Golda Meir (PM)
Background
Golda Meir was the fourth Prime Minister of Israel, holding the office from 1969 through 1974. She presided over the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War, resigning the premiership on April 11, 1974.
Yom Kippur War
On numerous occasions, the Rebbe invoked the errors leading up to the Yom Kippur War, including the decision not to preempt the Egyptian and Syrian attacks, nor even calling up the IDF’s reserves.
Toward the beginning of the 1982 Lebanon War, the Rebbe cited Meir’s statements of regret:
- Those who are not allowing these goals of this war to be attained are repeating the errors that led to the Yom Kippur War. [Prime Minister Meir] wrote that she would not forgive herself until the end of her days.[1]
In her autobiography, Meir expressed regret about not calling up the reservists:
- Today I know what I should have done...
- That Friday morning I should have listened to the warnings of my own heart and ordered a callup. For me, that fact cannot and never will be erased, and there can be no consolation in anything that anyone else has to say or in all of the commonsense rationalizations with which my colleagues have tried to comfort me.”[2]
During the First Lebanon War, the Rebbe pointed to this inaction as an example of the necessity of adhering to the guidance of military experts rather than politicians in all matters of security:
- During the Yom Kippur War, the security experts urged for an immediate general mobilization of the reserves. Had they done so, many lives could have been saved. The very act of mobilization would have served as a deterrent, instilling fear in the enemy and potentially preventing the war altogether. However, the politicians and those demoralized by the low self-confidence of exile-minded thinking, refused to heed the advice of military officials.
- These weak-hearted individuals framed their inaction as a matter of “Do not provoke the nations.” Hesitating to take any action that could be interpreted as aggressive, they left the country vulnerable by failing to mobilize the reserves. As a result—may Heaven protect us, and may it never happen again—hundreds of lives were lost, in addition to the many wounded. To this day, the widows and orphans of the fallen soldiers walk the streets of the Holy Land.[3]
Toward the war's conclusion, the Rebbe sent messages to Meir and other politicians, urging her to direct the IDF to concretize the victory by conquering Damascus, even for a brief time.[4]
Shazar’s Cancelled Visit
On March 28 1969, US President Dwight Eisenhower passed away. Before departing to the US to attend the funeral, which was to take place on the day before Passover, Shazar cabled Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Yitzhak Rabin:
- The cabinet has authorized me to represent the State at the funeral of the renowned warrior Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States. In case I am not able to return home before the beginning of the holiday, please contact the Rebbe that he will be so kind to receive me at his Seder table for Pesach eve.
- Zalman Shazar, President.[5]
Prime Minister Meir, along with other government officials, were displeased with the idea of Shazar spending the Seder at 770, rather than the Rebbe paying a visit to the President at his Manhattan Hotel. The next day, Meir cabled Rabin:
- Word has come to my ear that the President has instructed you to be in touch with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, requesting that he be invited to join him at his Seder. It is unthinkable that the President of the State should be absent from Jerusalem on the Festival of Freedom, at a time when our sons are defending themselves and sacrificing themselves in the War of Attrition.[5]
This directive from the Prime Minister prevented President Shazar from making that visit.
Other Mentions
List additional letters, Sichos, etc., from the Rebbe on this subject, with links
Further Reading
- Margolin, D. It Is Time to Declare the Truth About the Jews and Israel. Chabad.org.
- Zaklikowski, D. (2010, November 12). Israeli Prime Minister's Aide Discusses the Rebbe. Chabad.org.
- Posner, S. You Shall Live!. Chabad.org.
References
- ↑ Address, 13 Tammuz, 5742. Toras Menachem vol. 4 p. 1854; Video; Audio.
- ↑ Golda Meir, My Life (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1973), 424.
- ↑ Address, 19 Kislev, 5743. Toras Menachem vol. 2 p. 645; Video; Audio.
- ↑ Aryeh Morgenstern, Living Torah: Program 997.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 My Encounter Interview with Yehuda Avner – 12/29/06.