A Birthright Should Not Be Sold Or Leased

The Arab newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported last week that the US is negotiating the future borders of the Palestinian state with Israel. One option is reportedly that Israel would lease land in East Jerusalem from the Palestinian State for 6-9 years. - The initiative comes from Mr. Obama’s office in Washington D.C.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office refused to confirm or deny the reports.

Why would America float the idea that Israel should lease the land from the Palestinian Arabs? - Obviously because the men and women elected to govern that nation believe that East Jerusalem really belongs to the Palestinian Arabs.

Maybe someone should take the courage to stand up and tell Obama and the rest of the world that the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem is not to give and not to sell and not to get.

Obama is of course trying to set a trap for Israel. If the Netanyahu government rejects this demand outright, the other side will charge that the Israelis are not interested in making peace. If Israel agrees to the idea of leasing that part of Jerusalem, it would be acknowledging that it didn’t own it.

Obama forgets that the gift of this Land to Abraham and his descendants was based on an unconditional covenant from G-D himself. (Gen.17:7-8) That makes the Almighty the land owner. He passed it on to Abraham and Isaac as inheritance. The Land was not given to the descendants of Ishmael, but rather to the descendants of Isaac!

This week’s Torah portion (Toldot) tells the story of Esau and Jacob, and how Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew.

In ancient times, the birthright was a very important and sacred thing. It belonged to the firstborn. The family name and titles were passed along to the eldest son. He would also receive a chief portion of the inheritance. - Esau’s birthright represented not only the inheritance of Isaac’s wealth, but also the inheritance of the land of Israel. On top of that it also passed on spiritual leadership.

Jerusalem has always belonged to Israel. It was never the capital of another country. A Palestinian state never even existed.

Hashem tells us in (Zech.8:7): “I will save my people from lands east and west; I will bring them back, and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their G-D, with faithfulness and justice.”

A birthright simply should never be sold or leased to another party, especially not to an enemy.