CHANUKAH AND HAMAS December 15, 2023
Sundown tonight marks the end of the eight-day Festival of Lights—Chanukah. However, the story we’ve again told usually remains incomplete because we ignore the related law of unintended consequences. Israel should take note. And Hamas.
Around 164 BCE, traditional Jews defeated their Seleucid Greek overlords and also Jewish Hellenizers. The winners cleaned and rededicated (the meaning of Chanukah) the Second Temple. A miracle happened. One day’s worth of ritually pure oil for the menorah (lampstand) lasted eight.
Thereafter, the kingdom of Judah lived in peace, right? Sadly, the law of unintended consequences kicked in. Warfare between kingdoms and among Jews continued until 63 BCE when the Roman general Pompey conquered Judah and renamed it Judea.
Pax Romana? Jews chafed and resisted. Two rebellions eventually followed. Freedom regained? In 70 CE, Rome crushed the first rebellion and destroyed the Temple. In 135, the Bar Kochba rebellion, opposed by many rabbis, failed. Rome executed thousands of Jews, exiled others, forbade Jewish practices and laid waste to the land. They also renamed Judea as Syria Palaestina, referring to the old Greek-held Syrian province.
Nations that win wars have great expectations. But the greatest eventually collapse. In time, the Roman Empire, Western and Eastern, went under.
I suspect that when the Israel–Hamas war ends, both entities will see their expectations turned upside down.
Ultimately, Israel will win the war. But Hamas’ ability to attack Israel will only be halted temporarily rather than terminated. Without change, Israel will buy a relatively short-lived peace. That is, unless the international community helps Gazans reject Hamas’ vow to destroy Israel, shun terrorism and insist on living with Israel in peace.
If so, Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel will prove a Pyrrhic victory. Hamas will have pulled off a major terrorist event leading to its own destruction, at least as a military entity.
Real peace also will require Israel to overturn its politics. A centrist coalition will have to replace Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government. The new government will have to promote a two-state solution.
To create partners for peace, Israelis and Palestinians will have to accept a critical if hard-to-stomach principle: You make peace not with your friends but with your enemies.
Israel may have to deal with Marwan Barghouti, a popular Palestinian leader serving several life sentences in Israeli prison for murder. Jerusalem may also have to speak with senior Hamas officials who foreswear the destruction of Israel.
The new Israeli government also will have to prevent the far-right, including violence-prone settlers, from undermining the formation of a Palestinian state on the West Bank, ultimately linked to Gaza.
I don’t advocate warfare as an antidote to the status quo. Moreover, history spirals, moving forward in some ways while recycling the same errors and outrages. But the United States rebuilt Germany and Japan into thriving democracies. Nothing is perfect or forever, but a post-war peace between bitter enemies remains in place.
The West and the Muslim world (Iran will oppose) must help Israel and the Palestinians move forward step by step to end their horrible cycle of war. Both sides must look forward, not backward.
Yes, the law of unintended consequences may lead to some other unexpected catastrophe. Still, it eventually might pave the way towards an unexpected peace.
Feel free to pass this post on.
Order The Short (Pun Intended) Redemptive Life of Little Ned in softcover or e-book from Amazon, barnesandnoble.com or iuniverse.com. Or your favorite bookstore.
I think for peace to settle in the region all the Arab neighbors have to support it. It’s time these countries stand up for peace instead of sitting on the sidelines and festering the Palestinian situation.
Great read is A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Israel, a simple guide to the most misunderstood country on earth” by Noa Tishby This was published in 2021, but almost predicts todays situation to a T. It’s an easy read and documents the history back to the the beginning from pre Roman times. Focus is mainly 20th century onward. She views herself as a liberal activist. She’s a 3rd generation Israeli also living in the US.
Thanks, Sandy.