The guests at the American Friends of Bet
El Yeshiva Center’s 30th annual dinner, at the Marriott
Marquis on Broadway, continued to applaud vociferously as the
Minnesota congresswoman and wannabe Republican presidential
candidate expressed her robust support for Israel’s future.
Dr. Avinoam Bitton, program
chairman of the dinner, presented awards to Rabbi Pesach Lerner,
Brian Decker, Mark Langfan, and Shelley and Ronnie
Summers, longtime backers of Bet El and prominent members of
Young Israel of Hillcrest, Queens.
The congresswoman from Minnesota insisted
that the cessation of recent hostilities in Gaza is an "empty
truce."
"It’s buying time for the terrorists to
rearm."
Israel, she said, originally gave up Gaza
thinking it would get peace in return. "Now our current
administration is pressuring Israel to cede even more. This is
nothing but foolishness and suicidal. The president has said that
the 1967 borders is where the Palestinian borders should begin. In
my opinion, that is not negotiable."
The congresswoman urged President Barak
Obama to declare Jerusalem as the undivided capital of
Israel, recognize Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, and stop
sending the Palestinians money that we borrow from China.
"This is God’s land for you," she told the
1,000 dinner guests who jammed the ballroom. "God truly blesses
those who bless Israel. I believe our destinies are intertwined.
America must always be Israel’s most reliable defender in the
world."
American Friends honorary chairman
Eugen Gluck teamed up with Yom Kippur war hero Yaakov
"Ketzaleh" Katz to establish Bet El in 1977 on a tract of barren
land a few miles north of Jerusalem and a stone’s throw from
Ramallah. The community has grown from a few trailers to a town with
a diverse population of 1,300 families, while Katz became member of
Knesset.
Every Succot Eugen and his wife Jean
bring two busloads of American supporters to see how Bet El has
grown, and to dedicate another building. They have attached their
name to several structures, including a dining hall, residences,
athletic facility and security installation.
Three years before the founding of Bet El,
after graduating from high school, the teenage Bachmann went to
Israel for the summer. She worked on a kibbutz. "My job was to pick
weeds in the cotton field," she said. "Send your children there—it’s
good for motivation."
