On the Protest in Kfar Maimon Against the Disengagement from Gush Katif (mkatif.org website): We will present the words of the Talmud regarding the importance of protest for salvation.
Kfar Maimon: The Yesha Council initiated a march of support from Netivot to Gush Katif.
The initiative aimed to spark opposition among Knesset members due to fears of a breakup of the nation. In response to the Yesha Council’s call, tens of thousands of men, women, and children participated, embarking on a march toward Gush Katif. The marchers encountered large forces of police and military. For the first time, buses en route were stopped and prevented from heading toward Netivot. Additionally, IDF soldiers were deployed within the Green Line to thwart a civilian demonstration. The large police and military forces caused all participants to enter the Kfar Maimon moshav, where they were effectively “detained” for several days. Among those present, a significant dispute arose about whether to break through and continue marching or to avoid the great danger of a direct confrontation with IDF soldiers, which could, G-d forbid, lead to bloodshed. Ultimately, the Yesha Council leadership, backed by {some} religious Zionist rabbis, decided not to break through. This decision came despite the fact that the leadership gave the impression in the previous days that they would indeed push forward. This decision faced harsh criticism from participants who felt they had been misled.
Salvation through Rebuke, Based on Chevruta Commentary on Tractate Shabbat 55a: Rabbi Zeira said to Rav Simon: “Master, rebuke those in the house of the Exilarch for their evil deeds!”
Rav Simon replied: “I will not rebuke them because they will not accept my rebuke.”
Rabbi Zeira responded: “Even if you believe they will not accept your rebuke, you should still rebuke them, for perhaps they might accept it after all. For Rav Acha bar Rabbi Chanina said: Never has a good decree [a good word] come from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and then been retracted for a bad one, except in this case:
As it is written in the prophecy of Yechezkel [Chapter 15]: ‘And Hashem said to him, (to the angel Gavriel): Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and mark a letter symbol (Tav) on the foreheads of the people who sigh and groan over all the abominations done within it!’
And so the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Gavriel: Go and mark a Tav of ink on the foreheads of the righteous in Jerusalem, so that the angels of destruction that I send to the city will not have power over them. And on the foreheads of the wicked, mark a Tav of blood, so that the angels of destruction will have power over them.
Then the Attribute of Justice said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe! How are these people, who receive a Tav of ink and are set to be saved, different from those who receive a Tav of blood and are subject to the angels of destruction?
The Holy One, Blessed be He, replied: Those who are saved are completely righteous, while those who are punished are completely wicked!
The Attribute of Justice responded: Master of the Universe! But the righteous had the opportunity to rebuke the wicked and did not do so!
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: It is revealed and known to Me that even if they had rebuked them, the wicked would not have accepted their rebuke!
The Attribute of Justice replied: Master of the Universe, even if it is revealed to You, was it revealed to them that the wicked would not accept their rebuke? Therefore, they should have rebuked them. And because they did not rebuke, they should be held accountable for the sins of the wicked.
In the end, the Holy One, Blessed be He, accepted the argument of the Attribute of Justice.
This is why it is first written that the Lord said to the six angels of destruction mentioned there, ‘Slay the old, the young, the maidens, and do not approach any person who has the mark (Tav),’ meaning the righteous would not be harmed. But later it is written, ‘Begin with My sanctuary, with the people consecrated to Me, the righteous—begin with them!’
And indeed, the verse concludes, ‘And they began with the righteous elders who were before the House.’
Thus, in the end, the words of the accuser were accepted, and even the righteous were punished for not rebuking the wicked.
As Rav Yosef taught: The verse that says, ‘Begin with My sanctuary,’ should not be read as ‘Begin with My sanctuary’ but as ‘Begin with My sanctified ones.’ These are the people who fulfilled the entire Torah, from Aleph (the first letter of the alphabet) to Tav (the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet), yet they were punished first because they did not rebuke the wicked.
This is what Rabbi Zeira meant when he told Rav Simon that even if they would not accept his rebuke, he should still rebuke them. For because the righteous in Jerusalem did not rebuke the wicked among them, the Holy One, Blessed be He, retracted His word to Gavriel that the righteous would not be punished and punished them instead, even though the wicked would not have accepted their rebuke anyway.
Rabbi Zeira responded: “Even if you believe they will not accept your rebuke, you should still rebuke them, for perhaps they might accept it after all. For Rav Acha bar Rabbi Chanina said: Never has a good decree [a good word] come from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and then been retracted for a bad one, except in this case:
As it is written in the prophecy of Yechezkel [Chapter 15]: ‘And Hashem said to him, (to the angel Gavriel): Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and mark a letter symbol (Tav) on the foreheads of the people who sigh and groan over all the abominations done within it!’
And so the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Gavriel: Go and mark a Tav of ink on the foreheads of the righteous in Jerusalem, so that the angels of destruction that I send to the city will not have power over them. And on the foreheads of the wicked, mark a Tav of blood, so that the angels of destruction will have power over them.
Then the Attribute of Justice said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe! How are these people, who receive a Tav of ink and are set to be saved, different from those who receive a Tav of blood and are subject to the angels of destruction?
The Holy One, Blessed be He, replied: Those who are saved are completely righteous, while those who are punished are completely wicked!
The Attribute of Justice responded: Master of the Universe! But the righteous had the opportunity to rebuke the wicked and did not do so!
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: It is revealed and known to Me that even if they had rebuked them, the wicked would not have accepted their rebuke!
The Attribute of Justice replied: Master of the Universe, even if it is revealed to You, was it revealed to them that the wicked would not accept their rebuke? Therefore, they should have rebuked them. And because they did not rebuke, they should be held accountable for the sins of the wicked.
In the end, the Holy One, Blessed be He, accepted the argument of the Attribute of Justice.
This is why it is first written that the Lord said to the six angels of destruction mentioned there, ‘Slay the old, the young, the maidens, and do not approach any person who has the mark (Tav),’ meaning the righteous would not be harmed. But later it is written, ‘Begin with My sanctuary, with the people consecrated to Me, the righteous—begin with them!’
And indeed, the verse concludes, ‘And they began with the righteous elders who were before the House.’
Thus, in the end, the words of the accuser were accepted, and even the righteous were punished for not rebuking the wicked.
As Rav Yosef taught: The verse that says, ‘Begin with My sanctuary,’ should not be read as ‘Begin with My sanctuary’ but as ‘Begin with My sanctified ones.’ These are the people who fulfilled the entire Torah, from Aleph (the first letter of the alphabet) to Tav (the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet), yet they were punished first because they did not rebuke the wicked.
This is what Rabbi Zeira meant when he told Rav Simon that even if they would not accept his rebuke, he should still rebuke them. For because the righteous in Jerusalem did not rebuke the wicked among them, the Holy One, Blessed be He, retracted His word to Gavriel that the righteous would not be punished and punished them instead, even though the wicked would not have accepted their rebuke anyway.
Based on this, due to the protest against the destruction of Gush Katif in Kfar Maimon, there was no basis for the Attribute of Justice to accuse the righteous there.
For those that understand Hebrew here is a link to a short video about how Kfar Maimon was saved by a miracle during the Oct 7th , Shmini Atzeret massacre of Jews located near the Gaza border.