Gary Cooperberg, April 30, 2007

As I write this the media in Israel is going crazy about the imminent publication by the Winograd Committee investigating the mistakes of the Second Lebanon War, which are expected to be highly critical of Prime Minister Olmert and Defense Minister Peretz. The media smells blood and is issuing all kinds of potential results most of which imply that Olmert will fall.

One of our major problems in Israel is that we think that we are an ordinary country just like most of the other nations in the world. We worship the concept of democracy, even if we don't really practice it. And we expect that redemption will come from the polling booth. Yes, indeed, Olmert is a miserable failure. But so were his predecessors and so will be the next politician who will find himself in the Prime Minister's office.

Of all the contenders for that office, not one is truly G-d fearing. For this reason alone he or she will never succeed as a genuine leader of our country. One of the greatest miracles of this tiny reborn Jewish State is the fact that our inept leadership has never succeeded in causing the complete destruction of this country. Had any other nation a similar leadership it would not survive for ten minutes, much less fifty nine years! Our country grows and thrives and defeats overwhelming enemies as well as self destructive leaders only by Divine intervention.

Too many of our people, both within and without the Jewish State, look at our corrupt and self serving government and turn their backs both upon it and upon the miraculous reality of our return to our homeland. Some are so disillusioned that they refrain from celebrating our Independence and will not recite praises to G-d for His miraculous intervention in the rebirth of Jewish sovereignty in our ancient homeland. What these people fail to understand is the fact that even though our leaders try to reject the miracles, it is our obligation to express our gratitude for them. We must not blame G-d for the failure of our leadership to use the miracles we were given to hasten Redemption.

Redemption is not a gift. It not dependent upon us. It is part of Divine Destiny which no power on Earth can prevent from happening. Not even our own leadership can do that, as much as it may try. If we turn our backs upon the redemptive process and pretend that it is not happening all we accomplish is to bring needless tragedy upon ourselves. This is the real reason why we suffer from terrorism. We are trying to be like all the other nations of the world when we are destined to be apart from them; to become a light unto the nations by being different and obeying G-d's Law.

Our leaders are trying to share our country with those who seek our destruction. At the same time those enemies have taken pieces of our homeland which we have given them, and declare their intention to take away the rest as well. G-d created these people to teach us by example. We are the only rightful heirs to the Land of Israel and we seek to share our obligated inheritance with thieves. The thieves act as if all of our homeland belongs to them and would prefer to die rather than share it with Jews.

When Jews begin to act like Jews, rather than democrats, and declare that the Land of Israel belongs only to us, and act accordingly, then we will begin to see genuine redemption and an end to the needless tragedy we now endure.

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

Copyright © 2007 Gary Cooperberg