Maof

Last week, the Jewish Nation suffered a fierce and devastating blow, when a synagogue was destroyed.  One may question with great concern.
Where?  France? Poland? Prague?  Of course had it been in one of these known anti-Semitic countries our lives would have been made much easier.
We would all rise up in unison chanting "Never Again".  The Israeli government would denounce the anti-Semitic act and possibly send emissaries to aid in the reconstruction of the synagogue.  If it had happened in Poland it would surely become a new site visited by tens of thousands of Jewish youth annually.
When a synagogue was destroyed last week and our holy ark, presumably containing our holy Bible swept away into captivity, I could not help but cry and shudder with pain.  No!  This synagogue where G-D's divine presence rested was not in Poland or France, rather, here in the heart of the Holy Land.  No!  This holy sanctuary was not destroyed by neo-Nazis or French anti-Semites, rather by Israeli soldiers and police sent by the Israeli government itself.
After the Holocaust, when thousands of survivors swam to the shores of the Promised Land, when Jews from all  over the world sand out in unison, a prayer- ".to be a free nation in our land.", who would have believed that we would see the day when a synagogue would be destroyed. Have we forgotten our past?  Is "Never Again" a slogan recited only on Holocaust Memorial Day, which pertains to acts of anti-Semitism in Poland and Germany?
Last week while being forcefully held down by a soldier girl (in a ditch by the side of the road), all I could do was watch as hundreds of soldiers walked up to our hilltop "660"- "Tapuach West".  They were not going there to protect us. No!  They were marching together to destroy our synagogue.  Now, several days after the construction there remain only a pile of debris.  Of course, there was a successful attempt to rebuild it, but the soldiers were quick to destroy it again.  In many ways it is hard to condemn them.  Orders are orders, and of one refuses to obey, he or she will be put in jail.  Throughout history, people have been driven to do atrocities.  How?  Is it because of this fear of being punished or maybe 'not accepted'? Is it because people are so easily brainwashed into believing that what they are ordered to do is always for the good of the society?  Whatever the answer may be, may we so easily forgive those who do such acts? Last week while our synagogue was being destroyed, I made several attempts to break free of my capture, in order to block an army jeep or police vehicle from going to our hilltop.  Each time I tried, I was quickly seized, and once back in the ditch, told the same words over and over again.  The painful sentence "Calm down, there is nothing one can do!" will be imbedded in my mind forever.  What will these soldiers answer their children when asked about this black moment in history? As for us, residents of hilltop "660", we will not give in to the self-hating, anti-Semitic whims of Minister Tomy Lapid and his friends. Unlike the soldiers who will do terrible deeds if ordered, we fear not military officers nor corrupt politicians, only the Almighty Himself. Where today a pile of debris lies, with G-D's help a new synagogue will soon stand in all its glory.

Sarah Friedman is director of community events at Kfar Tapuach she lives with her husband and their two small children on the Tapuach west "outpost"

Please sign the Kahane Shul Petition  http://www.petitiononline.com/kahane/petition.html

We the undersigned are outraged with the news of the Israeli government destroying a synagogue in Israel that was built in memory of Rabbi Meir Kahane and his son and daughter in law who were all murdered by Arab terrorists.

We call on the Sharon government to stop harassing the Kahane followers and to allow them to build their Shul.

See pictures of the Shul site:  http://www.kahanebooks.com/shul.html

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