I love Eretz Yisroel with every fiber of my being. I daven for its safety, rejoice in its nissim, and cry over its tzaros. I am mechanech my children from the youngest age to say, “V’sechezena eineinu b’shuvcha l’Tzion b’rachamim.” In our shuls, our yeshivos, our homes — there is nothing more precious than the kedusha of Eretz HaKodesh and the situation of our brothers and sisters living there.
And that’s exactly why I have no patience — not an ounce — for the chaos that Itamar Ben Gvir brought to our streets this week.
He came to America under the banner of an “official visit.” To meet with who? Nobody. There were no real meetings scheduled. Not in Crown Heights. Not at Essen. Not at Shaarei Zion. Not at the Young Israel of Woodmere. Not anywhere. He popped his head into a few places for a few minutes — long enough to get a few photo ops — and that was it.
But the protests? The chillul Hashem? The danger? Oh, that he stirred up plenty of.
Instead of making a kiddush Hashem, instead of building bridges, instead of strengthening our communities — he lit a match and threw it into a tinderbox. Protestors and Hamas sympathizers were riled up and came out in droves, furious and violent. Our neighborhoods, our communities — not his — were left to deal with the consequences.
When he walked twenty blocks down Wall Street, letting the mob scream and curse at him, what was the point? He could’ve gotten into a car. He could’ve kept a low profile. Instead, he chose the route of chaos, just to stay relevant, just to get his name into the headlines. This isn’t leadership. This is selfishness — and it’s dangerous.
We should never, ever cower in the face of Hamas sympathizers. We stand tall and proud as Yidden, and we will defend our neighborhoods. But we don’t need Ben Gvir to teach us how to stand strong. We’ve been standing strong in America for decades, long before he figured out how to make a media circus out of Jewish pain.
We love Eretz Yisroel with every drop of our blood. We stand with the IDF and we stand with every Jew in danger. But we do not stand with a rabble-rouser who nearly toppled the Netanyahu government a few months ago just so he could stay in the news as the official “flamethrower.”
Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit was not a show of strength. It was a reckless, selfish act that endangered our kehillos for no reason other than his own ego.
We should continue to stand proudly as Torah Yidden, as ohavei Yisroel, as lovers of Eretz Yisroel — but we must do it with seichel, with achrayus, and with true pride. Not with matches and gasoline.
Avrohom J – Flatbush, Brooklyn
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8 Responses
Thank you. Your point is spot on. You are one hundred percent right. We need more people to speak our against Ben Gvir and to do so more forcefully. We expect Muslim religious leaders to condemn chants of death to the Jews and we should expect no less from our community leaders when mobs in Crown Heights chant maves l’aravim.
Totally agree. Ben Gvir’s policies and actions have been controversial, even among Israelis. Some critics argue that his approach to security and law enforcement could lead to further polarization and instability.
Please explain what type of Zionist you are. Why is this long rant anyone’s business. If you want to join Ben do so .if you don’t want to don’t. Just don’t tell others what to do.
Umm – how did he walk 20 blocks down Wall Street? The entire street is only about five blocks long!
an Israeli Yid
Best… he endangers lives in Israel with his provocative (and likely forbidden) visits to ghe Temple Mount. He does the same with his pronouncements. And now he comes here to further his foolhardy Messianism.
Wow, the conservatives sure are getting better at writing like us!
Out of curiosity, do you love Tefillin or Sukkah or Krias Shema biZman with the same love? If not, you just might be making an idol out of E”Y.
“Instead of making a kiddush Hashem, instead of building bridges, instead of strengthening our communities — he lit a match and threw it into a tinderbox.”
This is the Modus Operandi of Zionism. Being all macho and tough regardless of consequences, especially when the wicked Zionists can then propagandize those consequences as a rallying cry for Zionism. This particular Zionist has been condemned as a rodef in the past, so this isn’t all that new for him – other than the venue.
Zionism is the opposite of Judaism. Therefore, Zionists, particularly politically powerful ones, are damaging to Jews.