"We, the personal emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to the Holy
Land - including Rabbis of cities and neighborhoods in Israel, heads of
Yeshivot and Kollelim and social welfare institutions, who were sent to
Israel by the Rebbe himself over 35 years ago in order 'to arouse and
encourage Jews to observe Torah and Mitzvot and help build the Jewish
land physically and spiritually' - from the depths of a pained heart
protest against the Israeli government’s decision to resume negotiations
with Palestinian murderers on withdrawal from territories of the Holy
Land, G-d forbid.…"
The late rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Arutz Sheva reports:
"We, the personal emissaries of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to the Holy Land - including Rabbis of cities and neighborhoods in Israel, heads of Yeshivot and Kollelim and social welfare institutions, who were sent to Israel by the Rebbe himself over 35 years ago in order 'to arouse and encourage Jews to observe Torah and Mitzvot and help build the Jewish land physically and spiritually' - from the depths of a pained heart protest against the Israeli government’s decision to resume negotiations with Palestinian murderers on withdrawal from territories of the Holy Land, G-d forbid.
"Negotiating with Israel's enemies of Israel concerning Israeli borders in itself constitutes an ominous danger to the lives of Israel's residents, men, women and children. This ruling is explicit in the Jewish Code of Law, section 329:6: 'Even if they are only demanding hay or straw, we take up arms and violate the Shabbat.' Hundreds of prominent rabbis in Israel have ruled that withdrawal from territories is a matter of life or death for tens of thousands of people.
"Anyone who can put two and two together can see that every time Israel has agreed to concede and withdraw, this has made matters worse. It has only accelerated terror and bloodshed, G-d forbid.
"We support the tireless efforts of the Rabbinical Congress for Peace (the Pikuach Nefesh Committee) which for the past 20 years has been vigorously combating the policies of withdrawal and concessions by Israeli governments. The Committee has repeatedly publicized worldwide the definitive ruling in the Shulchan Aruch that such concessions are a matter of life or death.
"Many Jews, and not only Hassidim, reverently recall the numerous public addresses in which the Rebbe expressed his pained concern for the well-being of the Jewish nation in Eretz Israel. We now call upon every individual, in Israel and the world over, to support and assist the above Committee in every way possible. Their vital mission is to save the lives of the Jewish people in Israel – to forestall any territorial negotiations with Israel’s enemies over its borders, by bringing the public and the decision-makers to the realization that the only way to achieve peace and security in the Holy Land is by standing firm by the integrity of the Holy Land. Only thus will we see the fulfillment of the Biblical promise that 'I will grant peace in the land…and lead you upright.'
"We pray that Almighty G-d have mercy and put an end to our suffering. May we merit the Final Redemption by the righteous Moshiach [Messiah] - now"
As was typical for much of what Chabad-Lubavitch's late rebbe did, the citation from the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law) is misrepresented.
What the Shulkhan Arukh says is that if non-Jews mass and approach the border of Israel on Shabbat and demand money or other financial payments or goods, we do not break Shabbat to fight them.
But, if we do not know why they have massed and approached the border or why they have laid siege, or if they say they are coming to kill Jews or it seems that they are, then we break Shabbat and ride out to fight them.
But border cities break Shabbat to fight even if the non-Jews are only demanding hay or straw – inexpensive, portable things of little value
But what if these non-Jews are asking for a negotiated peace settlement?
The Shulkhan Arukh is completely silent, because that and similar decisions are in the hands of the king or the government, are situational, and must be based on saving Jewish lives. There is no blanket prescription for how that should be done, no ouija board or magic formula that must be listened to or followed– something Chabad fails to mention because its late rebbe failed to mention it.
Ceding land for peace is permissible under Jewish law – a position all leading haredi rabbis and many Modern Orthodox rabbis hold – despite the false claims made by Chabad's late rebbe.
These are real world security decisions that need to made by real world security professionals like the IDF's chief of staff, the head of the Shin Bet, and the head of the Mossad, along with Israel's prime minister and his security cabinet.
They are decisions in which rabbis play no role because, despite Chabad's false claims, halakha (Jewish law) does not assign them one.