The best situation for the  Palestinians is to get rid of Hamas. Hamas is killing people that are trying to escape Gaza and flee to safety. Hamas wants Palestinians dead if they won't stick around to become a human shield. Israel takes better care of Muslims than their own people do. Why is there no food in Gaza..........yet there are plenty of rockets? What are the values of these people? 

Just a few notes. 
Iran was not involved in what Hamas did. Even when we hate someone, from a religious point of view we must remember equality vs equity. When we love someone it's so easy to give equally to them but when we hate someone we don't want to be equitable. Though you hate Iran, they immediately denied the claims that they were involved-and the western world spread the opposite narrative, as it too hates Iran.

Next, what happens when Israel wins? There is now 100% Israel, no Arab state. The Arabs WILL be back to reclaim their land, it's just a matter of time. Which is why Israel and Palestine should seriously consider a 2-state solution. Or else it will be more murder and trauma in this sick back-and-forth game of football.

lastly, (and this is all in healthy discussion) do you uniquivocally support Israel? And at that-Netanyahu? You can religiously support the state of Israel, whilst acknowledging the flaws of the current religious leader. When we love a piece of land we are attached to and at that-being the only Jewish state, we will naturally gravitate towards constantly maneuvering and manipulating their wrongs and saying "but this". We can even support a government and recognize it's not perfect and has made and continues to make mistakes. Just my two cents.

Too brilliant an article! Reb Yosef, your the Michael Jordan of writing & speaking! Hopefully Moshiach comes right now!

What, besides the coming of Moshiach, may it be soon, can be done to bring peace? The Rebbe was against a 2 state "solutiin". What did he want? Did he want to ship off the "Palestinians "? Did he want them absorbed into Israel? If they are absorbed into Israel,, there can be problems politically, with maybe Arabs exceeding Jews. What should be done?.

Unfortunately, many Americans are completely ignorant with the factual history of Israel. This article really simplifies answers to the many questions which come up very often when discussing Israel with non Jewish neighbors & co-workers. Thank you Rabbi for another priceless gem. I feel that it's crucial to make this article 'go viral'!

Please note that the Jewish population in Israel is currently 7.2 million Jews and growing.

The best response to murderers such has Hitler and the various leaders of Hamas is to have more and more Jews!

Amen ❣️👏💖🇮🇱🙏🙌🥰

Dear Rabbi, agreing with your arguments, the argument I usually use with people who justify the actions of Hamas is the following - rather than interupting there retoric:  Question: so you agree that a bunch of Ararbs infiltrate a Jewish school, kill students, go on a rampgae and in the end the number of victims is 69.  - usually the anti semitites go on ranting and justifying the Hamas actions.
Iterupting them, and claiming that their argumments are invalid, I mention the date of the incident 1929,

One can then further point out the Lord Peel commision (1936-1937) which offered the Arabs an independent state -which they refused- since they didn't want Jewish neighbors - it might also be an opportunity tho mention Sheik Al Hussani spending his time wih Hitler in Berlin during the WWII.  It seems to me most individuals have very short memories - especially abouy historic events.

Anything of course you are aware of  since you mentioned earlier that the great American anitsemite Obama, where he declared returnibg to the pre 1967 borders would bring peace - forgetting the PLO's 1964 statement declared it's initiative was to whipe Israel of the map.

Not forgetting the current president and his interactions with the them Israeli prime minister Mernachim Begin in the late 1970's

In G.D we trust

Shavua Tov

Asher Wanders

Over the centuries Amalek has worn many masks. Today's coward is called Hamas. It will topple and its ruins will not be remembered. 

Thank you so much for the amazing essay about Israel! It enlightened me in every sense. Keep up your amazing work Rabbi YY!!!

Doesn't the Torah command us to kill and not be killed? Not responding to terrorists threats is tantamount to allowing murder, which is against the Torah. ובחרת בחיים. Jewish law cherishes  every living soul. Sadly, Hamas is part of a death cult that allows its own to be slaughtered. 
Am I correct?

Yes chazak chazak ... well as we anticipatingly await Mashiach, remembering Rabbi Sack's video on standing on i think Mt Scopus??, where Rabbi Akiva and 3 other sages with him saw a fox come out of the holiest place... one way incredibly is the way, as the Rebbe says, through education. If only the Palestinians and Gaza residents and east and west banks Arabs could be conveyed to their elders and learned men of the 7 laws of Noah...and take it upon themselves, like the ninevites, return to G d... that's all Israel seeks of its neighbours... please strive to live by the universal laws. That's echad. Isn't it so? Sure they're welcome to pray to Allah. But behaviour action in line with the divine laws. Better the wise on both sides contemplate genesis 1:1 together. So the Palestinians get to know where Israel is coming from...and where they themselves sprout from. As Rabbi Akiva says: Purpose is everything! As the prophet Isaiah says: Israel will be redeemed through Torah and tzedakah. The law... Redemption will come when the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov and chassidus spread to the furthest corners...and the non-jewish world will take upon itself the yoke of heaven the 7 noahide laws in their instance. Under Mashiach looking towards Jerusalem. Oi i imagine Hamas needs a crash course on shaar Hayichud V'Emunah by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi obm and the comments of Rashi on genesis 1:1 broken down to digestible portions for them. G d bless you Rabbi Jacobson. Thanks.

Thank you Rabbi YY Jacobson, However, I think there are a few other points that should be made, and I am referring to factually correct points as opposed to politics.

1. Why can't Israel show restraint, there are reports that over 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced from their homes in Gaza during the last two weeks, but the totality of loss of life in Gaza (as unfortunate as that number may be) is less than 300 (the Palestinian count) and includes militants that were killed. The basic question is, don't these numbers, less than 300 deaths, with more than 40,000 displaced persons amply show the amount of restraint and selective targeting by Israel.

2. Is Railey reliance on iron dome, as a reason to ignore the rocket attacks. At best, that is like asking what Israeli response should be if Hamas only launched 300 rockets destined for Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and the south of Israel (10% of 3000) and then what the Israeli response should be. Is there a particular number of rockets Targeted against innocent civilians for which defense is appropriate, maybe we should ask the people that are being shot at with the 300 or 3000 rockets. What would America, France, or the UK  if 300 rockets or launched against their population centers. 

3. Let's discuss oCCUPATION, as I am not certain what this soundbite actually means. Aside from the Jewish mandate Rashi Genesis 1:1, maybe we should give a little bit of a contemporary look at Jewish Israel. Leaving a side the Balfour declaration, San Remo, the UN and various other arguments, let's look at 1967. It is pretty clear that pre-1967 Gaza was controlled by Egypt post 1948 in the West Bank was controlled by Jordan Post 1948. What is not given proper attention is that in June 1967 after the war, America pressured Israel to give back all of the land obtained during the 1967 war subject to the Arabs agreeing to peace, however, the Arabs rejected it, (and I would guess Israel side with relief knowing what promises from certain people are worth) if you need a reference for this you can look at David Brog's book. Historically, Israel has agreed to essentially all of the territorial demands of the so-called "Palestinians" only to have their offers rejected. 

4. The death of civilians ( tragic as it may be) is a consequence of war. It may be sad, it may be ugly but it is true. However, what is amazing is who raises the issue. If anyone in the United States raises the issue, it seems to carry a certain lack of sincerity, to the extent that the United States after 9/11 invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. There is a study from Brown University setting forth that Iraq (leaving aside Afghanistan  for the moment ) The number of military related civilian deaths are over 130,000, and this was in response two the attacks of one day in which unfortunate as it may be, less than 3000 United States civilians were killed. 

we can go through the history of other countries as well, but the point is that it is Israel that is singled out for civilian death during combat. 

More Vivian deaths in Gaza then in Israel. I guess it would be antithetical to Jewish theology to suggest that one life is more valuable than another. Clearly our religion does not teach that. However, one might take a pause in see that Israel historically has traded hundreds of life convicted terrorists for a few corpses of Isaeli soldiers. Got back to the general question of who ever started taking score in the war by who has more civilian casualties as a barometer of the right and wrong of conflict. Does this suggest that God forbid there would be a different analysis if more Israeli civilians perished and less Gaza civilians perished. I think it is a  ludacris standard - And whoever six to use it might take a pause.

5.  Israel has the Iron Dome and Hamas do not have similar defenses, and therefore…

so apparently there are those that think that that's a reason for Israel to allow it citizens to be slaughtered. I must be missing something, I don't understand the logic. However, what I do understand is that despite the fact that Gaza does not have aerial defenses Hamas really doesn't care what happens to their citizens but will relentlessly attack Israel. Why doesn't hamas care. Even if the scenario is laid out that Hamas versus Israel it's like bringing a pocket knife to a gun fight, you have to ask yourself how sane is the person who starts stabbing with a pocket knife. and how bizarre is it to suggest that the person with the gun should allow themselves to be carved up because it's only a pocket knife.

6.  More people may join Hamas, is a possibility, or more people may see that it doesn't make sense, and that Hamas it's not guided by it's interests for Gaza, rather it is guided by there Hope to decimate Israel and it's Jews. Either way, these are generally not the considerations to be made while hiding in a bomb shelter because there are valleys of rockets falling outside. More likely, this question is appropriate when considering the effects of preemptive attack.

7. The higher standard that Israel and the Jews have, maybe many things, but stupidity is not one of them. While preservation of life is of monumental importance, the interests of self-defense are clearly set forth in the Torah. However, it is not a principal that is beyond human comprehension. If Jews had a higher standard to allow themselves to be slaughtered rather than defend themselves, I guess one would have to say that it is this higher standard because of which 6 million Jews decided to walk into gas chambers so as not to possibly injure a German. I know I am being sarcastic, but it is only in line with the absurdity suggesting that Israel allow Jews to be slaughtered less they injure The attackers sure other civilians.

8. Israel deliberately undermine space, it's just one more statement born of ignorance and/or stupidity. It may be possible that with the benefit of hindsight one can play Monday morning football and see where Israel did some thing that would promote peace. 

first of all, we're not at Monday morning, and other than the Abraham accord's no one can point to anything because of which piece was achieved, And clearly the Abraham accord or not predicated on exceeding to the wishes of the people who purport to represent the interests of the residence of Garza or the West Bank. (If we are to be honest the peace with Jordan and Egypt it's nothing more than cessation of hostility) but even if that were not the case, How many times has Israel agreed to onerous terms but the first requirement would be a recognition that Israel has the right to exist. Israel is still waiting.

9. The Israel double standard is a real issue. Isreal is in fact judged much more harshly than any country on this planet. The double standard is probably best recognized when Arab Knesset members call Israel an apartheid state. Need I say more. Maybe yes. The American media was outraged that Israel targeted the building holding the Associated Press and Al Jazeera. Israel claims it also housed a Hamas command center. The Associated Press is screaming that Israel targeted the building as an attack on journalists and that the journalists escaped. I guess one hour notice that the building is going to be demolished and people having an hour to leave the building constitutes an escape. Israel claimed it had intelligence that Hamas was operating from the building, but the AP said they had no knowledge of it, as if journalistic ignorance somehow supersedes intelligence. Israel went so far as to share their intelligence with the United States government. That did not satisfy The Associated Press. The American Secretary of State said that he had been shown Israel's intelligence, but the Associated Press claimed that they had not been shown the intelligence. Essentially, what is the press suggests is that they should be the final arbiter of the validity of Israeli intelligence. Clearly, we can all agree that the associated press is lacking intelligence.

This is excellent. I would like to repost it in Spanish. Is it available. Otherwise I will be happy to volunteer to translate this.  

thank you very much rabbi yy jacobson on this i think the hamas need to understand and also the pro palastine  people  need to understand as well  that eretz yiroel belong to the jewish people they should read carefully what the torah says about israel and also learn the jewish histroy as well first of all  is that hashem gave the jewish people the land of israel and gave us the torah , hashem chosse us our nation and gave us eretz yisroel the holy land of the world if the palastine want israel as the land then they are talking lies on upon israel  God gave  them the owen land while the jews are in exile  they have no right to say that israel belongs to them and also say that the israel should not  defend them self  chas vashlom i support israel although im not a tzioni  i believe that israel should be given the jews to live and not for them to be the owen country im a chabad  jew proud to be in hashem army and try to  keep torah and mitzvos i hate arabs that are mean to israel  peace mean that israel should have the owen country and let the jews live there in peace and the arabs cant say it my land it belong to avarham  yitzchak and yaakov our forefathers just because ishamel was the son of avraham doesnt make them right to say the arabs got to live there may hashem guard israel and protected them and give the jewish people peace  from all the enemys especially in his land of eretz yisroel am yisrael  chai 

thank you very much rabbi yy jacobson on this 

i think the hamas need to understand and also the pro palastine  people  need to understand as well  that eretz yiroel belong to the jewish people 

they should read carefully what the torah says about israel and also learn the jewish histroy as well 

first of all  is that hashem gave the jewish people the land of israel and gave us the torah , hashem chosse us our nation and gave us eretz yisroel the holy land of the world 

if the palastine want israel as the land then they are talking lies on upon israel  God gave  them the owen land while the jews are in exile  

they have no right to say that israel belongs to them and also say that the israel should not  defend them self  chas vashlom 

i support israel although im not a tzioni  i believe that israel should be given the jews to live and not for them to be the owen country 

im a chabad  jew proud to be in hashem army and try to  keep torah and mitzvos 

i hate arabs that are mean to israel  

peace mean that israel should have the owen country and let the jews live there in peace and the arabs cant say it my land 

it belong to avarham  yitzchak and yaakov our forefathers 

just because ishamel was the son of avraham doesnt make them right to say the arabs got to live there 

may hashem guard israel and protected them and give the jewish people peace  from all the enemys especially in his land of eretz yisroel 

am yisrael  chai