One more time

 

A concise defense of Palestinians

 

Dear editor,

Cherry-picking Torah is a [favorite] hobby of fundamentalist Christians, but Israel is not America’s [magical] lucky charm. Rather, Israel is a festering injustice that only incubates fanaticism and terrorism [around the world]. On the [assumption biblical presumption] that truth will set you free, consider this alternative to the voodoo exegesis that excuses seven decades of brutal colonial occupation in Palestine.

What scant archaeological evidence exists suggests ancient Israelites were just one of many tribes in Canaan. Their particular regional deity was Yahweh.

And they were hardly monotheistic – fertility goddesses were routinely incorporated into their idols and religious practices.

It must have worked. Stories of bloody smiting and conquest are a lot sexier, but Israelites eventually emerged as the dominant tribe through plain old fertility – assimilation and population growth.

Of course, [chest-thumping] dominance only lasted as long as they were [ignored flying under the radar]. Whenever regional superpowers showed up, Jewish kingdoms quickly collapsed. Aristocrats were killed or taken away as hostages. When these exiles returned, they discovered left-behind peasants had “moved on up” – and that’s when Torah’s creation myths were discovered in the nick of time to reassert the old pecking order. The aristocracy and hereditary priesthood were back in town, large and in charge. Uppity peasants were shuffled back to their fields of labor.

Funny thing about creation myths. Like [Cecil B. DeMille’s and] Charlton Heston’s exodus from Egypt.  There’s absolutely no archaeological evidence to back any of it up. It could have just as easily happened along the western coasts of Yemen and Arabia.

By the time an itinerant rabbi from Nazareth wandered onto the scene, more Jews were living outside of Palestine than in it. In other words, the infamous Diaspora had already happened. The “Holy” land, and especially Jerusalem, had already faded in importance. Only a few nationalistic zealots [clung to the fantasy of fantasized about] an independent [Jerusalem kingdom].

Apocalyptic preachery [popularized popularizes] the notion that the Roman Empire completely emptied Palestine in 70 AD, leaving it desolate for the next thousand years. Modern historians revisiting logistical requirements for wholesale ethnic cleansing have concluded that theory is ludicrous. Major cities like Jerusalem were indeed devastated, but rural villages and farmlands were not.

Which means that today’s Palestinians are direct descendants of those same Jews and pagans and pilgrims and assorted mystics who lived in Palestine while Jesus was among them. A few[, now known as the Mizrahim,] clung to their Judaism, but most became Christians and, later, Muslims.

Early Zionist thinkers were well aware of this. Yitzhak Ben Zvi, who became president of Israel, and David Ben Gurion, its first prime minister, both stated (long before 1948) that the peasants of Palestine were descendants of the inhabitants of ancient Judea.

So maybe Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are right after all. And maybe Jeanine Pirro really is a dangerous idiot. Read Gary Burge’s book, “Jesus and the Land: The New Testament Challenge to ‘Holy Land’ Theology.” But consider yourselves warned – the bedrock of your fundamentalism is a[n slippery] illusion. It [can will] turn to quicksand when exposed to truth.

Jacques d’Nalgar
Hot Springs, Arkansas

Permanent link to this article: https://levantium.com/2019/04/08/one-more-time/

1 comment

  1. Here is the letter that initiated my above response. It was published Sunday, 4/7/2019.

    Israel and scripture

    Dear editor:

    To readers of The Sentinel-Record Letters to the Editor, regardless of who you are or what you believe.

    Do you need to read the 22nd through 24th chapters of the Old Testament Book of Numbers? You do, if you are in agreement with the growing number of our country’s ungodly leadership, especially those who oppose our support of Israel. You do, if you voted for, or plan to vote for anyone who is in opposition to our support of Israel.

    In this passage of scripture, you will find that Balak, king of the Moabites, planned to have a curse put on the Israelites. He tried to hire a non-Israelite prophet, Balaam, to use his divination powers to place a curse on the Israelites. Balaam wanted the reward that king Balak offered and agreed to the King’s offer, but the plan backfired.

    Balaam attempted to ask God to curse Israel, and the Lord met with Balaam, (NIV, Numbers 23:4 and 5). However, God’s response must have surprised both the king and the Syrian prophet, because, God’s message blessed the Israelites, instead of cursing them. Again, according to Chapter 23, Verse 16, the Lord met with Balaam and gave him another message that blessed Israel.

    It is interesting that when God met with Balaam the third time, Balaam recognized that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel and Balaam did not resort to sorcery. (NIV, Numbers 24:1). Furthermore, the Spirit of God came upon him. (Numbers 24:2b). Then, in Numbers 24:3, we see that the Almighty God opened Balaam’s ears so he not only heard the word of God, he saw a vision from the Almighty, and fell into a trance with his eyes wide open.

    In the Book of Numbers, chapters 23 and 24, (NIV) Balaam delivers a total of five messages from God. The NIV Bible labels each of these messages, “Oracles” (Webster defines oracles as divinely inspired answers or revelations.)

    Much of the material in these oracles is prophesy and may be difficult for some of us to fully understand, however, the meaning of God’s warning words in the last part of Verse 9, Chapter 24,(NIV) is very clear. Quote: ” … May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed.” (Note: In Verse 5 we see that this message was addressed to Israel.)

    The bottom line, for me, is that Israel’s enemies can expect to be cursed. I do not want to be cursed. Do you?

    Robert Sowell
    Hot Springs

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