Holiness of the Land

Rav Elyakim spoke out against a secular state in Eretz Yisroel. He said, "How can I bear that something be called 'the State of Israel' without the Torah and the commandments (heaven forbid)?" And he said, "Let him be abstinent in the land and beware of any transgression, for if he sins there, he will be punished most severely. For Hashem watches over the land and supervises its inhabitants [see Devarim 11:12]. He who rebels against the kingdom from within the king's palace is not the same as he who rebels outside it. This is the meaning of 'a land that consumes its inhabitants' [Bamidbar 13:32]. As for those who go there and think they can get away with levity and reckless behavior, I would invoke the verses, 'But you came and defiled My land' [Yirmiyah 2:7] and 'Who asked of you to trample My courts?' [Yeshayah 1:12]."