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By Rabbi Sholom Dovber Wolpo, Beis Moshiach Magazine

1. THIS CONVOY CAN AND MUST BE STOPPED

About fifteen years ago, the Histadrut, Israel’s main labor union, organized a general nationwide strike affecting virtually the entire country’s workforce.

One day, I was driving towards Kiryat Gat, when I got stuck in a very long traffic jam at the ‘Nachshon’ intersection, comprised of ten huge trucks carrying thousands of sacks of cement from the ‘Nesher’ factory to southern Eretz Yisrael. Every truck that passed the intersection stood in a convoy on the shoulder of the road to allow the cars that were stuck in the traffic to pass it.

I opened the car window and asked the driver of the first truck: How are they filling cement at ‘Nesher’ when there’s a general strike throughout the whole country? The driver replied: While it’s true that most of the activities at ‘Nesher’ have been halted, there is a special permit from the Histadrut allowing them to continue producing for the Palestinians in Gaza, because their shipment cannot be stopped…

The government knew that the cement and the other building materials they transferred to the ‘State of Palestine’ in Gaza were intended for the construction of the tunnels in lower Gaza. However, the government wanted “quiet” and this, it bought with blood, cash payments for turning a blind eye, and compromising the security of millions of Jews. This made it possible to ‘enjoy the tranquility’ until the next missile barrage, which was also nothing more than a camouflage for the preparations that had been made for years, for the real plan they had prepared for Simchas Torah 5784.

2. THIS FAKE NEWS CAN AND MUST BE STOPPED

The State of Israel complains a lot about the hostile media abroad (such as the BBC in London and CNN in Atlanta), which is at the disposal of the terrorist organizations, denigrating the IDF during wartime, and the settlers and the settlements during the rest of the year. A media that acts as a mouthpiece only for the so-called “experts”. For their part, they sow fear and terror under every blossoming tree.

Quite often, the world media quotes from sources based in the State of Israel itself. Thus, if we want the phenomenon of unfair media coverage to stop, we must stop it right here and now in Eretz Yisrael, and not in London or New York. This is not Al Jazeera, but Israeli media outlets such as Haaretz, Channel 12, etc.

The matter of disseminating information for public consumption is not just ‘cosmetics’ or being visible in wartime, but literally one of pikuach nefesh. The media and other haters of Israel spread frightening video clips, and the soldiers see them, which is liable to cause them not to have the emotional strength to fight.

It is important to spread among the military personnel the words of the Rambam (Hilchos Melachim, end of Ch. 7) intended for army soldiers: “Once a soldier enters the throes of battle, he should rely on the Hope of Israel and their Redeemer in times of need. He should realize that he is fighting for the sake of the Unity of Hashem’s Name. Therefore, he should place his soul in his hand and not show fright or fear. He should not worry about his wife or children. On the contrary, he should wipe their memory from his heart, removing all thoughts from his mind except the war. Anyone who begins to feel anxious and worried in the midst of battle to the point where he frightens himself violates a negative commandment, as it is written: ‘Do not be faint-hearted. Do not be afraid. Do not panic and do not break ranks before them.’ Furthermore, he is responsible for the blood of the entire Jewish nation. If he is not valiant, if he does not wage war with all his heart and soul, it is considered as if he shed the blood of the entire people… In contrast, anyone who fights with his entire heart, without fear, with the intention of sanctifying Hashem’s Name alone, can be assured that he will find no harm, nor will bad overtake him. He will be granted a proper family in Israel and gather merit for himself and his children forever. He will also merit eternal life in the World to Come.”

In light of the aforementioned, an advanced public information office should be established immediately to manage public information internally, to the soldiers and residents, and externally – to the nations of the world. This office will employ experts with sizable budgets and firm legal backing. This is one of the ways to shut the mouths of the traitors, who were always the most despised people in the history of the Jewish People. Thus, we will not only invigorate the spirit of the Israel Defense Forces, with Hashem’s help, but we will also put a stop to those who fight against us with negative propaganda from the outside.

As long as we don’t fight using all means available against those channels of panic and consternation within our ranks, they will continue, together with their partners abroad, to mobilize on behalf of the terrorist organizations, and in favor of those concepts that have totally failed in perceiving the enemy’s intentions and abilities.

3. THE LEGAL MADNESS ABSOLUTELY MUST BE STOPPED

One of the members of the defense forces, who was among the first to see the hundreds of terrorists rushing through the breaches in the fence heading towards the settlements, testified on Radio Kol B’Rama: “We saw an insane number of Gazans, without our understanding what they were doing. We didn’t shoot at them because they weren’t holding any weapons. These are the instructions that we received. Even in times of war, our army maintains its ‘morality’ and therefore, we didn’t shoot at those Gazans who broke through the fence with sticks in their hands. It was forbidden for us to shoot at them. As far as we were concerned, we saw civilians, and we did not understand that everyone who entered was a terrorist.”

When the time comes for investigations and inquiry commissions, it will become clear that this was the same shameful approach that tied the hands of the helicopter pilots who took to the air during those difficult hours but refrained from shooting the hundreds of Gazans who ran into the settlements with sticks in their hands.

This is a direct result of the legal advice and instructions of the Israel High Court of “Justice.”

It will also be written and related about how much Jewish blood was spilled because of the control wielded by military jurists – a disgrace that continues even during this very war when judges issue rulings that handcuff the soldiers as they sacrifice their lives in defense of the People of Israel.

4. THIS WAR CANNOT AND MUST NOT STOP

How much the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach pleaded during all the wars we’ve been through here when he warned that all the bloodshed was for nothing. If the job is not finished until the end, then the current stage will only be a stepping stone to the next stage that will arrive not long afterward, except that it will be much more difficult than the previous battle, which they left uncompleted without destroying the enemy.

This was one of the few cases when the Rebbe went out of his way and deviated from his usual custom of speaking only positively. He warned the then-prime minister and minister of defense that when they would walk down the street and see a disabled soldier, or when they would go to the hospital to visit someone who had been wounded, or when they would be invited to a funeral r”l, they would know that they were to blame for what happened, and this was because they hesitated and did not bring the war to its proper conclusion.

If ch”v there would be a situation that will cause great global unrest, resulting in the nations of the world, or the leftists among us, pressuring the government and its allies to stop the war in the middle (i.e., before the entire Gaza Strip is cleansed, or when Hamas soldiers remain in Yehuda and Shomron, or when Yehuda, Shomron, and Gaza will be free of terrorists, but Lebanon will still be able to rain missiles upon us, et al.), then the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who fought at that time must rise up against the government and those who lead it. They must demand vehemently that all the politicians who had a part in this submission will never again serve in any public position, since they are the ones who caused the blood of their friends and relatives to be shed in vain.

5. THIS EMUNAH CANNOT AND WILL NOT STOP

During the previous week, Hamas terrorists released a ten-minute film showing their training for the current war.

Undeniably, this is something rather frightening, as it shows in retrospect the tremendous and wondrous miracles that occurred. One of the IDF experts in such matters said that if the terrorists would have held back as usual and not started firing their destructive weapons immediately upon entering the Gaza Envelope settlements, giving time to their comrades to reach other cities in Eretz Yisrael, it’s quite conceivable that there ch”v would have been no survivors of the ‘haters of Israel’.

One of the most pressing questions is: What happened to all the hundreds and thousands of IDF soldiers training in these areas? How is it possible that no one saw or gave warning over a period of several weeks about the practices of thousands of terrorists training for war, on land and at sea?

What happened to the usually excellent intelligence provided by the General Security Services? Where were all the scouts and spies who knew where every Hamas operative was at any given moment?

Furthermore, it is already known that there actually were several advance warnings of this type, and on Erev Simchas Torah, they were brought to the attention of the head of Israeli military intelligence, the head of the GSS, and the commander of the IDF Southern Command. However, they decided to ignore them and continued to stay with their families during the holiday vacation, relying upon the mistaken concept espoused then by all those concerned, asserting that the Hamas organization “had been deterred and was looking for a settlement”. So, what exactly happened here?

This matter will most certainly be investigated further, G-d willing, after the successful conclusion of the war. However, as usual, they will find some guilty parties to whitewash the affair, yet fail to get to the root of the problem.

But the simple and true explanation is – that the Holy One, blessed be He, plugged the ears and blinded the eyes of those who needed to see and hear the information. As the Rebbe cried out after the Six Day War, when everyone was proclaiming that “My strength and the might of my hand has accumulated this wealth for me” without mentioning the Name of Heaven, Hashem leaves a “northern wind” (in the language of the Gemara, ‘one corner that is not finished’), and tells us, if you’re really so strong and wise, you deal with this wind by yourselves as well (see sichos from Parshas Bereishis 5728).

During recent years, we have heard all the experts, politicians, and army commanders declaring with pathos, that “the army is ready and prepared for any scenario”, and whoever dares to try and harm us, will receive swift and harsh punishment. And where is there any mention of Heaven, or at least ‘with Hashem’s help’?

Who created this turnaround to victory? It was specifically the soldiers in the field; the hundreds of thousands of reservists who came and immediately presented themselves with simple faith and fought with self-sacrifice. When they were interviewed during those days and told their story, they did not stop thanking and praising with “Vehi She’amda”, the Alm-ghty G-d Who saved us then and will save us now. All the men and women who saw open miracles on the first day of the war, say that they remained alive and were miraculously rescued at that moment when they raised their eyes Heavenward and made a good resolution in observing Shabbos, putting on tefillin, etc.

This is what all the nations of the world saw as well, as the wheel immediately turned, and the People of Israel united with the G-d of the hosts of Israel at their head, proclaiming ‘We will be victorious.’

This leads to the request and plea we make to the prime minister, the other Cabinet ministers, and the members of the Knesset: Please mention the Name of Heaven when you speak in public, and this will arouse Hashem’s Divine Mercy on the Jewish People, who know that Hashem, and only Hashem, is the One Who gives us the tremendous strength and success we need at this time.

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