It’s not politics!

A new Rabbi was elected for the grand synagogue in town. In his first lecture, the rabbi discussed the importance of keeping kosher. After descending from the podium, he was approached by the president of the synagogue who voiced his disapproval for talking about such a touchy subject.
So the next week, he spoke about Shabbat observance, and the president nearly blew up on him in rage: “How do you have the chutzpah to speak about Shabbat in this community where no one keeps Shabbat?!”
When, after speaking about tefilin the next week, the president warns him that he’ll be fired, the Rabbi turns to him in frustration and asks, “So what do you want me to speak about?”
The president responds, “Just speak about Judaism!”

***
When writing a thought about the torah portion and its message of love, you can’t go wrong. But sometimes we have to discuss the issues at hand in the Jewish world today, and look for the Torah view on pressing matters. That said; let’s look at the situation in Israel.
The present situation in Israel is scary, to say the least. War, missiles falling in playgrounds and homes, and our soldiers fighting hard in the unknown terrain of guerrillas and suicide bombers whose own lives mean nothing to them; who, in the name of religion, have terrorized millions of people for decades.
Has something gone wrong in our vision of eternal peace with our Arab cousins? Hadn’t we saved ourselves the scare of another confrontation with our lovely neighbours? Hey! About a year ago we evacuated eight thousand Jews from their homes in a one-sided attempt for peace! Since the sighing of the Oslo accords, we have given “back” to the Palestinians a large percentage of the so-called “occupied territories.” Where is their appreciation for our dire attempts at long-lasting peace and brotherhood?
Ah, I get it! The problem is that we still have some occupied territories in our hands! If we would give them all back, then would be able to live within our pre-1967 borders in peace and harmony with our beloved neighbours.

Well, let’s put things right down on the table: If our claim to the land of Israel is the U.N. resolution of 58 years ago that gave the unfortunate Jews who had just lost six million of their brothers (due to the lack of self-defence) the right for a country; and just by luck the country happens to be in the same area which, thousands of years ago, was ruled by the kings of Judea, and for all we care the state of the Jews could have been in Uganda (an early option for a Jewish state offered to the Zionists,) then we have no choice but to listen to the “Palestinian” cry for freedom and a “Palestinian” state, and, for us, the Oslo accords would be the most righteous thing the Jewish people have done since the time Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac to G-d!
However, if our claim to the land of Israel is that it’s our promised land, given by G-d 4,000 years ago to our forefather Abraham, then this “political view” (was does safety have to do with politics?) would change. We would keep every piece of land that was returned to us (not occupied!) and we wouldn’t even dream of talking about the exchange of this divine present for a lip-service to peace. For after all, who, but G-d, can grant us peace?
If we believe that the land is ours because G-d said so, then we will fight the terrorists until the end, not retreating before we are done (as we did in the Lebanon war in 1982), understanding that they are not “insurgents” or “militants” as implied by the media; they are simply blood thirsty anti-Semites who want us all thrown into the Mediterranean Sea, cruel terrorists who will use any means to take our whole land (pre 1948 borders…) for themselves.
Osama bin laden, Nasralla, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Yasser Arafat, Holocaust denier Abu-Mazen and their like are not freedom fighters for oppressed people; they are radical Islamists with a deep hatred for the free, civilized world. Through misinterpretation of the Koran, they have declared war on all those who oppose their radical ideology. (Or have we forgotten the dancing in the streets of Gaza on 9/11?) They are all terrorists. And with terrorists there is no chance of peace.
May G-d bless the people in the Land of Israel, our Holy Land, with true and eternal peace with the coming of Moshiach at this very moment. Until then, let us at least hold on to the land of G-d; it’s ours for guarding.

Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe