SHATTERING THE ILLUSION OF PEACE

Today, everything is blowing up in our faces. The situation in Egypt makes things more and more dangerous, not just for the residents of the south, but for the entire population of Eretz Yisroel. It appears that soon we may have no viable alternative, except to go in and take the Sinai Peninsula for a third time. The public may not have fully digested the meaning behind the Egyptian election, but it’s clear that we’re now once again paying the price for another withdrawal.

EGYPT’S TRUE COLORS COME THROUGH

The recent elections in Egypt represent the final nail in the coffin of the illusion of peace with our Arab neighbor to the south. For more than thirty years, there were those who questioned the fierce opposition of the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach to the Camp David Accords. We had to explain the facts and bring ironclad proofs for people to have a clear understanding of the situation. Today, however, there is no longer a need to bring these facts to light. Even the defense minister, an ardent loyalist to the concept of territorial compromise, sounds discouraged about the possibility that someone in the new Egyptian regime will honor these agreements. He called upon the newly elected president of Egypt to keep his country’s treaty obligations, but this request sounded more like a weak groan than a serious diplomatic communiqué.

The new president elected last week by the Egyptian people is a Moslem extremist who wishes to strengthen his nation’s ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran. He sees himself as the future leader of the Arab-Moslem world, and he won’t allow the Israelis to spoil the celebration. The elections in Egypt have established a clear reality: Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, and the dangerous Moslem Brotherhood Party rules in Egypt. This new situation has turned the border with Egypt into an unsafe region, and the threat from the south gets progressively worse.

Throughout the years since the signing of the peace treaty, the Egyptians have enjoyed the support of the United States government. For every fighter jet or budgetary allocation that the Israel Defense Forces received from the Americans, a similar foreign aid package was sent to Egypt. The Egyptians have built a potent army, and its ability to threaten the security of Eretz Yisroel continues to grow.

During the period leading up to Camp David, the Rebbe cried out that the proposed treaty represents a great strategic threat. The idea of giving away the Sinai Peninsula to the Egyptians troubled the Rebbe more than most other subjects. It would seem that this was a critical problem that required immediate attention. Yet, over the last thirty years, many people simply buried the issue in the sand, as they failed to comprehend the reason why the Rebbe was sounding the alarm. The Israeli public was delighted that it could now visit the Great Pyramids, and it felt that there truly were peaceful relations with one of our enemies.

Today, everything is blowing up in our faces. The situation in Egypt makes things more and more dangerous, not just for the residents of the south, but for the entire population of Eretz Yisroel. It appears that soon we may have no viable alternative, except to go in and take the Sinai Peninsula for a third time. The public may not have fully digested the meaning behind the Egyptian election, but it’s clear that we’re now once again paying the price for another withdrawal.

THE PRIME MINISTER REFUSES TO WAKE UP

Those who signed the peace treaty with Egypt are no longer with us today. Then-prime minister Menachem Begin and his defense minister, Ariel Sharon, didn’t have time during their lives to see the mess they left behind from the terrible Sinai withdrawal. They departed from the scene, literally and figuratively, while they were still able to boast about the existing state of peace with Egypt. However, those preparing the next expulsion must take responsibility and stop this dangerous gambling with human life. They have to understand that if they don’t want to be remembered as insignificant leaders lacking in vision, as Begin and Sharon are considered today, they must change course.

Just last week, the prime minister informed the president of Russia, Mr. Putin, that he is ready to make peace with the PLO, and that an agreement should be within reach. He even declared that he is prepared to meet with the murderer Abu Mazen, if the latter would only agree to do so.

It seems that despite the agonizing consequences created by the strategy of withdrawals, the political leadership in Eretz Yisroel has yet to learn its lesson. It continues to speak in the old language of concessions and capitulation. Not a single Israeli policymaker has presented a serious alternative plan – one that will bring true peace and save us from the enemies surrounding us on all fronts.

The real danger for the millions of Jews living in Eretz Yisroel is clearly ‘engraved on the wall’ for all to see, but no one seems to care. Instead of turning the page on the path of submission, declaring that the failed policies of territorial concessions are now a thing of the past, the politicians continue to try and find other opportunities to give away parts of Eretz HaKodesh to our adversaries.

The meaning of the prime minister’s declaration last week is far more than simply a question of whether or not he’ll have a summit with this killer. It paints a very painful and gloomy picture of the government and the country’s leadership. None of the great intellects minding the store is prepared to admit openly that this is our land and we are the only ones who can make a just claim on it. Instead, they’re all ready to travel far and wide in promotion of their destructive diplomatic initiatives. But worst of all, none of them is even trying to find the connection between the grave situation in the south and the fact that they are responsible for bringing it upon us.

THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE MUST SPILL ONTO THE STREETS

There’s also another problem: the general public. They reassuringly enable the nation’s leaders to act as if nothing is happening. They seem to expect that the prime ministers will do the job themselves without the need for citizens to get involved. However, the situation on the ground is quite different. Messrs. Netanyahu and Barak have been heavily preoccupied with the evacuation of five buildings in Givat HaUlpana, while they act as if they’ve already solved all the country’s other problems. They take no action to restore tranquility to the residents of the south and defeat the Hamas regime in Gaza. They do nothing against the Hezbollah in Lebanon, nor do they seek to rectify the grossly insufficient security in Sinai.

However, the essential question is: Why should they bother doing anything? After all, the public gives them one hundred percent carte blanche and they will probably vote for them again in the next elections. The young people in Tel Aviv are interested in the prices of private homes, yet no one considers it important to discuss the truly burning issues and demand that the nation’s leaders take effective action. And if we need an example of how to take action on raising an issue for public debate, we had a great one just the week before.

After the country’s students engaged in a quiet non-violent protest last summer, they realized that if you truly want to move things around here, you have to demonstrate – for real, not just to make some political points. They came out for a public protest against social injustice, raising the issue on a national forum with the full knowledge that the politicians really weren’t interested in fixing the problem. They realized that the time had come to stop giving carte blanche to the politicians, as they periodically needed a reminder from the public to get off the fence and be decisive.

After the students had successfully pushed last summer for the creation of the Trachtenberg Committee, designed to deal with socioeconomic problems, they decided to continue the struggle and stir the politicians up a little more. They went out into the streets, and a record number of eighty-five young people were arrested at the demonstrations. However, as incredible as it may seem, instead of engaging in mutual recriminations, they were showered with praise by all the politicians across the ideological spectrum, who understood that supporting this social protest meant being on “the right side.”

THE TIME FOR PROTEST

We must not allow the Rebbe’s call to go unanswered. It wasn’t for naught that the Rebbe cried out for decades from the depths of his heart about the dangerously deteriorating security situation in Eretz Yisroel, resulting from repeated withdrawals and worthless peace treaties. In the meantime, all the withdrawals and expulsions have proven disastrous. The Oslo Accords brought us the intifada, the disgraceful retreat from Lebanon and the expulsion from Gush Katif led to the recent wars against Hezbollah and Hamas, and now the peace along the border with Sinai has been shattered, along with the illusion of peace.

As unbelievable as it may sound, this prime minister is apparently now planning the mother of all withdrawals. It should therefore come as no surprise that in recent months, the settlers have been talking in terms of “pogroms” and “persecutions,” declaring that a battle must be waged for every building, even the caravans. This is the time to wake up, before it’s too late, and the sooner the better.

Yet, despite this difficult situation, we cannot sink into despair. We must derive greater strength from the holy words of the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, that “Eretz Yisroel is the safest place in the world,” and He who protected us against Nasser (may his name be erased) will surely protect us against all our enemies, and with G-d’s help, we will prevail.