by Rav Avraham Vasserman, Yeshivat Ramat Gan, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.
What does the Bible tell us about political alliances? It tells us that they can have some benefits, but that we must not rely on them.
Let us start with the Prophets. They are not against diplomatic ties, but they most definitely oppose the idea that an alliance or treaty with a particular country or super-power will bring us salvation. On the contrary: An alliance of this nature leads to loss of faith in G-d and to the drifting away from Torah life. This is because our ally gains the ability to influence us both spiritually and culturally.
But the problem is political as well. We occasionally hear things like, "Our relationship with the United States has never been better," or, "The U.S. is our 'best friend forever.'" There was even one leader who said that we and the U.S. "have an intimate relationship." Those who say such things ignore the well-known rule of international relations coined by Charles de Gaulle: "Nations don't have friends - only interests."
They also ignore Israel's relatively short history as a state, during which we have felt first-hand the wishy-washiness of friendships with more than a few countries. France, for instance, was our good friend up until the Six Day War, when it turned its back on us. The U.S. was hostile towards us just before we established our state, pressuring us heavily not to declare independence – and only afterwards began to support us.
We must also not forget that during our War of Independence, we received our needed weapons not from the West, but from eastern European Communist nations. The USSR had no relations with us for many years, until suddenly its interests determined that developing diplomatic ties with Israel was a good idea. There is no reason to assume that the Russians suddenly began to appreciate the Bible and its endorsement of the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel. Rather, they saw that we could be their key to the Western economies. Things change by the minute in international diplomacy.
One of the most important lessons of the Holocaust is that we must never depend on other nations when it comes to our own survival. Let us recall the apathy of the United States towards the destruction of European Jewry in the 1940's. Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann, said at the time: "Future historians will find in Jewish history two things that they will not be able to believe: the murder of the millions, and the apathy of the Western world to it."
This is nothing new. All of our Prophets warned us against relying on treaties with other countries. Most unfortunately, too many kings during the First Temple period ignored them, and suffered the consequences. Even King Solomon erred in this regard, marrying Pharaoh's daughter in order to forge an alliance with the Egyptian power. How bitterly ironic it was that the royal dynasty in Egypt was soon overthrown, and Shlomo's wife, and Shlomo with her, became enemies of the Egyptian regime overnight. The new Pharaoh even gave refuge to Shlomo's adversary Yerovam – soon to become the first king of the breakaway kingdom – when he first began his rebellion against Shlomo. That is to say, it was precisely the coalition that Shlomo made with Egypt that brought about the unwanted result.
Some 200 years later, several kings after Yerovam, King Hoshea ben Elah forged a covenant with Egypt against the powerful kingdom of Assyria (Ashur). When the Assyrians in fact attacked Israel, Egypt did not lift a finger to help us – and the Ten Tribes were exiled, up to this very day.
Tzidkiyahu, too – the last king of the Davidic dynasty – fell into the trap of allying with Egypt, against the counsel and warnings of the Prophet Yirmiyahu. When Judea rebelled against Bavel, Egypt again sat on the sidelines – and the kingdom of Judea was overthrown and 70 years of exile began. This is why Egypt is known as a "leaning staff of a broken reed" (Kings II 18,21).
But it wasn't only Egypt. While Hoshea was allying with Egypt, King Achaz of Judea was working out a deal with Assyria. Initial results were positive for Judea, but, as mentioned, it led to the catastrophe of the exile of our Ten Tribes, and also to the conquest by "friendly" Assyria of large parts of Judea. Under the reign of Achaz's son Chizkiyahu, Judea was nearly wiped out; only the miraculous defeat of Sancheriv's tremendous army prevented this. This is why the Prophet Hoshea says (14,1-4): "Return, o Israel, to Hashem your G-d… Assyria will not save us, we will not ride upon horses [a reference to Egypt, the land of war horses]." We must return to, and rely only upon, our G-d.
Later on, Yirmiyahu rebuked his generation (2,18): "And now, why are you going to Egypt to drink the water of the Shihor and what have you to do in the way of Assyria to drink the river's water?" Even what appears at first to be a beneficial treaty with positive results – when it becomes a relationship of dependence and cancellation of our own judgements, the results are calamitous. This is what happened with Chizkiyahu, who developed an alliance with Bavel after the miraculous defeat of Ashur – but the Prophet Yeshayahu told him even then that the time will come when Bavel will destroy the Beit HaMikdash. This of is exactly what happened, despite the early years of a beneficial alliance.
Were the prophets opposed to all diplomatic ties? Not at all. Even military cooperation was not necessarily frowned upon. But they most definitely did oppose absolute reliance on alliances with others. They taught that this approach is not only politically wrong, but also means cultural reliance upon them, leading to a loss of faith in G-d and a drifting away from Torah. This is what happened with King Shlomo when his wives' negative influences brought idol-worship to his kingdom. Other kings, too, were influenced by the pagan practices of the countries with which they forged covenants.
This is of course true today with our own reliance upon the Americans. We have long seen how the perversions of American culture have infiltrated us and gained a stronghold. One of the reasons is that we depend on their political and economic strength. This reliance also prevents us from fulfilling the great Torah mitzvah of holding on to our Land. We must know that our salvation comes only and exclusively through G-d, and that our political and military success depends only on His love and support for us.
When Israel functions in the light of the teachings of the Prophets, it will be totally independent, free of the yoke of others, trusting in its G-d, and developing its own strengths. It will forge international ties based on a position of strength, and with its spiritual and existential interests as a supreme value. This approach is the correct one even practically, for it frees us from being subjugated to the "stronger" country. May we have the foresight, vision, and faith in G-d to adopt it!
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