Page 22 - HaShofar 5709 1948

"YOU have already learned of the tragic fall of knit groups. Th~ former has had its application
the Etzion Bloc of settlements after a valiant strug-
gle, in which-the handful of.defenders, hopelessly
outriu:mbered and ·. completely cut off from all .
som;ces of '.s11pply . and reinforcement . were -taken .merger between ·the two are in progress. · It need
):>y the :enemy after a ·shattering barrage of heavy
guns to ·which they .·were_unequipped to give any
effective reply. You have read, .too, that the Old
)fishuv of · Jerusaletn, ·which· for seven · centuries,
since its ~oundation ·by-the illustrious Rabbi Moshe
hen Nachman' (Nachmantdes) has uninterruptedly
occupied the Jewish Qµarter, has .been temporarily
driven forth from the Walls. Let this be ·an indi-
. catio1J. of th~ cost at .which we are purchasing . our
freedom and independence. Let the v~st expendi-
ture of -blood .and treasure entailed in this .struggle
.prove to the Diaspora, the_ determination of the
Yishuv nol to lay down its an:ns :until it has secured
the rig~t; not only of our brethren languishing in
the D. P: ~amps and orphaned Kehillot of Europe
and of those hundreds of thousands in _constant fear
foi:- their lives in the Middle East, but of every Jew,
whatever his status and class; to settle in israel.
"While the enemy hordes rained death from the . ·
skies and battered, tiine and again, in desperate
frustration at our gates, - the supreme task of na-
tional construction was .not suspended for a single
moment. Eight settlements, all in dangerous areas,
·. founded .in these critical weeks, prove, perhaps
more than anything else, the nature of our . strug-
gle and the purity of our aims. With the settle-
ment 0£ Shluchot (two of whose young members,
Naftali .Sternfeld and Ayala ·Tenenbaum, . both
seventeen years of age _at the time;. it wiU be _re-
called, made the supreme sacrifice, resisting an at- .
tempt by British troops · to conduct a search for
arms · in neighboring Givat Chaim) - a k~tzah
whose steamlaundry and fine though small work-
shops for the production of technical equipment
and wooden implements at Pardes Chana reflect .
its pioneering initiative and ability~at Beth Shean;
the religious bloc of four settlements has been com-
pleted. It will undoubtedly consolidate the Gush
·Dati in this area and will contribute towards the
realization of a number of joint inter-kibbutz and
educational institutions envisaged for some time. •
·'It will undoubtedly be of interest to you to learn
that ·both; the American-South African and Eng-
lish Bachad Gadnim have developed into well-
io THE SHOFAR
for 'azmaut_' and an independent machaneh avodah
endorsed by the Hakibbutz Hadati and the Labour
Department of the Jewish Agency. •Talks for a
· hardly be mentioned that all chaverim from Eng-
lish-speaking countries are active in defense and
other ·essential services.
"The State of Israel is now a £act. With the
help of God, we shall protect and preserve it.
Daily we learn of the inauguration of sonie new
Jewish government service, of new evidence of •our
sovereignty and independence. But we. must suffer
no illusions. With the achievement of statehood
.and a .place in the family ·of nations, .the purpose
of Zionism has not ·yet been consummated. . Rather
. 'Ye are _now .equipped . with . a mighty instrument,
far niore _powerful than . any we· have hitherto
possessed, to secure this end. Tasks which dwarf our
past . efforts and acomplishments, . in the field of
immigration and land _settlement, await us: Na-
tional sovereignty is a vessel which we must fi~l
with content •according .to the highest ideals of
our traditions_as expressed in •the religious,·moral
and social injunctions · of the Written .and Oral
Torah. The day of ch~utziut is not past, its Golden
.Era has just dawned, The personal ill).plic1:1tions .of
·this fact must not be lost upon our religious pjo- _
nering movements. They are now ·presented with .
an .opport'1,nity of a lifetime. _Let thetn not squan- ·
der ·it. .Chalutziut must no ·longer be _the preserve
of the idealist. It must become a mass movement.
Tru~ Jewish cult11~e must be absorbed in every
fibre of our youth~ They must be adequately pre- .
pared, physically an_d spiritually, for citizenship
in the State of Israel._ They must he conscious of
their privilege. After sixty generations of depriva-
tion of the prerogatives of nationhood, their gen-
eration has been the rebirth of Jewish sovereignty.
"Few inded, if any at all amongst -us, entertain
any illusions regarding the future: --The present lu:ll
in hostilities is, we know, - temporary and · pre-
.carious: It •may or .may not lead ·to .an armistice
and a more stable settlement. We must he pre-
.pared for all eventualities. We know .that there
may be dark days in store for _us. We face .the fu~
ture confident in the faith . that, God .willing, we
shall emerge victorious.''