WRITTEN FEBRUARY 2024

RELIGION AND TERRITORY

Today, I am going to address a topic related to Islam, which must be known to more appropriately understand whether the creation of a Palestinian state that US President Joe Biden has proposed in recent days will promote peace in Israel and the Middle East.

What meaning does territory have in different religions?

In Christianity, religious issues are separated from political issues. Let us remember the famous phrase: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s,” which imposes the division between church and state as two separate entities. In Christianity, there is also no idea of national territory or the religious obligation that all Christians must live in a specific country in the future. Christians do not have territorial ambitions or territories that they aspire to conquer or liberate for religious purposes (ironically, the only exception I can think of is “Jerusalem,” but I think that was in the times of the Crusaders.) Although Christianity embraces the ideal of evangelizing humanity, it does not intend to militarily conquer all the countries in the world to achieve that goal.

Judaism is different: we are a political religion. And we have territorial ambitions. Our millennial aspiration is to have our own sovereign state in the land of Israel. However, beyond the land of Israel, we Jews do not embrace the goal of conquering other lands or imposing our Torah on any other people. Not even in messianic times. When the Messiah arrives, we do not intend to conquer the world (as the anti-Semitic tract “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” falsely alleges) but rather to live in our land, Israel, guided by our Tora, to serve our God in the Bet HaMiqdash—the Holy Temple of Jerusalem—and living in peace with our non-Jewish neighbors.

Islam is a different story. And it is essential for Israel and for the Jews of the world to know what their actual “territorial ideals” are. We need to understand who we are dealing with and not repeat the mistakes made in the past, for example, in the Oslo agreements.

ISLAM AND OCCUPIED TERRITORIES

For Islam, there are two types of territories:

1. “Dar Al-Islam” defines the lands that are ruled or “were ever ruled by Muslims.”

2. Dar Al-Harb is a land that is not yet under Muslim sovereignty but that one day, eventually, will be. This theoretically includes the entire planet Earth. Because, unlike the Jews, Islam has the “messianic,” “utopian” aspiration that everyone converts to Islam. This explains a little better one of the most serious problems of the West: that Muslim immigrants who arrive in Europe, for example, not only have no intention of “integrating” into the culture of the countries that offer them refuge but also, on the contrary, in the long term, they have the aspiration of imposing Sharia, Islamic law, on the countries they arrive.

(There is also a third category, less known, which is Dar Al-Salam: the land of peace. That is, the planet Earth will enjoy peace when the entire world finally accepts Islam and follows Sharia. Only at that moment will there be definitive and lasting peace. And until then, Muslims must do everything possible to achieve this religious and political vision. For more information, see this phenomenal article in Hebrew ).

WHAT ABOUT ISRAEL?

For Muslims, the land of Israel falls into the first category: “Dar Al-Islam, a territory that Islam once ruled, that is, “occupied territories.” Israel was indeed conquered and ruled by Caliph Omar in the 7th century. And once this occurs, the land becomes sacred, and no matter how much time has passed, according to Islam, it can no longer be ruled by non-Muslim infidels. Suppose non-Muslims want to live in the lands of Dar Al-Islam. In that case, according to Islam, they can do so only if they submit to Muslim sovereignty and accept the supremacy of Islam (dhimmis).

But if non-Muslim infidels rule and inhabit these lands, they are considered an illegal occupying force. For Islamist states like Iran, or those that identify with the Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar, or Turkey, it is a religious duty to recover those lands. And for the most extreme Muslims, jihadists, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, or the Huties of Yemen, recovering those occupied lands and attacking the invader “is an act of legitimate defense” (sic.), and they must resort to “jihad”, the holy war –which calls for the genocide of the enemy–to achieve it.

AND THERE WAS LIGHT!!!

When this point is understood, it becomes clearer what is seemingly meaningless in the claims and actions of Palestinians and other Arab Islamist and jihadist groups towards Israel.

Let’s look at some examples:

1. The concept of occupation is not a political concept. In reality, as everyone knows, there was never a previous Palestinian state, which Israel is now occupying. In the context of Dar Al-Islam, “occupation” is a religious, Islamic term that refers to the sovereignty of infidels, in this case “Jewish” over a Muslim territory.

2. Therefore, the “occupied territories” claimed by jihadists are not limited to Judea and Samaria or Gaza but to the entire land of Israel, including Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tel Aviv. It is for this reason that one will never hear in pro-Palestinian demonstrations a call for the creation of two states, one Israeli and one Palestinian, living in peace with each other. What the pro-Palestinians demand is “one state,” the Palestinian one, from the river to the sea (from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea).

3. This also explains why Hamas justifies its massacre with the excuse of the Israeli “occupation” when we all know that Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 and has NOT had any soldiers in Gaza since that year. But for the Palestinians, Gaza or Judea and Samaria are not enough. They have to expel the Jews from all “Palestinian” territory.

4. It is then demonstrated that the conflict with the Palestinians is not territorial in the conventional sense. A classic territorial problem between two countries is resolved through war or negotiating territory. After wars or negotiations, countries established stable and peaceful relations, though this was not always immediate. For instance, despite the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War in the 19th century, the U.S. and Mexico eventually became neighbors with strong diplomatic and amicable ties. However, since the Palestinian conflict with Israel is not merely territorial but rather a religious conflict, there is little room for negotiations or concessions. And it is for this reason that Islamists WILL NEVER RECOGNIZE A JEWISH STATE IN A TERRITORY OF THE “GIVEN TO ISLAM” CATEGORY, no matter how small this state may be.

5. This also explains why Hezbollah attacks Israel. Israel does not “occupy” Lebanon, and Hezbollah cannot have territorial claims against Israel. Still, as a jihadist religious group, it fights against non-Muslim sovereignty in Dar Al-Islam.

6. This is why Iran, an Islamic state, fights for the destruction of Israel, even though it has no border with Israel. And why the Islamist Huties of Yemen have written on their flag as part of their existential mission: “Death to Israel” even though the Jewish State is 5,000 kilometers away from Yemen.

7. The religious obligation to liberate territories occupied by non-Muslims in Dar Al-Islam explains why Hamas or Hezbollah or the Palestinians of Judea and Samaria use their mosques as military bases and hide weapons and ammunition, soldiers, etc. there. After all, the war they are fighting is not for military but religious purposes. It is logical, then, that religious institutions are at the service of jihad. Only in this last incursion into Gaza after October 7 did the Israeli army attack and destroy mosques and expose the hypocrisy of the United Nations, which always demanded immunity for religious institutions, knowing that Palestinians in Gaza and Judea, and Samaria use these facilities for military purposes. Something similar happens with hospitals, schools, and facilities of the infamous UNRWA.

8. The idea of Dar Al Islam also explains why confiscating territory from the Palestinians in Gaza is the most effective measure to punish the October 7 massacre and other terrorist acts and will be the only thing that can deter them when they try in the future. to repeat a similar attack: if they mess with Israel, they will lose territory of Dar Al-Islam (nakba). This will be the worst defeat for them, politically and religiously.

9. The jihadists practice a double discourse: on the one hand, the religious one, the internal dialogue from the mosques, where they tell the truth about their final objective with inexplicable impunity: destroying Israel is the first step, and starting the jihad against the West.

On the other hand, there is propaganda for the ears of Hamas accomplices: the United Nations, the media, the Red Cross, Amnesty International, and the International Commission on Human Rights, to name just a few examples. In all these forums, there is a pact of silence by which they will never mention the religious aspect of this conflict. On the contrary, and knowingly, they will describe Israel as the aggressor; they will disguise the problem of jihad as Israeli “colonialism.” And there are also the useful idiots, the atheist leftists, who, in their insane psychopathic deviation from good to evil, end up supporting the most fundamentalist theological doctrine: Jihad.

10. Only once we understand the concept of “Dar Al-Islam” do we know the supreme naivety of the statements of the American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken about declaring a Palestinian state “attentive to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians.” The final aspiration of the Palestinians – and in this sense, there is no difference between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority – is for Israel to disappear from the map, to vacate ALL of its territories, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. But the most immediate “strategic” aspiration of the Palestinians is to create a state that borders Israel. Have Israel at a zero distance from there to produce more and more massacres in the style of October 7, and thus, one day destroy the infidel Jews who occupy “Dar Al-Islam”.

And despite all this, Israel B”H will prevail, free itself from its enemies, and triumph.

How do I know?

וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ

שֶׁלֹּא אֶחָד בִּלְבָד עָמַד עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ

אֶלָּא שֶׁבְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִים עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ

וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַצִּילֵנוּ מִיָּדָם

And that promise of protection that God made to our ancestors, which protected them, will protect us, too. Because it was not a single time that our enemies wanted to destroy us; in reality, new enemies that seek our destruction emerge in each generation. But again and again, the Holy One, saves us from their hands.

Rabbi Yosef Bitton

Israel is facing an enemy that does not intend to stop with the destruction of Israel ח”ו, but instead wants to continue fighting against Western civilization.

Israel is at the forefront of this battle of civilizations or religions. And although Israel inexplicably has the world against it, little by little, some countries and world leaders, such as the future Prime Minister of Holland Geert Wilders, are seeing it.

¿AFTER ISRAEL? Spain & Portugal

This phenomenal article from BBC 2016 (Spanish) explains the concept of Dar Al Islam in a little more depth and mentions which countries are in this category: Israel is the first because it is in the Middle East, but it is not the last.

For jihadist … there is a sacralization of the land. Any territory that has been part of Islam at some point will always be part of Islam. It does not matter that control was lost centuries ago, that Muslims do not exist or are a minority in that territory. That is Islamic land and those who occupy it are invaders….

Al Andalus was the territory that remained under Islamic rule in the Iberian Peninsula from the arrival of the Muslims, in 711, until the fall of the Kingdom of Granada, in 1492 into the hands of Castile.

At its maximum extent, in the 8th century, Andalus covered practically the entire peninsula…

The territory that “must be recovered” extends from Southeast Asia in the East to the Iberian Peninsula in the West.

That doctrine – as Azzam wrote in 1987 – proclaims that “jihad or holy war will remain an individual obligation until all the other lands that were Muslim return to us and Islam reigns in them again before us are Palestine, Lebanon, Chad, Eritrea, Somalia, Philippines, Burma, southern Yemen, Tashkent and Andalus [that is: Spain and Portugal .Y.B].

THE FIRST ISRAELI ARMY

Three thousand five hundred years ago, the first Israeli army was formed in the Sinai desert. It consisted of 603,550 soldiers aged 20 to 60. These individuals were born in captivity. Their ancestors were slaves in Egypt for four generations. They did not know how to fight or defend themselves. On the contrary, they had been “domesticated” and trained to be submissive to their attackers. On the 20th of Iyar, one year and one month after leaving Egypt, by Divine command, Moses organized them into an army with a mission: to conquer the land of Canaan from seven pagan and savage nations and transform it into a Jewish state.

The military camp had four columns, with three tribes on each side. In the middle was the Tabernacle — guarded by the tribe of Levi— representing that the Divine Presence is at the heart of their military strength. This was not a “normal” army but God’s army. The Creator accompanied them in their fight against the enemy and granted them victory. Our Parasha Beha’alotekha describes the first steps of this army of God toward the Promised Land. The signal to advance was that the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the tablets of the law, was lifted by the Levites, and as it advanced, Moshe would proclaim loudly the Jewish war cry: קומה ה’ ויפוצו אויביך “Arise, O Lord, and let Your enemies [=the enemies of Israel] be scattered; and let those who hate You [and consequently hate Your people] flee from before You.”

But something went wrong. Initially supposed to take just a few days, the journey to Israel turned into a 40-year odyssey in the desert. As we will see in the coming weeks, paralyzing fear and slave mentality played their part. Despite witnessing numerous miracles, such as the manna falling from heaven daily, the Jews did not recognize His evident presence. The generation that left Egypt had to wander for 40 years until a generational change occurred, and only then did they go out to fight. It was the children of the slaves, a new generation not born or raised in captivity, who took the reins of the Jewish army and, under the leadership of Joshua, conquered the Promised Land.

THE NEW ARMY

The army of the modern State of Israel in 1948 was mainly composed of Jewish refugees from Europe, many of them Holocaust survivors. Miraculously and heroically, they managed to organize and defeat their enemies. God fought with them, although some were unaware of it. Many had escaped from communist countries and had not had the opportunity to receive a Jewish education. Or were influenced by the anti-religious spirit of the time. God was with them and granted them extraordinary victories, even though His presence was not openly recognized. In its infancy, the State of Israel experienced miracles that only a few leaders, like David Ben-Gurion, could appreciate.

The miracle becomes even more significant when you understand that Israel not only survives but also prospers in all areas: God continues to send His manna to His people in the most hostile geography on the planet!

THE RETURN OF THE DIVINE PRESENCE

After the terrible one-day Shoah that Israel suffered on October 7, the Israeli army embarked on an existential war against Hamas, a MILCHEMET MITSVA in Hebrew. In the days following the brutal attack, many thought Israel would react as it had in the past: with a few isolated incursions into Gaza to try to rescue hostages or eliminate terrorist leaders. But the Israeli government made a courageous and risky decision: to invade Gaza to destroy its military infrastructure: thousands of tunnels used to hide weapons and terrorists. The strategic goal of entering Gaza was to take control of all the borders of the strip, stationing troops there to prevent terrorists from rearming.

THANK GOD, this week was very good for the Israeli army. I do not fully understand why this extraordinary victory is not widely reported in the media. I will share a small story to show the magnitude of this victory.

On the 28th of Iyar, 1967, we recovered the Western Wall and the Temple Mount area after bloody battles against the Jordanian legions at Givat HaTachmoshet, which left hundreds dead. Finally, our capital, Jerusalem, returned to our hands after 1900 years of diaspora.

An iconic phrase is pronounced at that moment, remembered by every Israeli because it sounded like a dream: “HAR HABAYIT BEYADENU, HAR HABAYIT BEYADENU,” “The Temple Mount is in our hands.

THE MOST RECENT VICTORY

A few days ago, I saw a video on the Leumanut channel with the iconic title: “TSIR FILADELFI BEYADENU,” “The Philadelphia Corridor is in our hands.” (see video below).

The phrase “is in our hands” is neither casual nor arbitrary but reflects the enormous historical magnitude of Israel’s victory this week. The Jewish army has been fighting in Gaza for eight months in an unprecedented military operation, and a few days ago, it finally conquered this critical corridor completely, from Kerem Shalom to the Mediterranean Sea. By controlling the border between Gaza and Egypt, Israel achieved its first and most challenging mission: preventing terrorists from resupplying weapons or fighters via the dozens of passages or tunnels connecting Gaza to Egypt. Israel now controls ALL the borders of the Gaza Strip, from north to south and east to west. The conquest of the city of Rafah and the Philadelphia Corridor is a fundamental victory we should celebrate and thank the Creator for achieving.

This does not mean the military operation in the Gaza Strip is over. However, according to Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari, the dynamics of the war will now change. Israel no longer faces Hamas’s army, which has been dismantled. But there are still over 10,000 terrorists hiding among civilians or in undiscovered tunnels, and they are expected to continue operating as guerrillas. Israel, B” H, is prepared to face them.

It is our duty as Jews to recognize the merit of our brave soldiers and Israel’s political leaders and also thank the Creator for being with our army as He was with Joshua, King David, and King Solomon.

THE RETURN OF THE MISHKAN

It is also important to highlight that in this war, the Divine Presence has become more recognized in the Israeli army. A friend told me that in his combat unit, made up of Jews from all backgrounds and levels of observance, there is great harmony and unity, which, THANK GOD, does not reflect the usual differences that unfortunately separate us Jews outside the army. Per our Sages, unity among Jews is the prerequisite for the Divine Presence to accompany us. He also told me that no single soldier does not put on Tefillin every morning, something that was not so popular in 1948, 1967, or the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Even Druze soldiers ask to wear Tzitzit and carry a Tehillim book in their pockets. Everyone prays.

As it happened in the Sinai desert when an army unit knows that they have to camp in a particular place for a few days, then they build a temporary “Synagogue”, a Tabernacle of sorts, where they pray, study Torah, study Daf Yomi or read Tehilim. Like the Tabernacle in the desert, every one of these temporary Gaza Synagogues has a Sefer Tora, a Torah scroll provided by the military rabbinate, representing the content of the Ark of the Covenant that was in the midst of the first Israeli camp. These beautiful Mishkan that house Tora, Tefila, Tefillin, and Tzitzit are causing the name of HaShem to be heard more and louder among the Jewish soldiers ברוך שחידש ימינו כקדם.

THE NEXT CHALLENGE

We must thank Bore Olam, the Creator, for Israel’s impressive victories so far.

The Jewish State is preparing for a seemingly inevitable and imminent war with Hezbollah in the north. Let us pray that God continues to protect our brave soldiers and inspire our political leaders with the wisdom to make the best decisions.

SHABBAT SHALOM

ציונות = חזרתם של העם היהודי לארץ ישראל להקים שם מדינה יהודית.

בעוד שהמונח “ציונות” הוטבע על ידי נתן בירנבאום בשנת 1890, הרב יהודה ביבאס (1776-1852) צריך להיות מוכר כאחד ההוגים של הציונות המודרנית. הוא נולד בג’יברלטר. מצד אמו, הוא היה נכדו של הרב המפורסם ממרוקו, רבנו חיים בן עטר, אור החיים הקדוש (1696-1743). אביו השתייך למשפחת ביבאס היוקרתית של רבנים, דיינים ושוחטים בטיטואן, מרוקו הספרדית. במשך שנים רבות היה הרב של הקהילה היהודית הבולטת והעשירה של קורפו, אי יפהפה השייך כיום ליוון.

הרב ביבאס ראה הזדמנות נדירה לעם היהודי להקים מדינה משלו, משום שבאותן שנים (1820-1835) מרדו מדינות רבות באימפריות השולטות וזכו לעצמאותן. החיים בקורפו אפשרו לרב את הפרספקטיבה הייחודית להיות עד ישיר למהפכה של היוונים נגד האימפריה העות‘מאנית ולניצחון שהוביל ליצירת המדינה היוונית העצמאית. ישראל, שכונתה אז “פלשתינה“, הייתה גם היא תחת שלטון האימפריה העות‘מאנית. בשנת 1835, הרב ביבאס האמין כי, כמו היוונים, גם היהודים יכולים להשיג את עצמאותם, שכן האימפריה העות‘מאנית הייתה הולכת ונחלשת פוליטית וצבאית. לדעתו: “היהודים צריכים לכבוש את ארץ ישראל בכוח צבאי מהתורכים, כמו שהיוונים כבשו את ארצם מהתורכים.” הרב ביבאס נסע ברחבי אירופה וצפון אפריקה, ביקר בטורקיה, בבלקן, בוינה, בלונדון, בגרמניה, בהונגריה ובפראג, ובקהילות יהודיות רבות נוספות. המסר העיקרי שהטיף לכל היהודים בעולם היה “תשובה,” קריאה לאומית לחזור לארץ ישראל ולהקים מדינה יהודית.

הרב נתן למונח תשובה משמעות רחבה יותר. מילולית, “תשובה” פירושה “חזרה“. אך מעבר למשמעות הקונבנציונלית של חזרת היהודי היחיד לאלוקיו, בתורה אנו מוצאים את רעיון “התשובה / חזרה” בראש ובראשונה כחזרת העם היהודי לארץ ישראל. בספר דברים, פרק ל‘, פסוקים 1-11, מוזכר השורש  שו“ב  על כל בניניו שמונה פעמים,  כ“תשובה קולקטיבית,” ולאחר מכן כ“פיוס” לאומי עם ה‘. לאחר מכן, תשובה מגדירה את הדרך בה ה‘ יחזיר את העם היהודי לארצו. כמו שהגלות בפרק הקודם (דברים כ“ט) נבעה מנטישת היהודים את ה‘, חזרה לארץ ישראל מוצגת כתוצאה של הפיוס בין עם ישראל לה‘ אלוקינו. הרב ביבאס הסביר כי על ידי הישהות בתפוצות: “אנו מפנים את גבנו לה‘ :ההיפך מתשובה  שהיא ‘פניה‘ לה‘.   כפי שהסבירו רבותינו: יהודי החי מחוץ לישראל דומה למי שאין לו אלוקים. ומדוע אנו חיים בגלות? כדי לחפש את פרנסתנו? האם לא נאמר בתורה שארץ ישראל היא ארץ שעיני ה‘ תמיד   בה, שבה לא נאכל  לחם בעוני? האם לא נאמר שהיא ארץ שלא תחסר בה כלום? יום יום, כשאנו אוכלים את לחמנו, אנו מודים לה‘ על הארץ מבורכת, ישראל, שה‘ נתן לנו…”

הרב יהודה אלקלעי (1798-1878) הביא את רעיונותיו של הרב יהודה ביבאס לכתב. שלא כמו הרב ביבאס, שלא זכה לפרסם את רעיונותיו (או שספריו לא הגיעו אלינו), הרב אלקלעי היה כותב פורה. כמו הרב ביבאס, הרב אלקלעי לא ראה את חזרת העם היהודי לארץ ישראל רק כפתרון לבעיית האנטישמיות , אלא כדרך היחידה למימוש השאיפה ל“נורמליזציה היהודית“: כלומר, עם ישראל בארץ ישראל ע“פ תורת ישראל . שני הרבנים, ביבאס ואלקלעי, הבינו כי העם היהודי לא צריך לחכות באופן פסיבי לביאת המשיח כדי לממש שאיפה זו. אלא, על היהודים לפעול באופן אקטיבי לשוב ולהקים מדינה יהודית עצמאית בארץ אבותינו, כדרך לקדם ולהקל על בואו של המשיח.

בהשראת הרב ביבאס, הרב אלקלעי ניסח את תוכניותיו ורעיונותיו להחזרת היהודים לארץ ישראל בספרו “גורל לה‘”, שפורסם בוינה בשנת 1857. בספר זה הוא תכנן תוכנית מקיפה עם היסודות הדתיים והצעדים המעשיים להגשמת התשובה הלאומית: חזרת העם היהודי לארץ ישראל. הספר פורסם בשלוש מהדורות שונות ותורגם לשפות רבות, כולל אנגלית.

אני מציג כאן לקוראי “הלכה יומית” את ספרו של הרב יהודה אלקלעי, שבו תוכלו לראות שוב ושוב שהמילה המגדירה “ציונות” היא תשובה.

מרתק לקרוא את ההסכמות שהיו לספר זה מרבנים הבולטים באותה תקופה. אולם לדעתי, ההסכמה המעניינת ביותר, שנכבתה בברית רבנית זכה, היא של השר משה מונטיפיורי (1784-1885, נכתבה במקור בעברית), הפילנתרופ והמנהיג היהודי המפורסם ביותר במאה ה-19.

הרב יוסף י ביטון 

גרייט ניק, ניו יורק 

Kidnappings and taking captives are not a new story. It was a common practice in ancient times, so much so that the Tora legislation prohibited human trafficking no other than in the Ten Commandments. Yes! As you heard it. The eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not steal,” doesn’t mean to steal someone’s property but not to “steal people” or “not to kidnap,” which, by the way, the Tora condemns with the death penalty.

THE MITZVA OF RESCUING PRISONERS AND ITS EXCEPTIONS

The Talmud also emphasizes that a Jewish community must make all possible efforts to rescue a captive person. According to Jewish law (Maimonides, Hilchot Matanot Aniyim, 8), it is a fundamental precept to ransom captives—usually prisoners of war or refugees—(Pidyon Shevuyim), and it is considered the highest form of Tzedaka. The Gemara explains that if a Jewish community is collecting money for a synagogue, for example, and then they learn that there is a Jew kidnapped, the community must use those resources to free the captive. Furthermore, even if the money has already been invested in buying construction materials, these should be returned or resold to use that money to ransom the captive. The history of the efforts that Jews have made to rescue captives is exciting and very long. But I’ll leave those details for the future, and now I’ll refer to a caveat that the law of Pidyon Shevuyim records.

“One should not pay too much for the ransom of a captive.” One should not pay more than the “market price,” this is very difficult to understand in our time because we live in privileged historical times. Still, in the past, human trafficking, unfortunately, was typical. There were slave markets where prices for people were standardized. And why does the law discourage paying an excessive price for a Jewish captive? Because if a community is willing to pay that price, it would be encouraging traffickers to continue kidnapping Jews!

THE KIDNAPPED ONES FROM OCTOBER 7TH

Now that we understand this, let’s look at the dilemma experienced by the State of Israel at this time. The tragedy of October 7, 2023, left a horrible toll of close to 1300 Israelis massacred and about 250 kidnapped. In November, the Israeli government was able to release more than 100 hostages by interrupting the war against Hamas for ten days and releasing low-risk Palestinian prisoners. At this moment, there are about 135 hostages left. However, this number is that of people missing since October 7 who have not been able to verify whether they were kidnapped alive or dead. Negotiations with Hamas never included a list of survivors. Neither the Red Cross nor the United Nations has demanded that Hamas provide this information. Inexplicably, Israel has not demanded this information as a condition for delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Returning to the negotiations, Hamas’s two conditions for releasing the Jewish hostages are: 1. Israel releases hundreds of Palestinian terrorists, many of whom have Israeli blood in their hands. 2. The complete cessation of the war and the permanent withdrawal of Israel from Gaza.

Let’s analyze these two conditions one by one and see if the price demanded of Israel is within what is reasonable or excessive in terms of its consequences.

YOU DON’T NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS

The best illustration to understand the potential consequences of negotiating with terrorists is to remember what happened with Gilad Shalit, a young Israeli soldier Hamas kidnaped and held in captivity for five years between June 2006 and October 2011. Israel released more than 1000 terrorists to get Gilad Shalit back. But once free, 50% of these terrorists have returned to terrorism and have participated in murderous terror attacks that killed scores of Israelis. The most notorious of these terrorists released by Gilad Shalit is Yahia Sinwar, the actual head of Hamas and the number one responsible for the massacre of October 7.  

In other words, more than 1300 Jews so far have been directly or indirectly killed by the terrorists that Israel released in that terrible negotiation deal.

On October 17, 2011, prophetically, Purdue University professor Louis Rene Beres argued against Shalit’s release. In an opinion column in the Jerusalem Post, he wrote the following:

“No modern government has the legal right to release terrorists in exchange for its kidnapped citizens, military or civilian. According to current international law, each state has the primary obligation to protect its citizens. However, it seems that tomorrow, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will exchange Palestinian terrorists for the kidnapped soldier of the IDF, Gilad Shalit. Any exchange, no matter how humane it may be for Shalit and his family, would endanger thousands of other Israelis.”

Can Israel reiterate the mistakes of the past? 

Hamas has repeatedly said that as soon as it can, it will repeat the massacre of October 7. How many more Israelis will die if Israel releases Hamas’s dangerous terrorists?

STOP THE ATTACK ON RAFIAH (RAFAH)

The other condition that Hamas puts forward is that Israel end the war and withdraw from Gaza. This, of course, would mean a complete defeat for Israel, the meaningless death of the over 200 Israeli soldiers already killed in this conflict—without counting the thousands wounded—and would endanger Israel in front of its voracious enemies, as in the Middle East, weakness attracts terrorist attacks. Incredibly, the world is siding with Hamas and not with Israel at a very delicate moment: when Israel is about to enter the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Why is Rafah so important?

For those who do not know the geography of Gaza, it may be challenging to understand what Rafah means in this conflict. I will try to explain it as briefly as possible. Firstly, a quarter of Hamas terrorists are still alive in Rafiaj, including many who actively participated in the massacre of October 7. But beyond that, Rafiaj has fundamental geopolitical importance.

The Gaza Strip borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the north and east, and Egypt to the south. The border with Egypt is supposedly closed, but in reality, there are dozens—or hundreds—of tunnels that connect Gaza and Egypt. Through these tunnels, weapons, financial resources, and terrorists have been smuggled to and from Gaza. If Israel, theoretically, does not conquer Rafah, it could not declare victory over Hamas. If it leaves this border open, Hamas will continue to dominate Gaza, obtaining resources, money, weapons, fighters, etc., in short, it would allow Hamas to survive and eventually continue attacking Israel.

In the past, Israel attacked Gaza to defend itself against Hamas attacks and bring security to Israeli citizens. Still, it never went all the way, and the consequences were devastating. But this time, after the greatest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, I believe it has to be different. This time, Israel’s forces will enter Gaza and have already destroyed hundreds of war tunnels and are one step away from ending the terrorist organization and establishing itself militarily in Gaza to prevent future attacks.

AMERICA, GONE WITH THE WIND

To understand the strategic importance that conquering Rafahj represents for Israel, all one has to do is pay attention to the devastating and unprecedented international pressure that Israel is suffering at this moment from all the countries in the world, and unfortunately, with the U.S. at the forefront. All the antisemitic demonstrations in U.S. universities, even if they disguise themselves as other causes, aim to pressure the U.S. to pressure Israel not to ATTACK RAFIAH. At the time I am writing this article, Antony Blinken is in Israel trying to convince Netanyahu to make more concessions to reach an agreement with Hamas. Indeed, the U.S. will offer guarantees that if it gives in to Hamas’s demands, the U.S. will defend Israel. I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of the Prime Minister of Israel, and I pray that he does not give in. Why? Because those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

Let me explain. Israel made three severe mistakes in the last 30 years: firstly, the Oslo Accords, which only brought more intifadas and death. Second, and as I just explained, releasing terrorists with blood on their hands to return Shalit. But I believe the worst mistake, the one that has cost us the most blood, was when Ariel Sharon withdrew the Israeli army from Gaza. According to Israeli journalist Amit Segal, one of the things that convinced Sharon was that President Bush told Sharon something like: “Don’t worry, if anything goes wrong, the U.S. will have your back. We will not allow the Palestinians to attack Israel.” What good were those promises from Israel’s main ally? Absolutely nothing. Israel cannot repeat the mistake, especially with an administration that has proven to be so lenient in dealing with Hamas terrorists. 

THE TORAH AND THE RESCUE OF JEWISH PRISONERS

This Tuesday morning, the last day of Pesach, I spoke in my synagogue about rescuing prisoners in the Tora, particularly in the book of Genesis, Bereshit.

When Lot was kidnapped from Sodom, Abraham gathered an army of more than 300 people, pursued and defeated those who had captured Lot, and freed him and all the prisoners of Sodom. There were no negotiations, only a military operation (Genesis 14:14-16).

When Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, was raped and then kidnapped, the sons of Jacob, Shimon, and Levi pretended negotiations to surprise the inhabitants of Shechem. Surprisingly, they attacked the city, killed all the men who resisted, forcibly rescued Dinah, and burned the city (Genesis 34). There were no negotiations with the kidnappers; they had no mercy on the terrorists or the citizens of Sodom, nor did they consider the disproportionality of their violent response. And indeed, this disproportionate reaction created a psychological terror that seized the neighboring peoples and deterred them from attempting aggression against the children of Israel.

ONE SHOULD NEVER NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS, AND THE MILITARY RESPONSE MUST BE DELIBERATELY DISPROPORTIONATE SO THAT THE ENEMY UNDERSTANDS THAT IT IS NOT IN THEIR INTEREST TO MESS WITH ISRAEL.