Maccabees Redux 

Letters to the Editor

It is obvious from reading the newspapers and watching TV that many people are having conflicting feelings about how Israel should try to resolve its current war. The “what’s the endgame” question in the face of world condemnation toward conquering all of Gaza presents a dilemma without any “good” choices.  Current articles have headlines like, “A Terrible Price,” “Should the War Continue?” and “The Endless Cruelty of War,” all lamenting war’s impact on our Jewish morals, our empathy, our inbred kindness and our generosity. Yet, my inner reflection focuses not on what is being lost, but on immense joy as to what is being gained! How did the Jews of 167 BCE feel when the Maccabees took to the field, fighting against the Syrian-Greeks, losing thousands of their countrymen in the 25-year war that followed? Were they depressed – or elated?  Were they concerned with the morality of their actions –  or thankful and relieved to be free from the repression of the Syrian-Greeks?

As we enter the second year of a seven-front war against Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran, I believe this is a great moment in Jewish history. After falling to the Assyrians in 722 BCE, the Babylonians in 586 BCE and finally to the Romans in 70 CE, the Jews faced 2,000 long years without a homeland, a government, or an army – and as a result were killed, murdered, raped and pillaged by almost every nation in which they lived. In contrast, today, beset by multiple nation-states bent on Israel’s total destruction, we finally have a country and an army composed of hundreds of thousands of courageous young Jewish men and women, who take up arms and beat back our enemies, destroying their capacity to make war against us. Israeli young men and women courageously step forward, putting their lives at risk to confront history and say, “Never Again!” 

Despite this selfless dedication to the war effort, a significant portion of the Israeli population wants to end the war now. It seems that 2,000 years of powerlessness may have left their mark on our Jewish consciousness. Two millennia without responsibility to maintain our national existence may have conditioned us to pacificism. When Joshua crossed the Jordan River to establish the nation of Israel, the Jews had to fight for seven years, almost continuously. When David reigned, Israel was plunged into continuous warfare to protect its sovereignty and its people. Our history up until the Assyrian invasion constantly alternated between wars and short periods of peace. This is the real theme of Jewish history.

Today we are experiencing “Maccabees Redux,” a glorious rebirth of a nation returned to history. A nation that has shed its weakness, now strong enough to stand up, defend its existence, and protect its citizens. Unlike the tragic story of the Jews living in the Rhineland who were rounded up and massacred by the Crusaders, unable to defend their wives, their children, or themselves, we have courageous soldiers, an Iron Dome, a heroic and effective air force, resilient wives and mothers and a prudent populace.  I feel this is a time of glory – of greatness – and of our return to history. And this sometimes requires us to sacrifice our most precious youth in this fight for life and existence. 

Joab remonstrated against David when he fell into mourning over the death of his rebellious son, Absalom, as it says in II Samuel 19:3, “And the victory day was turned into mourning for all the people.” Joab confronted David and said, “You have shamed this day the faces of your servants (soldiers) who this day have saved your life and the lives of your family… but you have declared this day that your princes and servants are nothing to you; this day if Absalom had lived and we had all died, it would have pleased you!… If you do not go out (in joy) to meet the people, not a man/soldier will remain loyal to you in the morning!… And the King went out to greet the people as they came before him.”

As Solomon wrote in Kohelet, “There is a time for war and a time for peace.” Let us all rejoice in our victory, stand by our brothers and sisters, and recognize that we, the reborn nation of Israel, have finally returned to history.

Roy Pinchot, Netanya, Israel
Former Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, USNews & World Report Books