The Fern Sidman Commentaries:
April 24th, 2007: "THE TRUE MEANING OF INDEPENDENCE DAY"

As we prepare to celebrate the 59th anniversary of the State of Israel, we ask ourselves what the true and genuine meaning of Israeli independence really is. We know that 59 years ago, in May of 1948 the United Nations declared the creation of the State of Israel. Each year we celebrate the birth of the modern State of Israel with great fanfare and jubilation. We also remember those who have fallen in the line of duty to protect the State of Israel. We remember thousands of members of the Israel Defense Forces, whose lives were snuffed out in the many wars that the State of Israel has been forced to endure.

And we ask ourselves who bestowed this independence of statehood upon us. Yes, the UN declared the creation of the state, yet we know that our independence was granted to us by a higher authority. We know that Hashem orchestrates everything that occurs, both on a personal and communal level. As Rabbi Binyamin Ze’ev Kahane, ZTK”L said in 1995: “What is independence of the Jewish Nation? It is that we OURSELVES, ALONE, do not rely on any other nation. This is the deeper meaning of the concept, "a nation that dwells alone". And how do we arrive at a situation where we become a nation that dwells alone? Only when we put our trust in God, and not in the gentile.

Certainly it is scary when one is surrounded by hundreds of millions of Arabs who want to wipe us out, and on each and every action we make, the entire world condemns! But it is only scary for one who is lacking faith; it is only frightening for those who deep in their souls are still slaves and not capable of being independent!

And so, how embarrassing it is to hear from our "leaders" year after year on Holocaust Day, the same tired, empty phrases. Like a dog returning to his own vomit, they repeat, "that if the State of Israel and the I.D.F. had been around ten years earlier, it could have prevented a Holocaust". Really? Then why doesn’t the same State and army of Israel dare return fire in a war against an enemy who sits within her, and who slaughters its citizens daily? They would have dared act against the Nazis? Why, that might harm "diplomatic relations"...

"And so we celebrate Independence Day and Yom Yerushalayim, saying 'Hallel'. Not only for the quantitative aspect of the miracles of 1948 and 1967 which were greater than the miracles that occurred in the time of the Hashmonim, but we also thank G-d for the qualitative aspect of the miracles, which were a sanctification of G-d’s Name, a redemption of the People and it’s land - that is, a forging ahead. Whose heart cannot grow warm from the memory of the Israeli soldiers marching forward in the Sinai Desert, the Golan Heights, Yehuda, Shomron; when the names Shechem, Hebron, Jericho, the Temple Mount became real again! The Messiah was knocking on the door, and a spirit of purity passed through the entire nation...

Yes, we know that those last three dots we wrote above are not something to be happy about, for everything started going downhill from there. Since then, the grand spirit that had been injected into the people has been forcibly smothered out by the evil Jewish governments. In a short period of time, we saw the obscene spitting on the miracle, and an abandonment of the lands we captured. But G-d is not at fault for this, and so we can not quit giving Him praise for the miracles He granted. On the contrary, we must recall these great miracles, gather strength, and vomit out of power those betrayers of G-d’s miracles, thereby taking the reigns and going in the direction of those gates which Hashem opened for us, in order that we may bring the complete redemption!"

Yes, Israeli Independence day is a day to give praise to the Almighty who intervened on our behalf and saw to it that the creation of a Jewish State would become a reality. And yet, instead of hearing prayers and supplications to Hashem on this day, our leaders speak of "never giving up the hope of peace" with our enemies. These words were spoken by Shimon Peres and are echoed by others of his ilk. He and the other myopic and spiritually bankrupt leaders of the "independent" State of Israel speak of further territorial compromises with the Arab enemy who vows to destroy the "independent" State of Israel by any means possible.

Our leaders speak of more Jewish evacuations and demolitions of even more Jewish settlements in the liberated lands of Judea and Samaria, all the while paying lip service and babbling about the bravery and courage of Israeli soldiers who gave their lives to defend the "independent" State of Israel. Their callousness is appalling and truly loathsome. While family members and friends of soldiers who have perished defending the State of Israel mark a national day of mourning and remembrance of their loved ones, the leaders of the "independent" State of Israel make a mockery of their memory by calling for the land that they fought so valiantly for, to be handed over to the same enemy that was responsible for their deaths.

Let us understand the true meaning of independence and from whom it actually emanates. Let us recognize the omnipotent power behind our independence. Let us recognize the G-d of Israel, and even further, let us fear and serve only Hashem, the One and Only Creator of the Universe and Giver of independence. Let us remind those in power in the government of the “independent” State of Israel that they cannot banish the presence of G-d. They cannot, in their arrogance declare independence and sovereignty until they recognize the source of that independence. Let us remind the powers that be in Israel, that we cannot and do not have the ability to give up G-d given land to our enemies and we cannot expel more Jews from their homes. Let us remember the lesson of independence on this day by refusing to bow to the will of mere mortals and let us turn our faith over to the Almighty.