SILENCE CAN KILL !!

I am taking this post from a comment that I made in answer to a fellow blogger, on another blog. I felt so strongly about this issue that I decided to post it here on my blog for others to read. The blogger had asked a very good question, I thought, one that deserves an attempt at an answer,
"Why would we want to defend the secular state of Yisrael, especially after Gush Katif and in anticipation of planned future withdrawals?" A very good question and one I will try to answer, at least from my own feelings on the subject. This touchs on what I have commented about too. It is time for us to speak-out and to no longer remain silent !! I often come across the argument for ahavas Yisrael, as a reason given for not speaking-out against wrongs done by Jews to their fellow Jews, but this is a one-sided argument and not a good one in my opinion. This is about defending the Jewish state of Israel, secular or religious, it is the Jewish birthright and homeland given by HaShem to the Jewish people forever. Some few religious Jews argue that because it is a secular state with a secular beginning, therefore it is illegitimate, hence they feel no obligation to support, or defend a secular state. I disagree with this attitude and even question their loyalties. Israel is secular today because secular Jews took the lead in establishing a Jewish homeland while the religious debated. It should have been the religious who took the lead in claiming their G-D given birthright and things might would be different now. I hope this doesn't offend anyone because that is certainly not my desire. I am not in any way defending the actions of the secular establishment, to the contrary, I condemn their actions fervently, but "giving away the farm", as my grandfather would have called it, OR, allowing those in power to do so without a fight, is UNTHINKABLE !! Sure, they gave away Gush Katif and they will give away more, MUCH MORE, if we don't do something to stop it !! This is a golden opportunity for the religious to step-up to the plate and denounce the actions of the "Jew-beating, Jew-expelling, Jew-imprisoning, cemetery-desecrating, shul-demolishing, Jew-betraying secular state" *(as expressed by the blogger I was answering in my comment, on another blog).* As I said in a previous comment, the "bad guys" (sadly, some of them Jews Too), are very vocal and the good guys, are far too SILENT, if we remain silent, those in power WILL achieve their intended objectives and we'll have no one to blame when it happens again, except OURSELVES for keeping quiet, and often hiding behind religous arguments to defend our inaction. Ahavas Yisrael DEMANDS that we speak-out, not that we keep silent. SILENCE CAN KILL !! Love is demonstrated in action, when we speak the TRUTH, even when no one wants to hear it !! We're not defending the actions of these seculars by supporting Israel, we're defending their actions, IF WE DON'T SPEAK-OUT, because our silence is their greatest strength !!