It’s not Corona, but it’s also interesting

The accursed Corona pandemic is indeed an event of national proportions, a historic event, but it is very far from endangering the Jewish national vision

By Itamar Segal

This op-ed was originally published in Hebrew on the arutz 7 website. Translated as a public service by the Sovereignty Movement

You’re right, Naftali, but you’re making a big mistake. You’re winning the battle but losing the war.

The accursed Corona pandemic is indeed an event of national proportions, a historic event, but it is very far from endangering the Jewish national vision.

There is a lot to be said for managing the crisis, but at this point – it seems that generally, things are under control. The vaccine is here and it is being administered at a good rate, the government has mobilized itself to support businesses with fantastic sums of money, and the mortality data speaks for itself. Could it have been done better? No doubt, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

In the past, you wrote extensively about the IDF, about defeating Hamas and the honor of IDF soldiers. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the situation of IDF deterrence is in a bad state, bad and dangerous. Terrorists dare to approach the fighters and throw Molotov cocktails at them without fear, in Kfar Kadum and other places, they throw rocks, explosives and fireworks at our soldiers from point blank range, with the confidence that nothing bad will happen to them. This is an existential danger to the State of Israel. True, not tomorrow, but we must begin to deal with this right now, even yesterday. It is not Corona, but it is very interesting.

You have stated many times that you want to postpone dealing with Sovereignty until after Corona. That Corona is more important than Ma’ale Adumim, Hevron or Beit El.

True, it is difficult to apply sovereignty in the Land of Israel, and it is not always the most popular thing to do. Bibi also knows that it is difficult. The world exerts pressure, the reality is tough, the Land of Israel is acquired with much suffering even in 2020. Bibi knew, understood, internalized it and decided to go into other areas, to sign peace agreements, peace in exchange for sovereignty. Dubai in exchange for Beit El.

You, Naftali, are doing the same thing. If it’s not Corona, it’s not interesting? It is extremely interesting. Delaying sovereignty until after Corona means that the Land of Israel is less important. And this is a terrible mistake and an extremely problematic statement. Those who came with the first aliyah did not wait for the swamps to be drained and for malaria to be halted, Etzel and the Hagana did not stop planning and acting against British policy during the days of the World War and the Holocaust, for the sake of establishing a Jewish state, despite the decision to cease military activities during the war, and we too, will not delay our sovereignty because of Corona, since there is no contradiction between them, aside from your desire to garner more votes from the center camp or at least to open the door to forming a right-wing-center government under your leadership.

And there also is the elephant in the room that you so despise, so love to keep closed inside a box, lest the dangerous, mandate-devouring demon break out among the Jewish public in the State of Israel – the relationship between religion and state in the Jewish state. Matters of Shabbat, conversion, kashrut, the rabbinate, Jewish identity and the Jewish character among the public in the Jewish state require clarification, require a leader for whom this is really important, not as an encumbrance, not as a burden or onus; we need a person who believes in it and goes into it with all his strength, all his heart and all his soul. True, it is not Corona, not very important, it’s only the fate of the only Jewish state in the world, and that is very, very, interesting.

You want our votes, and this is not the first time. Now, you want us to vote for you as a candidate to lead the government. However, we are not voting for a Corona “project manager”, but for the prime minister of Israel, and we have every right to hear and know what your intentions are, what your plans are, in every matter. This is not interesting for you? It is for us.–