Writing by Dr. Dannielle Blumenthal

Source of quotes: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/7084976/jewish/Pious-Arguments-Against-Defending-Israel-Refuted.htm

 “There is no reasoning with those who advocate concessions — thus, we should pay them no heed. Rather, we must protest against their claim and clearly state that theirs is not the Torah view! This view is contrary to the clear ruling in the Code of Jewish Law that one must take up arms and not allow them [hostile parties] to approach a city near the border, even if it is outside the Land of Israel. This has no connection at all to the talmudic teachings they invoked — not to the prohibition of “lo techanem,”8“do not provoke a small gentile,” and not to [the matter of] the Three Oaths. Rather, there is only one, essential factor, that of saving many Jewish lives [pikuach nefesh].”

– The Lubavitcher Rebbe z”l, Karasi V’Ein Oneh, Vol. 1, p. 469, Motzaei Shabbos Matos-Maasei 5739 (1979), cited in https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/7084976/jewish/Pious-Arguments-Against-Defending-Israel-Refuted.htm. This citation notes that the Rebbe made this argument elsewhere, including See Karasi V’Ein Oneh, Vol. 1, p. 306, Naso 5738 (1978); p. 318, 20 Menachem Av 5738 (1978); pp. 360-362, Bereishis 5739 (1978); Vol. 2, p. 61, Vayakhel-Pekudei 5740 (1980); p. 112, Bo 5741; p. 407, Yechidus with Sadigura Rebbe, 5740 (1980).

For the Rebbe it was about saving Jewish life:

“I keep reiterating: There are those who are convinced that the issue of defending the land is connected to the ‘Three Oaths,’ ‘Zionism,’ and the ‘coming of Mashiach.’ So it must be emphasized: Defending the land has absolutely no connection to these concepts!… This is a matter of pikuach nefesh, plain and simple!” – Karasi V’Ein Oneh, Vol. 1, p. 498, Motzaei Shabbos Bereishis 5740 (1979).

The obligation to hold onto our land:

“The obligation to retain the Land does not at all contradict the prohibition against ‘ascending as a wall’ [en masse] and rebelling against the nations — ‘do not provoke a small gentile’— because in this case, we are talking about something that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave to the Children of Israel in a supernatural manner. Everyone admits, the Jewish people did not receive the Land in return through their own abilities, G‑d forbid, but rather miraculously.

Since we are now at the end of the exile, [right] before the redemption, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the Children of Israel additional parts of the Land of Israel. And, therefore, the Children of Israel must be in those parts of the Land of Israel.” – Karasi V’Ein Oneh, Vol. 2, p. 173, Vayishlach 5742 (1981).

Do not be a timid Jew reciting inapplicable warnings as a way of rationalizing the failure to defend Jewish life, as in the Holocaust:

“We cannot, G‑d forbid, repeat the mistakes of the past, when, out of fear of provoking Washington, the terrible decrees were allowed to happen. There were Jews [at the time] who said, ‘We must be silent; we must not start up with Roosevelt.’ When others responded, ‘Jews are in danger! Trains are traveling to concentration camps,’ those who said not to engage the government retorted, ‘do not provoke a small gentile!’

This timidity contributed to the fact that the United States ultimately did not bomb the railroad tracks leading to the camps, as demonstrated by reliable historical documents. The United States had the opportunity to take action, and yet some Jews mistakenly said that we could not contend with Washington. So no action was taken. No matter how many [repentive] fasts they undertake, they cannot atone for the harm they caused by insisting that no one should say a word against Washington. Not only does this approach not help, but it manifests the verse, ‘Your destroyers and demolishers will come from within you.’”

Sichos Kodesh 5738, pp. 390-391, Motzaei Shabbos Bechukosai; Karasi V’Ein Oneh, Vol. 1, pp. 298-299 (1978); Audio of Sichah.

A Jew is required to make every effort to save the lives of other Jewish people. Even more so does this apply when we are talking about Jews living in our Holy Land, the Land of Israel.