The Jews & The War God By Luise Light, Ed.D. 8-9-6 "By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and we wept when we remembered Zion. Upon the willows in the midst thereof did we hang our instruments. For there, they that had taken us captive asked us for words of song. And they that had led us away asked us for a hymn, saying: Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten. Let my tongue cleave to my throat, if I remember thee not, If I set not Jerusalem above all other, as at the head of my joy. Remember, O Lord, the sons of Edom, in the day of Jerusalem, Who said, 'Lay waste to her, even to the foundations thereof.' O daughter of Babylon, thou wretched one, blessed shall he be who shall reward thee wherewith thou hast rewarded us. Blessed shall he be who shall seize and dash thine infants against the rock." (Psalm 136)
The ancient Israelites, exiled from their refuge in Babylon, wept for the homes they were forced to flee. Jehovah warned them not to forget or forgive those who had destroyed their homeland, the sons of Edom, descendents of Esau, brother and rival to Jacob, the patriarch of the Jews. As I see the images of displaced and broken bodies in the news of Israel's latest desolation of Lebanon, I wonder if the Israeli prime minister thinks about Lebanon's dead babies as he dons his skullcap and recites his morning prayers. Does he thank Jehovah for giving him another opportunity to dash enemy infants against the rocks?
Jehovah, the old war god, has been at work in this bitter land for thousands of years, setting tribe against tribe and fueling death and destruction with implanted memories of ancient wrongs. What reconciliation can there be for brothers who dance in each others' footsteps and crush their children with mortar rounds and artillery shells?
What peace can there be for people who are pawns in Jehovah's ancient blood lusts and now fall prey to greedy world powers who only want to carve up the region's oilfields for their own benefit? Can our cynical political leaders be trusted to arrange a peace when our own President keeps telling the world, "Wait, it's too soon to make peace in Lebanon. The war needs to continue for a few weeks yet!" Meanwhile, his surrogates pepper the TV shows with opinions that this is the start of World War III. Why not? It's a hellava war for those with fat wallets bulging from gas prices through the ceiling because of wars! The war god must be pleased with the escalating terror undertaken in his name, with those who love peace marginalized by their governments and forced to stand by as the cacophony of war defeats sanity and hope. How did the Jews get it so wrong?
The Torah and Amalek
The Torah describes the two signal events that lay the foundation for Judaism: the exodus from Egypt, and Moses on Mount Sinai and receiving the Ten Commandments from Jehovah, the basis of the five books of Moses that describe the religious, social and ethical conduct at the heart of Judaism. But the Israelites in the wilderness worshipped graven images of local gods and refused to give up their idols for a god who demanded absolute loyalty and strict adherence to the Code Moses brought down to them from an invisible but very angry and demanding god. The special relationship between Jehovah and the Jews relies on their obedience to Jehovah's laws. It is in the adherence to Jehovah's precepts that Jews are distinguished from all other tribes and nations.
For Jews, allegiance to the Ten Commandments is more important than allegiance to flag or country. The Book of Judges in the Old Testament recounts how the Jews forgot their loyalty to Jehovah and became ensnared in the courtly protocols of the Jewish kings, from the time of David on, abandoning the old Jehovic rules. It was only after the destruction of the second temple and the exodus from Israel that many Jews returned to their ancient compact with Jehovah, the god of Israel.
The book of Deuteronomy describes Jehovah's demand for absolute loyalty and adds one additional commandment (Deut.25:17-19): "Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. Therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it."
Growing up a Jew, I learned the history of the Jewish people, the prayers, and the instructions that cover everything from social relations with strangers to marriage, business, health and cleanliness, dietary and spiritual practices essential for being a Jew. While the practices were exacting and tedious, they were not a heavy burden, except for one, the admonition to remember the evil done by the tribe of Amalek and to eradicate them from the face of the earth. It seemed not to be in keeping with the ethical practices I had been instructed to follow. Why did our god admonish his chosen people to wipe out another tribe, and never to forget or forgive the insult delivered to our forbears more than 5000 years ago? The rabbis said it was because Amalek attacked the rear of the column of Israelites retreating from Egypt in the wilderness, killing women, children, the sick and frail, avoiding the seasoned soldiers at the front while maximizing the Israelites terror. The need for this vengeance and slaughter of innocents is taught to every Jewish child still today.
A New Song of Peace
Now we see what comes of ancient blood feuds that know no end. In Lebanon, the Hizbollah are Amalek to Israelis because they are launching missiles into Israel and killing civilians indiscrimately. Meanwhile, Israel's planes, ships and ground forces are destroying Lebanon in pursuit of Hizbollah, destroying everything and everyone in their path, including frail women, children, the sick and the infirm who are hiding from Israeli bombs in airless basements. But the shelters are no match for the high-tech, precision bombs the Israeli army is using, recently received from the United States on an emergency basis in order to proceed with the total "cleansing" of Lebanon.. The bombs turn homes into dust and rubble that rain down on the terrified women and children sheltering in basements, snuffing out their lives. In war, there are no innocent victims, only those in the path of the war machine who must be expunged.
Jehovah, the god of war, has planted an infernal seed in the perpetrators of this war that continuously feeds the dark fires of hatred and violence. There appears no escape from the vengeance of Jehovah and his demands for catastrophe. The prime minister of Israel says emphatically, "There will be no ceasefire!" The President of the United States says it's too early for a ceasefire. While hourly, more innocent Lebanese bleed and die, and a million have become displaced persons. Is this war or ethnic cleansing, the last century's preferred solution for clearing land coveted by foreign colonizers?
The time has come for Jews to sing a new song, a song of peace. Peace is now possible. Contrary to the misinformation disseminated by the White House and White Hall, Israel vetoed unprecedented peace proposals that would have initiated a promising new framework for serious negotiations, and went on to provoke Palestinian and Lebanese groups into retaliations that now threaten to escalate into an even more dangerous regional conflict. This was the news from a reliable source, the morning before the invasion of Lebanon.
The peace proposal was rejected because of a veto by Israel's secret intelligence service, Shin Bet, who favored the invasion instead of peace. Peace has few friends in the region and many enemies. But we cannot, in conscience, continue to sit on our hands and watch the massacre and uprooting that's been going on for three weeks to feed the death-eater dreams of the global expansionists. There are no small wars only berserk warmongers. Wars have neither regions nor borders, and peace is never the result of wars. The blood of the slaughtered always demands retribution.
Now, we are all Lebanese, as our humanity is slaughtered along with the innocents.
Luise Light is a nutritionist and author of, What to Eat; The Ten Things You Really Need to Know to Eat Well and Be Healthy (McGraw Hill, 2006). She is a resident of Bellows Falls, VT, where she is an elected Village official.
Poster Comment:
at least more are figuring out that jehovah, a long dead babylonian war diety, or archon, has nothing to do with god.
this being is racist, vengeful, bloodthirsty, demands animal sacrifice, genital mutilation, subjugation of the feminine... you figure out who that sounds like.
any sg1 fans here? sounds exactly like lord baal.