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| How I Became an Armchair Activist
by Moshe Finberg
Aug 03, '05 / 27 Tammuz 5765
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| As Thomas Paine wrote in December of 1776, "These are the times that try men's souls." Those words were used by the great American patriot, pamphleteer and British fringe extremist living in the Virginia settlements to speak to the consciences of other settlers in what were euphemistically referred to as "the Colonies". The "times" of which he wrote were the events leading up to the American Revolutionary War, by which freedom and independence were extracted from a despotic dictator completely out of touch with his settlers.
We Jews are facing a similar breakdown in the Land of Israel, where a showdown of Biblical proportions has been building since the very founding of the Zionist movement. Israeli citizens have finally had enough, thank G-d. They are taking to the streets by the tens of thousands to demand an end to the sell-out. They are putting their bodies on the line to stop a corrupt government from giving Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hizbullah training camps and artillery fields, from which rockets and mortars may be launched into major population centers just a few kilometers away.
I, like many of you, am sick of the pathetic capitulation, the disrespect for the people of Israel and the Torah, the corruption of the government and the judiciary, and the lack of Jewish pride, identity and self-respect. Many of us have said that Ariel Sharon will give away the Land of Israel and deport Jews "only over my dead body" and have meant it. We made plans to fly to Israel to join our holy brothers and sisters on the frontlines, to absorb some of the beatings and other abuses that the police and military are inflicting on Jews of all ages and sexes.
Instead of tracking down and destroying the sources of the bullets, mortars and bombs directed at Jews, police arrest and abuse minors who have taken to the streets to stop the Sharon freight train. "No more!" they shout. They will not buy into their parents' Israel of little faith or distinction. Children as young at 10 years old are clogging the system by blocking intersections, sitting in jail after they are arrested on charges of refusing to identify themselves, and then defying the courts, where they are non-responsive in politically motivated trials. These children are retaking Eretz Yisrael for Am Yisrael. They are our future leaders and they are above corruption and reproach. They are well-organized and have remarkable Torah faith and trust in the rightness of their actions. Their parents watch in horror at the abuse, but with pride in their dedication to the cause.
These heroes need our money for food, water, basic necessities and excellent lawyers to protect their civil rights, much more than they need our physical presence in the Land of Israel right now. I have been informed by my contacts within the civil disobedience movement in Israel that they have the bodies and the plans to do the job. When I asked how I can be of the most help should I come over, or instead donate the cost of my trip to fund the costs of the operations in Israel - I was told by dear friends that, although they want me to come, the money is more important to the current effort. I was told that the cost of my flight and travel in Israel would take care of the needs of 50 youths for 30 days. That's leverage. I cashed in my ticket and sent the money to Israeli organizations that will take good care of these youngsters.
Please take these words to heart and join me in doing the same if you want to make a real difference and can't afford to both go to Israel and donate at least $1,000.00. The Israelis are prepared to sit in the hot sun all day, to go for long stretches without showers or proper toilet facilities, and to sit in prison learning Torah and singing songs of praise and joy - much to their jailers' dismay. Most of us are not up to that. Stay home this summer, and send the money you would have spent on airfare and other travel expenses to our holy brothers and sisters on the frontlines.
We at Maalat HaGeula (Ascendant Redemption) can help you make sure that every shekel goes to humanitarian aid to the resistance. As much as we want to be there, let's do what has been asked of us and generously give instead. Only thus.
"Never Again" to indifference. "Never Again" to silence. "Never Again" to ethnic cleansing. "Never Again" to the deportation of Jews. "I will plant them upon their land, and they will never again be uprooted from their land which I have given them, said HaShem, your G-d." - Amos 9:15.
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| Moshe Finberg |
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Moshe Finberg is Chairman of Maalat HaGeula (Ascendant Redemption), dedicated to stopping the Israeli government´s plan to uproot the Jews of Gush Katif and Samaria. |
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