This article from Israel National News (italics) is interspersed with my comments.
Barak Lauds Wallerstein on MutinyOne compliment from Ehud Barak says it all....
Gil Ronen, October 25, 2009(IsraelNN.com) Defense Minister Ehud Barak reacted Sunday to the “Kotel mutiny” in which soldiers at a swearing-in ceremony protested the IDF's eviction policy, saying that he viewed it “very gravely.”
"However,” he added, “Yesh"a Council Director Pinchas Wallerstein's sharp reaction against the deed was in my eyes the right voice of the settlers in Yehudah (Judea) and Shomron (Samaria).”
In an interview on Voice of Israel government radio, Wallerstein called the soldiers' action “unforgivable.”Can there now be any doubt in anyone's minds where Wallerstein's priorities are? Can there be any doubt about his conflicts of interest? Can there be any doubt about his being a government collaborator?
The so-called YeSh"A Council is suppose to encourage the settlement of Yehudah and Shomron, not discourage it, and certainly not support any enterprise which discourages it or, worse, destroys it.
Because of such soldiers, some Jewish strongholds still stand. Why would Wallerstein want to put them down? If he secretly supports them, why would this want to bury the truth? The truth is that Pinhas Wallerstein cares first and foremost for Pinhas Wallerstein, second for Pinhas Wallerstein, and third for Ofra, the town in which he resides.
Rabbi Elyakim Levanon, Head of the Hesder Yeshiva at Elon Moreh and a member of the Judea and Samaria Council, voiced support Saturday for the soldiers and demanded that Wallerstein resign his post.
Rabbi Levanon is one of the rabbis who knows which takes precedence, Torah Law or man-made laws, and is not ashamed to express it. Barukh HaShem we have [real] rabbis like him.
"I call upon every soldier to reveal his views in public,” Levanon urged. “Clear value-oriented statements by soldiers are a clear sign of the general public feeling against the eviction of any Jews from their home.”Encouraging freedom of speech? See how dangerous such truth-bearing rabbis are?
The Yesh"a Council is made up of local government chiefs in Yehudah and Shomron and claims to represent the Jewish population in those regions.
So true is the manner in which Gil Ronen phrases this last sentence. The YeSh"A Council is self-chartered, self-perpetuating, and self-serving. The rare, decent members, like Rabbi Levanon, stick around only in an attempt to facilitate positive change. Unfortunately, they spend most of their time doing damage control.
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Don't forget to watch the documentary "Meraglim" (Spies) if you haven't already done so. This 40 minute video exposes the collaboration of the YeSh"A Council with the Israeli government during the Expulsion from Azza in the summer, 2005.
