I Have A Dream - November 25, 1996
		Five score years ago, a little Jew from an assimilated family in Europe recognized the shame and degradation to which Jews throughout the world had become accustomed.  He decided then that the Jews of the world could not be safe without their own State.  That State, he decided, must be on the ancient grounds of the Jewish Commonwealth in the Land of Israel. Theodor Herzl founded the World Zionist Organization in 1897, and breathed into its nostrils the life of the Jewish dream: to live strong and free in the Jewish National Homeland of Israel, to be masters of our own destiny, to assume a position of power and prestige in the world, to provide a haven for our downtrodden and an example to the other nations of the world in accepting responsibility for their own. One hundred years later, much has been accomplished.  Israel is a State, with the Jewish people a majority therein.  It is accepted by most of the world, even if only grudgingly, as a fact.  But the Jew still is not free.  The life of the Jew is still badly crippled by the manacles of anti-semitism in the Diaspora and self-hate in Israel.  The progress of the Jew is still hobbled by a government in Israel that is not fully aware of its inheritance or the responsibility that accompanies it.  Herzl's Zionist dream did not provide enough breath for the continued life of the enterprise he created.  It is now time for Israel to move beyond Herzl's dream; not to abandon it, mind you, but to build upon it -- to add to it. I have a dream that the Jewish Land of Israel will become once again the basic element of Jewish State.  Hevron, Jerusalem, the lands of Judea and Samaria -- these are the birthplace and cradle of the Jewish nation.  No Jewish government should be capable of abandoning these lands, for with them goes the Jewish existence in Israel. I have a dream that concern for the Jewish inhabitants of Israel, and for the Jewish communities throughout the world, will one day become the primary concern of the government of Israel.  No longer will the Arab residents of Israel or their masters in the Arab councils and governments of the world hold the greater loyalty of the government of Israel.  No longer will Israel be worried about the response of the United States or Europe in considering any policy changes. I have a dream that the government of Israel will have the nerve and strength to demand reciprocity from every representative with which it negotiates, and that failing such reciprocity all deals are off. I have a dream that the State of Israel will provide a home to which the Jews of the Diaspora will want to migrate before they are forced to do so. I have a dream that true leaders will one day arise among Israel and lead the nation on a path toward self-assured strength and courage, and away from the cowardice that has so plagued our people these past twenty years. Yes, I have a dream.  Herzl had a dream much like mine, except that he and his successors built his dream from scratch.  For mine, the basic structure already exists.  It only remains for the necessary additions to be made in order for Israel to be transformed from a basic structure into a warm and inviting Jewish Home. Like Herzl wrote one hundred years ago: "If you want it, it is no dream."  The question that now remains is how much the Jewish nation wants this dream. Copyright 1996.  Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.