In a remarkable conversation that took place during Sunday dollars following Shabbos Bereishis 5752 (1991), the Rebbe told Israeli Mayor Ron Nachman how Israel’s ability to counter the Iranian threat would prove more crucial for the United States’ security than for Israel’s own.
By Anash.org reporter
As discussions about addressing the Iranian threat resurface, a message from a Sunday dollars distribution after Shabbos Bereishis 5752 (1991) has become strikingly relevant now, 33 years later.
In Tishrei 5752 (1991), Mr. Ron Nachman, Mayor of Ariel, Eretz Yisroel, was in the United States for a six-week diplomatic mission. The goal was to promote what would become a $10 billion loan guarantee, primarily intended to help settle Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union in Israel.
On Sunday after Shabbos Bereishis, he came by the Rebbe for a bracha. After thanking the Rebbe for the blessings he received for the flourishing town of Ariel, where he served as mayor, Nachman asked the Rebbe’s advice on how to present the importance of these loan guarantees to the American media.
The Rebbe’s response seems as if it were said today:
“As I have said several times, Israel’s welfare is in the best interest of the United States, because Israel is the front line there against the Arabs, and the Arabs are against the United States; they want the United States to fail, and for Iran and similar nations to succeed.”
“Outside issues have come into play, and you must be able to respond to those issues. It is easy to clarify this by looking at the speeches of the United States presidents, the way they spoke half a year ago, a year ago, and more, that it is imperative – for the good of the entire world including the United States – that there be a strong Israel in order to inhibit the influence of Syria, Iran, and so forth… For they are against the US no less than they are against Israel – and perhaps even more so.”
The Rebbe emphasized the simplicity of this explanation: “It is so easy to explain, because there is no need to come up with anything new; just find the newspapers from two and three years ago, and you will find this all spelled out already in detail.”
The Rebbe concluded by giving Mr. Nachman a second dollar to participate in the costs of publishing any necessary newspaper articles on the issue.
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