Rabbi Eliezer Shnevald is calling on the public to rally behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid reports of growing American pressure for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon. According to the reports cited in his appeal, Washington may even consider imposing a weapons embargo if Israel refuses to pull back.
Shnevald argues that yielding now would endanger the security gains Israel says it achieved in the war against Hezbollah in northern Lebanon, and could allow Iran’s regional axis to rebuild after what he describes as a heavy Israeli effort to dismantle it. He says such a move would once again threaten northern residents, weaken Israel’s national security, and betray soldiers who died in the fighting.
In his message, Shnevald says Trump has reversed course on promises to the world, to the Iranian people, and to Israel, and warns against what he calls a “shameful surrender agreement” with Iran. He insists Israel should not become “Afghanistan 2,” and says, “We are not afraid of an embargo.”
Shnevald says the public must make clear that this is not only Netanyahu’s decision but a matter of the entire nation. He calls for a mass show of support for the prime minister, saying Israel should tell Trump that no leader can act against the will of his people when national security and the country’s future are at stake.