Quote: "Commenting on the withdrawal from Gaza and the northern West Bank last summer, the rabbi defined it as "the greatest damage to the people of Israel in our time."" Yet another example of how fanaticism can blind people. How else could we explain the fact that this man, who can hardly be called stupid and who is 77 years old, ignores what even the greatest nitwit will admit is the truly greatest disaster that befell our people in the modern era?

I thikn that when he means "the people of Israel" he means "medinat Yisrael" and not "am Yisrael". Since the holocaust occurred before the founding of medinat Yisrael, that is outside of the scope of his comment. As an American observer of Israel, I have to agree with him. I can't think of anything more tragic in Israel's history that has been as damaging to Israel as the withdrawal from Gaza. Even Shimon Peres's Lavon Affair, as horrific as it was, didn't involve turning masses of Israelis against one-another. When Peres, speaking of his loss to Netanyahu in the 1990s, said that the Jews won and the Israelis lost, he was articulating the Kadima division between Israelis and Jews. Now, it is coming back to bite him.

I really think rabbis with influence should refrain from saying such things. The least he could do is curb his statement by something like "From my understanding...". Don't get me wrong, I'm no supporter of the disengagement but I think thats a bit too much. #1, I hope the time he is reffering to does not include his younger days.

How detached from the real world could you get....truly embarrassing to Jews everywhere.

You are an example of the blindness which saturates the delusional appeasers for peace who refuse to understand that Israel's enemies do not want peace but the destruction of the Jewish state. The Yoni's who do not understand that they are building the groundwork for a second holocaust ,only this new holocaust will be in what is left of Israel and aided by the defeatist ,weak and faithless Jews who believe in nothing but the nose on their face. You Yoni ,the self loathing Jew in lockstep with Israel enemies ,you help them accomplish the destruction of Israel and the second holocaust by going along with the party of lies and no peace. Kadima for a second holocaust.

Uh, I suspect he was referring to the time during which Israel the state has existed.

Well, I did not see much peace from the Oslo architects. We've seen them give away precious land for nothing in return. Certainly not Peace! Is this smart? Maybe give the religious parties a chance. They have survived over 2000 years. They must be doing something right.

First of all, you are not reading correct, Rabbi Eliyahu did not say that "it was the greatest damage done to the JEWISH people in our time" BUT " to the PEOPLE OF ISRAEL in our time" Do you see the difference you moron? When would people like you will ever get it right for once that giving away the historical land of Israel to the arabs will yield nothing but trouble for Israel.

When he states that the Land of Israel must be kept for the Jews,I agree with him;but when he worries about some changes in the Yeshivot,what may mean religious students go to the army,then I desagree. We have to be fair in our wishes and thoughts and actions:If the Land of Israel must be kept,it must be protected,and it is not fair for only some to protect it ,whereas others stay only studying to protect our Souls.It is possible to do both. But ,if he meant other changes on the Yeshivot than I am talking about,then I am sorry for my previous conclusion.

What does his name mean in Hebrew, please? Is it G-d on high? thanks

Rav Mordechai Eliyau is a great Torah sage & all G-D fearing Torah loving Jewish citizens who love our land should follow his advice.

The Rabbinical authorities are correct. Kadima will lead the State of Israel backwards into hell. They are a party whose policy is to uproot Jewish communities and hand over Judea and Samaria to the Hamas. That is, their solution to the security of Israel is to give away territory to an international terrorist organization whose principle goal is to destroy the State of Israel. Kadima is every Arab terrorist’s dream party. A vote for Kadima is a vote in favor of self-destruction.

There is no question that the draft evasion of yeshiva bochreem and the all too pervasive reliance on public funds of too many in the dati community has lead to a great division in Israel, and much resentment. In fact, the net result has been a chillul Hashem. Everyone, without exception, even old olim like me, should serve in some capacity in the IDF. The fact that Olmert's own children did not see fit to do so is a reflection of his own failure paternally and philosophically. As such, the advice of this Rav is absolutely correct. I supported the Gaza withdrawal, and only a fool could say anything positive was accomplished by it. As the saying goes, 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.' The support of the Israeli press for Kadima is not only indicative of their willful political blindness, but of their desperation for peace at any price. Please interview Neville Chamberlain for a different perspective on this strategy.

As so often in talkbacks on the English websites of Israeli newspapers, many of the fanatic responses ( and attacks against a Jew who was Zionist enough to make aliyah ) come from Jews and others whose main expression of solidarity with the Jewish state consists of just that: expressing extremist views that they believe can compensate for the fact that they are unable or unwilling to do what Zionism is all about, make aliyah and take an active part ( by working, raising a family and serving in the army here ) in the defense of the state of Israel. Uzi: I am sure that you know that the phrase "am Yisra'el" ( people of Israel ) usually means the Jewish people in general, especially when used by religious authorities who are very strict about the differences between us and the 'goyim'. Piranha ( one of the American rightwingers ): I have enough respect for rabbi Eliyahu to believe that if he wanted to say the State of Israel instead of the People of Israel ( i.e. the Jewish people, not the inhabitants of the State of Israel ), he would have done so. As for Uzi's use of the phrase "people like you" ( i.e. me ): I think that if anything has yielded nothing but trouble for Israel it is the occupation of the Westbank and Gaza. As long as people like me ( and our sons and daughters ) are good enough to risk their lives for that occupation and for the protection of zealots who despise us, I think we have the right to express our opinions and to try and make sure that occupation ends ASAP, so that we can finally start building some kind of truly democratic AND Jewish homeland, where synagogue and state are separated.

Obviously Beilin thinks it necessary to defend the rights of Arab Israelis in Jaffo, so why is it so hard to understand HaRav Elihahu's concern when it is when he denounces those who want to transfer Jewish Israelis for their communities? If transfer is bad then it is bad for both Jews and for Arabs.

Can you explain to me what's the difference between PEOPLE OF ISRAEL and JEWISH PEOPLE?

All those right-wing facists who are talking tough from abroad, need to go to Israel so they can see the real situation there. I have many friends who left Israel and quietly told me about the horrors of living there. It's not as easy as the right-wingers are talking. The Israelis are ready to make peace with the Palestinians and create a better life for themselves, and I totally support it. Let the extremists from the Galut, who are so eager to shed blood, go to Israel and serve on the front lines, while the Israelis take a break and enjoy life.

...to the People of Israel in our time"... I live here in Brasil,but I feel as damaged as you Israelis with that withdrawal. I truly can not see the difference some of you are posing about the meaning of Israel,and I wish you understand that for us, in the diaspora, there is no difference .We are deeply connected to Israel ,maybe the same as you,or still more.

I know that who are really holding the weight are you Israelis. We,here in the diaspora,think with joy that one day we all will be together,but it is an idea...an ideal. But,all of us intent to go and live in Israel one day,soon or late.

While life is not always easy over here, I would not us the word 'horrors' to describe living here. Really, it is not that bad for most of us :-) For me, one of the reasons why I made aliyah eleven years ago was that - as a leftwing Zionist - I wanted to feel free to say what I wanted to say, without any feelings of guilt or the burden of unfulfilled ambitions. I felt it was unsatisfying and hypocrite to tell - from my armchair abroad - those who directly undergo the consequences of every decision that is made by Israel's political and military leaders what they should or should not do ( or vote for ). The chances of 'making peace' with the Palestinians are not very high. What we should aim for first and foremost is a little normalcy, clearly defined ( and, if possible, internationally recognized ) borders, an end to the morally corrupting, militarily weakening and economically devastating occupation - as far as that end can be reached unilaterally: a negotiated peace deal is an unrealistic goal -, and a more just society and a better functioning state. While neither Kadimah nor Labor have the key to Paradise ( unlike the leaders of Shas ), the rightwing and religious alternatives have much worse plans as far as each of these issues is concerned.

First of all, I just made Aliyah 6 months ago from the US, plus also this is my first time in Israel, Second, to answer all of you about the difference between “the people of Israel” in the context of this article with “ the Jewish people”. In religious statements both phrases are EQUAL, but in the context of Rabbi Eliyahu statement which was a political statement before the elections only meant the people that live in the STATE OF ISRAEL, because we are the ones in the front lines at all times. Whether we are riding a bus or eating pizza at a pizzeria, we will be targets for terror, and by giving away the HISTORICAL HEART LAND OF ISRAEL, we will be rewarding terrorism and exposing ourselves to terrorist act. And that is, was and will be the greatest damage to all of us who live in OUR LAND.

First of all Kol HaKavod for making aliyah. Second, the problem with men like rabbi Eliyahu is that no matter what the context is, they do not distinguish between religious and political. Those who are familiar with Israel's political reality and with the daily use of Modern Hebrew know that Am Yisrael ( the people of Israel ) means the Jewish people, and that rabbi E. did not refer to ( all ) the people who live in the state of Israel ( and in the Jewish settlements in the occupied territories ). If he wanted to clearly refer to the inhabitants or the citizens of the state of Israel ( including Jews, Muslims, Druze, Christians etc. ) he would have used the phrase Toshvey/Ezrahey ( Medinat ) Yisrael, believe me.

Thank you! Look Achi, we can go back and forth with all the semantics or syntax about what really Rabbi Eliyahu try to say. The bottom line is that the Jews like you and me that live in this wonderful land will pay high price if we continue to appease the terrorist and give in to their acts of terror. And to all of you who live out of Israel the only way to help Israel is not by sending money but by making Aliyah.

Kadima will destroy the State of Israel. It is not their intention to do so, however their policies are self-destructive. They want to pull all the Jews out of the West Bank and give it to the greatest enemy of Israel. Nothing could be more foolish. Bombs and rockets will rain down on Israeli cities if we go with Kadima. If you don't believe me just ask the Hamas. They are promising to do just that. They will take what ever Olmet gives them and continue to attack and murder Jews. They will not rest until every Jew in the Land of Israel is dead. Every Jew in this Land wants peace. The idea of living peacefully with our neighbors gives us all a warm fuzzy feeling. There is no difference between the left and right concerning our love of peace. The problem is that the Hamas wants to destroy us. they deny our right to exist. The left have no solutions to the problem of Hamas. The right is realistic and understand the gravity of the threat to the Jewish people. Hamas has aligned itself with Iran, Hizballah, Islamic Jihad, Islamic brotherhood, etc. They aim to finish what Hitler failed to do, namely wipe the Jewish people off the face of the earth. A vote for Kadima or one of the other left wing parties will help Hamas to achieve their goal. Vote Likud.

Most of my friends left Israel, not because of terrorism, but because the Jews there were not behaving correctly. There must be more love and respect for each other as human beings. When a Jew makes Aliyah, this should be a step up, on the spiritual and material planes, and not a step down. The economic situation in Israel is horrible. Unless a Jew is coming there with money from somewhere else, it's going to be very difficult to live. And for the low quality of living that I have seen there, it's just not worth the money. According to Forbes Magazine, there are 8 billionaires in Israel with assets of $21.1 billion dollars, and in Netherlands 5 billionaires worth $15.6 billion dollars. But yet, the minimum wage in Netherlands is higher ($8) than in Israel ($3.84), and they have a much larger population (16 million). In addition, people in Netherlands are getting 25 days paid vacation, Dental coverage, paid National holidays, pensions, plus, plus, plus. I think it's a disgrace that Israel, who has money, can't provide similar benefits to it's people. There must be economic justice for everyone, if Israel is going to survive.

Let me tell you, your friends did not leave Israel, they were spitted out by the Land, Life in Israel is not a picnic but I rather live here than in the US. FYI we left very good jobs back in Miami, Fl, making combine 3 figures, we will not go back even if you pay us double. The Torah says that making a life in Israel is not easy, plus we came without any expectations. And that's the main problem with many "new Olims" they expect the same like back in the US and that will not walk here bcuze this place is like no other and we need to work together to make it work.