DavidWilder.Org

If Not Now, When???  July 7, 2000 Yesterday morning, listening to the radio news, I heard an interview with Meretz MK and former minister Yossi Sarid, the primary leader of the Israeli left. Speaking about the upcoming summit planned for next week at Camp David, Sarid said the following: (paraphrased from my memory): “I never say ‘this is our last […]

Heroes from the North May 28, 2000 On Wednesday night, as we were discussing plans for the upcoming Shabbat, the phone rang.  The voice on the other end of the line asked if we would like to spend the week-end in Kiryat Shemona, on the northern border of Israel. My wife lived and worked in Kiryat Shemona almost 25 years […]

The Privilege to Die 4 Iyar 5760 – Yom HaZicharon May 9, 2000 Yesterday afternoon I received an email that left me staggering. The Prime Minister’s letter to bereaved families opened as follows: Dear Families, Parents, Widows, Sons and Daughters, Brothers and Sisters, Again, we stand together with you on Remembrance Day for the Fallen of Israel’s Wars facing our […]

Last week, touring with a couple of Americans, I stopped off at the ancient Ashkenazi cemetery in Hebron. This cemetery was used primarily by the Chabad-Lubuvitchers, who arrived in Hebron beginning in the early 1800s. The most prominent person interred at the cemetery is Menucha Rachel Shneerson Slonim, granddaughter of the Ba’al HaTanya, the founder of the Chabad movement, and […]

From Hebron to Elon Moreh October 25, 2004 Shalom. Next week Hebron will celebrate Shabbat Chaye Sarah – when we read in the Torah about Abraham’s purchase of Ma’arat HaMachpela, some three thousand seven hundred years ago. Tens of thousands of Jews from around the world will arrive in Hebron for this festive event. However, Hebron is not the only […]

Eretz Yisrael is Not For SaleOctober 18, 2004  So, what’s the answer? Is the magic solution a national referendum? Can we legitimately decide the fate of Eretz Yisrael in a national election? Who can participate in such a crucial ballot? May ‘leaders’ of Yesha, and more specifically, those people participating in the ‘Yesha Council’ rightfully take responsibility to claim that […]

Asher Barah Sasson v’Simcha October 11, 2004 Shalom. Last week, during the Succot holiday, Hebron hosted well over 40,000 visitors to the city of Abraham. The streets teemed full of people, women, children, men, walking from neighborhood to neighborhood, from site to site. Special tours of the kasba, usually off-limits to Jews, added an exceptional flavor to the festivities, as […]

The Iranian Connection October 5, 2004 Shalom. We have all been asking ourselves the same question, over and over again. Why? What happened to Ariel Sharon? Why is he insisting that Israel abandon Gush Katif and evict people from their homes? The difficulty is compounded following the tragic events at the end of last week: Kasam missiles hitting Sderot, killing two […]

 The New State September 3, 1999 The negotiators were literally trying to pound out an agreement. Loud raucous voices, fists slamming down on tables, chairs scrapping on the floor; these were the sounds emanating from behind the closed door.  The deadline for the proposed agreement was rapidly approaching and the impasse seemed beyond all hope. The implications of failure were […]

My Daddy is in Heaven August 4, 1999 A little while ago I was sitting in a small hospital room together with Baruch and Miriam ben Ya’akov and Ephraim and Anna Rosenstein. Baruch and Ephraim were on their way into Hebron from Kiryat Arba last night when they were shot at by Arab terrorists who ambushed them. Making their way […]