The Rebbe: Navigating Israel’s Ties with the US

Dear brothers and sisters. We’re hearing a lot of words like: “Unprecedented,” “We’ve never seen a situation like this before, between Israel and the United States.” Not so. This has happened before. Let’s discuss how Israel can successfully manage its relationship with the United States right now, based on Torah’s guidance, as taught to us by the Rebbe. Each of these things that we’re experiencing now has happened before. If you’re familiar with history, you’ll know that this is NOT new. It’s only the details that change, but the template – it’s the same. …three, four times before, which were almost an identical copy of the situation now. There are always changes. In this world nothing is exactly the same, specific details always change. But the core issue has not changed: The same situation; the same people who are responsible to fix it; the same people, or their disciples, who are obstructing the process, and the same arguments: “This is the way to peace; this is the way to justice; this is the way to look good in the eyes of the world; we have to take into account that we are not ‘a nation that dwells alone,’ we need the world’s approval…” Actually, there are endless examples. The 1956 Sinai campaign; Israel has a stunning battlefield victory against Egypt, but within a couple months, hands away its victory and pulls back from the Suez Canal because of threats of US sanctions. In 1967, the United States was pressuring Israel not to strike preemptively, before the Six Day War. That time Israel did not listen and had a stunning, and by all accounts, miraculous victory. 1973 is the quintessential example of the opposite, with the Yom Kippur war. On Yom Kippur morning, the US ambassador shows up in the prime minister’s office, to say, Israel dare not fire the first shot, and cannot even call up the reserves. Israel folds, listens to the United States – and the absolutely calamitous disaster follows, we all know: Thousands of soldiers killed, Israel's morale totally shot, and deterrence done away with for many years to come. In the 1978 Litani Campaign, going into Lebanon to clear out many terrorists, an operation got off to an incredibly successful start. But then due to very intense American pressure, turns into an eventual because it leads to the ‘82 war, which itself was stopped due to perceived American pressure by Israel’s decision makers, and that turned into a quagmire on its own. So maybe this conflict is more public, but it’s not at all “unprecedented.” And if you think about it, is President Biden worse than, or more hostile than Carter, than James Baker? I think not. The entire Oslo Accords that we are so lamenting today – our handing over the keys to Gaza – were begun and shepherded by the United States, with tremendous pressure being placed on Israel. I remember that – it was in my time. The Rebbe was desperately doing everything he could to stop that. In this clip, Foreign Minister Elyakim Rubinstein is heading off to a meeting with President Bush (Senior) and Secretary of States Baker. If one wants to accomplish something in the United States, he must show conviction that he will not give-in. Not out of spite, but because there is no other way. It cannot be demanded of Israel to do something that is contrary to its survival. That is what he’s trying to accomplish. These are not easy times, it’s a difficult period now, there are many unpleasant… But the solution to these unpleasant relations is to do the opposite of what’s been done until now. Until now the approach has been that to compromise – and not just on minor issues, but on vital issues, in order to receive something in return. This is contrary to the nature of the Unites States. The United States was founded and has survived by taking a strong stance, that on issues which are critical to its survival it will not compromise. Foreign Minister Rubinstein protests again and again, “There’s such pressure you don’t understand.” There’s such pressure from the United States, from Bush, and from Baker, and they’re not understanding us. And the Arabs are pressuring… The Rebbe is having none of it. it’s not appropriate with a partner like the US. It might be apropos for other partners, but with the United States, the only approach that has succeeded thus far is when we stand strong and explain that it’s not out of stubbornness, but it’s a matter of survival; and that it is in the interest of the US that Israel be strong in the Middle East, because Israel is the only true partner of the United States. To be clear, the Rebbe's approach to the Israel US relationship is not, “Oh, just ignore America and do what you need to do. This isn’t important.” Not at all; it’s a very important relationship. The Rebbe has ten points, based on Torah’s guidance, for how to handle this relationship, together with historic examples for each. Some of those are very relevant for right now. The foundation for it all, is this, however: The understanding that when something is a security concern, when you’re talking about giving a strategic advantage to an enemy, whether or not it is a life and death matter today, ultimately it will become just that, and you need to look at it that way, now. And because of that, you need to draw the line at any strategic advantage that you might be giving to the enemy, and you do not budge from there. This clarity and understanding that there are things that we cannot compromise on, is the starting point. Now that you know you cannot make a certain move; how do we manage your relationship with the United States? First of all, you need to explain yourself nicely, but then you cannot budge. And if, God forbid, you do, two things are going to happen: First of all, you're going to end up with death, God forbid, either in the very near future or a bit later than that, but it won’t take long, God forbid… And second of all, they’re just going to look at you and say, “You’re liars. Yesterday you said that this is life and death, and you have no ability to compromise, and today you're walking away from it. So you actually end up with more fracturing of the relationship by giving in, rather than less. And that leads to the next step, which is: the physics of pressure. The physics of pressure are such that if you give in, it invites more pressure. This happens again and again and again through history. Those are several of the key pieces of the Rebbe’s guidance on the Israel-US relationship. There’s a fundamental point here that we need to understand: America needs a strong Israel. There might be a particular president, under pressure – and we’re always within a year or two or three of an election; there’s always one around the corner. Everybody understands how this works. But ultimately, the United States needs Israel to be strong. It’s not in the US interests for Israel to back off, God forbid, of its vital security needs. When we understand these fundamental principles – and Torah helps you get that clarity, to understand what’s dark and what's light, where are the lines that we can’t pass, where we can’t compromise, the question becomes: How do we communicate with the United States? Then you won’t be so conflicted about what to do. There’s a question: We’re taught “Do not anger a small gentile” and especially not a powerful one. And it’s abundantly clear that we need their financial support, their weapons, etc. But if you yield to their demands, there will be nothing left to protect with their money and arms! The only way to receive the money and the arms is to remain firm. We’ve seen until now that when Israel remained firm on matters of principle, the transfer of funds and weapons was not affected long-term, it was only affected in the short-term, when it wasn’t a matter of life-or-death. But at the end of the day, there is tremendous pressure. How should Israel you handle it? As the Rebbe explains, there’s only one way to dispense with it all. At the time of this particular talk in 1979, the Rebbe is speaking about building cities at Israel’s borders to assure security, but this approach applies to every situation: As long as you merely use words, whether they are strongly-worded or weak: “We will issue approvals, we will settle there, we will expand, we will do everything in our power to protect ourselves, we will stand firm”... they are only words which, every diplomat knows, mean nothing. The only way to resist the pressure is to take an action, which, even if you want to backtrack later on, cannot be reversed. Several years ago, I spoke with a very senior Defense Department official about his conversations with the Rebbe, and he had many very, very long conversations, focusing on the relationship between Israel and the United States. He said, in general, the Rebbe had two almost opposing approaches to the relationship: “On the one hand,” he said, “don’t get so bent out of shape by what so much what the United States says.” I'm reading from my notes here… “Don’t worry too much, because they won’t let you down at the end of the day.” But by the same token, he said, don’t fight them. You need the United States. Negotiate in good spirit, in good faith, and don’t get into brinkmanship or to a fight. Now, how do you pull that off these two things apparently opposing things? The Rebbe clearly felt that they could coexist. That's obviously the combination of good diplomacy and good self-confidence. Another really interesting point was, how, as the Rebbe explained to him, the United States interest here: America wants the problem to go away as quickly as possible. That's their interest here. They’ll always apply pressure at the weakest point. Unfortunately, that has almost always been Israel. If we are unwavering, they'll try somewhere else. Another bullet that I found interesting is: What does it even mean that “America” is pressuring Israel? Presidents come and go. A specific president at a specific time, a specific place, has his domestic political needs, is pushing you to do A or B or C, depending on the situation. Be patient. Figure out a way to wait it out. He’s acting under pressure of his needs, as the president of the United States, and it’s totally understandable. He’s got his job to do. You – meaning, Israel, are going to have to live with the results. This talk is in 1986, looking back at the Prime Minister Begin’s decisions under pressure from President Carter. Israel was under tremendous pressure – we know who was pressuring, and who was pressured… Prime Minister Begin abandoned his forty-year strong approach to Israel’s security. He couldn’t withstand the pressure, and signed the paper that Carter himself never believed Israel would actually sign. Carter needed to demand the accords by the pressure on him from the State Department, etc., but it was absolutely clear to him that Israel would refuse the terms. So what are we supposed to do right now? Torah does have an approach that has many more specifics than this short YouTube video. I should note that it’s a very compassionate approach, and it does not say, just kill everybody who’s in your way… The bottom line of it is this: We need to follow the guidance of military and security professionals and they are to answer one very narrow question: What is going to battlefield victory here and now? To tangible security now. What will result in securing territory so that we can have true security and peace? No other considerations may be taken into account, including even next week’s arms shipment. This is the blueprint that Torah gives for how you make the decisions. So, say you’re going into battle, and they say put your foot on the gas and go full throttle toward finishing an operation, you do it without stopping, and you finish it quickly. – and that ALWAYS leads to less losses on either side, by the way. It’s important to note who we do NOT ask: politicians, not diplomats, not former military people, not people looking where their career ladder is headed. Only somebody who’s sitting down and saying, this is what's going to save lives. And today, by all accounts, those are harder and harder to find. This the Rebbe specifies already many years ago. We'll link a talk from ‘82 Lebanon, where the rebbe expresses and explains this approach. We want to keep things positive, but I do want to address the flip side of this. If you do, God forbid, if you do give in to the pressure, as Israel unfortunately has many, many times in the past – YOU we, all of us – will regret it deeply. It’ll result in loss of life, God forbid. This particular talk is from ’79. The Rebbe is talking about the conclusion of the Sinai campaign. Israel pulled out of Sinai desert in 1957, But the parallels are all over the place: An order was given for the IDF to pull back – after Israel was already in full control of the canal. Now it is no secret anymore: Several years after the first withdrawal from the Suez Canal in ‘56, when there was strong a strong demand from Washington, forcing England, France and Israel to pull back, etc., etc.. The Americans later demanded, “Why did you listen?” Israel answered: You threatened us, You even specified the sanctions you’d impose on us! The US responded: “We had no choice; we needed to issue verbal threats. But how is it that you actually did it?! The Rebbe actually concludes this talk with an amusing anecdote about an insurance claim We’ll link it below. It’s time to wrap this up, but I just want to conclude by saying something the Rebbe said so many times: When we do what we need to do, when we do the commandments, and most importantly, the cardinal commandment of defending and protecting Jewish life, God then blesses our efforts with miraculous success. When a situation looks scary, you do what you need to do, do what the Torah tells us, defend and protect life, you will see that everything will fall into place. It’s an interesting paradox: On the one hand, we say, God gives us miraculous protection, but on the other, He demands that we do everything in our capability to defend ourselves though natural means. So it could get dicey for a little while. But every time we make the right choice to go out there and defend ourselves, when we haven’t worried about what the world says, in the end, we were successful on the ground, and the world was impressed, and has respected us, as well. Fulfill the commandment of protecting yourself, and God will continue to protect His children, as He has for 3,000 plus years. I want to thank Levik Korf for his help with putting together this video. Let’s end with a happy clip from Purim in 1972.