Menachem Cohen, Editor of the Israel-based Kfar Chabad magazine, penned a personal letter that appears in both Hebrew and English in this week’s edition:
“Just wait, he’s going to turn his back on us…” How many times have we heard this statement about you, dear President Donald Trump? From the moment you have been elected, journalists and politicians kept drumming up these words, in an attempt to present you as an unstable person with a temperamental character. Even after you have achieved great accomplishments, they did not let go. Any hint of news that brought forth a fictitious crisis with Israel received the spotlight in major headlines claiming that their predicted wrath is about to take place: Trump is stepping all over us.
But, Mr. President, in the past four years (and they certainly flew by quickly), you have shown incredible loyalty to the people of Zion. You projected concern for the Jewish people, and have taken dramatic steps to protect the Land of Israel and led unprecedented moves for the well-being of all Israelis.
There’s a major line attributed to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He was once asked to explain how he carried out the disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip, despite his past as one of the major builders of the settlements in Israel. He replied with the phrase “things that you see from there are different from the things you see from here.”
Since then, this statement has become, for us, a turncoat concept among politicians, so to say: the agenda may change after one has entered office… But you, President Trump, have proven time and again that you are not a politician of the familiar kind. For you, promises made are promises kept. Your commitment before the 2016 election with everything concerning Israel materialized one after the other. You transferred the American Embassy to Jerusalem, Iran was dealt with significantly, terror organizations were destroyed, you took a constant stand on the side of Israel, and these are of course just some of the promises that you have honorably honored.
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There were those who called you “Paper Tiger” mockingly, Mr. President. But in the reality test, you have proven that you are made of a finer substance. A leader is evaluated by difficult decisions, the saying goes, and you have illustrated to us just how to get ahead with some very dramatic decisions. The relocation of the American embassy to Jerusalem, for example, was not just something ceremonial, as some have tried to portray. It was a powerful illustration of the relationship you have with Israel. You have established Jerusalem as the unequivocal capital of Israel, without leaving room for any doubt.
We know that before acting on this with great courage, you received countless phone calls from world leaders: prime ministers, presidents, governors, princes, and the list goes on. They all stood in line and exerted tremendous pressure, some even threatened that “the Middle East will burn.” Such pressure has overwhelmed many a president in the past. They all retreated, they were all apprehensive. Who wants to get entangled with the leaders of the world? But you rejected all the pestering and you made the right decision, with determination, and out of deep love for the Jewish people. And what happened to all the threats and all the intimidation of politicians and the media? The balloon busted very quickly.
This is precisely how, although in a slightly different scenario, your historical recognition of the Golan Heights was announced. Everyone warned, intimidated and threatened, of the “devastating consequences.” But again, you made the decision in the clearest and most decisive way and you stuck with the truth to the end. And like the previous time, after this announcement as well, all the threats disappeared into thin air.
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The sequence of events going on around the world in general and in the Middle East in particular may cause many to forget the list of achievements of the administration lead by you for Israel. So, let’s mention some of them, in a nutshell:
Along with the achievements mentioned earlier,
You shattered the thesis that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will only succeed via “a two-state solution” in your speech alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu;
You led the withdrawal of the United States from the UN Council of Rights on the grounds that it is biased against Israel;
You saw to it that US Ambassador and Lover of Israel Mrs. Nicki Haley will vote, for the first time, against a proposal for condemnation of Israel at the UN regarding Israel’s control of the Golan Heights (after years during which the US has abstained from voting on this issue);
You have announced by way of the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of the change in American policy reversing previous administration’s claims that Israeli settlements violated international law;
Time and time again, you have put Iran and the axis of evil in the place they deserve and you made it clear to them in an unambiguous way that they will not dare to cut one hair from Israel’s head;
And you defended Israel’s right to defend itself, without asterisks, without reservations and without parentheses.
Presently, shortly before the US election, the Middle East is going through one of the most positive and significant developments under your lead. What has begun as a drizzle has turned into a positive tsunami of peace agreements between Arab countries and Israel: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and several additional countries are on the way.
Without your support and leadership, President Trump, all of this would not have happened. If until recent years, everyone thought that without peace with the Palestinians, no peace measures could be taken – you proved that it is possible otherwise. And these peace treaties are not being signed through bloodbaths, exploding buses, knife attacks, kidnappings, and terrorist incidents as we have sadly experienced in the past. They come from peace and brotherhood, and from a deep desire to make the world a better place.
And it is impossible not to mention two more significant events: the emotional and surprising commutation you granted to R’ Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin that caused immense joy in the Jewish world, and your steadfast support to the victims of anti-Semitic attacks in Jewish communities across the United States, among them the Chabad center in California.
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After four incredibly good years (with a prayer for another four such wonderful years under your leadership), I have no expectation that the journalists who frightened us of you, or politicians who have not stopped warning of your instability when it comes to Israel, will express regret. They will not apologize. So, we will do it in their place and ask for forgiveness, if within our hearts we feared, albeit slightly, that they might be right.
At the same time, I must also extend to you, Mr. President, a huge thank you from the entire Jewish people living in the Holy Land for your unyielding support, for the immense care and for keeping your promises for our future and the future of our children. There aren’t enough words to express our great appreciation.
The Rebbe referred to the United States as a “malchus shel chesed,” a sovereign nation of kindness. You have been privileged to show us all how a kind nation treats the Jewish people and the Land of Israel.
May the G-d Almighty bless you, President Trump, and the people of the United States of America!
Beautiful letter!
4 More Years!!!!!!!!!