Hear! Hear! Ben-Gvir

By Rabbi Yehoshua Mizrachi

 

Kudos to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

An international pariah, an obstacle to peace, an outcast on the world stage. What a breath of fresh air this man is!

As a student of Meir Kahane, HY”D, he is reflexively labeled a racist, a Jewish terrorist and a hater. Yet here is a sampling of Kahane’s “extremist” thinking and worldview:

“I prefer a powerful and proud Jewish State that is hated by the entire world than an Auschwitz that is loved by one and all.”

“There is no greater anti-Semite that the Jewish one, and none hates the Jewish people more than the Jewish traitor and apostate.” [auth: Jonathan Glazer, Bernie Sanders, anyone?]

“One of the great problems with Americans is that - being a decent people - they assume that everyone else is equally decent.”

“The banding together by the nations of the world against Israel is the guarantee that their time of destruction is near and the final redemption of the Jew at hand.”

Kahane sounds more like a prophet than crackpot. But no matter, Ben-Gvir holds of these opinions, as do the majority of Jews post October 7.

Ben-Gvir is a pariah because he declares without apology that the Jew has an organic right to reside in the Land of Israel, not the Arab, and that that right was bestowed upon us by G-d Himself.

Oh my! [Cover one’s mouth for a polite cough and look away.]  One doesn’t mention the Jewish G-d in polite company.

In fact, in the secular, liberal democratic West, one doesn’t mention G-d at all.

Communism aside, more people have been murdered in the name of Christianity than for any other cause in the history of humankind. Here’s a sampling of their blood lust: The Crusades. The Spanish Pogroms of 1391. The Chmielniki Pogroms 1648-1649. And on. And on.

And let’s not forget the two World Wars of the last century.

Recall that the Imperial German army uniform included a belt buckle into which was cast “Gott Mitt Uns.” Imperial German soldiers fighting for Kaiser Wilhelm II genuinely believed that G-d Himself would lead them to victory in war, that G-d favored the Kaiser.

Problem was, the Allied soldiers believed the same of their sovereigns.

During World War II, the battle cry for American soldiers going to the theaters of battle was “Onward Christian Soldiers/Marching Out to War.”

Lutherans and Catholics in good spiritual standing gleefully shoveled Jews into the crematoria. In fact, Hitler died as a kosher Catholic. While the Vatican wasted no time in excommunicating communists, it never got around to excommunicating fascists. In fact, the Vatican gave the fascists of Europe political cover and open support.

And let us also not forget that in 1943, once the Allied High Command had clear and unequivocal proof of the Nazi murder factories placed under their noses, their response was that ‘we cannot ask Christian airmen to risk their lives to bomb the concentration camps merely to rescue Jews.’

After the war, the enormity of the Holocaust finally sunk into the Western consciousness. It was properly understood as the culmination of the war against the Christ-killers, the reductio ad absurdum campaign that began with Constantine and ended in the death camps. Emerging from the war was the realization that, like Lady Macbeth, the blood stains on their hands can never – will never - be purged.

Secularists, humanists and atheists stepped forward to argue that the root cause of centuries of bloodshed and war was religious hatred. Eliminate religion, eliminate hatred. With a snap of a finger, problem solved.

Thus, since 1945 G-d has been banned from the public square and public discourse.  The secularists, humanists and atheists had us believe that in the Nuclear Age, with the ability to destroy worlds, Man is his own G-d.

Europeans looked more carefully at American notions separating Church and State. Religious conviction could no longer to be a factor in public policy. If this was where Christianity led, Christianity must be stripped of its temporal power. Religion lived on exclusively in the province of the private conscience.

It also followed that if Christianity was flawed, then all religious views are flawed; all religious views must be banned from the public square. Politicians who invoked G-d in the formation of public policy were – and are – branded extremists, outside the pale of public discourse.

The State of Israel was grudgingly tolerated by the world after she had the temerity to survive the 1948 war because it was governed by “good” Jews: secularists, communists, socialists. They created a “State of the Jews” not a “Jewish State” which heralded the Ultimate Redemption of the Jewish People.

Until Kahane and his proteges came along, no Israeli politician dared make a strong Biblical claim to the Land of Israel.

And now we have Ben-Gvir, a proud Jew first and a politician second. A person of integrity who won’t buckle to the conventional secular orthodoxies, even if it means not being invited to play in the Washington sandbox.

Ben-Gvir is correct. Our sovereignty in Israel is absolute, and not subject to the veto of the United States, the United Nations, the European Union or any other temporal power. Our claim to the Land of Israel goes back 4,000 uninterrupted years, granted by the King who reigns over kings; who laughs at their fruitless machinations against His will.

In Netzach Yisrael, the Maharal says that for the Messianic Age to begin, Western Civilization must collapse. As Kahane predicted, we are witness to the collapse of the West.

Stand strong Mr. Ben-Gvir! You are our voice. May the unmentionable G-d strengthen Mr. Ben-Gvir and fill the Knesset with more like him.

 

Rabbi Mizrachi is the author of  Holistic Judaism: A Radical Rethinking of Our Service to Gcd and our Fellow Man in the Messianic Age. Available on Amazon.com and Kindle. He can be reached at HolisticJudaism@gmail.com.

 

What is Really on Trial at the International Court of Justice

In what may go down in history as the biggest show trial in the history of show trials, the nation of South Africa is alleging that the nation of Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians. Their evidence? In a pep-talk to soldiers heading into Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is alleged to have mentioned the biblical imperative to wipe out Amalek, the embodiment of human evil & chaos, from the face of the earth.

By some magical extrapolation, the “Palestinian” people are Amalek, ergo Israel designs to commit genocide against them.

Gaza comprises an area of a mere 139 square miles. Even with hundreds of thousands of boots on the ground, the military echelon admits it will take another year before all the Hamas combatants are neutralized in Gaza. Let’s put that in perspective: in 1943, Patton’s 7^th Army (with a little help from Montgomery & the British 8^th Army) conquered Sicily in a bit more than a month. Sicily is almost 10,000 square miles.

So why hasn’t Israel already conquered Gaza, an area 1.5% the size of Sicily, in three months? The reason this war drags on is precisely BECAUSE Israel is going to extraordinary and unprecedented efforts to minimize civilian casualties. This is despite the fact that Gaza Arabs willingly protect Hamas terrorists.

No other nation at war would give succor to their enemy while guns are still blazing – except the Jews. And we do this, knowing full well that much of the fuel and food being allowed into Gaza winds up in the hands and bellies of the very combatants we are trying to kill. The reason we have only neutralized 25% - 30% of the Hamas-niks is because they are comfortable in their bunkers – plenty of food, water, and gas for electricity – compliments of the Government of Israel.

They understand, as we do, that if Hamas is not destroyed root & branch, they have won. And they think time is on their side.

For years, Israel has provided Gaza with free electricity and drinking water – a sure indicator of genocidal intent.

Israel used to allow tens of thousands of Gazan, Judean & Samarian Arabs to enter Israel daily to work, since the “Palestinian” economy does not exist, other than the kleptocracy at the very top.

Israel can document tens of thousands of cases of Gazan, Judean & Samarian Arabs being treated in Israeli hospitals. Even the fat cat PLO plutocrats prefer to be treated in Israeli hospitals for their diseases of affluence – heart disease, obesity, cancer and all the rest.

If we’re mass murderers, we’re pretty bad at it.

The International Court of Justice should laugh this complaint out of court. Since the facts refute the frivolous charges, and the South Africans surely know this, what is really on trial here?

I have the privilege to teach Torah to middle school children. We are currently studying the rebellion of Korach (Numbers 16 ff.). Korach’s rebels essentially say to Moshe & Aharon: “Thanks, but we don’t need your leadership, we have no use for your guidance. We are all capable of being our own priests and leaders, for we are all holy, just as holy, in fact, as you. Why do you make yourself superior over Gcd’s holy people?”

What is on trial in the Hague is nothing less than the Bechirah, the Choseness of the Jewish People.

The world proclaims at the Hague:

-        We reject your claims of moral superiority on the battlefield. You are – have to be - just as guilty of genocide as we are.

-       Why do you set yourself as exceptional among the nations? We are all children of Gcd. You are no better, and perhaps far worse, than we are.

-       We reject your moral example to be a light unto the nations. We don’t need your guidance, and we certainly don’t need your moral leadership. In fact, your very existence offends us.

-       We are quite proud of the sophisticated, woke, relativist moral constructs that we have created for ourselves. And in our narrative, the Jew is the new Nazi.

So in light of the foregoing, it must be asked:

At what point do we stop groveling for the approval of the “U”s – the UN, the US, the EU? They all have Jewish blood on their hands - especially & including the Roman Catholic Church.

At what point do we stop caring about anti-Israel resolutions in the UN?

At what point do we start putting our own survival above the needs of those sworn to our destruction?

At what point do we prioritize the needs of the innocent over the needs of the guilty?

At what point do we turn inward for validation instead of outward?

We witness miracles in Israel everyday. The presence of Gcd is palpable among us. While we enjoy the support of millions of ethical people around the world, we are nevertheless a nation destined to dwell apart.

Let us emerge from the mentality of the Galut (diaspora) which craves for acceptance from our neighbors. Instead let’s cultivate a mindset of Geulah (Redemption), where we stand upright in our Land, acknowledge our Bechirah, i.e., our Divine calling to create a world of universal brotherhood and peace under the banner of ethical, compassionate monotheism. It is high time we stop giving power to and focusing on the haters and welcome those of all backgrounds who wish to join us in this holy endeavor. “All those who are thirsty, let them come & drink.”

An Appeal from the Heart on the War in Gaza

I'm not a politician and I'm not a general; I am a simple rabbi, least among rabbis. But I have devoted my life to studying the Torah - the authoritative Word of Gcd in this world - its depth, its eloquence, its mysteries, and its urgent messages for our time.

As a Jew, I share the pain and distress of our People in this difficult hour and I am confident that, with Gcd's help, we will eventually prevail over the Axis of Evil arrayed against us. Though I alone cannot bring this war against the forces of evil to a successful conclusion, I believe that, working together, even simple people like ourselves can bring that goal much closer.

Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook taught that the way to combat evil is to flood the world with good.

I believe Gcd is urging us to quantify the mitzvot "ben adam l'chaveiro" - good deeds which directly impact others. Let's flood the world with gratuitous acts of kindness: greet everyone with a genuine smile; open a door for an elderly person; perhaps buy a homeless person a meal; give tzedakah directly into the hands of the needy.

There are those who would characterize the Jews as monstrous, genocidal mass murderers. What better way to combat this pernicious slander than by showing who we really are - Rachamanim b'nei Rachamanim - kind-hearted people, from a long & distinguished lineage of kind hearts.

Every Jew is an ambassador of the A-lmighty. A long-term, sustained kindness campaign, especially direct to our non-Jewish neighbors, will win hearts and change perceptions, and will of course hasten the Ultimate Redemption.

If this idea resonates, please do the following: (1) repost; (2) PM me to coordinate, share ideas and spread this message; and (3) consider purchasing my book, Holistic Judaism, contains detailed instructions on how to hasten the Messianic Age of universal brotherhood and peace to which we all aspire.

Hashem yikom damam avadav hashafuch.

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