“They train a
class of temple priests. They have the tenth red heifer – that’s what you said,
Teddy. They sacrifice this heifer. They follow Numbers 19. They use the ashes
to purify whoever thinks like them. Now they are freed from the restraints they
believe God has placed on them. They can go on the Temple
Mount. The temple can be rebuilt.
Then, they believe, the Messiah comes, and they rule Israel
in his name.”
“Oh, come on,”
Artie laughed. “Israelis won’t put up with that.”
“If I remember,
the Shah of Iran had a similar delusion. There are plenty of people here who
think these rabbis are right. The generals screwed up Lebanon,
the politicians screw up everything – why not let the rabbis take a shot?”
Bar-Ilan leaned
over his desk. “But let’s suppose you are correct. Let’s suppose Israel
would not tolerate a theocracy. By the time that struggle is over, there will
be no more Israel.
“Look – they have
to rebuild the temple where it used to be. No one is a hundred percent sure,
but probably the Dome of the Rock is right on top of that site. So they go up
on the Temple Mount
and they blow up the Dome of the Rock. How many people will it take? Four?
Five? Ten? And then what happens? Holy War! Against maybe millions of Muslims
from all over the world! And it won’t be stones they’ll be throwing. Pakistan
has nukes, and the way they’ve been sneaking around, my guess is they’ve shared
them.
“And the Jews in America?
They won’t be left out. Not just the Jews. All Americans, because they
supported Israel!”
Bar-Ilan leaned
back, his hands behind his head again. “So, my friend Arthur – do you now
understand why these people are so dangerous?”