Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History

by Joseph Telushkin

The Rebbe’s dispute with the pro-demonstration activists in the United States did not derive from a differing assessment between the two sides on the nature of the Soviet Union. Both sides were in full agreement on the evil and antisemitic nature of the regime. The issue that divided them was what would be the most effective way to secure freedom for the Jews—public confrontations with the Soviets or behind-the-scenes diplomacy—or perhaps, as seems most probable, the pursuit of both, having different people doing different things, the Rebbe in effect being the “good cop” and the demonstrators the “bad cop.” The Rebbe therefore cultivated a public strategy (never to publicly antagonize the Soviet Union) and a private strategy (to find areas in which he could cooperate even with those who opposed his public strategy). His goals, though, remained constant: to get Jews out of Russia and to create an environment in which those Jews who remained could lead Jewish lives.