Eugene Narrett
In the second year after the Exodus from Egypt, the Lord instructed Moses to send forth men, one from each tribe, to scout out the Land and see if it was fertile or lean, barren or forested, and to ascertain the strength of its inhabitants. The Children of Israel were encamped around the Tabernacle not far from the Jordan. They were almost home, and God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was about to be fulfilled.
Then something happened. These scouts--the elite of their tribes--saw that the Land was good, "indeed, it flows with milk and honey." But ten of them, no doubt reflecting what today would pass for a "realistic assessment," insisted that the people there were "too strong for us. All the people we saw there were huge, sons of the giants. We were like grasshoppers in our eyes," the ten terrified ones concluded, "and so we were in their eyes" (Numbers 13).
Two of the twelve, Joshua and Caleb, intensely rebutted the fainthearted. "We shall surely ascend and conquer the Land, for we surely can do it!" cried Caleb. The defeatists stoned him.
The grasshoppers rule Israel today, and it is rough going for the spiritual descendants of Joshua and Caleb (whose name means, "all heart"). On Wednesday, June 17, under the orders of Israel's Attorney General, Elyakim Rubinstein, police raided the offices of Arutz 7 radio. They spent about three hours interrogating employees, rifling files, and carting away documents. Arutz 7 is estimated to be the third most listened-to station in Israel. It is the only one that points out the imbalances and delusions of the Oslo accords and consistently opposes the surrender of the Promised Land. It was clear to many in the Knesset and elsewhere that the raid "was a form of government revenge against the NRP and Yesha community's objections to Netanyahu's withdrawal plans."
There are 17 unlicensed radio stations broadcasting in Israel. Arutz 7 is the only one of these that is not breaking the law, because it broadcasts from a ship offshore (it has been waiting years for a license). Yaakov Katz, Chairman of Arutz 7, noted that the station has been raided before. During the Rabin-Peres years, the ship's transmitters were taken, a loss of several hundred thousand dollars. "They did not find anything illegal," Katz pointed out. "That's why they have not brought any charges against the station or anyone that works there. But it's been almost five years and we haven't received the transmitters back."
As chilling as the raids is the subsequent
interrogation by police of Rabbi Zalman Baruch
Melamed (of the Arutz 7 Board) and his wife, Rabbanit
Shulamit Melamed. The government is disturbed that the
Rabbi discusses Torah in ways that indicate it is forbidden
to surrender Jewish connection to the Land.
None of those forever ferreting out signs of (supposed) Israeli mistreatment of Palestinians and loudly championing "civil rights" for minorities found anything noteworthy in this government intimidation of the media. Free speech to them, whether in Israel or America, means you are free to agree with them, or else. With Netanyahu preparing to surrender 12-15% more of Israel's heartland to those sworn to destroy it, his government prefers to silence the critics whose arguments it cannot rebut.
An event that same week in mid-June indicated how the state's legal and security establishment skews justice to serve its political purposes. Margalit Har-Shefi, a former friend of Yigal Amir, was convicted of "not preventing a crime." Most people in every country (not least in the governments) are guilty of the same non-act. Note: Har-Shefi was not convicted of being an accomplice. Indeed, the sentencing Judge conceded that Har-Shefi sought to dissuade Amir from violence and misled him about the location of weapons to hinder any such acts he might take. Still, she stands guilty of "not preventing a crime."
At the same time, the government continued to resist trying (much less convicting and sentencing)
With Netanyahu preparing to surrender 12-15% more of Israel's heartland to those sworn to destroy it, his government prefers to silence the critics whose arguments it cannot rebut.
The Prophet Zechariah denounced "worthless shepherds who abandon their flocks," who break the healthy and strong. One considers cases like the above and the betrayal of the Jewish citizens of Hebron and the other towns in Judea and Samaria, and one sees a path leading to death in the wilderness. Grasshoppers for whom the path of remembrance and loyalty seems too daunting, find it more soothing to praise evildoers and build up the wicked, as Malachi put it. Many "blemished sacrifices" have been offered to the demons of the "peace process."
Dr. Aaron Lerner points out that Netanyahu has
(Continued on p.11)
July-August 1998 - 5 - Outpost