May 28th: Beha’alotecha
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
Let us accept, just for the sake of argument (!), the proposition that Israel is an evil entity and that it oppresses the Palestinian people—and that the court case involving property in Sheik Jarrah is a colonialist attack on all Palestinian, all Arabs, and all Muslims. The question then becomes: Who is best suited to take on the cause of the residents of that tiny neighborhood? If, indeed, the problem requires a military response (and not the legal remedies available in Israel—or the civil demonstrations of Jews and Arabs in Israel), then we should consider which Arab or Muslim entity is the best suited to take on the evil Zionists.
Among the nominations are the Arabs of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, or Morocco. Among the non-Arab Muslim countries, we have Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and Indonesia. All are well-armed and capable of warfare. And, they are able to defend their own populations.
Thus it is surprising that, of all the possible Arab and Muslim defenders of the Arabs in Sheik Jarrah, the one entity that rose to the challenge is Hamas in Gaza. It is certainly armed—as the thousands of rockets rained upon Israel have shown, but its military might is limited. There are no real ground troops. There is no Navy or Air Force—unless one wants to count the incendiary kites and drones used to burn Israeli crops. Moreover, Hamas has no ability to defend its own citizens. A pretty well-known and logical fact of international relations is that, when one country attacks another, the attacked country generally counterattacks. So, when attacking from an undefended area, Hamas is setting up the civilian population of Gaza for terrible destruction. Could the victory they seek be the photos, videos, and angry editorials that seem to be covering the planet?
What has happened to the Palestinian people in Gaza is terrible. We should all recoil and mourn at the loss of life and at the destruction and despondency that these people face. The tragedy is especially devastating because these victims all know that a big portion of the aid they will receive to rebuild their country will be siphoned off for the reconstruction of terrorist tunnels and the purchase of armed missiles for the next round. They also know that, instead of buying electricity or clean water or better health care or education—or building up an infrastructure for a real Palestinian State, the Hamas tyranny will keep them suffering for the sake of heart-rending photographs.
Part of the discussion of Israel’s strategy involves the tragedy of civilian deaths. The Israelis explain—and it is well-documented—that Hamas places military installations in close proximity to civilians. In a number of cases, Hamas and Hezbollah have even prevented civilians from evacuating structures after Israeli phone calls and pamphlets dropped from the air warn them about imminent attacks. Why would they prevent civilians from saving themselves? Why would they put missile launchers next to day-care centers and residential dwellings? The goal of these terrorist organizations is civilian casualties—both Israeli and Palestinian. As Gilad Erdan, the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, mournfully explained, “Israel uses missiles to protect its children. Hamas uses children to protect its missiles.”
We could argue about the particular choices of targets—like the building which housed some press organizations, and we could ask if the Associated Press or Al Jazeera were free to report on Hamas corruption or placement of military targets in civilian buildings, but the fact is that it is not a matter of individual buildings or neighborhoods. The entirety of Gaza is used by Hamas as a “human shield.” That is the logic of Hamas—of all the Arab and Muslim countries—“taking on the Zionists.” There is no chance that Hamas will destroy Israel. There is no chance that Hamas will affect the Israeli legal process that is considering the rights of Arab homeowners whose ancestors seized Jewish land in 1948 and are now being threatened by developers. The only chance Hamas has is of drawing enemy fire and then parading reporters by the victims.
Weep for the Palestinians who are oppressed by the tyranny of their own leaders. Weep for the thuggery which prevents free elections in Palestine. Weep for the diversion of humanitarian funds to build terrorism tunnels and purchase weapons. Weep for the moral blindness of naïve observers whose moral worldview is played like a fiddle by heartless terrorists.
There is an interesting passage in this week’s Torah portion, one which evokes a “them vs. us” or “friend or enemy” kind of thinking. “Advance, O Lord, May Your enemies be scattered, and may Your foes flee before You!” (Numbers 10.35) It makes sense back in the context of the Exodus generation: As they well knew, there are enemies out there, and we need to defend ourselves. A similar awareness is found at the end of Psalm 29: “The Lord will give strength to our people; the Lord will bless our people with peace.” Sometimes, the best course of peace is through strength and self-defense.
A final thought. Though Hamas’ inhumane strategy purports to defend Arab rights in Israel, it has actually had the opposite effect. Due to the frequent cycles of Hamas attacks, Israeli responses, and Iranian re-arming, the Left-Wing in Israeli politics has pretty much collapsed. Whereas Labor and its Liberal successors used to command a solid 40% of the electorate, the last several elections have seen them getting only a handful of Knesset members. The siege mentality provoked by Hamas and Hezbollah have removed the political power of the one segment of Israeli society that wants to make peace with the Arabs, both within and without. There are lots of Israelis who want peace and equality and prosperity for all, but these concerns are being shoved to the back seat by the constant state of war with Hamas and Hezbollah—and with the international audience that is being hoodwinked by human shield policies and propaganda.