Letter to the Editor

I was horrified to read the letter by Professor Harry White "A Jewish Voice against Zionism".  The professor's main point is that Israel has no right to exist both from the stand point of Judaism and International Law, it is these two points that I will address.  If the Arabs are correct that the Jews came in and usurped a land, then the professor would be correct in his assertion Israel was one of the "two major mistakes in the middle of the last century".  However if the Land of Israel is the eternal heritage of the Jewish Nation, historically and religiously speaking, then the re-birth of the State of Israel is was a tremendous blessing. 

When the professor stated that Israel is "in violation of Geneva accords to which it is a signatory, to colonize neighboring territory", I am not sure what he is talking about. The Jewish communities of the West Bank are not located in an "occupied territory." The last binding international legal instrument which divided the territory in the region of Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza was the League of Nations Mandate, which explicitly recognized the right of Jewish settlement in all territory allocated to the Jewish national home in the context of the British Mandate. These rights under the British Mandate were preserved by the successor organization to the League of Nations, the United Nations, under Article 49 of the UN Charter. 2. Until 1993 there was never in history a Palestinian State or autonomy of any kind.  Meanwhile the Jews have reestablished sovereignty for the third time in their history. It is therefore natural for Jews to build homes and communities in these areas. 3. The territory of the West Bank and Gaza Strip was captured by Israel in a defensive war, which is a legal means to acquire territory under international law. In fact, Israel's seizing the land in 1967 was the only legal acquisition of the territory this century: the Jordanian occupation of the West Bank from 1947 to 1967, by contrast, had been the result of an offensive war in 1948 and was never recognized by the international community, including the Arab states, with the exception of Great Britain and Pakistan. 

I would like to provide some examples of the Jewish-Israel connection: Hebron in which lies the tomb of the Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rivkah, Jacob and Leah; Bethlehem, and its tomb of our matriarch Rachel (second wife of Jacob); Schem (Nablus) which hosts the Tomb of our prophet Joseph; Shilo in which the remains of the Jewish Tabernacle are still visible; Jerusalem, where King David and Solomon reigned, where the first and second holy Jewish Temples were built and destroyed, and where the third Temple awaits; Hashmonayim, the home of the courageous Maccabees; Massada and Betar, where holy martyrs fell resisting the Roman occupation.  

When the professor writes, "Throughout Judaism, land has never been holy", I wonder if he has ever opened any Jewish holy book of any kind. Chronicles - 16:15-18 states: "Forever remember His covenant that he commanded forever; That He made with Abraham and swore to Isaac; and confirmed to Jacob, a decree for Israel, as an eternal covenant; saying to You I will give the Land of Cannan (Israel) as your allotted heritage". The national command on the Jews to settle and conquer the Land of Israel is repeated at least 10 times in Deuteronomy. One of the greatest deciders of Jewish Law, Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman (Ramban) wrote "We are commanded to posses the land that the almighty God gave to our forefathers… and not to leave it in the hands of other nations or in desolation, as it says, 'posses the land and live in it' (Numbers, 33:53) …we may never leave the land in the hand of other nations in any generation." Numerous rabbinic authorities concur.  You may not like it, but this is Judaism.

Unfortunately we were unable to perform the holy command of "inheriting and conquering the land" for nearly 1900 years. As we say in our prayer service, "Because of our sins, we were exiled from our country and ripped from our land". Now due to the grace of God, for a brief period in the middle of the last century, the hearts of the nations were opened and they helped to facilitate our return to the land. The same land that the Romans illegally occupied after ethnically cleansing most of our people 1900 earlier. We have merited seeing the first signs of redemption as the Talmud teaches. "Rabbi Abba taught, 'There is no greater sign of redemption than this, as it is written (in Ezekiel ch.36), 'You O mountains of Israel will give forth your branches and give forth your fruit for My People Israel will soon return". 

Anticipating the speedy and complete redemption of the Nation and Land,

Yosef Rabin 

Jewish student at NEIU

Ret. Sergeant, 97th battalion, Israel Defense Force

PS. Zionism is as Jewish of a concept as refraining from eating at non-Kosher restaurants like Manny's Delicatessen.