After explaining why he supports Israel despite belonging to the “non-religious Jewish left”, blogger Roger L. Simon reminds us that he is non-religious.
Still, there are things that anger me about Israel. I am not particularly fond of many settlers’ belief that God has decreed the land theirs. In fact, I find it cracked. I make no claims as a theologian, but the conception of God as a real estate agent seems rather pathetically narrow in this era when astronomers now estimate 70 sextillion (70 plus 22 zeroes!) stars in the visible universe. That’s more stars than grains of sand on all the worlds’ beaches and deserts. But these settlers think “God” concerns “Himself” with territory that is less than the size of a postage stamp compared to an entire galaxy (if that). Okay. It is so if you think so, I suppose. But in the meantime these beliefs stand in the way of peace for the majority of the citizens of Israel and are getting her people killed on a daily basis.
While I find that Roger usually has some very interesting and pertinent comments to make, I find these particular comments to be condescending and ill-informed.
Roger should begin by asking himself why observant Jews believe that the land of Israel belongs to them. The answer, of course, is that the Torah (old Testament) is the title deed, since it mentions how G-d promised the land to the Jews. Incidentally, it is this same bible that defines Roger as a Jew. While Roger might argue that he defines himself as a Jew because his parents were Jewish, if he goes back far enough, he will find that Jews only exist as a distinct nation because of what happened in the bible – G-d’s promise to Abraham, and the giving of the Torah to Moses. I ask Roger: Why do you consider yourself Jewish? Why not just be a member of humankind?
[This is not meant to be a criticism of the unobservant of my brethren, but rather those who criticize the observant. While some religious people can be prone to shoving their religion down other people’s throats, don’t forget that irreligious people can shove their irreligiosity down other people’s throats too.]Roger’s statement that “these beliefs stand in the way of peace for the majority of the citizens of Israel and are getting her people killed on a daily basis” demonstrates to me that he fails to appreciate what is really at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict. I am sorry to disappoint you, Roger, but the settlements are not the issue. The PLO Arab leadership does not want any state of Israel on any part of what they consider to be their land. And this extends way beyond the “settlements.” Furthermore, if you have ever visited Israel and seen these “settlements”, you will notice that they are not “in the way” of the PLO Arab villages. There is plenty of land for both peoples. For more on the settlements, you can read this prior post of mine.
What is at the heart of this conflict? The answer is a Jewish presence in the Arab world. To put it simply, the Arabs have not come to terms with a Middle East that is not Judenrein. Ask yourself this: Why can’t these Jewish settlements be incorporated into a future PLO Arab state, just like Arab villages have been incorporated into Israel? Clearly, the settlement issue is a red herring. And since it seems to mobilize world opinion against Israel, it has been played up by the PLO Arab leadership.
Roger should also be aware of the fact that settlements are not responsible for killing Israel’s people “on a daily basis.” That would be the terrorists. And if Roger examines the charters of these terrorist organizations, he may be struck by the fact that their aim is to destroy Israel. For example take the Hamas Charter, which expresses these sentiments among others:
“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”
“The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. ”
“There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.”
Quite frankly, I fail to see how the settlements are the obstacles to peace.
Update: The belief that G-d gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people is a fundamental belief of Judaism, believed by Orthodox Jews throughout the ages, including many who perished in the Holocaust, as well as those living in the world today. Roger made it sound like only a fringe group of “settlers” subscribe to this belief.
Orthodox Rabbis have expressed different opinions on whether we can give up our claim to any part of the land of Israel if it would bring true peace and save lives. Since it has become clear that giving up parts of Israel has not brought Israelis added security, but in fact the opposite, today most Orthodox Rabbis would oppose such a move.
1 thought on “Roger Gets It Wrong”
I have posted on Roger’s website that this thankfully is not March 2002 and Israelis are not getting killed every day. This is due to
1. active counter terror measures
2. the security fence that is already in place
Also although I do not care for a certain type of messianic settler and think that you have to be crazy to want to lvie in Gaza or outside of Nablus, are there a more despised group that the media harps on than “Israeli settlers”?
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