10 Tevet 5776
On this the first fast day of the year done in remembrance of the loss of our Beit Hamikdash, we certainly have what to mourn. For if we were worthy of having the Beit Hamikdash restored to us, we would not be hearing news like what came out today.
The attorneys for the young Jews who have been locked up and tortured by the Shin Bet in an effort to get them to confess to a crime for which there is no evidence of their involvement brought out a further detail of their horror. Today, it was announced that in addition to other horrific torture, one of the "detainees" was sodomized.
Oh, it gets worse.
Defending the Indefensible
Just hours later, Naftali Bennet, the head of the inappropriately named "Jewish Home" party came out firmly behind the Shin Bet and said whatever they decide to do in the course of their work is "legal". Yes, and what the Nazis did in Germany was also "legal".
Shortly afterwards, the Prime Minister himself confirmed that the rot starts at the top and runs right through the entire corrupt system as he confirmed that his office, the Justice Department and the Judicial Departments all back the Shin Bet on this issue. He confirms that the entire government supports the Shin Bet in their brutal torture of young Jewish religious men. To add insult to injury, it is the Arab Justice on the High Court which is ruling in this matter.
And I'll have you know that in their minds, if you dare to question them, you are also "The Enemy". That's how all repressive regimes work. As George W. Bush put it after 9/11 - "You're either with us or you're with the terrorists." In other words, if you disagree with the government's policies, you might as well be one of the terrorists and deserving of their fate.
It's a dark, dark day when such blatant evil is so vociferously defended by a government against it's citizens. And whoever remains quiet in the face of such wanton injustice will have much to answer for.
Where is the outcry from the Diaspora leaders where they know what a real democracy looks like? Where is the outcry from the Chief Rabbis?
How can we not mourn the lost innocence of these young men who only want to live holy lives in accordance with the Torah; who only want what we've been praying for these past thousands of years - the restored Kingdom of David. The government's over-the-top reaction to these aspirations is a measure of their fear that they will one day lose control. That's a given. Their days are numbered. They are tragically deluded if they think they can fight God Almighty.
This evil regime will fall and our King will reign - Long Live the King!
