Until this week, I had never heard of an influencer named Clavicular.

Then he came to Israel, and Jewish social media erupted. Some were furious that a person associated with notorious antisemites was being treated as a guest.

I was not following the debate, and honestly, it meant nothing to me. Until people began arguing about what the Rebbe would have said about engaging with antisemitic people, and that caught my attention.

Despite some loud voices claiming (incorrectly) that the Rebbe would have never approved of publicly touring Israel with a non-Jewish influencer who has been on video doing anti-Jewish things, The Rebbe consistently taught that public confrontation can sometimes make matters worse.

When Jews protested against French then-president Pompidou for selling fighter jets to Libya in 1970, France responded by ending even its small, quiet arms sales to Israel. Years later, when Senator Jesse Helms (then a longtime opponent of Israel) was honored at a Chabad event, the relationship helped transform him into a strong supporter.

When Alan Dershowitz criticized that decision, the Rebbe responded: “it does no good to engage in a cold war which often turns into a hot war. Nor does it serve any useful purpose to brand one an enemy or an antisemite, however tempting it is to do so. It can only be counter-productive… We haven’t too many friends and attaching labels will not gain us any.”

It may feel very righteous and satisfying to “say it as it is” but it almost never changes the other person. The goal of our actions should not be to make us feel better, but to influence the other person, and try to bring out something better within them.

That doesn’t mean every invitation is wise. It just means that labeling people and declaring them beyond hope is not the Rebbe’s way. Nor is it effective.

For the past two weeks, I have been teaching (and studying deeply) the events that led to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.

The story of Roman occupation began when two brothers, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, both felt they should rule over Israel. On the brink of a civil war, each brother sent a delegation to the Roman general Pompey asking Rome to fight on their behalf. And then a third delegation of Jews who couldn’t stand either prince asked Rome to ignore them both.

What none of them realized,........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)