Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Monday at the celebratory rally for Jerusalem Unification Day at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva, the flagship yeshiva of the Religious Zionist movement founded in 1924 by Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak HaCohen Kook. Netanyahu proclaimed: “In every home in Gaza, our soldiers saw pictures of Jerusalem,” suggesting that the Hamas ideology aims not only to destroy the Jewish State but also to rob us of our national heritage.
“Since the last time we met face to face, the course of Israeli history has taken a dramatic turn,” Prime Minister Netanyahu told his audience. “We are now in the midst of a war of revival on seven fronts – a necessary, moral, and unparalleled war. This is a battle of good against evil: first and foremost, a determined fight on the battlefield against the human beasts who carried out a barbaric attack on us 20 months ago.”
“Secondly, this is a war of spirit, a battle over values, meaning, and the righteousness of our path. It is a war over Jerusalem,” the Prime Minister declared. “Our enemies know that Jerusalem is the heart of our nation, its root, its heritage, its guiding compass. In every home in Gaza, our soldiers saw pictures of Jerusalem. It became even clearer to them that those who seek to destroy us aim to strip us of our ancestral inheritance. We will, of course, never allow that to happen.”
The Prime Minister continued: “Perhaps every IDF soldier should know Rashi’s first commentary on the Torah – that we are neither thieves nor foreigners in our own land.”
In his first commentary on the book of Genesis, Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, 1040 – 1105) wonders why the Torah, which is a book of laws, should not open with the first law God gave the Israelites, rather than the details of God’s creation of the world. Rashi cites the verse (Psalms 111:6), “He declared to His people the strength of His works so that He might give them the heritage of the nations.” And therefore, should the nations accuse Israel, “You are robbers because you took by force the lands of the seven nations of Canaan,” the Israelites would answer, “All the earth belongs to the Holy One, blessed be He; He created it and gave it to whom He pleased.” (Midrash Yalkut Shimoni).
“This is the Land of Promise, the Land of Israel,” Netanyahu said, and added, “But I want to emphasize something else about this war, something central in the teachings of Rabbi Kook, of blessed memory. He wrote: ‘Every fall prepares for a double ascent.’ Every setback lays the groundwork for correction, for renewal, for growth.”
“This was true during World War I, when Rabbi Kook was forced to remain outside the Land of Israel. Even amid the fire and smoke, the Balfour Declaration emerged, calling for a national home in Zion. It was true after World War II, with the UN resolution of November 29, 1947, that paved the way for the establishment of the state. It was true in the War of Independence, with the Declaration of Independence.”
“It was true in the aftermath of the Six-Day War, which brought us back to our homeland, in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, Gush Etzion, the Jordan Valley, and the Golan Heights. And it was true after the Yom Kippur War, which saw the founding of more settlements and more yeshivot.”
Netanyahu went on: “Although we turned the table and achieved a resounding victory, some were nonetheless gripped by profound discouragement, even despair, when facing the trials of the Zionist enterprise. Yet the enduring maxim coined by Rabbi Kook the Elder remains: ‘Every fall paves the way for a double ascent.’ His son, Rabbi Zvi-Yehuda Kook, of blessed memory, held that teaching close to his heart as well.”
Netanyahu concluded: “At this moment, our aim is clear — to secure a complete victory over our enemies; to bring home our kidnapped brothers and sisters; to dismantle the Hamas regime; and to guarantee that Gaza will never again threaten the State of Israel.”
