What should Netanyahu do?

Lately, I have been reading a lot of articles about how Prime Minister Netanyahu is responding to United States and International demands with regard to building in Yerushalayim. Any story that seems to say that Netanyahu is standing up for the Jewish People’s right to build in Yerushalyim seems to be applauded by the comments on this site, while any story that implies that Netanyahu is caving in to said pressure is usually responded to with comments like “Netanyahu is spineless.” I’ll be honest, in most cases I echo those sentiments, but I wanted to ask about the other side.

I would like to preface with two things: 1) I do not agree with the demands that the United States (Obama) and the United Nations is putting on Eretz Yisro’el. I don’t think it’s a demand that would be put on other countries, and they definitely have hints of anti-semitism. 2) I don’t know if Obama is an actual anti-semite. He might be, he might not be (even though many of his policies are not in Eretz Yisro’el’s best interests). However, and I understand I might be being naive and a little too reliant on dan lechaf zechus, I would like to believe that Obama’s (and the United Nation’s) main motivations are their desires for peace, and the fact that they were raised as extreme liberals and don’t know any better.

In discussing the destruction of the second Beis HaMikdash and the story of Kamtzah and Bar Kamtzah, the Gemara (in Gitin 56a)relates some of the rulings of R’ Zecharyah ben Avkulyas. The Gemara relates how when Rome sent a korban with a mum (blemish)to be offered in the Beis HaMikdash (which is normally not allowed to be brought as a korban), the Raabanim wanted to use it anyway in order to appease Rome. R’ Zecharya refused because a korban with a mum cannot be brought. The Rabbanim wanted to kill Bar Kamtzah, so that he doesn’t bring this report back to Rome, anger them, and potentially threaten the Jewish People and the Beis HaMikdash. R’ Zecharya refused because that is not the punishment for someone causing a mum on the korban (Bar Kamtzah was the one who put the mum on the animal in order to get Rome angry at Benei Yisro’el). Eventually Rome got word of the fact that the Jews refused its korban, assumed that the Jewish People were rebelling against the Roman Empire, and eventually destroyed our Beis HaMikdash and exiled our people. R’ Yochanan even said that R’ Zecharya’s humility caused all this destruction.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know why the word “humility” is used with regard to what R’ Zecharya did wrong, but it seems that the message of the Gemara is clear. R’ Zecharya’s insistence to the letter of the law, and the fact he ignored political realities is not the right thing to do. Of course in a vacuum a korban with a mum should not be brought. But if you understand that rejecting the Roman Empire at a time when they are suspicious of your people can lead to destruction, maybe accepting the korban would be the right thing to do.

I understand that in a perfect world, the Jewish People should be able to build in their city, in their country, without interference from the outside community. But this isn’t a perfect world and the nations of the world are demanding this of us. At the same time there are Islamic Fundamentalists, terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hizbullah, and a potentially nuclear Iran all ready to blow Israel and the Western World away. Shouldn’t Eretz Yisro’el be aware of the political realities of the world? Should we create enemies in the International community while terrorists stockpile weapons against us? Or should we understand that we need to fight against this existential threat, and we need as many allies and friends as possible, even at the expense of thousands of houses and apartments? What is more important? What is our priority? What is the Chazal trying to tell us?