The Esser Agaroth (10 Agorot) Controversy

כ״ח לחודש השביעי תשע״ה

I am very surprised that I missed this one, considering its name!

Wikipedia: 10 Agorot Controversy

10 Agaroth Coin
front and back

The ten agorot controversy refers to a conspiracy theory promoted by Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yasser Arafat's appearance at a specially convened session of the UN Security Council in Geneva on 25 May 1990. At the session Arafat claimed that the obverse design of an Israeli ten agorot coin showed a map of "Greater Israel" that represented Zionist expansionist goals.

Bank Of Israel Logo

To support his claims Arafat produced a paper by Gwyn Rowley of the University of Sheffield published in GeoJournal. The paper titled "Developing Perspectives upon the Areal Extent of Israel: An Outline Evaluation" raised the question of what the maximum territorial extents of Eretz Yisrael were in the eyes of Israelis. As part of this inquiry Rowley presented a map of the Middle East with a superimposed outline based on the embossed pattern of a contemporary 10 agorot coin. In the text Rowley surmised:

Whereas Israel has never formally defined its borders one possible indication of Israel's broader territorial ambitions might be seen in the Israeli ten agorot coin which carries a map, seemingly depicting an area that would extend over to encompass present-day Amman, Beirut, Baghdad, Damascus and the N [northern] parts of Saudi Arabia. This same territorial depiction was carried on the earlier one sheqal coin. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Gee. You would have thought that this "researcher" would have looked up what the Torah had to say on the topic of the "maximum territorial extents of Eretz Yisrael."

"In that day the Lord made a covenant with Avram, saying: 'To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.' the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.'"
Genesis 15:18-21

He could have even claimed the step-by-step progression of the "Zionist expansionist goals," with the following [approximate] map (Josh. 13:1-19:51). If The Almighty was trying to convey a message to His People through this Arab terrorist extraordinaire, it would not be the first time He has used a non-Jew or anti-Torah Jew to do so.

Of course, Arafat (may his name and memory be blotted out!) was wrong about his claim, but he should have been right.

Not only should we have held this vision in our hearts of Ge'ulah (Redemption) and the eventual borders of Israel, as promised in The Almighty's Holy Torah, but we should never be afraid nor embarrassed to be open about this vision. Too long we have been "afraid of upsetting the goyim (non-Jews), afraid of what they will think of us." Even though we have [potential] Jewish sovereignty over Eretz Yisra'el for the first time in thousands of years of foreign occupation, and have the power to assert our claim over Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria), and Har HaBayith (Temple Mount), for example, our galuth (exile) mentality persists in telling us that "we can't," and by extension, that "The Almighty will not aid us" in these endeavors (חו״ח).

In other words, most of those Jews calling themselves "Religious Zionists," those supposedly interested in paving the way for Ge'ulah with action, in addition to prayer and Torah study, are actually standing in the way of Ge'ulah.

Rabbi: "We can't bring the Qorban Pesah (Passover Sacrifice)."
Joe Jew: "Why not?"
Rabbi: "Because we're not ready."

Gee, I do not recall this consideration EVER being mentioned in ANY halakhic (Torah legal) source regarding this misswah (commandment).

Rabbi: "We cannot go onto Har HaBayith. It is forbidden."
Joe Jew: "Rabbi Moshe Tendler ascends Har HaBayith."
Rabbi: "I am not going to comment on that. It's forbidden."

Better yet, what about...

Joe Jew: "We have it in our power to annex Yehudah and Shomron, and to take full control over Har HaBayith."
Rabbi: (laughs) You have got be kidding. The Arabs would start the Third Intifada! The State must cautious regarding such things, and we must support the State. Am Yisra'el cannot afford to upset the "international community."

Are you vomiting yet, like I am, while I write this?

These are the Mamlakhtim, the diehard State-loyalists, those who confuse the State's laws with Torah. Thanks to them, Arafat's claim doesn't have a chance in hell of having any truth to it.

No, I do not wish for a Zionist conspiracy. I simply pray for openness and honestly regarding the Torah's message, which is that all of Eretz Yisra'el (Land of Israel) belongs to Am Yisra'el.

This is not because we were here first. We learn from Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi's [Rash"i'] commentary, citing  on last week's Torah portion, just how irrelevant it is to be the first to arrive someplace. Look what happened to the Canaanites. Look what happened to us. Think about what we could be doing not, but aren't.

If we are unable to experience the vision spelled out in the Torah, illustrated in the maps above, and claimed to be depicted on the 10 Agaroth coin, and continue to insist that we will be rescued, without having to get our hands dirty, then I guarantee you that we will be making the process of Ge'ulah a heck of a lot more difficult for ourselves than necessary.