It is Forbidden to Relinquish Any Part of Eretz Israel

It was for the representatives of Israel to present the argument that they are unable to cede the lands of Judea and Samaria (which are of no interest to Egypt). The Torah explicitly forbids any disengagement (‘Do not cede any part of Israel to the Nations’). Primarily the territories of Judea and Samaria are border lands serving to protect Eretz Israel. Had they argued this forcefully, they would certainly have succeeded in their quest. 

The Shomron

Jerusalem stands as a proof. The President of Egypt demanded Jerusalem with the same fortitude with which he demanded other issues. When he was told in no uncertain terms: “NO!”, he fell into agreement. As they stood their ground on Jerusalem they could have stood their ground regarding Samaria. But since they faltered, they were unsuccessful in holding on. This was well known to all those who knew of the diplomatic issues at hand, in addition to the information which filtered through from behind closed doors. After this failure, some consider that since we have signed, it is as if the territories are already given and cannot be retrieved. But note, this is not yet a fact on the ground. Actually the matter has not even begun. Initially they need to discuss the subject in question down to the finest details. At that stage the decision to retract and annul will become the issue. This is not a matter of which we can speak publicly. 

I say with full responsibility: “It is forbidden to relinquish any part of Samaria according to Jewish Law, because this is life threatening!” 

The United States needs to see that they have dealings with men who know how to take a powerful stand; a stand of Jewish Law, a Torah stand– the Torah of Truth. The Torah of Life states that since this is life-threatening, it is forbidden to open the borders even to the extent of a small finger because this will open up the entire land before them. 

As was seen previously, when they argued forcefully, their demands were accepted. This is the view of all the military. They can once again call a meeting and ask them the situation purely from a military perspective and then come to a conclusion. All the military will state in one unified voice that to cede territories will create a life threatening situation to all of the Jewish inhabitants of the Holy Land, may it never happen. Therefore it is impossible to cede Judea and Samaria. 

This argument will be accepted even now: Egypt is not desperate. The West Bank is irrelevant to her. The United States will not permit the parties to leave Camp David without some sort of signature of a break through to peace between Egypt and Israel. When the USA will see that Israel will relinquish Judea and Samaria they will exert their influence that Israel and Egypt sign some statement of peace to prevent war. (As is known there cannot be war without Egypt being involved). In order for this to take place, in the few hours they remain there, they must stand strong and declare clearly the view of the military. They need not say this is written in the Code of Jewish Law, but rather state that this is the unified voice of the military. 

                                                                                      Public talk Moitzo’ei Shabbos 1979

Busy with clause 242 – not with danger to life!

 There is a situation in the Holy Land which makes no sense. It is public knowledge that returning the West Bank is life threatening. One does not need a great expert to say this. When one looks at these territories, at their (short) distance from the sea, those (the enemy) who are positioned on the East Bank (Gaza) who man war-ships, one can see mortal danger, G-d protect us!

Regardless, the government has ceased discussing the threat. They should be speaking of the clear ruling– the obligation to ‘go to war fully armed lest the city be taken captive and the land easily conquered’. 

Instead, they argue about the UN clause 242, preoccupied with its interpretation (the decision of the UN which calls for Israel to withdraw from the territories liberated in the Six-Day War). Does this mean ‘territories’, or ‘the territories?  Is the withdrawal before or after negotiations?’)

The document’s meaning is irrelevant! The issue at hand is life-threatening danger, to save many times 600,000 Jewish lives! He (the Israel Prime Minister) had no right to sign it. He did so because he is a man of a fearful and weak heart. His very nature is to fear even sound of ‘a leaf blowing in the wind’. He thinks that since he is the Prime Minister, everyone is obliged to follow his orders, so he continues to do all he can ‘to melt the hearts of his brothers as his own’.

All know that Sadat (P.M. of Egypt) himself states that he is not master over those who dwell on the East Bank (Gaza). He only hopes that if he were to retain his position, the PLO will agree to talk peace. Only then will it be possible to discuss peace terms. Peace does not depend on him! Yet, the Israel government avoids mention of these vital conditions. They simply continue to argue among themselves if it is worthwhile to take certain steps for the sake of peace. They say that peace depends on parties who are at war with each other, but they are all in agreement that their enemy is the Jewish People everywhere, especially those in the Holy Land. The situation has reached such a low that for the sake of such ‘peace’ they are prepared to fall, bow down, and submit themselves to find favor in his (Sadat) eyes to influence him to take over everything they will give him– Sinai, Yehuda, the Shomron, thereby threatening the lives of millions of Jews!

The saying goes ‘A wise man’s question is half the answer’. One may ask: how is this half the answer? Because it depends on how the question is phrased (to evaluate if the one asking has any wisdom whatsoever!). Were they to state the reality – relinquishing territories is life threatening, then there would be no more discussion. Instead they question clause 242 and bring this to the vote in the Knesset. Among the voters are Christians and Muslims who are actively working to recognize the PLO, and it is they who have the power to vote on how Israel conducts herself! There was a time when vital issues were considered.

Last summer representatives of Israel visited the USA and placed the map on the table of the President in Washington showing him the distance between the territories and the sea, how easy it is for the Arabs to cut across the land G-d forbid, and he was in agreement. This was publicized in all the newspapers.

Even a simple man understands that when his wife and children are at risk, he puts aside all issues and turns his attention to the vital issue at hand – the security of his household!  

                                                                                   Talk Moitzo’ei Shabbos Sh’mini 1978

The Rebbe on Arab and Israeli Youth

Motti Eden of Kol Yisrael Israeli radio. 1980 Private audience with the Rebbe.

I know that Jewish children’s rallies were critically important in the Rebbe’s eyes. So I asked him, “why children’s rallies?” I remembered that every time there was a call for a rally from the Rebbe it was before some critical event. It happened before the Yom Kippur War. I remembered that well. Why? 

Children's Rally in 770

Then the Rebbe explained. He spoke of the situation as being very grave...The Rebbe reply: According to Torah one must be careful not to frighten Jews, for we are commanded “to serve G-d with joy”. But according to the intelligence I have from Washington where intelligence is gathered from all over the world – the situation is extremely grave, for two reasons. 

There is a trend growing among the Arabs. Thirty or forty years ago, for just a few lira, or just a few dollars, it was possible to bribe the most senior Arab Sheikh.  How much more so the younger ones; and the younger ones obeyed– they did nothing on their own without asking the Sheikh. You could bribe him with a car or the like, and he would do anything you wanted. 

Now the situation has changed from one extreme to the other. The young generation are more fanatical and more zealous for religion, for independence, than all the Sheikhs and more than any in that generation. The younger the Arab, the more zealous he is. He cannot be bought, not with money or with honor. For him, this is Allah, and this is his self-sacrifice. There is nothing more glorified in his eyes than this. 

Painfully and unfortunately with respect to our own Jewish youth, the direction is just the opposite. Thirty years ago in Israel, pioneering was good currency. No one needed convincing to be a pioneer; he came on his own and demanded “Give me a plot of land in a settlement, in the Negev desert,” where he would prove his self-sacrifice. Now they are saying “Enough already! We have lived under pressure for 32 years. Now we deserve to live a peaceful life, a fun life.” 

The first and most crucial item: We must change the outlook of the youth about their personal connection to the Holy Land: that they are a single continuum of thirty generations of Jewish men and women. That thirty five or forty generations ago the Jewish People entered the Holy Land which was given to them as an eternal inheritance. It is not theft, there is no injustice here. The Arabs came a thousand years later, and then they left and were not interested in it. All these explanations are simple. 

But a young boy or girl has no patience for theoretical concepts. They need something concrete that they can actually participate in. When they are told there is a verse in the Torah “Hear Israel, G-d is our G-d, G-d is One” and that was not just addressed to someone named Israel who stood at Sinai 3,000 years ago, but it was meant for this ‘Avraham’, ‘Moshe’, and ‘Shlomo’ who lives in Tel Aviv on such-and-such a street. It was they whom G-d had in mind when He said “Hear [listen] Israel!” 

The Government itself created it's own ‘Demographic Problem’!

The Government of Israel has created with its very own hands the demographic problem by not expelling the Arabs who were at war with us through the Six-Day War, and by leaving the Arabs in their locations. 

So let the government not come now and wave (what in truth is their own failure) a demographic problem to explain away why they say we need to withdraw from the territories and not annex them to the State of Israel. 

Indeed, I do admit that their (the large Arab population) dwelling in the State can create a great problem, but what is the better alternative? Is it better that that this area be an independent Palestinian State or a Jordanian State in which there are one and a half million Arabs within firing distance and creating war against every Jewish town and village in the Land? Is it not preferable that those very same millions of Arabs be subject to controlled supervision of the State of Israel within her borders, even with all the problems to which this gives rise? 

It is shameful that Israel’s representatives in their political dealings are totally afraid to mention that our right to the Land comes from G-d’s Promise! We see young Arab are not ashamed of their ‘faith’. When they demand what they consider to be their rights to the Land, they bring religious reasoning, declaring that they will not compromise ‘the holy lands’. Only in our circles are there those who are ashamed. You have tried already all formula (expressions for Israel’s rights to the Land) and have seen the (tragic) results. And nevertheless you are afraid to try the most effective way of persuasion.  

                                                                     From an interview with Mr. Shmuel Katz, 1978

The awesome victory of the Six-Day War

The Bible [Kings 1: 20.32] recounts the Seven-Day War which took place in the time of Ahab, King of Israel. 

Hadad, King of Aram went out to war against Israel and was so soundly defeated that he thought he would never recover. In spite of this, Ahab ran after him begging him to sign a peace treaty. The King of Aram who hated Ahab with a deadly passion, thought that Ahab hated him to the same degree, could not understand why Ahab wanted to strike a peace treaty with him. His advisers explained to him that the Jewish People are a merciful and compassionate nation. So if they are requesting peace, they will agree to such a treaty. Indeed, after considerable persuasion Hadad agreed and sent emissaries to Ahab, and the peace treaty was signed. From this agreement immeasurable pain was suffered by the Jewish Nation, as recounted there at length.

A similar incident took place two years ago at the time of the Six-Day War. The Israel Defense Force smote the Arab forces a resoundingly, and the Arabs fled out of great fear. Yet, Israel ran after the Arabs, begging them: ‘please, come and sit with us around the table. Come; let’s make peace!’ 

It is already two years they are running after the Arabs begging them to sit together and sign a peace treaty in return for which Israel offers all the territory they want. Yet, the Arabs show reluctance to meet with the Jews, arguing “we have enough trouble of our own, we are not interested in your benevolence”. “We wish for neither your honey nor your sting”. 

The Arabs are prepared to forgo half the country that Israel wants to give them on a silver platter, so long as they do not sit together with a Jew. This strange situation has only one explanation: What is taking place here is that ‘G-d hardened the heart of Pharaoh’. The Arabs have no reason not to sit with the Jews, and have nothing to lose. G-d is hardening their hearts.  

The pursuit of the Israeli government of the Arab nations after the awesome victory of the Six-Day War does not end there. Rulers of Israel want to cut up Jerusalem, the Holy City into three pieces. For the Muslims, the Christians and ‘also’ to the Jews. And that is not all: they encourage the Arabs to live in Jerusalem. This in spite of the fact that Jerusalem, from time immemorial has belonged exclusively to the Jewish People, since the time of Shem the son of Noach, Abraham the Patriarch, and the conquest of Jerusalem by King David. 

Furthermore there is an explicit legal ruling, that in addition to it bringing him harm, a gentile is forbidden to live in Jerusalem. However, this law is only in force when the hand of Israel is strong in the Land; but this does not mean that gentiles be encouraged to live there, certainly not to run after him begging him to stay.

Until now the Arabs were fearful of Israel, however, the groveling after the Arabs is the direct cause that now they raise their head against Israel and increase their terror attacks.

                                                                                 Public talk Parshas Mattos-Maseh, 1967

A Gentile will accept this Truth Immediately!

At the opening of the book of Genesis, the commentator Rashi explains: “Rabbi Yitzchak said: The Torah should have opened with the words “This Month is for you...” (the first law of the Torah). Why does the Torah begin with the account of Creation? Because (G-d) informed His People of his powerful act of giving them the inheritance of the nations.” Similarly in (Deuteronomy 32.43): “Sing, nations the praises of His People, for He will avenge the blood of His servants. He will bring retribution to His enemies, and He will appease His Land and His People” (for the distress inflicted by the enemy). The original Hebrew text omits the word ‘and’ because the Land of Israel and the People of Israel are one.

Hashem's Universe

Rashi emphasizes that a gentile needs to clearly know that everything belongs to G-d. ‘He initially gave the land to them [the Canaanite nations], and thereafter to us’. No one is in denial that nations had previously lived there. Yet, just as He gave it to them, so did He choose to take it from the nations and confer it to the Children of Israel. G-d informed His people that they (not limit this information to being heard only within in the house of learning and study with a friend, but to) convey this message to the gentiles, openly and proudly, to the entire world, even for a five year old to understand.

When stated with conviction, the gentile will immediately accept it. For a Jew to accept an open truth, he needs to battle with himself. A gentile is not faced with such decision making. He will understand and accept the truth immediately especially when bearing in mind that the Torah wants this message to reach the gentile world. 

True, it is forbidden to study the Oral Law with a gentile. But he should be taught the Seven Noachide Laws. Maimonides explains that at a time when the Jewish people are strongly established they have the obligation to coerce gentiles to observe the basic Seven Noachide Laws of human behavior. One of these laws is ‘Do not steal’. A gentile needs to be taught that if the land of Israel is in his possession, this constitutes theft. By transgressing one of these laws, one incurs the death sentence. When careful about this, he merits life. When the land of Israel is not in his hands– this is for his good.  Not as is argued by those that purport to ‘pursue peace’ that if Israel is not held by the gentile, it is bad for him. To the contrary: specifically when the Land of Israel is not handed over to him, it is for his good and he thereby merits life. 

No portion [of the Land] may be handed over. (Every inch is part of the borders of Israel) as this would constitute theft. A gentile has no portion in the Land of Israel!  At the Covenant (of the Pieces), G-d gave the Land of Israel to the People of Israel. Prior thereto the verse states (Genesis 13:15): ‘To you will I give it’. And further on, (Genesis 15:8) ‘I have given it to your progeny’– it has been given! Rashi comment’s that the word of G-d – is absolute. Henceforth  the Land of Israel became ours. 

                                                                    Public address Shabbos Parshas Bereishis 1970