The people of Israel lost a true leader with the passing of Yitzhak Shamir. Before assuming the reins as our seventh prime minister, Shamir dutifully served his people and his country first as head of the underground Lehi, then in the Mossad where he was responsible for tracking down and eliminating some of our worst enemies including Nazi war criminals who had fled to Egypt, and finally in the political arena where he served as a Member and then Speaker of Knesset, Foreign Minister and finally Prime Minister after the resignation of his mentor Menachem Begin.

Upon the death of a loved one, we often take the time to look through the memory book of their life and search for the lessons that their legacy can teach us. In the case of Yitzhak Shamir, a multi-volume set of thick bound tomes might be more appropriate a metaphor. These books are filled with the earth of the whole land of Israel, and immersed in values and an understanding of our unique place in history. His spirit and his values are an inspiration to all of those who love this land, and especially to the members of his beloved Likud movement that strive to stay true to Shamir’s teachings.

You do not negotiate on your core ideology. This is what guided Shamir in his steadfast defense of the rights of the Jewish people to their historic homeland. In the years that he guided Israel’s foreign policy, he would not compromise on this basic tenet. In 1992, under intense pressure from the American administration, Shamir stood fast and made clear to the world that money cannot buy and replace values. He bravely rejected the US demand that he stop building in Judea and Samaria in return for loan guarantees. This money was very much needed to absorb our brothers who were then coming home from the former Soviet Union, but Shamir knew such an act on his behalf would create a slippery slope that would set a terrible precedent for the future leaders of Israel. Such a move on his behalf would have endangered his beloved settlement enterprise which he knew was invaluable for the future well-being of the State.

Shamir’s decisions and policies were not always popular or politically correct. There was no end of criticism both in Israel and form the international community. In fact, there were times when his refusal to abandon his core values probably cost him at the ballot box, such as when he lost to Yitzhak Rabin in the 1992 elections. Nevertheless, over time, his steadfastness disproved today’s assumption that you must be guided daily by opinion polls to obtain power, and then govern. Without ever abandoning his beliefs, Shamir was able to not only reach the highest office in the land, but he also ended up serving in office longer than any other prime minister since David Ben Gurion. Moreover, because of his intellectual honesty and core decency, since leaving office Shamir is admired by all Israelis – whatever their political persuasion – for the great leader that he was.

To better convey Shamir’s unique foresight and leadership capabilities, I must share a short story. In the early 1990s, while serving as a Betar emissary in the United States, I invited one of my childhood heroes to visit my host community. Yitzhak graciously agreed to come and speak at an event I had organized promoting Israel and aliyah. When he was asked for his opinion about the demographic threat that is so often raised, Shamir answered with full confidence that we must remain steadfast and work tirelessly to bring millions of Soviet Jews home to Israel. At that time, such a prediction seemed completely unrealistic and even a tad naïve. Nevertheless, Shamir’s analysis proved with time to be completely accurate and proved how important it is for a leader to remain true to his values. By believing and planning, one million Russians ultimately came to live in Israel, changing our core demographic reality forever.

That night, after he had finished addressing the group, I had the honor of spending an evening with the former Prime Minister. I was enthralled with his stories and life lessons, especially with his core conviction that a leader must truly believe in and be ready to defend his policies. If a leader does so, he told me, there is no need to worry about the criticism that will inevitably follow any brave decision.

Former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir passed away on Saturday night at age 96.

Yitzhak Shamir (Jeziernicky) was born in Rozhinoy, Belarus, October 15, 1915. He studied at a Hebrew High School in Białystok, Poland. As a youth he joined Beitar, the Revisionist Zionist youth movement. He studied at the law faculty of Warsaw University, but left to make aliyah in 1935. In 1944 he married Shulamit Shamir (1923–2011). They had two children, Yair and Gilada.

Shamir joined the Irgun, a Zionist militant group that opposed British control of Eretz Israel. When the Irgun split in 1940, Shamir joined the more militant Lechi faction, known as the Stern Gang.

In 1941 Shamir was imprisoned by the British. After Avraham Stern was killed by the British in 1942, Shamir escaped from a detention camp and became one of the three leaders of the group in 1943. In 1944, he was exiled and interned in Africa by British Mandatory authorities. He was freed, along with the other detainees, after the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.

In 1955, Shamir joined the Mossad, serving until 1965. He directed the assassinations of former Nazi rocket scientists working on the Egyptian missile program.

In 1969, Shamir joined the Herut party headed by Menachem Begin and was elected to the Knesset in 1973 as a member of the Likud. He became Speaker of the Knesset in 1977, and foreign minister in 1980, before succeeding Begin as prime minister in 1983.

Shamir served several terms as prime minister throughout the 1980s. He maintained a hard political line, which strained his relations with the U.S. Shamir opposed the Madrid peace talks, and then President George H.W. Bush retaliated by holding back approval for loan guarantees to help absorb immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union. Shamir gave in and in October 1991 participated in the Madrid talks. After the talks, his government collapsed and in 1992 he was defeated by Yitzhak Rabin.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Cabinet today voted to establish a steering committee to explore the technological feasibility of constructing artificial islands off the coast of Israel.

A statement released by the Prime Minister said that the islands would be created for infrastructure purposes, namely “an airport, seawater desalination plants, and power stations.”

Israel, which is approximately the size of the state of New Jersey, is also a very densely populated country – with an average of 982 people per square mile (for comparison, the population density of the US is 83 people per square mile). Thus, it is grappling with a shortage of space and questions of how to mitigate it.

“Our state is small and crowded,” the Prime Minister said. “Therefore, the idea of artificial islands has spatial, economic and security logic for us. It is also of value regarding environmental protection. There is no doubt that this entails many opportunities for the State of Israel.”

According to the statement, the committee will present its conclusions and recommendations to the prime minister within a year.

The idea has been floated in the past, most recently in March 2011 by Transport Minister and Likud MK Yisrael Katz, who sought to build the islands off the coast of Gaza as a long-term alternative to the blockade of the Hamas-run territory.

At the time, Katz said he had discussed the idea with the Prime Minister and got the go-ahead to forge a plan. “We have built models and there are many entrepreneurs who are interested and prepared to invest billions and make money,” Katz told Army Radio. Environmentalists were critical of the idea, saying it would take an unforeseen environmental toll on the coast of Israel and Gaza.

During a soccer game on Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slipped on the grass, got up, went on to score a goal, and at some point stressed a leg tendon.

It was a soccer game that included Jewish and Arab youths in Jerusalem, as part of the international project to promote tourism to Israel.

Orthopedic specialist Dr. Leon Kaplan, following a CT scan of Netanyahu’s leg at Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus, said the test verified his concern that there may be tendon rupture.

Following the exam, the Prime Minister’s left leg was put in a cast for a few weeks. Netanyahu returned home and tomorrow will be back at work his office.

The crucial question is whether Bibi will be able to recognize the possible divine warning that was delivered with his injury. His predecessor in the office of Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, suffered a debilitating stroke after the uprooting of Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip. As Netanyahu last week torpedoed legislation to secure Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria from nuisance lawsuits by Arabs, he may want to stay indoors more and avoid heavy lifting…

On Tuesday night I was blessed to win the Republican primary in New Jersey’s Ninth Congressional District and will face Congressman Bill Pascrell in the general election in the fall. As fortune would have it I was in Israel on the day of the primary, for the wedding of my wife’s sister. The following morning I met privately with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his senior adviser Ron Dermer at the Prime Minister’s office. Ron was one of my closest students and friends when I was the Rabbi at Oxford University and is today regarded by many as the single sharpest mind on the Middle East. Prime Minister Netanyahu and I reminisced about his two visits to the University of Oxford where I hosted and he addressed thousands of students and where he mesmerized even his detractors in masterful defenses of Israel. We also spoke about his father, Benzion, who passed away last month at age 102 and whom I had befriended after a series of lectures we hosted where the great man discussed his opus on the Spanish Inquisition.

From there the conversation with the Prime Minister turned rapidly to a survey of some of the world’s most pressing issues, from the existential threat Israel faces from Iran, to developments of the Arab spring, to the humanitarian crisis in Syria created by Assad’s brutal slaughter of his own people. We discussed whether Israel could absorb some of the Arab refugees from Syria, and the enormous challenges a small country like Israel already faces in its existing obligations in taking in refugees from dangerous spots all over the world. The key to the refugee issue was stopping Assad’s brutality so that innocent Syrians did not have to flee their own government.

I brought my daughter Chana, who is a soldier in the Israeli army, to the meeting and the Prime Minister welcomed her warmly. My wife and I are immensely proud of our daughter’s service in the Israel Defense Forces. There have been well-circulated press reports of how my upcoming opponent, Bill Pascrell, had refused to repudiate some Arab-American supporters who had accused Congressman Steve Rothman – the opponent whom Pascrell recently defeated – of dual loyalties over his support of Israel. In particular Aref Assaf, president of the American Arab Forum, had written an op-ed in the New Jersey Star-Ledger titled “Rothman is Israel’s man in District 9” where he asserted that “as total and blind support for Israel becomes the only reason for choosing Rothman, voters who do not view the elections in this prism will need to take notice. Loyalty to a foreign flag is not loyalty to America’s.”

With Rothman being accused of dual loyalties simply over a pro-Israel voting record in government, what could I, who has a daughter serving in Israel’s military, expect from these same opponents? What charges would they lodge against me? How ugly would the attacks be?

The Prime Minister looked at me solemnly and said, “Tell them your daughter is not only fighting to protect Israel. She’s fighting to protect America. Israel is the front line in the war for freedom.” Indeed. Israel, an America-style democracy in the world’s most dangerous region, seeks to live free amid being surrounded by an ocean of tyranny. And young Jewish men and women are prepared to fight so that a tiny country built around America’s ideas of freedom of religious practice, freedom of press, respect for women, and economic opportunity can succeed in the world’s most dangerous region.

I reminded the Prime Minister that about twenty years ago, as he was walking into the Oxford Union for his second address, a student officer said that in the introduction the Union would omit to the Prime Minister’s distinguished military service in the IDF so as not to offend students. Bibi responded that if his military service were deliberately omitted he would not speak. “I was involved in many anti-terrorists actions that preserved innocent life. I am proud of my military service however much my country is maligned.”

Ironically, Congressman Rothman was the man who nominated my 19-y ear-old son, Mendy to West Point, after he had triple qualified for the United States military academy. But Mendy has a beard and right now that’s not permitted in the military. We’ll see how his application proceeds in the future, as my son wishes to serve his country. But how amazing it is to have nations like the United States and Israel where armies are employed to protect innocent life rather than suppress innocent citizens who simply yearn to be free.

Though leaders in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria decried the failure of Wednesday’s Knesset vote to overturn the destruction of five apartment buildings in Beit El, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a major new construction plan to erect 300 new homes in the town, with 551 additional homes approved in four other locations.

The bill was voted down 69:22, sealing the fate of 30 residences in the Ulpana neighborhood in the pastoral and mountainous Benjamin Region.  Following the rejection of the bill, protesters and police clashed outside the Knesset and at the entrance to Jerusalem.

Baruch Gordon, Director of Development for Beit El Institutions, expressed his outrage at the outcome of the Knesset vote.  ”A great injustice is being perpetrated here against the Jews of Beit El’s Ulpana Hill, many of whom are indigenous residents of Israel for generations,” he told the Jewish Press.   “The ownership of the disputed land has not been determined by any court. The Supreme court openly admits this, and says it is relying on the Netanyahu government policy decision to demolish the houses. The absurdity is that there is a simultaneous case in the Jerusalem District Court to determine who is the rightful owner.”

“The Supreme Court openly wrote in its decision that it has no patience to wait for the outcome of this legitimate district court case which may take years. It wants the buildings demolished now,” Gordon said.   “This court decision is pure prejudice against the religious-Zionist public in Judea and Samaria. The court would have never issued such a ruling against Israelis elsewhere in Israel or against Arabs.”

Though indignation toward the Prime Minister’s failure to intervene on behalf of Ulpana Hill runs high,  Prime Minister Netanyahu approved 851 new homes on Wednesday evening – 300 for Beit El, and 551 to be divided among Karnei Shomron, Efrat, and other locations in Gush Etzion.

In a statement made Wednesday night, after the defeat of the bill, Prime Minister Netanyahu  said he is “committed to upholding the law and I am committed to uphold the settlement enterprise, and I tell you that there is no contradiction between the two.”  He further stated that he believes the bill would have ultimately harmed settlement in Judea and Samaria, whereas his plan to expand the communities in areas not under dispute in the courts would strengthen the settlement enterprise.

“We are not strangers in Beit El. We are not strangers in Judea and Samaria. This is the Land of our Patriarchs. This is where our identity was formed,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said.  “I say this here in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, and I say this everywhere in the world.”

Nonetheless, Prime Minister Netanyahu noted that the day on which the final attempt to stop the destruction failed “has been a complicated and difficult day.”

“Moving homes from their location, even if it is only five homes, is certainly not an action that this Government rejoices in doing,” he said.

Prime Minister Netanyahu also reiterated his commitment to establishing a ministerial committee on settlement in order to “ensure that the Government’s policy of strengthening settlement is implemented.”

He concluded by stating that “there is no government that supports, or will support, settlement more than my government,” noting that his government has withstood serious pressures in a “very complex diplomatic, national and legal environment”.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the measure to erect new homes, saying it sabotages negotiations.

Washington also disapproved, with a State Department representative reiterating the US position, “we do not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity.”

Military and civilian officials and experts are deliberating where to erect the new buildings in Beit El.  One option would place the buildings inside a military zone in the town.

Now that everyone is talking about elections in Israel, I’m thinking of throwing my kippah into the ring. Whether elections come now or in another year, we need new faces and new ideas to give the country the push it needs to become a true light to the nations.

In all modesty, my novels have won me a pretty fair following in the religious community, so I could very well garner the necessary number of votes to get elected to the Knesset. I won’t run with a big party like the Likud. Why bring my followers to join the Likud, only to have them betray the Land of Israel in some peace deal? When you belong to a political party, you can’t blame the rotten things they do only on the “bad guys.” As a member of the party, you have collective responsibility, so you’re to blame too. So why should I strengthen the Likud when I know that they are ready to chop our Holy Land in half?

On the other hand, I can’t run with the religious Zionist parties because I’m too far to the right for the consensus they are hoping to achieve. And I’m too big a Zionist for the Haredim, so I’ll have to run alone.

Here are some of the main points of my platform:

*All Arabs must leave the Land of Israel.

* Israeli sovereignty will be declared over all the borders of Biblical Israel.

*Any Israeli politician who voted in favor of the Oslo Accords will be deported from the country to the island of St. Helena.

*All Israeli politicians who voted in favor of the Evacuation of Gush Katif will be brought to trial and sentenced to hard labor, rebuilding the Jewish communities which they destroyed.

*The judges of the Supreme Court will be replaced by Torah scholars who will judge all cases according to Torah law.

*Israeli television, radio, and all newspapers will be run and governed by a board of rabbis, and all left-wing producers, directors, writers, and anchormen will be fired.

*The nuclear facilities in Iran will be immediately destroyed.

*Relations with the United States shall be suspended until Jonathan Pollard is freed.

*A national educational campaign on the importance of modesty will be initiated, similar to past campaigns on highway safety and the danger of cigarette smoking. After a massive, year-long public campaign, women who dress immodestly will be fined. Repeated offenders will be imprisoned.

*No women will serve in the army. Army service will be reduced to 2 years. Special glatt-kosher brigades with daily Torah study will be established for Haredi recruits. Serious yeshiva students will be allowed a 5 year deferment before beginning a shortened, 1 year course of military service. All Diaspora Jews under 30 years old will be obligated to serve for a year in the Israeli Army or forfeit their right to visit the country.

*We will establish Project Cyberspace Shield whereby special anti-Internet-porn satellites and cyberspace jamming equipment will be designed and put into operation on a national level to keep Israel porn-free.

*Teacher’s salaries will be tripled.

*The new “String Bridge” at the entrance to Jerusalem will be dismantled. A 40-story-high musical Harp of David will be erected in its place.

*Illegal refugees from Sudan will be taught to play basketball, baseball, and soccer. Outstanding athletes will be sold to professional teams overseas and the revenue will be apportioned to yeshivot. The rest of the Sudanese will be returned to Sudan.

*Once the Arabs are evacuated from the Gaza Strip, the city of Gaza will be rebuilt to look like Brooklyn, in anticipation of Mashiach’s coming – may it be soon!

The full election platform is still being developed. Blog readers are invited to send in further suggestions.

See you at the polls!

The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of The Jewish Press

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu penned a letter to the people of the State of Israel, thanking them for coming to console him after the death of his father.

The letter, written by the Prime Minister and posted on his Facebook page, expressed gratitude to the thousands of Israelis who paid respects at the shiva house of his father, Dr. Benzion Netanyahu, who passed away on April 30 at the age of 102.

“I’d like to thank from the depths of my heart the many thousands of you who came to my father’s house to give your condolences to my family and me, and to the tens of thousands who sent messages of comfort and support ,” the letter said.

“You touched my heart in my time of grief,” he wrote.  “From Jerusalem, I send my thanks to all of you.”

Benzion Netanyahu was laid to rest in Jerusalem’s Har Hamenuhot cemetery in Jerusalem on Monday afternoon. His sons Benjamin and Ido will conclude the shiva seven-day mourning period on Sunday morning.  His son Yoni was killed in 1976 during the famed raid on Entebbe, Uganda, to free a group of Israeli hostages.

Netanyahu was an expert in Medieval Jewish history, as well as an ardent Zionist.  In his youth, he worked for Zionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky, and raised his sons to believe in the importance of maintaining Jewish control of the land of Israel.