Parshat Toldot: Jewish Terrorists
One would think that now that the Gaza/Hezbollah/Iran wars have thankfully winded down, that Israel could breathe a little and go about their lives. One would hope that Israelis would have an attitude of, “Why create new conflicts? Let’s return to making better lives for ourselves.” Alas, this is not the case.
One troubling issue of late is the repeated attacks by settlers in Judea and Samaria – aka the West Bank – against Palestinians. It is starting to make it into the press. In Saturday’s WSJ a piece entitled, Israeli Settlers Burn Mosque as West Bank Violence Escalates describes how Israeli settlers extended a wave of attacks in the West Bank, burning a mosque on Thursday and setting upon Israeli troops during a separate incident earlier in the week.
Yeah, not only are these yahoos attacking Palestinians, but they are even attacking the IDF who are trying to keep order. Continues the WSJ:
The United Nations has warned of an alarming surge in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, with the number of incidents rising every year for almost a decade. This year, the U.N.’s humanitarian office, OCHA, has recorded more than 1,400 settler attacks that resulted in casualties or property damage. Violence typically spikes around October, the start of the olive harvest season, which has become a flashpoint in the conflict with settlers increasingly seeking to disrupt it. OCHA said it recorded 264 attacks in October, most of them directly linked to the harvest.
The UN’s number of incidents is far greater than Israeli records (of course, it’s the UN after all) but that doesn’t diminish the severity of the problem. It has drawn the attention and ire of PM, Netanyahu as well as the IDF’s chief of staff, Lt. General Eyal Zamir who both denounced the violence.
It has be pointed out that the perpetrators are mostly young teenagers and do not reflect the larger community. As reported in the Times of Israel this week, Netanyahu called the extremists “a minority that goes into Judea and Samaria and does not represent the large community of law-abiding, loyal settlers.”
That might be true, but it is disingenuous to minimize the severity of the acts. Let’s face it, when Israel was brutalized on October 7th it was repeatedly noted that the attack didn’t happen by a few extremists. It had the support and assistance of the general public of Gaza who voted for Hamas in the first place. Gazans knew of the terror-tunnels beneath their homes, hospitals and mosques and they celebrated and joined in the carnage initiated by Hamas. They were not as innocent as the mainstream press would have us believe.
While the violence perpetrated by these settlers in nowhere near the severity of what Hamas did on October 7th and I am not suggesting as such, the excusing of it by attributing it to some misguided kids and extremists is wrong. These assailants all come from families, from yeshivot, from communities. They have parents, siblings, friends and rabbis. If there isn’t a community-wide condemnation by those closest to them, then they are just as guilty as the violent actors themselves. Just like we pointed fingers at the supportive community of Gazans who cheered on the violence against Israel, we need to do the same at our own when they stay silent or quietly encourage this aggression.
But it is more than that. These terrorists – can we call them that? Shouldn’t we call them that? These Jewish terrorists, and all those who assist and aid them, need to relearn last week’s parsha and see how their actions and attitudes are diametrically opposed to the founder of our religion, Avraham. The Midrash HaGadol (14th Century work that compiled many traditional Midrashim into one work) makes a very important observation about Avraham’s purchase of a burial plot for his wife, Sara – the first acquisition of the land repeatedly promised to him by God:
Come and see the humility of our forefather, Avraham. God promised to give to him and his progeny the Land of Canaan forever. However, presently he was unable to find even a burial plot except through payment a large sum of money for it. Nevertheless, he never questioned God nor complained about it. Not only that, but he spoke with great humility to the inhabitants of the land as it says, “I am a stranger and a resident with you.”
If there is anyone who could have an attitude of “I got this coming to me” regarding Eretz Yisrael, it is Avraham. He was repeatedly promised by God that he and his offspring will get this land. There is no more powerful guarantee of a land gift than one received from God, Creator and Owner of the entire Universe. God ultimately owns the whole earth, and if He says part of it is yours, rest assured it is. It would be totally understandable if Avraham would pull rank and just lay claim to any and all of Canaan, after all he has God backing him up doesn’t he? And yet this is not his attitude nor is there an iota of it in his behavior. He humbly turns down the offer of getting the land gratis, and repeatedly bows to the locals and owner of the Machpela Cave during the negotiations. He even ends up overpaying for the plot. Not once did he exhibit any entitlement to the land.
Now if Avraham, the first Jew and the one that God promised directly will get the land, behaved in this manner, all the more so should his children – who didn’t get the promise from God directly – act in a humble manner and respect the non-Jewish, non-Israeli residents who live on the land. These Jewish terrorists in no way follow the example of their forefather. And although they may wear kipa, tzitzit and payot, they betray the very spirit and morals that Avraham embodied. As such, they are a stain on our people, on our Torah and on our tradition of how we treat gentiles who are presently living on the land, God’s promises notwithstanding. That promise in no way should translate into immoral and violent acts for it to be fulfilled. Not for Avraham and certainly not for his children.
Not only that, these fools further endanger Israelis and Jewish people all over the world. Whether we like it or not, whether is it is justified or not, the fact is that Israel and all Jews who support her have suffered much in the PR realm these past couple of years. These West Bank idiots are not helping matters. All they are doing is adding more fuel to the already raging anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic flames that have engulfed many all over the world. They are just giving them another reason to hate on Israel and hate on Jews.
Jewish leaders everywhere, and especially in Israel, need to put a kabosh on these recent acts. Jews everywhere need to condemn this. These actions do not reflect our Torah, our people, our values and our founder, Avraham Avinu. Poor, Avraham, he must be weeping at the sight of his children who have gone so far astray that they now mimic those who wish to destroy us. Let us make our forefather proud and walk in his ways by respecting all people – especially those who live alongside us.
On the steps of our forefathers
We’re walking in the desert
It’s hard to believe we’re walking across our history
When we get out in the country
With a confused heart you can already see
Up there the horizon is getting brighter
-Ishay Ribo/Amir
(Translated from the French)
