By Larry Gordon
Whether on the campus of Columbia University or their associated school, Barnard College, whether here in New York or any campus around the country or around the world, the rallies and protests in favor of the terrorists of Hamas and against the Jews and Israel are easily explained as a manifestation of the war of Amalek against the Jews.
That explanation, however, comes up short because while we use Amalek as an explanation for the widespread antisemitism, it is important for us to understand what or who Amalek is that warrants this unbridled hatred and animosity of Israel and the Jewish people throughout history.
A few years ago, the UN types and others like them tried to explain that their issue was only with Zionism and they were perfectly okay with Jews. They tried to sell the world on the fact that their objective was about deconstructing the Jewish State, but they were okay as far as Jews were concerned. In other words, Israel had to go but the Jews could stay.
Sure.
This has been exposed as a canard and a grand deception since there is no difference between hostility and hatred for Israel and the same feelings about Jews.
Back in 1975, the UN passed a resolution that equated Zionism with racism. 113 countries voted in favor of the resolution, which included Ukraine, by the way. It was a low point for the State of Israel and took many years until the UN took steps to reverse the original resolution. That took place at the end of 1991. Not everyone at the UN accepted the reversal of the resolution that declared that Zionism was a form of racism.
The curtain has now been lifted on this charade, especially in the aftermath of October 7, when the Jews who made it their life mission to co-exist peacefully with the Arabs near the border of Gaza were ruthlessly murdered. Last week, a former resident of Southern Israel commented about his friends and neighbors who bore the brunt of the Palestinian rampage, that their religion was not merely Judaism, “Our religion was peace,” he said. Unfortunately, that was a self-imposed deception, similar to the grand deception of the two-faced Arabs who speak about “peace” in grand terms, yet never stop plotting war and destruction.
But still, we need to get to the heart of the matter. What is this thing that we accept as antisemitism or the far simpler term, Jew-hatred? In other words, is accepting the fact that so many people in the world hate Jews for the simple reason that they are Jews enough of an explanation for you?
Apparently, that is enough of a reason for the thousands of students who protest against Israel and Jewish students on Ivy League campuses, many of whom, when asked last week by journalists what they were protesting, responded that they did not know.
It’s no coincidence that last week as we read from the Torah about the war with Amalek, the student protests on campus had reached a zenith. Rav Adin Steinsaltz in his sefer on our weekly parshiyot suggests that this war against Jews, whether in Israel or New York, was in its essence a war against G-d. The Rav suggests that after witnessing the miracles that Hashem performed to liberate the new nation of Israel from Egyptian bondage, such as splitting the sea, turning the Nile red, etc. that no nation would dare challenge the people of Israel, who seemed to be under Hashem’s special protection.
But the Rav writes that “Amalek did not fear G-d.” Amalek is not only about antisemitism. Amalek fought against G-d, whose presence in the world is manifest in the people of Israel, and they are merely the physical expression of that sentiment.
This dynamic is further accentuated by Israel’s tiny geographic footprint on the world map. How can 35 Muslim countries, many of which are rich in mineral resources, be so blindly devoted to the singular objective of destroying Israel and murdering Jews? Perhaps because they represent a truth that is hard for them to swallow, that the Torah is the truth and the Jews are the Chosen People.
Last week, over 1,000 Syrians were murdered in a two-hour period because they are a minority sect of Islam—Alawites. There was not a peep or even a whimper from the UN. The Europeans, other Middle Eastern countries, and just about everyone else was silent as those innocent people in Syria were slaughtered.
In the meantime, the U.S. is now engaging directly with representatives of Hamas who live in luxury in Qatar. Israel and the U.S. want the rest of the 59 hostages released as we pass the 17-month mark since the October 7 rampage, in which Hamas murdered more than 1,200 and kidnapped more than 250 people. Of the 59 people that are currently being held, it is believed that 22 are still alive.
Everyone involved seems to be proceeding gingerly. The hostages deserve to be returned to their families alive. Those who were killed in captivity deserve to be returned to Israel for a dignified and proper Jewish burial.
The matter that disturbed Amalek in Biblical times is similar to what troubles the modern-day Amalekites: the continued survival of and success of the Jewish people. This is what troubled the Nazis and what has bothered the Arabs since 1948 and perhaps earlier than that.
As I’ve detailed previously, when the Jews escaping the Nazis arrived in Shanghai, a Japanese official asked two of the leading rabbis, “Why do the Nazis hate you so much?” The rabbis responded that the reason in their estimation was that the Jews were an ancient people and the Nazis resented that reality and wanted to kill them. To which the Japanese official said, “But we Japanese are also an ancient people.” To that, the rabbis responded, “Indeed, and the Japanese are next on their list of people to be destroyed.”
On the matter of Gaza, we have been fixated with calling the murderous terrorists too many names for too long. In last weekend’s New York Post, Liel Leibowitz, editor-at-large at Tablet Magazine wrote: “Instead of holding up pictures of hostages and demanding that the world empathize over their barbaric captivity and murder, realize this: The world doesn’t care. Never has, never will. When you demand that people feel sorry for you, you just look weak.
She continues, “The only way out of this cycle of degradation is by being strong.” She concluded by saying: “Leave bad institutions, bad leaders, and bad habits behind and spend your days doing beautiful and constructive Jewish things. Have more Jewish babies. Learn more Torah. Build new Jewish institutions. Become stronger in spirit and in flesh. And when you do, take a break and look up. You’ll be surprised to see that the freaks who were picking at you when you were quivering have all disappeared.”
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and X for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
