My article in Newsmax: “Cold War in Mideast Means Israel Must Be Cautious, Strong”

As the tension between Israel and Iran intensifies, and while Iran has just unveiled its first hypersonic missile, rumors about advancement in the Iranian nuclear program are growing even more distressing. While Israel threatens Iran not to try to attack it, Iran threatens back that it will demolish Israel if it attacks Iran.

What is worse in this round of the conflict, Israel seems more isolated than ever, as even the U.S. seems reluctant to act against the Ayatollah regime.

When it comes to America, I never had much confidence in its support of Israel. While the U.S. did supply Israel with weapons and ammunition during wartime, its position and actions on other occasions concerning Israel’s security have been less supportive.

America, we must remember, also has its own interests to look after, which do not always coincide with Israeli interests. Therefore, at the end of the day, we should not hang our hopes on America.

Concerning Iran, I do not think that the threat of a nuclear Iran is as serious as the Iranians would like us to think. More than it is a weapon of mass destruction, a nuclear weapon is a tactical weapon. It is a political tool intended to improve Iran’s position in the Arab world.

The Arab world has been engaged for centuries in power struggles between Sunnis, represented today by Saudi Arabia, and Shiites, whose representative is Iran. The majority of Muslims in the world is Sunni, and Iran has been on the defense in its struggle to dominate the Arab world.

Clearly, an atomic bomb that can threaten Israel, as well as the rest of the world, will place Iran in a completely different position, especially since no other country in the Persian Gulf has nuclear weapons.

The Iranians are not a mob of hooligans. Their leaders are calculated and do not act rashly. In the pursuit of prestige, the ability to threaten Israel with nuclear warheads is a great card that should be used wisely and not wasted away by a reckless mistake, and Iran knows this very well.

Moreover, Iran knows that Israel has its own nuclear arsenal and can retaliate against any attack on its people with horrible consequences. Therefore, it may be instrumental for Iran to threaten, to try to frighten Israel, but I find it hard to believe that it would take any action to realize its threats.

In many ways, the situation between a nuclear Iran and a nuclear Israel would be similar to the situation that existed between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In those days, both countries developed more and more nuclear weapons, but both countries were equally careful not to use it; they knew that if they did, there would be no way back and the world would be destroyed.

In this writer’s opinion, the presence of nuclear weapons decreases the chance of active hostilities between the countries rather than increases it. Both countries know that starting a war against a country with nuclear weapons makes no sense whatsoever. Therefore, Israel must stay vigilant, prepare to retaliate quickly and forcefully, but avoid reckless actions.

In other words, nuclear weapons could actually calm Iran and lead it to a more pragmatic policy than currently.

Where I would be careful, though, when it comes to Iran, is in its use of proxy paramilitary and military terror groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Here, we must be active, initiating, and decisive.
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Question: One of the biggest celebrations for Jews is the holiday of Shavuot when the people received the Torah at Mount Sinai.

In general, it is a great event for the world because it can be said that everything began with this. How do you define this celebration for the world?

Answer: For the world I cannot define it in any way because the world does not know anything about it, has not taken it, and does not take any part in it to this day. People of Israel, also, I would not say that they especially celebrate this holiday. It is just a celebration of the giving of the Torah.

But receiving the Torah is a completely different matter. It comes individually to everyone when each one, if they understand what it is, agrees to take upon themselves the instructions and the advice that the Torah gives to a person. Then, indeed, a person gradually begins to organize an inner understanding of what the Torah is and what it gives him. And then he can celebrate it.

Comment: It turns out that I was wrong when I said “receiving.” You corrected me. It is the giving of the Torah. Receiving is a whole process that will continue.

My Response: This is from below up. The giving is from the top down. Meaning, giving is something that the Creator does, so to say. And receiving is what I have to come to, to get it.

Question: Then tell me how to do it. I know the sources say that the people stood as one man with one heart, this was their state, and at that moment they received the instruction of life, so to say.

Do we have to get to this state in order to start revealing something?

Answer: Of course. All this is said not about the past, but about the future.

Question: Can today’s shattered, scattered world not even imagine what is there at all?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Your constant phrase that we should come to these good ties, to connect with each other, is this precisely so that we can begin this process of receiving the Torah, by and large?

Answer: Yes.

Question: What will we get then? The set of laws is clear to me.

Answer: This is not just a set of laws. We will get a completely new attitude toward relationships between people and the relationship of each person toward the world. This is love. “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Everything that is placed there consists only of this.

Comment: It turns out that you reduce the Torah to one thing practically. You said: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”

My Response: Yes. This means coming to a state where we are completely connected by love, care, and mutual complicity with each other, all the people together.

The Torah represents the upper force, the upper light, which, to the extent of our efforts and our diligence to get closer and unite, affects us and helps us to achieve such a state of connection.

All that is required of us is effort and diligence, i.e., striving for it. Then we will be able to attract this upper light, the upper force. And it will correct us and connect us with others, with all the people of the world.

Question: Does it depend on us, on me? Or is my effort a gift from above?

Answer: From above is an offer: if you want, you will get it. But it depends on us to accept it and implement it.

Question: What do you think is the current stage of the Jewish people and the world in this process of receiving the Torah?

Answer: I would say not so far away because we have passed the path of the revelation of evil, which is the extent of our nature being opposite of the nature of the Torah, love, connection, mutual assistance, and so on. That is why we do not have much left to do. We just need to draw a conclusion from what we have gone through and with the revelation of the evil of our nature, take upon ourselves the law of mutual love.

Question: We approach, as they say, this mountain, Mount Sinai.

What is Mount Sinai?

Answer: Mount Sinai, the mountain, this is clear, and “Sinai” is from the word “hate,” a mountain of hate that we must rise above.

Humanity must approach this huge mountain of hatred and rise above it. Then they will be able to connect with each other in one single system, in one single nation, and achieve absolute happiness.

Question: Are you saying the whole of humanity into one nation?

Answer: Yes, because the Torah generally speaks about all the people on Earth.

Question: When you say Torah, does everyone imagine a book?

Answer: No. The Torah is a system of correction of all people, up to their complete connection with each other.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 5/18/23

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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “US Lawmakers Highlight Discord between America and Israel”

Several events that have taken place over the past week highlight where the United States and Israel do not see eye to eye. One such event is the White House’s first-ever national strategy to combat antisemitism. To Israel’s surprise, the Biden administration avoided a clear endorsement of the mainstream, widely accepted definition of antisemitism drafted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), after progressive entities (including several Jewish organizations) argued that the IHRA definition does not allow for what they describe as “legitimate criticism of Israel and its policies.” Progressive groups also urged the Biden administration to leave out a definition of antisemitism entirely or consider alternative definitions.

Moreover, among the creators of the document, titled “The U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism,” the White House included the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a partner in building “cross-community solidarity” to combat antisemitism. This is disconcerting since the FBI has concluded long ago that leaders of CAIR are linked to the designated anti-Israel terrorist organization Hamas.

Another issue that has been on the table between Washington and Jerusalem for quite some time is the inclusion of Israel in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The program enables most citizens or nationals of participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of up to 90 days without obtaining a visa. Recently, 16 senators, led by Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas urging the Administration not to include Israel in the VMP until Israel meets certain conditions of reciprocity that they believe are necessary for inclusion in the program.

The letter completely ignores Israel’s complex security issues with the Palestinians and demands that all American citizens of Palestinian origin will be given a free pass into Israel and will be free to travel within Israel with no questions asked. Even though one of the initiators of the letter, Brian Schatz, and one of the signatories, Bernie Sanders, are Jewish, they show no sympathy for Israel’s position. On the contrary, they are leading the demand for Israel to act against its own security interests.

I am bringing up these two issues not in order to criticize the US for its policy or to rebuke this or that senator for advocating an anti-Israel policy. I am doing this in order to stress the obvious truth that US-Israel interests are becoming increasingly discordant, and that Israel should not expect the US to take Israel’s best interest into consideration.

Also, the fact that one of the initiators of the VMP letter is Jewish, and that one of the signatories is a known Israel-basher Jewish senator, proves that a significant portion of American Jewry has no regard for Israel’s security. The conclusion Israel must therefore draw is that it can no longer rely on American Jewry to support it and work in its favor in the US government. The alliance that Israel has had with the US for decades is clearly weakening, including with American Jewry, and I am not sure how long it will last.

It is time for us, Israelis, to stand up for ourselves. It may be painful, but we must realize that US interests are often different from ours, and often contradictory; we cannot rely on them, and we should not expect America to cater to Israel’s needs. We need to do this for ourselves, and we could not begin too soon.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Can there be more than one Israel?”
A new survey published in Israel reveals that about half of the Jewish public in Israel believes that splitting Israeli society into two autonomous states is possible. Ten percent of the respondents in the survey believe that such a division is not only possible, but even likely. In my opinion, dividing the State of Israel into two separate states is possible only in theory, but not in practice. What the survey does show, however, is how divided and splintered Israeli society really is, and this is what we should really worry about.

As a practical idea, two autonomous Jewish states cannot happen because the division would be between secular and orthodox Jews. However, the orthodox Jews cannot sustain a state on their own without the help of the secular part of society, primarily in the economic aspect.

At the same time, the secular part of society will not be able to maintain a separate state because its social cohesion relies on denunciation of the orthodox Jews. If it receives its own state, without orthodox Jews, the fragmented secular society that is currently united against the religious would have nothing to keep it together and would shatter into countless pieces.

Fragmentation and division have plagued Jewish society since our inception as a nation. However, breaking up has never solved anything for us. On the contrary, it only worsened our plights.

Instead of looking to splinter our society even more, we should understand that our only hope of solving our problems is by embracing the differences between us and using them for the common good. Jews will never be similar to one another. On the contrary, the differences and divisions between us will only widen and intensify the feeling of estrangement. And the only way that we can ever deal with our mutual aversion is to accept the differences, embrace them, and then contribute each sector’s unique qualities for the success of Israeli society in its entirety.

Such an approach may sound impossible to carry out, but we really have no choice. Either we embrace it, or we will fall apart altogether.

It is not a new approach. In fact, this was the modus operandi that our ancestors sought to implement. King Solomon encapsulated this method with a single verse (Prov. 10:12): “Hate stirs strife, and love will cover all crimes.” In other words, hate causes conflicts, but we cannot solve them through compromise, but rather by cultivating love for one another despite the hatred. It may seem impossible, and certainly undesirable, to love someone when what I feel is hate, but it is nevertheless the only solution that will save the State of Israel from dissolution.

The way to overcome such a formidable hurdle is to focus not on our negative feelings, but on our responsibility to the world. We must remember that our nation emerged from strangers who followed Abraham’s ideology of unity and mercy among all people, which he bequeathed to his progeny and disciples. Therefore, it is precisely when we feel like strangers that we can implement our forefather’s ideology and realize the greatest legacy of the Jewish people to the world: the motto, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This is also when we become a light to the nations, as we had been chosen to be, and what the world still expects us to do.

Our entire history, we have been running away from our vocation. Our entire history, we have been persecuted, expelled, and murdered almost to extinction. It is time to stop running from ourselves, from who we are destined to be, a nation of courageous people who face their own hatred of each other and prove to the world that unity among strangers, which is how we feel about each other, is possible, and we are the living proof. Only if we do this, we will find peace, and peace of mind, and the world will find them with us.
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Question: Do Jews understand why there is pressure on them from all sides?

Answer: They understand perfectly, but what can you do? This is the law of nature, the forces of nature, which direct the uncorrected people in this way to hate those in whom there is a spiritual germ, the source of the upper soul.

We cannot agree with that, we hate ourselves. We, Jews, do not like ourselves for this because we are uncorrected.

Comment: But in fact, the Jews themselves do not know this.

My Response: What difference does it make if they know or not? This is the law of nature; this is how natural forces work. Anti-Semites do not know why they do not like Jews, they invent all sorts of excuses, and Jews do not know why they hate them, and they also invent all sorts of reasons. It comes from two upper opposing forces, just like everything in our world.

In the corporeal world, the representative of spiritual forces is a Jew. In order to make myself a representative of the spiritual forces instead of him, I must destroy him, not destroy completely, but to leave him as an example: “Look at the state he is in, it means I am right, I won, I am higher.”

Question: Will the Jews ever understand their destiny? Or will they realize it only when they are slaughtered?

Answer: No, this cannot happen. They will realize their mission, demonstrate it, and offer it to the whole world. Then, to the extent that everyone participated in the beating of this tribe, he will have to overcome this whole process within himself, because the recognition of evil must pass through all the Kelim (Vessels), through all the phases of egoism in the opposite direction.

The great tragedy of humanity is that for many millennia they have shown their hatred of the Jews for being representatives of God on Earth.

Now we need to roll this in reverse in all nations to the same extent that they resisted, destroyed, and burned Jews. They will have to experience all this for themselves in order to be corrected. I do not know in what form it will be, morally, spiritually, or even physically, but it is not at all easier. After all, we do not go through anything directly from end to end. We have to go through the recognition of evil.

It is said in The Book of Zohar that my inner non-Jew (Goy) strikes at my Jew inside, that is, my egoism strikes at the quality of bestowal and love. Therefore, everyone will have to accept this and go through this as the recognition of their own evil in great internal suffering, and only after that begin their correction. This is the law of nature, there is nothing we can do. So, all this is still ahead.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Laitman’s Teacher” 1/23/11

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Question: Why were Jews previously forced to live in shtetls in Europe or driven into ghettos? Why were they treated in this way?

Answer: Because if you feel that I am the bearer of spiritual values and I prevent you from proclaiming yourself the bearer of these values, you must destroy me.

You must constantly show yourself, your children, and everyone else that I am low, insignificant, and worthless: “Look what the Creator allows me to do with him because the truth is with me!” This is a purely egotistic attitude toward one’s ideological opponent.

What did Europe do? Entire Jewish cities were slaughtered and burned there. When I was in England, they showed me the places where all the Jews were herded into synagogues and burned alive.

Anti-Semites are not aware of their actions. They are subconsciously driven by the source of our egoism, which is actually spiritual. They cannot agree that there is a representative of spiritual forces in the world. Anti-Semitism has no rational roots.

Anti-Semites can justify their actions in any way, but in the end, this source is suspended in the upper world. It comes from the opposition of Jacob and Esau. There is no getting away from this, and it will be so until the end of the correction. This will escalate further in future confrontations between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism until Kabbalah takes over.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Laitman’s Teacher” 1/23/11

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Comment: The main problem in the development of fascism was that it is written in the Torah, “Use a non-Jew.”

My Response: If the Torah is interpreted within the framework of our world, then it will be worse than Mein Kampf because it says that non-Jews should be killed, deceived, neglected, and anything can be done with them.

If this is not interpreted as “my egoistic desires, which I have to deceive, change,” and so on, then it is quite obvious that this can be used as the basis for hatred of Jews.

But who can even think about it correctly? Those who benefit from it politically, no more than that.

Because you don’t see it anywhere in history. Do Jews earn money? That is correct. Do they know how to settle better than others? That is also correct. But, in principle, they do not harm anyone. It is invented by those who benefit from it. And this is natural.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Nazism and the Jews” 1/9/11

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Question: Why did the Nazis hate Jews specifically?

Answer: This comes from the fact that the matter of our world is completely opposite to the spiritual, which is carried by the Jews.

There is a right and left line, and on the conjunction of them the soul is built. And at the same time there are extreme right and extreme left lines called Klipot, meaning, right and left impurity, which are opposite to their lines, and they hate them. This is all explained in Kabbalah.

The Nazis were representatives of the more impure part of the left line. They understood that the Jews were a spiritual part, and believed that it was possible to physically destroy what was spiritually inherent in nature.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Nazism and the Jews” 1/9/11

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Question: What is the principle of mixing the nations of the world and Israel? What is the purpose of this process?

Answer: On the animal level, the mixing of nations does not matter at all: who mixes with whom, what kind of children they give birth to: black, white, or red.

It only matters to rise to the degree of “Israel” – “Yashar El,” “straight to the Creator,” meaning to the degree of equivalence to the Creator so that those who call themselves Israelites, Jews and non-Jews, will rise to this degree, and the whole of Ancient Babylon will come to its correction.

Question: But what is this quality “the mixing of the nations of the world”?

Answer: This is not an external, but an internal mixing, when a point in the heart begins to arise in each of us, called “Israel” – “Yashar El.” The aspiration to the Creator, to attain the Creator is called “Israel.”

This point originated in ancient Babylon in the several thousand people who left Babylon and formed their own nation although they were in no way connected with each other except for a spiritual purpose.

It is the same thing today. Gradually all nations, each in their own time, in their own situations, will begin to feel the need for spiritual ascent. And that point in the heart, which is called “Israel” – “straight to the Creator,” regardless of today’s Israel, will awaken in everyone and force them to start a spiritual path, because that is how our development is programmed. We will all reach this state.
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From KabTV’s “I Got a Call. Israel And the Nations” 2/7/11

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Comment: We are used to the phrase “Israel’s Independence Day.” We are used to this holiday, and we celebrate it. In today’s world, the word “independence” is heard everywhere: independent countries, independent republics, independent press, independent experts… All sides of conflicts, all parties, speak about it, the rights, the lefts, individuals, everyone!

Besides, it is not just a word, but a very important concept in Kabbalah.

My Response: In Kabbalah, this concept is absolutely the opposite of what people, the world, society, countries, and nations understand.

What does independence mean? Independence from what?

Comment: This is the independence of my borders, independence from someone else. I want to live by myself, with my national independence, republican, state, and so on. If no one gets to me, this means that I am independent; I will build my own world. This is called independence.

My Response: But this is impossible because, in today’s world, everyone depends on each other. So how can we be independent? If you are going to be independent, you should go into the woods and provide yourself with what you can. You are condemning yourself to terrible conditions.

Question: You can say it in another way: “So that no one dictates to me how to live.” Is it also impossible?

Answer: This is the same thing. No one will dictate anything to you, but how will you provide for yourself? How will you create and preserve this independence? It is completely unclear how this is possible.

Today, a developing country in the world should be connected to all the countries by good mutual ties. Only in this case, can it feel comfortable for everyone; otherwise, it will feel crushed, limited, humiliated, and so on.

Question: If it will be on its own?

Answer: Yes, but no one will give it such an opportunity. After all, all countries surround each other and want, like wolves in the forest, to snatch from others as much as they can. This is our normal, egoistic world. It cannot be any different. It was always like that, only we covered ourselves up a little. We did not reveal it enough in our egoism.

Question: Do you think there is no point in demanding independence in this world? It does not exist and will not exist?

Answer: We can demand, but at the same time, we must demand from ourselves! This is the most important thing. If we observe such conditions then there are good neighborly relations, peace, and mutual assistance between us, which are contrary to our inherent, natural quality to receive, conquer, and force peace.

Comment: If we have a connection, then it is against someone. All this is vicious.

My Response: Of course. Therefore, everything we create is only supposedly for the benefit of ourselves and to the detriment of others. There cannot be one instead of the other.

Kabbalah speaks of independence where we rise above our egoism. Independence from our personal egoism. This is what real independence is, and then I only think about others. It is among the others, in good relations with others, which I create with all my capabilities, there I feel independent.

Question: Are you saying, “only about others”? Do I not think about myself at all?

Answer: I do not, I am a consequence. I exist even today as a consequence of the attitude of everyone else toward me.

Question: Does it mean that I can only think about others, and then the consequence will be how they treat me, how I am, and so on?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Should my first thought not be: “Will they treat me well if I treat others well?”

Answer: I do not think this is the nature of a person and our society. Therefore, to say such beautiful phrases as: “Do not hit others, and they will not hit you,” and so on does not work.

Question: Does what you say work? How is it possible in our world that I do not think about myself, but think about others? Publicly, for example.

Answer: The fact is that, of course, it does not work anyway. If I treat others well, I will only give them an additional reason to grab me and bite off all sorts of pieces of me. Thus, the whole problem in human society is for it to transform itself from a pack of predators into an organized, mutual, voluntary, and kind community.

Question: Do you believe in this fiction?

Answer: No, I do not believe it by any means, but I say it because in principle this is the only solution. Exactly when we realize that this is the only solution, albeit a fantastic and impossible one, then we suddenly can implement it.

Question: From where?

Answer: From above. We will be able to receive such a force from nature that will lift us above our egoism, and then it will be implemented. I will be above my nature, I will be above my thoughts, I will be above my decisions. How will it work out? It will work out because the second force of nature will be revealed—the quality of bestowal, connection, and love.

Question: Can you guarantee this to me? For example, I am a politician or an ordinary person, and I hear you. Can you guarantee me that?

Answer: I can only tell you again in more detail so that you understand that there is no other way. Or we are going to perish and die in every generation. And in the future generation, the same fate is prepared for our descendants. Nothing is changing, except that the sufferings are becoming greater, and the possibility of solving them with the help of wars and deaths is becoming more and more terrible.

Question: Will I come to what you say through understanding this and feeling this?

Answer: Yes, in the end, we will understand. Moreover, this is a very scary decision because we will feel like we are being skinned. Because this is the opposite of me.

But there is an opportunity to resolve this issue in a kind, peaceful way. It means to study our nature and study the force of nature that can help us change ourselves. Then we will be able to place ourselves under the influence of this good force of nature, and it will change us from little evil predators to big kind creatures.

Question: Do you think we are getting closer to this understanding that we are little evil predators?

Answer: We are getting closer. However, so far we are also approaching it in a bad way.

But according to the way all kinds of positive and negative forces are being revealed more and more, especially in our generation, and we are given the opportunity to talk about it and somehow implement them; that is, there is hope that we will be able to formalize for ourselves, for our understanding, and for our knowledge of this system of nature’s forces, and to understand how we can balance it and express the good force from it.

I think we can do it. Otherwise, we will still come to this, but in a very long way, a terrible way of suffering.

Question: It is said that the Messiah will come when the face of humanity will be like the muzzle of a dog. Does this apply to us, to our time?

Answer: Yes, it is people’s awareness of their terrible, bestial nature. We are getting closer to this now. But we can see it from afar, and that is enough. We do not necessarily have to get right into the dog’s den. It is enough just to see it and be scared.

Comment: God grant that it will be so.
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From KabTV’s “News with Michael Laitman” 5/3/22

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