Gary Cooperberg, July 31, 2006

How many times do we hear Israeli politicians try to explain their way out of committing acts which may be deemed Jewish self-respect by disclaiming their intentions of harboring such qualities? It is impossible to itemize all of the instances, but to list a few:

"It is not our intention to declare independence, it is more prudent to remain a protectorate of Great Britain."

"It is not our intention to liberate Judea, Samaria, Gaza and East Jerusalem."

"It is not our intention to keep Judea, Samaria and Gaza and East Jerusalem now that we have liberated them."

"It is not our intention to remain in South Lebanon."

"It is not our intention to return to Gaza."

And, to sum up, "It is not our intention to behave as proud Jews and hasten Redemption."

Every positive gain we have achieved in this country, including our regained sovereignty, was in spite of the fact that "it was not our intention" to do so. It has always been our enemies who forced us into doing things we never would have dreamed to do. We actually wanted King Hussein to keep Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem. We begged him to stay out of the war. Had he listened to our pleas these Jewish lands would still be under the control of Jordan! And, if that wasn’t bad enough, after we liberated those lands we offered to give them back to Jordan in exchange for "Peace". It was only Jordan’s refusal to accept our offer which prevented this from happening!

Prime Minister Netanyahu abandoned most of Hebron. "It was not his intention" that we ever return. His foolish efforts brought gunfire upon the Jewish community and the murder of innocent Jewish civilians including an infant who was shot by an Arab sniper from the very hills that Netanyahu gave them!

Prime Minister Barak ran out of Lebanon in the futile hope that this would end our trouble with that country. "It was not his intention" that we would ever return.

Prime Minister Sharon unilaterally evicted all the Jews living in the Gaza Strip. "It was not his intention" that we ever return. Today we are paying with Katyushas landing in Ashkelon and we have already returned to Gaza, although "it is not our intention" to stay there.

And Prime Minister Olmert continues to explain that "it is not our intention" to be in Lebanon, "nor is it his intention" that we remain in most of Judea and Samaria.

The return of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel was and is being accomplished even "without our intentions." It is a Divine Process which was Planned by the Creator of the Universe even before our Father Abraham made aliyah at the Command of G-d. What we must remember in these days of mourning for the loss of our holy Temple, is that Jewish history is replete with examples of Jewish leaders who accomplished miracles even without intentions to do so. The G-d of Creation continues to force upon us the Destiny that He determined will be. Not even Jewish Leaders can alter that destiny even with the best of intentions. We will return to Gaza. We will return to most of Lebanon, parts of Egypt and Syria and all of Jordan. We will drive out our enemies from within, even though "it is not our intention" to do so.

Gary Cooperberg, a resident of the Jewish community in Hebron, Israel, is the founder and director of Project Shofar.

Copyright © 2006 Gary Cooperberg