It is the height of foolishness to take America’s views on how to deal with a threat to our very existence into account.
Everyone’s been talking about Iran in recent years. While it would seem that the Iranian threat only came into being during the current term of Binyamin Netanyahu, quite the opposite is true. The Israeli government has been involved with this issue since the days when Ariel Sharon was prime minister. Sharon’s vice premier, Mr. Shimon Peres, said at the time that “if the Iranians want to destroy Israel – Iran too can be destroyed”. Sharon also spoke about the Iranian threat before the United Nations.
However, nothing has been done – not during that term or in those that followed. If Netanyahu succeeded in doing anything, he put the issue of Iran’s atomic program on the front page – even in the global press. A campaign is now underway on this critical matter as part of the race between the two leading candidates for the Presidency of the United States.
The question is: Where have the leaders of the government of Israel been all this time? Why have they made no effort to prevent the construction of Iran’s nuclear reactor, waiting instead until the last minute when it’s already quite clear that a full-scale war between the Islamic Republic and the Jewish state is on the horizon? What difference is there between the Iranian issue, which continues each day to be a top story in the international media, and the stories surrounding the destruction of the reactor in Iraq thirty years ago and the more recent destruction of the reactor in Syria? Iraq and Syria also thought about destroying Eretz Yisroel r”l, although not with the same maniacal declarations as the president of Iran. Nevertheless, we’re talking about two countries that are no friends of the Jewish People, and events passed there in relative quiet.
It would seem that instead of trying to prevent progress on the reactor, Israeli politicians have been spending most of their time turning it into a campaign issue. Peres, Sharon, Olmert, and even Netanyahu benefited from the Iranian story, using it as an excuse for conducting media interviews. It was something too good to pass up…
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In recent years, we have heard numerous declarations in Eretz Yisroel on the Iranian issue, but no action whatsoever has been taken. Instead of preparing our fighter jets and declaring that a proud and fearless people are in charge of the Holy Land, we constantly hear our leaders pleading with Uncle Sam to save us from those who rise up and seek our total destruction.
Where’s the Jewish pride in the Israeli leaders who hang onto the Holocaust as justification for our presence in Eretz HaKodesh? They educated an entire generation that the greatest mitzvah is enlisting in the Israel Defense Forces and holding a rifle, so we should cease to be “downcast Jews” going like lambs to the slaughter.
Zionism has deceptively used the Holocaust as the only legitimate reason for the Jewish settlement of Eretz Yisroel. They instilled within the proud Israeli the belief that we now have our own army, our own tanks, and our own jets, and if someone rises up who wants to annihilate us, we will stand proudly and defend ourselves.
And what happens when we’re actually supposed to stand up and fight for our principles? Israel’s proud leaders turn to the Americans and beg them to rescue us. We’ve been down this road before. During the forties, as the Holocaust took its frightful toll, Jews made a similar appeal to America in search of salvation. But the great liberator of the continent of Europe waited until it was too late before it chose to get involved. Thus, if nothing has changed since then, why the need for an independent Jewish state?
Israeli policymakers act as if we’re a subsidiary of the United States. They relate to our existence in Eretz Yisroel as all due to the kindness of the Gentile nations, who consented to let us establish a modern state and live here. Anyone who thinks that the Jewish People returned to their homeland because of a decision ratified by the United Nations General Assembly would not dare to take any action without the sanction of the international community. It’s as if they are the ones who permit us to live here and only they can authorize any military action taken in our own defense.
There is nothing more incredibly absurd than what’s going on today. A country declares its intention to destroy another country, but the country under threat takes no action because it hasn’t received permission from a third country… With all due respect to the security guarantees of the United States and the tremendous financial support it provides to the Jewish state, there’s no logical reason to take America’s views seriously on the internal debate within Eretz Yisroel over how to deal with a threat to our very existence.
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A few years ago, the nation of Sri Lanka conducted a war on terror, when its elected president announced to his people that he would deal harshly with the terrorist threat, despite the American opposition and the loss of huge sums of financial aid from the United States. He eventually wiped out the Tamil Tiger separatists, and the lost U.S. funds are being earned back today by a flourishing tourism industry, redeveloped after the tourists returned to spend their vacations on the enchanted tropic island with a renewed feeling of security.
Here’s a country where its elected leader decided that he preferred his citizens’ safety to an embrace from the Americans. He didn’t give much weight to Washington’s assertions, because it was quite clear to him that they simply didn’t understand a thing about waging war against provincial terrorists. As a result, it was impossible to take their arguments seriously. Instead of showing weakness, he firmly explained to them that with all due respect to their opinion on this issue, he preferred the opinion of his army chief of staff in matters of regional war tactics. This general supported wide-scale military operations against the terrorist centers, which eventually led to a complete rout of the enemy.
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Regarding Eretz Yisroel, the situation is even more absurd because there are prominent voices within the American community who openly support wiping out the Iranian menace. All that is required is to set out on a military operation and to do what must be done to put this threat behind us.
The Rebbe often explained that by its very nature, America is a nation of kindness. It represents the principle of honesty and fair play, and as a result, it wants to conduct itself accordingly. However, the Rebbe continued, the Americans also need to hear direct and candid talk. The Rebbe said on more than one occasion that from a tactical standpoint, it’s inadvisable to show weakness when you’re dealing with the Americans, because America is a country that has greater appreciation for those who stand up for their principles.
All of the Rebbe’s arguments are now also being echoed by some very astute diplomatic advisors. Today, everyone understands that it is in the best interests of the United States that Eretz Yisroel remain strong. After the Arab spring and the collapse of regimes throughout the Middle East, America sees Eretz Yisroel as its only solid ally in the region. America has a vested interest in the elimination of the Iranian threat at the earliest possible opportunity.
However, America can’t deal with Israeli weakness. When the prime minister turns to Washington and asks the Americans to do the job for us, he becomes a source of embarrassment. Why should America get involved? Why should it dirty its hands when it sees that even the Israelis dare not take any action against Iran?
It would be appropriate for Mr. Netanyahu to take a lesson from history. Prime Minister Menachem Begin knew all too well that not everyone agreed with him on the military option against the Iraqi reactor. The opposition leader – today’s state president – Mr. Peres, tried everything he could to prevent the attack. Today, anyone who considers those who opposed the reactor bombing realizes how ridiculous they seem in the eyes of historians.
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Lubavitcher Chassidim must now come out with a campaign that Eretz Yisroel is unquestionably the safest place in the world, regardless of whether or not we attack Iran. We have a clear message from the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, the nasi and the prophet of the generation, and we must convey that message to everyone until they properly understand it.
All the present hysteria would be totally unnecessary if it would be clear to our leaders that we’re talking about a land given to us by Divine promise from the Alm-ghty G-d, and we don’t need permission to live there. When it becomes clear why we came here, it will become equally clear in whose merit we remain here and defend ourselves.
This is the time to bring the message to the citizens of Eretz Yisroel that this land was given to the eternal people as an eternal gift, and we came here in the merit of a promise from G-d. Therefore, we are indeed in the most secure place in the world.