Apologies to the Moshe Feiglins of the World

by: Moshe Feiglin
Founder and President, Manhigut Yehudit
Adar II, 5768 (March, '08)

The sailors carefully folded the sails. The large, exhausted family alighted from the boat and onto the Jaffa port. One after the other, they kneeled and emotionally kissed the earth under their feet - the holy Land of Israel. Moshe Zalman, the eldest of the brothers, was the busiest of all. His father, Yaakov Tzvi, and his grandfather Nachum were no longer youngsters and most of the challenges of the long journey had fallen on his shoulders.

The year was 1889. The corrupt Turkish regime ruled the Land of Israel. The Land was almost completely empty. All the roads were dangerous. The pleas of the family’s neighbors and friends from Mogilev in White Russia still echoed in their ears:

“Why give up your prospering businesses? Why settle in such a dangerous land?” But the Feiglins’ desire to live in the Land of Israel, to till its soil with their own hands and to fulfill the Divine directive to settle the Land was stronger than all reason.

As it turned out, the neighbors were right. The family suffered terrible hardship and tragedy. Many died and all of their money was lost. Nevertheless, Yaakov Tzvi Feiglin, his eldest son Moshe Zalman and his brothers merited to lay down their roots in the Land of Israel. The family played an important role in establishing the first settlements in Israel’s North. The Feiglins were among the pioneers of the old Mishmar Hayarden, Hadera, and Menachamia. My grandfather, Avraham, the son of Moshe Zalman, was the first baby to be born in Metulla.

World War I began. The Turks severely abused the Jewish settlement in Israel. They confiscated the roofs of theirs homes for fuel for their engines. The Jewish first born were forcibly drafted into the Turkish army. Moshe Zalman had no choice but to escape. He traveled to Australia, which was desperate for farmers at the time. There he established a thriving Chabad community and became famous throughout the Jewish world as the “Avraham Avinu” of Australia.

A few years after Moshe Zalman Feiglin died, I was born in the Land of Israel. Of course, I was named after him. But I wasn’t the only one. Many other family members desired to express their deep admiration for their righteous ancestor, and more and more Feiglin babies were named Moshe Zalman. As of now, I share my name with quite a few cousins.

Before one of my ascents to the Temple Mount about a year ago, a Chabad chassid stopped me at the entrance to the Western Wall and addressed me in a familiar, Australian accent. “Hey Moishe!” he called. “I’m Moshe Zalman, your cousin from Australia. Did you know that I missed my flight from London to Israel because of you?” he continued with a broad smile. “They arrested me in London and asked me all sorts of questions. It must be because they thought that I was you.”

I simply figured that my young cousin was overenthusiastic. He had probably been arrested in London because of some ridiculous bureaucratic mix-up that had nothing to do with me. I parted with my friendly cousin, and continued on my way, not giving the matter a further thought.

Two months ago, I received a letter from the British Home Office informing me that I am banned from England. The letter quoted from articles that I had written a long time ago, citing that my opinions could potentially disturb the British sense of peace. One of the sentences quoted in the British letter was: “The Arab is not the son of the desert. He is its father.” The Home Office attributed this sentence to me. If they had done their homework, they would have realized that I was quoting from none other than the British High Commissioner to Sinai, Sir Claude Jarvis. In other words, the British will not allow me into their country because I quoted their High Commissioner.

In my response to the Home Office, I thanked the British government for including me in the honorable club of others who have been banned from England: Menachem Begin, Yitzchak Shamir and currently, IDF officers who have dealt with Israel’s enemies as an army officer should. The British newspaper, The Guardian, printed a comment by a British minister in which he claimed that I actually had been to London and was even arrested for a few hours. At first, I thought that the minister was lying. But later I realized that their hapless victim must have been one of my cousins, arrested for his ‘suspicious’ name.

The letter from the Home Office should be displayed proudly in my living room. There are very few people in Israeli politics who correctly understand the Islamic threat. It seems that the British - who have already caved in to the Islamic onslaught (they wouldn’t even put up xmas trees in London this year for fear of ruffling Islamic feathers) have targeted me as someone who threatens the Islamic offensive. This curious story has reinforced my confidence that the path that I have chosen is correct.

Nevertheless, I must apologize to all the Moshe Feiglins who are paying the price of our shared name. My advice is that you take pride in your name. Not because of me, of course, but because of our common great grandfather, Moshe Zalman Feiglin.

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