with me if you must but also please show respect for a fellow Jew, neighbor and possibly friend who took a life effecting decision for the benefit of Am Yisrael.

Achdut is very very important, it is what I strive to achieve day in and day out as a Jew, but when that feeling of “achdut” and our actual LIVES, as civilians and soldiers, are being manipulated and used cynically by politicians and army generals, then I believe it is better to cause a ruckus to help people realize that true achdut will only come when the leadership in the country is true and moral then go along with the charade. The current “achdut” that everyone wants to preserve in this time of war is only bringing the country to an even lower level of security and morality than it was at before.

As a little kid in New York City I dreamt of one day serving as an Israeli soldier and defending the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. I fulfilled that dream by becoming an infantry soldier in Golani. I have now taken a decision that stops me from being able to serve again to defend my country on the battlefield. I cry as I write these words, it is not something that I'm proud of, not at all. I will have to explain this act to my children whom I hope will one day be proud soldiers in an Israeli army based on true morality and Jewish pride. But I will no longer be a pawn of a crooked establishment that has, and continues to make Jewish lives hefker.

No more.

I'm willing to act and pay the price for my decision - what about you?

Avi Abelow"

Is there an end to the stupidity?

חכמה בגוים תאמין

No people in history have ever survived who thought they could protect their freedom by making themselves inoffensive to their enemies. -Dean Acheson

An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last. -Winston Churchill

No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it. There can be no appeasement with ruthlessness. There can be no reasoning with an incendiary bomb. -Franklin D Roosevelt

Appeasers believe that if you keep on throwing steaks to a tiger, the tiger will become a vegetarian. -Heywood Broun

The one sure way to conciliate a tiger is to allow oneself to be devoured. -Konrad Adenauer

You may gain temporary appeasement by a policy of concession to violence, but you do not gain lasting peace that way. -Anthony Eden

חכמה בישראל (בלי תורה) - אל תאמין

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday that he believed that a victory over Hizbullah in Lebanon would give momentum to his Convergence plan.

Couldn't have said it better myself

Ben Chorin's latest post speaks for itself:

To my good friends in “Red” Haifa:

I write to you as a brother and, as brothers are wont to do, I will speak directly and honestly. My heart is with you in these difficult days. But still I must point out to you that if you were not in Haifa, this would not be happening to you. You chose to live in Haifa despite the inherent dangers and despite Arab claims to Haifa. Now you must pay the price for that decision.

I appreciate that you and your ancestors have dreamt of living in Haifa for generations, but do Arabs not have dreams? They too dream of Haifa and, as their rockets prove, are willing to struggle valiantly to realize those dreams. It is you who stand in their way. For how long will those of us who do not dream of Haifa, who do not even care to visit Haifa, need to do battle in the name of your messianic hallucinations?

For years we fought in Lebanon to defend you even though we did not believe in the justice of your cause. We have had enough. We do not want to chase down children shooting rockets in Lebanon. Lebanon is a quagmire. It would be simpler for all of us if you just moved elsewhere.

Unfortunately, I suspect that your idolatrous attachment to your homes is such that these arguments do not persuade you. So, at least think of the economic cost of your insistence on staying in Haifa. Do you know how much money is wasted every year on subsidizing your hopeless escapade? This money could be spent on feeding the poor, on providing care for the sick and incapacitated, on finding a cure for cancer, on shelters for battered women. Do you not care at all for the less fortunate in our society? Shame on you.

I turn to you as a brother. Come home. Come back to the heartland. To Judea and Samaria, where the rockets don’t reach. They will be there and we will be here. It would be best if you came of your own volition. We will see to it that you will be fairly compensated. But do not mistake our generosity and civility for lack of resolve. If you do not leave Haifa voluntarily, we will have no choice but to remove you by force.

With sensitivity and with resoluteness.