From My Facebook Page Michael Laitman 9/14/22

A few days ago, Ronen Bar, head of Israel’s Shin Bet security service, gave a lengthy presentation where he outlined Israel’s security problems. The presentation made waves all over the Israeli media not because there was new information about our enemies that was not known before, but because Bar blamed us for our problems, and not in the military sense, or because of some inherent problem with Israel’s intelligence service. The fault he pointed to was internal division.

Bar did not mince words: “From the intelligence that we have read, from the interrogations of attackers we have conducted, and also from many years of familiarity with our adversaries, wherever they are, we can say today without a shadow of a doubt that the political instability, the growing internal division, the breaking up of the historical common denominators, and the radicalized discourse — all these are a shot of encouragement to the countries of the axis of evil, to terrorist organizations, and to lone threats,” he said. “The prevailing feeling among our adversaries, Bar added, “is that our historic comparative advantage, the same one that stood to our credit for thousands of years and is our national resilience, is dissipating,” he added. “This insight should trouble us more than anything else.”

Clarifying what he meant by “national resilience,” Bar said, “[The] deep rift that is developing within Israeli society” is the “most complex” challenge it is facing. However, Bar also admitted, “In this matter the Shin Bet can only warn; it certainly cannot deal with it,” he said. “It is in the hands of each and every one of us.”

Bar is correct. Our weakness stems from our division. His statement said nothing new. Our very peoplehood is based on unity, we introduced to the world the concepts of mutual responsibility, solidarity; and unity, and we built a society whose kings taught not to change others, but to connect with them just as they are. In those days, “Love your neighbor as yourself” was not an election slogan; it was the prerequisite that enabled the proclamation of our people as a nation.

At the foot of Mt. Sinai, we heard the threat for the first time: Unite “as one man with one heart,” or the mountain will turn on you and bury you like a vault. Since then, every time we disunited, a different kind of “vault” had buried us. It started with Nebuchadnezzar II, who destroyed the First Temple and sent us to exile in Babylon, continued with General Titus, who destroyed the Second Temple and sent us to an exile that has only recently (partially) ended. In later times, King Ferdinand expelled us from Spain, and in the previous century, Hitler wiped out European Jewry almost in its entirety.

In all those calamities, Jewish division intensified prior to the onset of the evildoer’s onslaught. Moreover, in many such cases, Jews, or Jews who converted into another religion (or their parents) were among the fiercest and cruelest enemies of the Jews. The commander who led the attack on Jerusalem in the destruction of the Second Temple was Tiberius Alexander, a Jew who was born in Alexandria, and whose father built the doors to the Temple. Before he charged into Jerusalem, he slaughtered 50,000 Jews in his hometown Alexandria.

In Spain, the prime ideologist behind the Spanish Inquisition was Tomás de Torquemada whose parents or grandparents were conversos (Jews who converted into Christianity). Even when the Nazis came to power, there were German Jews who joined the Nazi Party and were avid followers of Hitler. And when Arab rioters slaughtered Jews in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel, mutilated their bodies, and violated the women before they butchered them, some Jews hailed those Arabs as heroes.

Berl Katznelson, among the prominent Zionist leaders of the Labor movement in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel, said about such self-hating Jews in May 1936: “Is there another nation whose members have come to such emotional and intellectual deformity that everything their nation does … is despicable and detestable, and everything their people’s enemies do, every murder and every rape [and there were countless] fills their heart with admiration?”

The current audacity of our enemies is therefore nothing new. It is merely a continuation of the same pattern we have seen throughout the history of our people.

The only way we can emerge from the cycle of destruction—because this is where it is leading—is to re-embrace unity “as one man with one heart.” This is our legacy; this is our only source of strength; and this is our only way to avoid another turning of the vault over our heads. As Bar said, “This insight should trouble us more than anything else,” and “It is in the hands of each and every one of us.”

For more on this topic, see my book The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism: Historical facts on anti-Semitism as a reflection of Jewish social discord.

Photo Caption:The head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar. Wednesday, October 13, 2021. Photo credit: Amos Ben Gershom / GPO.

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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “What I Wish for Israel’s New Chief of Staff”

Herzl “Herzi” Halevi, the current deputy chief of staff, will soon become the 23rd chief of staff of Israel. Congratulations. The Israeli army faces countless challenges, from terrorism through conventional warfare, to nuclear weapons. On top of it, it is a melting pot of the Israeli society, where all the factions live together, work together, fight together, and die together. It is clear, then, that the task of Israel’s top commander is not an easy one.

What makes this task even more daunting is the fact that there is really no way to carry it out successfully. The army cannot stop terrorism, cannot thwart the nuclear threat, and cannot win a conventional war because there is none, and if there were, it would mean that the army’s deterrence has deteriorated to the point where a war could break out, so once again, it is a failure.

In order to end the Sisyphean struggle on multiple fronts, it is time for the army to consider a new focus for its efforts. Since the IDF is already a melting pot where all factions of society work together, even if against their will, it makes the army willy-nilly the ideal arena for enhancing social cohesion and solidarity.

It is not as if the army does not know this. Every army base is peppered with slogans that praise unity and mutual dependence. However, signs and slogans do not anchor unity in people’s hearts; mutual efforts for a common goal does that, alongside a constant educational effort to explain the paramount importance of these values.

Our biggest problem has always been division. Even the mighty Roman army could not defeat Jerusalem were it not for the infighting among the factions within the city in the final days of the First Temple.

Nothing has changed since then. When we are united, we are invincible. Israel’s solidarity is so potent that it not only vanquishes any enemy, it turns foes into friends and makes Israel welcome among the nations, the opposite of our current status in the international arena.

Enhancing solidarity should therefore not be a byproduct of the army being a social “eggbeater”; it should be a key component in our defense strategy.

Israel will not defeat its enemies until it defeats its internal enmities. Once it achieves this, it will discover that it has no enemies, and that its only nemesis has always been division.
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My new article on Linkedin “The Real Responsibility that Israel Should Take”

A few days ago, the Israeli army stated that after a prolonged investigation, it reached the conclusion that an Israeli soldier likely fired the bullet that killed Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. “There is a high possibility that Shireen was accidentally hit by IDF gunfire that was fired toward suspects identified as armed Palestinian gunmen, during an exchange of fire,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.

There is no question that Israel’s many enemies will have a field day over Israel’s candid statement. Countries that have no regard for human rights or second thoughts about brutalizing and murdering not only their enemies, but even their own people, and for the slightest reason or no reason at all, will decry Israel’s “indiscriminate” killing.

Having served in the army for several years, I know first hand that there is no such thing as indiscriminate firing on the part of Israeli soldiers. At the same time, accidents do happen, and journalists who position themselves right in the middle between the fighting parties are putting themselves at risk. It is a professional gamble that many journalists take, and as gambles go, sometimes you lose.

As for the world’s denunciation, I must admit, I do not give it a second thought, I never do. My concern is not what the world thinks, but what Israel does. If Israel does not do what it must do, the world will denounce it, vilify it, and demonize it whether or not it apologizes and whether or not it takes responsibility for the death of a careless journalist.

However, and this is a big however, I do think that Israel is responsible. I think that Israel is responsible for much more than the death of Shireen Abu Akleh. Israel is responsible for whatever it is accused of. Even before the accusation is pronounced, we should say, “You’re right, we are responsible for it; it is our fault.”

We are responsible because we are divided, and our division causes every woe and tragedy around the world. These are not my words; they are the words of our sages, who have been saying this since the inception of our nation.

When our sages wrote in the Talmud (Yevamot 63a), “No calamity comes to the world but for Israel,” they did not mean it as a figure of speech. They meant, very literally, that everything bad that happens in the world is because of Israel.

Those sages, and countless more sages and spiritual leaders in the history of Israel, have stated this not in order to accuse us, but to galvanize us into action. Because if everything bad is our fault, it means that we are doing something wrong, and that if we stopped doing it and began to do that something right, there will be no more calamities in the world.

Our sages did not settle for stating our fault; they also provided us with the remedy: Peace among us brings peace to the world. This is why Midrash Rabbah (portion 66) writes, “This nation, world peace dwells within it.”

The legacy of our sages has continued through the ages, and all our teachers have been teaching the same principle. In the 20th century, the great Rav Kook wrote along those lines in his book The Vocation of Israel and Its Nationality, “Only when complete peace and faithful love come, ‎and the pure feeling of recognizing the brotherhood between people develops … ‎when that development is completed within us, at a degree that merits being a role ‎model to many, all the nations will recognize it, and the blessing of peace will begin to ‎dwell in the world.” In other words, before we make peace among ourselves, there will be no peace in the world.

This is why we are responsible—not because an accidental bullet killed a reporter, but because our own internal division caused the external conflict with the Palestinians.

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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Money Should Not Be an Incentive for Better Teaching”

I recently wrote about the teachers’ crisis in Israel and how I think it should be resolved. I am pleased that the teachers’ union has reached an agreement with the Ministry of Finance and that the teachers will receive a significant raise, which was one of my proposals. However, there is another point in the agreement that I believe does not contribute to good teaching, but rather creates a distortion in the system: the teachers will receive financial bonuses for excellence in teaching. That is, the teachers’ performance will be graded and they will receive extra money if their grades are good.

I wholly agree that quality teaching must be encouraged, that teachers must strive to be the best they can be, and that good teachers should be appreciated. I also agree that teachers’ performance should be graded. Where I see the problem is in the type of reward that they receive in return for good performance.

Financial rewards would make them think about the money while teaching, instead of focusing on the education they are giving to their students; it would turn them into “sales persons” who think about the bonuses they get in return for more sales, rather than about the customers, namely the students. If teachers adjust their teaching so that it earns them bonuses rather than thinking about the needs of their students, it will not produce good teachers and certainly not good teaching.

Another point we should consider is who should participate in grading the teachers. Under the new agreement, the school principals will decide who is a good teacher. In my opinion, the students, too, should have their voices heard on that. First of all, they are, after all, the ones who spend the most time with the teacher. They are the ones who feel firsthand if the teacher’s teaching is clear, if the homework is appropriate and reasonable, if the grades they give are fair, and if the teacher is patient or not, etc. Therefore, they know better than anyone how well this teacher performs.

Another reason why I believe that students should be involved in evaluating their teachers is that it will be an effective educational tool. It will make students think about teaching, about the role of the teacher, about the teacher’s work, and about themselves as students. They will be able to discuss these issues with each other, develop interpersonal communication, and enrich each other with different perspectives. Being able to view the other side’s perspective is one of the key elements in emotional maturation, and putting themselves in the teacher’s shoes is a great way to help students achieve that.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “After 125 Years, We Still Do Not Understand Zionism”

This week in Basel, Switzerland, Israel is commemorating the 125th anniversary of the 1st Zionist Congress. At the conclusion of that congress, Theodor Herzl, who organized the conference and was the driving force behind the Zionist movement in its early years, wrote in his diary: “Were I to sum up the Basel Congress in a word … it would be this: At Basel I founded the Jewish State.” The purpose of this week’s event is to both celebrate that seminal conference, and just as importantly, to discuss contemporary Zionism, its vision, or lack thereof, and its challenges and pitfalls going forward.

Indeed, the Jewish state is well founded. Israel is a strong and solid country, and it seems like even humanity has largely come to accept the existence of a Jewish state. Now I hope that we are correcting the world and that we will not vanish but keep on moving forward.

However, in order to advance, the State of Israel must go beyond securing its survival. It must come to a state where it agrees with our sages, who said that “Love your neighbor as yourself” is our all-encompassing law, and that this should be the basis for the existence of all the nations.

Despite Herzl’s initial assimilationist approach, by the time he conceived the idea of establishing a Jewish state, it seems like he had completely abandoned the idea of amalgamation among the nations. In fact, he concludes his book, The Jewish State, with words that imply that he even embraced our sages’ legacy that the Jews must serve as a model nation. In his words, “The world will be freed by our liberty, enriched by our wealth, ‎magnified by our greatness. And whatever we attempt there to accomplish for our own welfare, ‎will react powerfully and beneficially for the good of humanity.”

There will certainly be challenges ahead. Our argumentative and opinionated character will pit us against each other, but we will learn how to funnel it toward constructive routes. It will take time, but we will learn how to forge unions while embracing contradictions of opinions and without suppressing ideological minorities. We will learn it not because we want to, but because this is our duty to the world, the wisdom we must project to all of humanity, and the only modus operandi that will create true and lasting world peace, once it is implemented.

Herzl’s words were correct. To the extent that we are close to one another within the people of Israel, we will bring the nations of the world closer to each other. The reason there are war and conflicts in the world today is that there are war and conflicts among us, Jews, and particularly the Jews in Israel. These are not my words; these are the words of our sages throughout the generations, and the words of many thinkers who were considered antisemitic for saying these very words.

Herzl, in that sense, was a special human being. He was a channel through which the awareness that Jews must have their own state came to the world. At the end of his book, as we saw, he also connected our return to the physical land to our spiritual calling, our duty to be a model of unity and solidarity, but this we have yet to accomplish. We must explain this first to ourselves, then begin to implement it among us, and then explain this process to the world. If we are sincere, the world will endorse our efforts with all its might. If we remain divided and derisive toward each other, the world will scathe us and deny us the country.

There are voices that say that we have lost our way and we need another Herzl. I do not think we need another Herzl; I think we need many people vocally supporting the right kind of Zionism, the Zionism of connection among Jews as an example for the world. We need many people to understand the process, embrace it, and act on it, for our sake, and for the sake of humankind.

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*Read these books for more information on the obligation of the Jewish people to be a model nation: The Jewish Choice: Unity or Anti-Semitism, Historical facts on anti-Semitism as a reflection of Jewish social discord, and Like a Bundle of Reeds: Why unity and mutual guarantee are today’s call of the hour.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “Who We Are without Our History”

September 1st is the beginning of the school year in Israel. Beginning this year, Jewish Israeli students will not learn about the history of the Jewish people during the period of the Second Temple, its destruction, the Great Revolt of Judaea, the Cyrus Declaration, the Hasmonean Revolt, and other key events in the history of our people. To give you some perspective, it is as if American children were not taught about the Civil War, what the war was about and how it ended. How would they understand what is happening in America today without learning about the Civil War? What kind of American citizens would they be?

History lessons have been given less and less time in students’ curricula for decades. In the early 2000s, Israeli students still had nine hours of history lessons weekly. Beginning September, they will have five.

A person without a past, without a history, is not a person, just as a nation without a history is not a nation. Our history is an essential part of who we are. It defines our principles and our personality; it is everything! I cannot understand how we can determine who we are if we do not know about the history of our people.

History is not only my family tree, or the history of my nation, or creed. It begins with the creation of the universe, the emergence of our solar system and Planet Earth within it, the beginning of life on Earth, the evolution of the species, the emergence of humans, and the evolution of human civilization to this day. How can we determine our direction for the future if we do not know our past? It seems to me that whoever wishes to cancel our history must be planning some sort of revolution. I see no other motivation.

The history of the ancient world, including what happened during the period of the Second Temple, the Roman Empire, Greek Empire, and other key processes and events in the history of humanity and the history of the Jews, is the foundation of our civilization, and the foundation of our people. I know that I learned it because I wanted to know about man on Earth, and it taught me a great deal. For example, how will we correct past mistakes if we do not know about them? In order to know our place in the world, we have to know where we came from, why, and what is expected of us in the future.

Besides general history, which begins, as I said, with the creation of the universe, and ends with today’s civilization, we must also know the history of our own people. If teaching about the destruction of the Second Temple and that entire period has already been eliminated, tomorrow, teaching about the exodus from Egypt might also be eliminated. And if these are erased, then what is left of our legacy?

I think this is a terrible mistake. If you erase one’s past, you have erased one’s present, and you have denied one the ability to plan the future correctly. Without continuity, without a historic perspective, it is impossible to build a future. I do not see any developed country doing this.

Perhaps the teaching methods should change; perhaps they should be more engaging, modernized, but one way or the other, without our past, we cannot understand our present or know how to proceed toward the future.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “The Unwise Smartest People”

A famous Israeli singer recently wrote on social media that Operation Breaking Dawn, the three-day military campaign in May in which Israel fought against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, may have been a military victory, but it did not solve anything. Other than making us feel good about ourselves, it accomplished nothing. If anything, the pride is detrimental to us, rather than beneficial.

The singer also referred to the reputation of the Jewish people as being the smartest in the world. He said that our ingenuity in developing sophisticated defense systems makes us dangerously complacent and smug.

I agree with this statement because weapons, however sophisticated and advanced, will not bring us peace. At best, they can give us a respite from active hostilities, but if we use the pause to rest or build even more sophisticated weapons, and think that this is all we need to do, then we are a stupid smartest people.

We need to understand that weapons, however effective and advanced, will not end our wars because weapons do not bring peace. The saying si vis pacem, para bellum (if you want peace, prepare for war), is true only if our definition of peace is absence of active hostilities. This is not the definition of peace as I know it.

In Hebrew, the word shalom (peace) comes from the word hashlama (complementarity). Complementarity is when two contradictory, alien, and often hostile parties forge a bond that transcends their disagreements and conflicts. They do not suppress or cancel their disputes, but value unity more than the cause of their conflict. Therefore, they form a bond that is stronger than the reason for their fight.

Indeed, the bond must be stronger than the conflict so as not to break under the pressure of the division. It follows that the harder the dispute, the stronger must be the unity that the parties build, if they wish to maintain peace.

Achieving such peace requires working on connection, on bonding. It requires constant elevation of the value of unity, solidarity, cohesion, and mutual responsibility. This is the people of Israel’s only “weapon” that will give us real and lasting peace—first among ourselves, and subsequently with our neighbors.

It will not be easy. We are not only smart; we are also very selfish. There is no question that preferring unity to the pleasure of self-righteousness is not easy. On top of that, we lack the basic wisdom to understand that our strength lies in our connection, and that this is our only road to victory. But difficult or not, unity is still our only tool for achieving final victory.

Our successes on the battlefield buy us time, but we must use them wisely. If we use them to rest, we will eventually lose. If we use our breaks from active hostilities to strengthen our connection, we will promote peace within Israel and with our neighbors. This is Israel’s only hope for peace, and the only smart move that the smartest people can make.
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Michael Laitman, On The Times of Israel: “How Israel Should Respond to Iran’s Nuclear Politics”

If there is one consensus among all the political parties in Israel, it is that a new nuclear deal between the US and its partners and Iran is bad for Israel. I do not dispute this view, but I think it misses a crucial point. First, we need to understand that Iran’s nuclear ambitions stem not only from a fanatical zeal to annihilate the Jewish state. More than religious fanaticism, it is politics. The Iranians are very clever and very well-grounded people. Their threats and their nuclear weaponization are political means to an end, which is to become a powerful player in the global arena. Therefore, even if they do have nuclear weapons, I doubt they will use it because it will hurt their interest; they will lose more than they will gain. They will pester us and hurt us in various ways, but they will not put themselves at risk.

Therefore, in terms of political strategy, Israel should do what it can to stall Iran’s progress as much as it can. At the same time, we must remember that Iran, too, will only go so far in its extremism.

But there is something more important than trying to prevent Iran from getting the A bomb. We need to understand our own role in the global scheme of things, and play our part. If we play it correctly, we will solve our problems without any wars or external conflicts.

The world is built in such a way that if you want the good to overpower the bad, you need to play by the rules that govern reality. You cannot make your own rules and expect to win. When it comes to playing by the rules that govern reality, we Jews have a crucial role, and this is the part that we must play.

The situation on the ground before us changes according to the way that we Jews relate to one another. The better we relate to one another, the better our situation will be. Better yet, the better we relate to one another, the better will be the situation of all of reality, not just our own, but in the entire world.

The first step toward doing this is to understand that we cannot destroy anything because all parts of reality are required in order for humanity to reach its goal. What is required, however, is for all the parts to connect to one another correctly.

A correct connection means that we relate to everything in reality that we regard as bad as an opportunity, as a call to increase the good so that it covers it. By bad and good I am referring to one thing only: bad means hatred and division between people, and good means unity and concern for one another. Therefore, for every bit of hate that we find among us, we make a joint effort to cover it with care, or as King Solomon said (Prov. 10:12), “Hate stirs up strife, and love will cover all crimes.”

We, Israel, must begin this special kind of work, which is currently nowhere to be found, and demonstrate how we transcend our negative feelings toward each other. We will be able to do this only if we elevate the value of unity and concern for one another above all other values. This is why Rabbi Akiva said that the all-inclusive rule of the Torah—our code of law—is “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Once we begin to work in this way, even before we actually establish a society that operates this way, by simply trying to raise mutual concern above mutual hatred, we will project a positive influence on the entire world.

The world’s eyes are always on Israel. Its opinion about us reflects our opinion of each other. Currently, we slander, despise, and detest each other, and the world feels likewise about us. We can proclaim that we are like everyone else, but it is undeniable that the world is always focused on us, and nothing we can do will change it. Since we are always at the center of attention, what we display is what the world thinks of us.

Therefore, if we resolve to rise above our hatred and nurture solidarity and unity instead of division and derision, the world will notice right away and recognize and appreciate our effort. If we make that effort, the bad example we are setting now will change into an example of unity, solidarity, and mutual concern.

In that case, the fact that the world is watching us will work in its favor and in ours. Just as currently the world is following our bad example and is therefore full of strife, if we unite, it will learn from our example and cover the crimes with love, to use the words of King Solomon, the wisest of all men.

In conclusion, Iran is not our problem. Neither are Hezbollah, Hamas, or the Palestinian Authority. If we make peace with one another and cultivate inner unity and solidarity above all our different views and perspectives, everyone will appreciate and welcome our existence as a model country for the world.
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In the News (ABC News): “Nine European countries said Tuesday that they have seen ‘no substantial evidence’ to support Israel’s allegations that six Palestinian civil society groups are terrorist organizations and would not change their policies on supporting the groups.

“The rare joint statement was a major rebuke of Israel, which backlisted the groups as terrorist organizations last October but has provided little evidence to support its allegations. The rights groups denied the allegations and accused Israel of escalating a long-standing crackdown on Palestinian opposition to its decades-long military rule. …

“’Accusations of terrorism or links to terrorist groups must always be treated with the utmost seriousness,’ read the statement, issued by Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.

“’No substantial information was received from Israel that would justify reviewing our policy towards the six Palestinian NGOs on the basis of the Israeli decision to designate these NGOs as “terrorist organizations”’ it said.”

Question: Support for creating two states for two peoples was also expressed. How do you feel about the two states for two peoples?

Answer: Very negatively! The nation we are going to be neighbors with has not shown itself to be a friendly country we can exist side by side with in any way.

Question: So they should first act as a neighbor and only then can we be neighbors?

Answer: Absolutely. Let’s do this: Given the current situation, within the framework that we have today, let’s establish normal normative relations between us. Then we can gradually reach the state where we can be neighbors.

In the meantime, nothing can be done.

Comment: As long as everyone claims our land, as long as there is terrorism…

My Response: Yes. This is a well-known tactic of theirs; piece by piece they keep slicing away until they end up swallowing you.

Question: Why is Europe so idealistic?

Answer: They are not idealistic! Nor democratic! They have only one thing, acting in order to pass things off as good deeds. None of it really matters to them at all!

Question: What is important to them? For us not to exist?

Answer: Of course. For them, the existence of Israel is unpleasant to say the least, it is even unbearable! It is choking them.

Question: Are you talking about those civilized countries?

Answer: About all those civilized countries.

Comment: By the way, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands are there.

My Response: Those are the most anti-Semitic countries.

Question: Why do they have it in for us so much?

Answer: No reason. The fact that we are Jews. That we are Israel. That we are smart. That we can build our own country and win wars.

Question: What should our actions be in this case?

Answer: Not to give an inch. No way!

Question: What policy should we stick to?

Answer: A closed door policy. That is all! You want to kiss the closed door? Please, come and kiss it. We do not negotiate about this.

We have no one to negotiate with! Because we see no partners! You are not partners. You come from the outside and want to force us to sign a contract with those whom you impose on us. We have been in this state for quite a long time—decades! This can be characterized as a positional war.

We seem to be in constant war. The fact is: these are not partners and those are not neighbors. Such is the state we are in. Therefore, we will not listen to these, and we will separate ourselves from those.

Unfortunately, this is our fate until we change. Until we change ourselves in accordance with the upper laws, until we become one good nation for ourselves! Until we come to Kol Yisrael Haverim and we become friends close to each other—absolutely all Jews.

Question: Will this be imparted to our neighbors?

Answer: No, we are not forcing anyone. This is how we want to live ourselves. Let us first build ourselves as a nation where everything exists according to the principle of goodness and mutual kindness.

And until we build this, we will be separate. Then, we will see. If you want to join us by following the same principle, no problem.

Comment: So, what you are saying is that the seed of everything is the kind, warm relations of brothers and sisters. It will be the people of Israel. That is what it should be. And only then, if they want to, neighbors will become neighbors and eventually come join us. The world will become…

My Response: “All around Jerusalem,” as they say. Jerusalem becomes the capital of the world. It is said about this: if the nation follows this, Jerusalem shines on the whole world. All these beautiful countries have to understand and agree to this.

Comment: And we ourselves should agree.

My Response: Yes. But they do it in order to extract billions for themselves, create dozens more commissions, hide behind them, and keep criticizing.

Question: Are they doing this in order to make money and earn dividends on it?

Answer: Exclusively! They are normal basic egoists.
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From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 7/18/22

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In the News (Israel National News): “The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Saturday warned that the establishment of a joint defense alliance between Israel and the Arab states in response to Iran’s UAV attacks, and announced that the move would only exacerbate instability in the region. ‘This will be a catalyst for tension and divisiveness,’ a spokesman for the ministry said. …

“A new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) revealed that Iran is increasing the rate of its uranium enrichment with the help of advanced machines installed in an underground complex. According to Reuters, Western diplomats have already been warned that these machines will allow Iran to construct a nuclear warhead faster than before.”

Question: Iran is very successful at blackmailing everyone. Israel is Iran’s main target. What are our actions, can you tell?

Answer: Our actions are to think about our own security, about ties with neighboring countries, and to strengthen all this. But, in principle, this is Iran’s politics. All its weapons, all its conversations go only to politics. Otherwise, it will not feel like the primary country of the world. And it won’t go beyond talking, because it will lose.

Question: Do you think it weighs everything so rationally?

Answer: It weighs very much so! Iranians are very smart, cautious, and balanced. Therefore, I am calm in this regard. They will annoy you from all sides, harm you, but they themselves will not get under attack. It is necessary to behave with them in such a way as to leave them at this level and no more. But they on their own will not do more.

You can’t destroy anything. The world is arranged in such a way that if you want to do good, to destroy evil, you must do it only in accordance with the upper law of nature.

It depends on our Jewish attitude to the world, to ourselves, and to the Creator. We should think correctly about how to balance the world so that the Creator manifests in everything within it; so that there would be as little evil as possible, as much good as possible, and we strive for the good to triumph. And in this way we will do everything possible to reveal the Creator in this world.

Question: How can you make good triumph without destroying evil?

Answer: We cannot destroy anything—neither evil nor good. We can only tie them together in such a way that good always covers evil. And evil will grow and good will grow even more above it.

Question: How do we respond to this accumulation of evil, this hatred of us, and nuclear weapons?

Answer: This is all so that we grow in goodness and develop kindness.

“Good” is love for one’s neighbor, the connection between us, first of all, amongst us in Israel, then between us all over the world, and then all over the world.

If we are connected by good ties or “love your neighbor as yourself” in Israel, then by this we affect the whole world. The nations of the world will see us like this and want to be like us.

This is the law of nature! If we treat each other correctly, then automatically proceeding from this, the nations of the world will feel that we are filled with kindness to each other and to them as well. It will work on everyone.

That is, the warmth we generate here and send to others, begins to envelop the whole world.

Question: Do you still single out this nation as essentially the core of all problems and precisely the core of everything?

Answer: Yes.

Comment: This is what they accuse us of being “The chosen people.” They feel like they are the chosen people all the time. We’ve talked about it more than once, but it’s still going on. I see in the comments how they write: “Jews again. It’s them again.”

My Response: They also stutter about us in every second word! So where does it come from? Why is it in them?

Question: Then how come that these 0.3%, whose land is exactly the same, who are just an eye of a needle, are somehow always in the news?

Answer: This is the navel of the earth.

Question: Do you think there is a spiritual root here?

Answer: Of course! That’s the way it is.

And where do we see this? We see this constantly throughout history. There is no need to prove it or philosophize.

Being the chosen ones is chosen for being responsible for correcting the world. If Jews do not do this, then people hate them, beat them, and push them forward to correction.

Comment: How can we calm Iran down?

Answer: Only if we unite among ourselves and show the whole world the method of connection.Then they will calm down. Very simple!
[301143]
From KabTV’s “News with Dr. Michael Laitman” 7/11/22

Related Material:
“Will WW3 Start Because The Tensions Of Israel And Iran?” (Quora)
“What It Takes To Make Peace With Iran” (Times Of Israel)
Terrorism Ruins Islam’s Image

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