"The land of Israel is acquired through – "yisurim" - great hardships and sacrifice² a quote from 
the Talmud that I am reminded of every time I visit Israel. 
 

I am one of the lucky ones. My work brings me here several times a year, visits that recharge my 
spiritual batteries. But, while I recharge, I always remember that this luxury of being able to zip in 
and out of here has a cost.
 

It may not seem so but our hold on the land of Israel is in danger. Each and every day there are 
forces that are working very hard to remove us from it and remove it from us. It is an exhausting 
battle and in fact many in Israel have tired of fighting it. We can have no complaints to them. We 
who sit comfortably in the States cannot judge those who may be tired after they spent their entire 
lives fighting. 
 

But then, there are a handful whose energy reserves are immense. We met some of them today 
in Chevron. Their entire existence is one of sacrifice and dedication. They lay their lives and the 
lives of their children on the line- day in day out. Literally. We saw how they live. Surrounded by 
Arabs, guarded by the young IDF soldiers (Mark asked - half joking - are there more soldiers here 
than residents?) Carrying a gun to go to the supermarket. Not able to sneeze without special 
permits. Living behind protective walls. Why? Why are they ready to live lives of Yisurim - great 
hardships? Their answer is clear. To keep our hold on the city and land of our fathers. If these 
brave few were to let go, for even a second, the city and the Me¹ara would be snatched away 
before we could even say PLO.
 

We heard, today, the history of the Jewish return to Chevron after 1967. Yisurim. Every step of 
the way. Every home, every acre of land, has a story and all the stories have one thing in 
common - whatever we have we had to sacrifice for and if we want to keep it we must be willing 
to continue to sacrifice. 
 

On Friday we interviewed Nadav Shragai, senior correspondent for Ha¹aretz (sorta the NY Times 
of Israel). He scared the begisus out of us with facts that prove that we, the Jewish People, are 
losing our hold on ...Jerusalem. Yes, Jerusalem.  We¹re not talking about Schem or Jenin or even 
Chevron. Jerusalem - Yerushalayim - Ir HaKodesh. We asked him why he thinks this is 
happening. His answer - the People in Israel are tired. They are tired of fighting. The Arabs, on 
the other hand, haven¹t tired yet. They fight for every scrap of land and every symbol of statehood 
and we are so exhausted that we just give in and let them have it.
 

The people in Chevron, the people of Ateret Cohanim (Jerusalem Reclamation Project), the  
people of El Ad (Ir David) aren¹t tired. They are our hope. It is late, we had a long day - I am tired. 
I¹m unable to express the awe that I had for the people I met today. I feel so small next to them. I 
go to work in New York, I live a very comfortable life in the golden golus while they live on another 
planet - in another life zone where every breathe they take has meaning - in the shadow of the 
me¹ara.
 

When we left Chevron we visited Kfar Etzion. In the early part of the past century - in the 1910¹s 
and 20¹s this area, just south of Jerusalem, populated mostly by Arabs, was settled by the early 
Religious Zionist pioneers. We saw a moving audio visual presentation depicting the history of 
this strategic area - the corridor to Jerusalem. And what was the theme of that presentation. Yes, 
sacrifice. The tenaciousness of those settlers who accepted the challenge of building a home 
surrounded by Arabs and their brave last stand in 1948. Almost all were wiped out. 
 

There is no difference between Kfar Etzion of the 1930¹s and Chevron of today. In fact it is true 
for all of Eretz Yisrael. If we are ready to sacrifice for it, to work for it, to live in it and if need be to 
die for it - then we get to keep it. If not others - who are ready to do so - will take it away.
 

Are we ready to accept Gd¹s challange?