The Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l's view on the Six Day War and 'land for peace' was more than you have probably heard
Shavua tov from Boston, a good week to everyone.
This evening, I found in my email a pdf from Zvi S with three pages of Joseph Telushkin's new book Rebbe, a biography of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. In the three pages (275-77), Telushkin discusses the Rebbe's views on the Six Day War and 'land for peace.'
I knew - as I am sure many of you did - that the Rebbe opposed 'land for peace.' He did not believe in it. He even opposed the return of the Sinai as part of the peace treaty with Egypt - which I forgot or may not have known.
But what I really didn't know was that in 1967, he felt Israel should have expelled all the Arabs of Judea and Samaria. He felt that during war time, and given the Arabs' continuing threats to annihilate Israel, such an action would have been understandable (and as I have described many times, the Arabs may even have expected it).
Makes this Litvak misnaged (non-Hassid) want to go out and buy the book.
The haredim have a long list of grievances against Netanyahu, most
recently legislation enacted to draft haredi men and criminal sanctions
against draft dodgers. His visit to the bakery was hotly contested in
the haredi community, according to the report.
Kfar Chabad denied the implication that the matza was discarded as a
petty extension to a political feud, claiming that the matza was simply
left on the table for too long, reported Kikar HaShabat.
Chabad added that Netanyahu's matza dough was kneaded without proper
oversight, and that he hadn't washed his hands or cut his nails, leading
to concerns that hametz (yeast-based products not allowed on Passover) caught under his nails might have gotten into the dough.
Tempest in a teapot.
I wasn't there, so I cannot tell you that the matzoth were left to rise for more than the 18-minute maximum, but having baked matzoth in Israel, I call tell you that the chabura (group) leaders don't let you near the dough until your hands are washed, your nails are cut, and your clothes are covered with a plastic apron.
Besides, Chabad are the least likely of the Haredim to look for a fight with Netanyahu.
Two weeks after the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, Aryeh Morgenstern visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe along with some colleagues from the Israeli Consulate. The Rebbe urged the Israeli government in the strongest terms to conquer Damascus. As usual, the Israeli government didn't listen. And once again it appears to have been Moshe Dayan who prevented it from happening.
The picture above was posted to the Prime Minister's Facebook page on Saturday night. The following message went with it (Hat Tip: Leah P).
I
recall something the Lubavitcher Rebbe told me when I went to the UN.
He told me: 'Remember that even when you are in a world that is all dark
and you light one candle, one candle of truth, the light – the precious
light that this candle gives off, is seen from afar!' We will continue
to act in this spirit. Happy Chanukah
Happy Chanuka to you too Mr. Prime Minister. Although I often disagree with you, I believe that your heart is in the right place. Please let me remind you that the Lubavitcher Rebbe was a staunch opponent of giving territory - any territory - to the 'Palestinians.'
Revealed: Alexander Haig only cabinet member to defend Israel after Osirak bombing
At a ceremony commemorating the life of Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson zt"l (May the Memory of the Righteous be a Blessing), whose yahrtzeit (anniversary of the date of his death) is this coming Tuesday, Sherwood "Woody" Goldberg, who was Alexander Haig's Chief of Staff, discloses that Haig was the only Reagan cabinet member to defend Israel after it destroyed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor (32 years ago today on the Gregorian calendar).
In
a surprise raid On June 7, 1981 -- 32 years ago today -- Israeli F-16s
and F-15s bombed and destroyed a nascent nuclear reactor in Saddam
Hussein's Iraq.
As
Goldberg told it, President Reagan and his staff were furious at
Israel. Not only did she attack Iraq without consulting Washington,
seek permission nor give any warning about the attack - but Israel used
American fighter jets to get the job done.
When
the Americans learned of the strike, Reagan called an emergency cabinet
meeting the next day to determine how the administration would respond.
Goldberg
related that, one-by-one, President Reagan polled Vice President George
H.W. Bush and his cabinet. To a man, the reaction was harsh: "Crush
Israel!" was the response from the President's men.
That is, until it was Haig's turn to weigh-in.
"One
day you will get down on your knees and thank Israel for doing that,"
Haig said according to Goldberg, making him the lone dissenter.
Needless
to say, America did not "crush" Israel although there were tensions in
the immediate aftermath. Less than 10 years later America was at war
with Iraq to defend Kuwait in the Gulf War, a k a "Operation Desert
Storm."
While
we may never know if President Reagan ever did kneel in gratitude to
Israel, a nuclear-armed Iraq may have deterred America from that
obligation to our ally or cost a great many more American lives.
Yes, time proved Haig prescient.
It is well known that in June 1991, after the first Gulf War, George H.W. Bush's Secretary of Defense, Dick Cheney, presented Israel's Air Force Commander David Ivri with a satellite photo of the Iraqi reactor:
"For General David Ivri," Cheney wrote on the photo, "with thanks and
appreciation for the outstanding job he did on the Iraqi Nuclear Program
in 1981, which made our job much easier in Desert Storm." Ivri, when he
was Israeli ambassador to Washington a few years ago, liked the photo
so much he had it hanging in his office.
And yet, ten years earlier, only one US cabinet member defended Israel and saw that it had done the right thing. The difference? In 1981, we had a Prime Minister who was a courageous leader instead of a politician blowing with the winds.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
