An open letter to Mr. President Trump and Mr. Vice President Vance

Dear Sirs!

I did not write this letter because you suddenly decided to sacrifice to your illusions the only country that has served the interests of the United States for decades; nor even because, contrary to common sense, you are engaging in an equal dialogue with a terrorist regime whose primary goal is your destruction. All this is politics, and I am a simple housewife from Jerusalem, a mother of eight children, and I understand nothing about politics. Perhaps there is some wisdom in your actions that I cannot fathom.

The reason for this letter is different. Both you, Mr. President, and you, Mr. Vice President, in recent days—before and immediately after the signing of the memorandum of understanding with Iran—made statements that are highly problematic from a religious perspective. You and I are both believers, and Judaism with Protestant Christianity share their underlying basis. The existential connection of the people of Israel with the Creator of the world and the dependence of what happens to this people solely on the will of God is an axiom for all Abrahamic religions, isn't it?

What did Mr. President mean by his phrase: "If it weren't for me, Israel would no longer exist"? Are you, like Nebuchadnezzar, equating yourself with God?!

Israel existed three thousand years before the first European settler set foot on the American shores. And it will exist forever, regardless of the fate of the United States. Such is the oath of the Creator, and He is not a man to break His oath and betray those who are faithful to Him.

Perhaps Mr. President was referring not to the people of Israel, but to the modern state of Israel. This is less problematic, but it still represents unjustified arrogance. The fate of the modern Jewish state, like the fate of any Jewish community in the world, depends solely on that community's relationship with God. If the Jews of a given community are worthy, then God protects them from their enemies and helps them (sometimes through human intervention, sometimes through miracles). If they are not worthy, then that particular community is destroyed—regardless of the position and actions of its well-wishers.

It is also important to understand the dynamic of the Almighty's will at this moment in history. Our holy books declare that the end of the Jewish people's final exile will be marked by the world's influential nations officially allowing the Jews to return to the Holy Land and reestablish their nation there. This occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century, with the publication of the Balfour Declaration and its subsequent endorsement by all the major world powers, the confirmation of its principles in a resolution of the League of Nations, and the subsequent declaration of the independence of the Jewish state by the United Nations.

From this moment on, any country or people that denies the right of the people of Israel to their own state in the Holy Land is at war not with the Jews, but with the God. And it depends only on the will of the Creator and our own behavior whether we will miraculously defeat our enemies or suffer heavy losses and damage. The influence of the US President on this process is no greater than that of the poorest beggar in the most backward country.

Now I want to talk about Vice President Vance's statements that "Israel must be realistic" and that "a small country with few resources cannot solve security problems by force".

Mr. Vance, have you read the Bible?

If so, perhaps you remember how Jonathan, the son of the Jewish King Saul, and his armor-bearer together defeated an entire army of Philistines?

Perhaps you remember the story of the Jewish commander Gideon, who, with three hundred unarmed men, drove a multi-thousand-strong, heavily armed coalition army from several neighboring countries from the Holy Land?

Or do you at least know who David is—the young shepherd who went out alone against the armored, arrogant giant Ghalibaf—sorry, Goliath—and no air defenses could save the latter from the tiny stone of David's sling?

Ah, yes, you think these are all ancient parables that can't be taken literally. Well, I'll give you some more recent examples.

1948. At the time of the declaration of the independence of the State of Israel, Jews constituted less than a third of the population of Mandatory Palestine west of the Jordan—just half a million Jews against a million Arabs. Eight Arab countries, with a combined population of tens of millions, fought on the side of the Palestinian Arabs. The Jews had neither a regular army (one was created during the war) nor heavy weapons. The Arabs had eight armies, attacking simultaneously from all sides, with tanks, planes, and cannons. The Jews were victorious and recaptured a territory twice the size of the original country.

1967. Israel has a population of 2.5 million, of which approximately 15% are Arab. The country stands alone against the aggression of four neighboring countries with a combined population of approximately 50 million. They have four times as many aircraft, twice as many tanks (both aircraft and tanks are much more modern than Israel's), and ten times as many regular army soldiers. Israel defeats all its enemies in six days, losing 20 times fewer soldiers, a quarter fewer tanks, and ten times fewer aircraft than its adversaries, and capturing a territory 3.5 times larger than the country's pre-war territory.

Yes, miracles don't happen every day. But what kind of "realism" can we talk about when it comes to the people of Israel? Is one of these wars studied in your military academies? Hardly: they're simply unrealistic. No other nation could replicate this.

Unfortunately, we have no Prophets now, and we cannot predict what the Almighty wants from us regarding Iran, Lebanon, and so on. Therefore, we are trying different options and seeing which ones are blessed from Above. We tried giving the Arabs autonomy – and we got a bloody "Intifada" (uprising). We tried giving the Arabs part of the Land of Israel (the Gaza Strip) – and we got the massacre of October 7th. We tried attacking Iran – and we destroyed all the senior commanders, all air defenses, a significant portion of the air force, hundreds of strategic military facilities, and about a thousand troops – without losing a single soldier or a single aircraft. We weakened "Hezbollah" – and gave the Syrian opposition the opportunity to overthrow the criminal Assad regime. We occupied buffer zones – and secured our borders.

We will continue to do what we see brings TRUE security and prosperity to the region.

And what should our friends do?

Strengthen their faith, face reality, and stop portraying God's people as hostages to their own adventures.