Weekly Letter: Deplorable Assertions and Misconceptions about the Land of Israel
Attacks on Israel and fake news is nothing new, as can be seen in the Rebbe’s letter we share this week. With the very challenging situation in Eretz Yisroel today – fighting an enemy both on the ground and in the public and political arena – we are sharing a letter that the Rebbe wrote to a US official in the UN. In his letter, the Rebbe decries the deplorable assertions and misconceptions about the land of Israel that are contained in the State Department report on human rights.
By the Grace of G-d 25 Shevat, 5740 Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mr. Philadelphia, Pa. 19130
P.S. What follows here really deserves a special letter of its own. But in these hectic days it is wise to take prompt advantage of a good opportunity, even if it comes in the form of a P.S. – which of course in no way detracts from the importance and high priority of the subject at hand.
I refer to the recently published annual State Department report on human rights. According to my knowledge, the section dealing with the land of Israel contains most deplorable assertions and misconceptions (such as in reference to East Jerusalem, etc) which are unworthy to repeat here.
It is a pity that your appointment as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights was not made earlier, for you might have been able to influence the said report, or at least temper its prejudice. But I am hopeful that you can still do something even at this stage, since a report of this nature, over 800 pages, takes a long time to prepare and in a rapidly changing world cannot be considered as the final word. It no doubt leaves room for revisions and supplements. Thus, the opportunity may still be present for you to assert your influence in the way you know best.
It is not surprising, though not less painful, that the prevailing attitude in the U.S. State Department encourages such despicable bigotry, to say the least, as the world has just been treated to by a high-ranking Egyptian official, said to be a close friend and confidant of Sadat, in his interview for a Kuwait newspaper, of which you are of course fully cognizant. It is high time that American foreign policy makers should reappraise their stand on such a sensitive issue and provide bold leadership in the community of nations, certainly vis-svis our Land of Israel. I rather like to think that your appointment as Ambassador to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights is a significant sign in this direction.
