The Battle for Eretz Yisrael
by HaRav Dove Begon, Head of Machon Meir
“The L-rd will not cast off His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance.”
Abraham said to the Hittites: “I am a stranger and a resident with you. Sell me property for a burial place with you so that I can bury my dead” (Genesis 23:4). Rashi explains: “‘I am a stranger and a resident’: If you agree to sell me the land then I will regard myself as a stranger and will pay for it, but if not, I shall claim it as a resident and take it as my legal right, because G-d said to me (Genesis 12:7), ‘To your seed I shall give this land.’”
Two options faced the nations who ruled over the Land — either to recognize willingly Abraham’s rights over the Land, or to deny those rights. In the latter case, however, Abraham would justly take it from them by force, on the strength of G-d’s promise to him.
The deeds of the fathers presage those of the sons.
Today, the Jewish People and the Arabs are in a similar situation. The Arabs have two options: They can recognize the exclusive rights of the Jewish People, backed up by the divine promise, “To your seed I shall give this land,” or they can deny our rights to our land. In the latter case we will justly take it, by force, backed up by G-d’s command and by His covenant with us, as did Joshua, King David, Matityahu the Hasmonean, and others…
True, there are some who think that we have to separate from the Arabs and separate from parts of Eretz Yisrael — G-d forbid — and hand it over to the Arabs. They think that by such means peace, tranquillity and quiet will come to our land. Yet regarding this it says, “There are many devices in a man’s heart, but it is the counsel of the L-rd that shall endure. The counsel of the L-rd shall endure forever” (Proverbs 19:21; Psalm 33:11).
And what is that “counsel of the L-rd”? “For the L-rd chose Zion. He desired it for His habitation” (Psalm 132:13); “The L-rd chose Jacob for Himself, Israel for His own possession” (135:4); “The L-rd will not cast off His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance” (94:14).
To what may this be compared? To a couple in the process of getting a divorce. They argue fiercely over who should get the property. Yet let us suppose that the property belongs to one of the spouses who inherited it from his ancestors and that it is listed as such in the Israel land registry, etc., etc. The second one has no rights to the apartment and all the same he demands the whole apartment for himself and uses force and violence against the one to whom the apartment really belongs. Ultimately, because of the violence, the other spouse is all but ready to concede part of the apartment, if only because he wants to get divorced. Yet the other side wants the whole apartment and will not give in.
They come before the judge who clarifies who really owns the apartment. He determines unequivocally that the apartment belongs to its true owners and he rejects the claims of the violent spouse who wishes to steal what does not belong to him.
We and our government must know and recognize the truth that Eretz Yisrael belongs only to the Jewish People. We must not concede the least bit of our land. If the Arabs wish to separate from us, they can, but without Eretz Yisrael. We can give them gifts, just as Abraham did when he sent away Ishmael. If there are among us some who still think nonsensical thoughts about it being possible to concede part of the “apartment” in favor of the Arabs, and thereby to achieve peace, they are mistaken. Only when the violence reaches their own homes will they recognize their painful error.
Yet the day is not far off when the Arabs, and all the nations of the earth, will recognize that the words of the prophets of Israel, and G-d’s promise to us, are the truth. The Jewish People are arising to rebirth in Eretz Yisrael, and they shall continue to rise up like a lion over the whole length and breadth of our land until we merit the fulfillment of, “The L-rd shall be King over all the earth. On that day the L-rd shall be one and His name One” (Zechariah 14:9).
