There is no reason to be afraid of the nations of the world. The whole world was created for the Jewish People. The Torah starts with the creation of the world (rather than the first Mitzvah given to the Jewish People, sanctification of the moon) to show that the land belongs to G-d and He chose who to give it to. The Jews are not robbers for conquering the Land of Israel; G-d gave it to us. The non-Jews cannot control us. Even though the Torah says not to start up with the nations and that “the law of the government is the law”, this is not because we are afraid of them, Heaven forbid, rather because this is how G-d decided that it should be in the time of exile. And “the law of the government is the law” refers to monetary matters such as taxes but not to anything that contradicts Torah law or a Jewish custom.
We may not bend to pressure from the nations regarding the Land of Israel. It is dangerous to give up parts of the Land. We are commanded to desecrate Shabbos if non-Jews come, or even prepare to come, to fight and kill in a Jewish town. In a city near the border, even if they are only coming about “straw and hay”, we must desecrate Shabbos and fight with them, so that they won’t capture the city and will easily be able to conquer the Land, Heaven forbid.
Heaven forbid to say that the continued existence of a Jew is in doubt, and depends on the nations. The Jewish People are everlasting because we are G-d’s People, and He is everlasting. We do not depend on the kindnesses of the nations. When they are kind to us, we should thank them, but we must realize that it is really G-d’s kindness, which He is giving through them.
We have to be strong and keep the Torah, including keeping Jews safe by holding strongly onto the land that G-d gave to us. We may not be intimidated by the nations. Even they know that we are the Chosen People.
(See talk of the Lubavitcher Rebbe King Moshiach Shlita, Bereishis 5752 (1991))
