The Answer to ‘September’

Well, it’s finally arrived. Summer vacations are over. The kids are back in school. Autumn is approaching. Labor Day barbeques are in full swing.

September also witnessed the ‘jovial’ signing of Oslo, exactly eighteen years ago. And this year, we may be privileged to witness another international farce, this time, not on the White House lawn, rather in the hallowed halls of the United Nations. The signatures will not be of the US president, an Israeli Prime Minister, and an Arab terrorist dressed in a Kaffiyeh and a tie. Rather,  the nations of the world will raise their hands high in an attempt to erase the achievement of that same body on November 29, 1947. For, in reality, that is what the creation of a ‘palestinian state’ is all about. The deletion of the State of Israel from the world map.

That too, was the goal of Oslo. It is worthwhile to take a short glance behind us. Oslo was signed on September 13, 1993. On June 24, 2001, (six months after the outbreak of the ‘Oslo War’ aka the ‘Second Intifada’) the greatest of all Arab spokesman, Faysal el-Husseini granted an interview to the Egyptian newspaper Al-Arabia.  El-Husseini was internationally recognized as a true moderate spokesman for the Arab cause. In the interview(his last – he died of a heart attack a short time after the interview), this ‘moderate’ is very clear about the intents of Oslo:

“I now tell you all, all those to whom I spoke in a secret meeting during the days of Oslo:  ‘Climb into the horse and don’t question what type of material the horse is made of. Climb into the horse, and we shall transform your climbing into that horse into a beginning of a building era rather than an era of the end of hope.”‘

“When we are asking all the Palestinian forces and factions to look at the Oslo Agreement and at other agreements as “temporary” procedures, or phased goals, this means that we are ambushing the Israelis and cheating them.

“In short, we are exactly like they are. We distinguish the strategic, long-term goals from the political phased goals, which we are compelled to temporarily accept due to international pressure. If you are asking me as a Pan-Arab nationalist what are the Palestinian borders according to the higher strategy, I will immediately reply: “From the river to the sea.” Palestine in its entirety is an Arab land, the land of the Arab nation, a land no one can sell or buy, and it is impossible to remain silent while someone is stealing it, even if this requires time and even [if it means paying] a high price.”

That was in 2001. Now let’s jump to August, 2009 – the Fatah 6th General Conference:

“The goals, principles, and methods, as they are written in Chapter One of the charter, are the basic point of departure for our movement, and are part of the ideological and political identity of our people. They are also the identity of the movement and its fundamental charter, since they were the basis for the beginning of the Palestinian revolution of our time and for liberation from the imperialist and racist yoke…”
Fatah central committee member ‘Azzam Al-Ahmad declared that the movement’s charter remains as it was, without any changes.

Chapter One, Section 17: “Popular armed revolution is the imperative and only way to liberate Palestine.”
Chapter One, Section 19: “Armed struggle is a strategy, not a tactic. The armed revolution of the Arab Palestinian people is a crucial element in the battle for liberation and for the elimination of the Zionist presence. This struggle will not stop until the Zionist entity is eliminated and Palestine is liberated.”

Now, fast forward to May, 2011: Abu Mazen: ‘Netanyahu, you are incidental in history. We are the people of history. We are the owners of history.'”

And so we arrive at the United Nation, September, 2011.

There is one item that must be mentioned:

It isn’t yet clear that Abu Mazen will actually demand a UN vote for ‘palestinian statehood.’ There are those within the PA who realize that the General Assembly vote has little or no value without a stamp of approval from the Security Council. There the United States has veto power and has already stated that it will veto such a resolution.

However, as of today, he is declaring, loud and clear, that the vote will take place.

Then what?

Again, short background:

The case against such an Arab state has been spoken and written about numerous times. First and foremost, of course, the land area known as Judea and Samaria, aka the ‘West Bank’ (of the Jordan River) is the heart of Israel. Who can imagine an Israel without Hebron or Jerusalem, relinquished voluntarily to our sworn enemy (see above)?

Of course there are security reasons too. Mustn’t we learn from the experience of the past eighteen years? As I try to explain to journalists: if you put your hand to me, and rather than shake it, I slap you in the face, what do you do? You might think, ‘what happened to this guy!? Let’s try again.’ The next moment, when you extend your arm, I punch you in the nose. After that, do you dare try again to shake hands? Maybe next time I’ll shoot you!

That is exactly what has happened to Israel since the advent of Oslo. Every time we ‘reach out in peace’ the only result are dead Jews. Thousands killed and tens of thousands wounded and maimed. Can over 10,000 missiles shot into Israel, launched from the very land we gave them, be ignored!? No other country in the world would even consider negotiating with such ‘peace partners’ or again concede ‘land for peace.’ This is nothing less than national suicide.

This brings us to the present, two weeks away from the fateful vote. Should it take place, and despite its insignificant legal status, very possibly the ‘Arab spring’ will transmute into the ‘palestinian fall’ in Israel, seeing major demonstrations throughout the country. Not only in Judea and Samaria, but attempts to protest all over Israel.

From reports I have, the IDF and all Israeli security forces seem to be taking this threat fairly seriously. In other words, they are aware that major disturbances may break out. Theoretically, they have the means to deal with them. The big question is: Will they? Will they use any and all tools at their disposal to protect Jewish life, and prevent disruption of daily, Israeli life?

So, you ask, what can you do?

September also usually ushers in the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShana. So it is this year that September parallels the final month of the Jewish year. Less than two weeks after the UN vote, we will celebrate a New Year. Following days of prayers, beseeching G-d for a good year, a safe year, a healthy year, for the individual and for the public-at-large, we begin the Succot festivities. This is a time of joy, a spiritual uplifting following the previous introspective High Holy days.

Usually, we host tens of thousands of people in Hebron during the holiday period. This year, it is all the more vital that people from around the world visit Israel, including Hebron and other communities in Judea and Samaria on their agenda. We must continue to make a showing, strengthening our ties to our homeland, to our holy sites, such as Ma’arat HaMachpela, the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, and other such places throughout the land considered by others to be ‘disputed territory.’ The best way to reject such ‘disputedness’  is to make it a point to show the world: Hebron is Israel. Shilo is Israel. Sussia is Israel. Beit El is Israel. We are here, supporting a strong Jewish presence in the land of the Forefathers.

In Hebron, as always, we celebrate with a two-day festival during the Succot holidays. This year the festival will take place on Sunday and Monday, the 16th and 17th of October, with the semi-annual music concert, outside Machpela, occurring on Monday afternoon, 17/10. Special tours are planned, and it is guaranteed to be a raving success. (For more information write to tour@hebron.com or call, in NY, 718-677-6886 or in Israel, 052-431-7055).

However, the real success will be that tens and hundreds of thousands will prove, once again, that they are not, and will not ever, turn their backs on the State of Israel and the people of Israel.

This is the authentic answer to the UN vote in favor of a ‘palestinian state.’