24 hours passed, and Monday morning, the Rebbe asked the secretary to find out from R’ Berke Wolf what was happening. It turned out that Yediot Acharonot couldn’t bypass censorship, and they were told not to print what the Rebbe said. At Maariv, the editorial staff decided to print portions of what the Rebbe said, including the fact that according to the law, the prime minister and the minister in charge of settlements could decide on settlements, but they did not agree to print the Rebbe’s comments about Israel’s nuclear capability.

R’ Shlomo Maidanchik also got involved, suggesting that they copy the sicha, including the Rebbe’s comment about nuclear weapons, and distribute it to all members of the Knesset and government ministers, especially to Prime Minister Menachem Begin. He stressed that he would do it in such a way that it was clear that he was doing it on his own, and not because of any directive he had received from the Rebbe.

The Rebbe had reservations about sending the sicha to all the Knesset members, saying that it would give the impression that Lubavitch was mixing in too much. The Rebbe said it would be better if they gave a copy of the sicha to Begin, to Ezer Weizman, the defense minister, and to Arik Sharon, who was a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The Rebbe added that since R’ Shlomo knew their relationship with the Rebbe, and they were certainly interested in knowing what the Rebbe had to say lately, he should speak with each one of them separately. He should explain the importance of the issue and stress that what the Rebbe said about nuclear weapons was not meant to be publicized, not abroad and not in Eretz Yisroel.

The Rebbe also wanted this message relayed to Mr. Chaim Landau (a minister without portfolio in Begin’s government), especially since he had visited the Rebbe during the Hakafos. When the Rebbe brought up the blunder that the I.D.F. made during the Yom Kippur War (the I.D.F. didn’t take the opportunity to conquer Damascus), Landau expressed regret that the Rebbe’s views on this matter were not publicized in the Israeli papers.

A few hours later, Berke called the secretaries and told them he had tried to publicize what the Rebbe said via Kol Yisroel, but the censors did not allow it. The radio broadcaster, who was excited about publicizing the Rebbe’s message in full, including the details about Israel’s nuclear weapons, tried to convince the censor to allow him to publicize it. He cited the fact that on that very day, an American congressman declared that Israel possessed 15 secretly acquired nuclear bombs, and the US had helped in the acquisition. This statement was broadcast in the Israeli media.

"Why did you allow the congressman’s words to be publicized, but you don’t allow the Rebbe’s words to be publicized?" the radio broadcaster challenged. The censor said that when an American congressman said it, he spoke in the name of the United States, and Israel could deny it. On the other hand, when the Rebbe said it, since it was known that the Rebbe received his information from senior members of the Israeli government, it would be as if senior Israeli officials had openly acknowledged the existence of nuclear weapons. The censor also said that when the Rebbe said something, the public regarded it as utterly authoritative as if it had been said by the prime minister!

When the secretary reported this conversation to the Rebbe, the Rebbe wanted to know the identity of the congressman, mentioning that he probably received his information from the Israelis. The Rebbe said that the Israeli censors didn’t understand that zealously withholding any mention of Israel’s nuclear weapons was an admission that the information was true. The Rebbe said, "If it were a lie, would they publicize it? But since it’s the truth, they don’t publicize it? It’s illogical!"

That same Monday evening, R’ Shlomo called New York and told them that he had visited the Knesset and had met Begin. He gave him the sicha, including the additions, and stressed that the part about nuclear weapons would not be publicized in Israel or the U.S. The prime minister thanked him, put the sicha in his pocket and promised to examine it at his earliest opportunity. Then he met Arik Sharon and Ezer Weizman and gave them the sicha. He didn’t meet Chaim Landau that day.

At midnight New York time, the secretary spoke with Berke and heard that he had tried to be published in HaAretz, but they refused, after warnings from the censor. His attempts to publicize it through one of the radio stations also failed.

When the secretary reported this to the Rebbe, the Rebbe said that they should try to have the sicha publicized in its entirety in She’arim, HaModia, and HaTzofeh.

The Rebbe wanted Shlomo Maidanchik to have Chaim Landau read the sicha as soon as he gets it. He wanted R’ Shlomo to complain to Landau that the papers rejected it because the censors didn’t want to publicize mention of nuclear weapons. The Rebbe mentioned that Landau had made a fuss when the papers rejected the Rebbe’s protest of the army’s remissness in conquering Damascus. The Rebbe said that he would certainly agree to publicize the disputed sicha. The Rebbe then agreed to permit the papers to omit the words "nuclear weapons" or that sentence, if the censor was adamant, and then print the rest of the sicha.

R’ Shlomo wanted to try to convince the chief censor to drop his opposition to the sicha, but the Rebbe preferred that the complaint about the restriction originate either from the media itself or from Chaim Landau. If that would fail, then he should meet with the censor.

A few hours later, Berke reported that he succeeded in having the sicha printed in full in She’arim, HaModia, and HaTzofeh. The Rebbe was very satisfied with this news and said, "Now you can approach the other papers, because it was printed already."

The newspaper coverage did the job. The Yediot Acharonot of that Friday quoted the Rebbe and included the confirmation about the nuclear weapons, but with a slight change. The Rebbe spoke about creating nuclear weapons, but the Yediot Acharonot wrote "nuclear development." The difference is that although Israel cannot deny the existence of a nuclear power plant in Dimona, it has consistently asserted that it is a research plant for nuclear research, not for creating nuclear weapons.