December 2003

Chanukah, Israel and History
Rabbi Mordekai Shapiro

November marks the anniversary of the United Nations vote on the Partition of Palestine. This landmark resolution, adopted in 1947, paved the way for the founding of the Modern State of Israel. It marks the first time that an international body recognized the legitimate rights of the Jewish people to the land of Israel and in the face of the political realities and the demographics of the day officially offered a two state solution for the area. As we well know the Arabs rejected that offer and preferred instead to attack the fledgling Jewish State with the intent to wipe it off the map thus securing Arab claims to all of Palestine. Following the cease-fire in 1948, the new boundary lines gave the Arabs control over the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, the Old City of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Despite (or perhaps because of) their avowed intention to destroy the Jewish State an Arab State was never proclaimed in any of these territories. Moreover, in spite of the Arab defeat in the Suez war of 1956 and the relentless pressures put on Israel to withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula and other areas secured in that war, the Arabs did not take advantage of the situation to declare their own state in Palestine. The Arabs controlled this territory until the Six Day War of 1967 and still no Arab state was formed, no Arab rule was imposed and no Arab country took responsibility for caring for the refugees, and displaced persons. In 1999, an Israeli government once again offered the Arabs a two state solution and again it was rejected preferring instead to wage a reign of terror on the civilian population of Israel. That makes three times in fifty years that an internationally recognized government or organization formally and officially offered to create a two state solution in the territory known as Palestine only to have it rejected by the Arab representatives. Moreover, not once during the centuries that Palestine was controlled by the Ottoman Turks was there an Arab state on that territory.
Then truth is that the two-state solution has been discussed and debated for centuries, if not millennia. Neglecting for a moment the legitimacy of the Biblical promises to our forefathers, the historical reality is that the Judeans "shared" Palestine with Cutheans, Samaritans, Idumeans, Greeks and Romans amongst others at a time when Jewish governments ruled Judea. All this, in spite of the fact that the Torah mandates the elimination of the 'seven nations dwelling in the land' and absolutely prohibits the forging on an alliance with any of them. And yet, we have always dealt with and lived with political, demographic and territorial realities. There are two things that make the current situation different from the past. One is that we live in the glass bowl of constant media attention and awareness. This makes everything that happens instantly known and subject to instant scrutiny and comment by those who profess to know better than anyone else. The problem with this is that both those who are ignorant of the situation as well as those who should know better are influenced by the half-witted talking heads whose instant solutions to the so called Palestinian problem is drawn from comparisons to any other country's civil and ethnic struggles. The second is that many Jews remain unconvinced of the legitimacy of our claim and rights to Eretz Yisroel. This is profoundly disturbing to say the least. Faith and belief in Hashem must automatically yield a strengthening of the significance of Eretz Yisroel even in a modern world. As we prepare to celebrate the Yomtov of Chanukah we must be reminded of the Hasmonean struggle for the legitimacy of Jewish rule in Judea. Theirs was a religious, political and social struggle. It was a battle that set a tone for the survival of Yiddishkeit forever. It reinvigorated the Jewish people to the idea that there are principles worth fighting for and that the primary purpose of the Jew is to defend the honor of Torah and the Torah way of life. We cannot lose sight of this in the face of the struggle for Jewish survival today. We are embattled all over the world. The overturned stones of European anti-Semitism have revealed the worms and snakes that have been hibernating and waiting patiently for their new found moments in the sun. We cannot be lulled into a complacency that will translate into an impotent reaction to all manner of anti-Zionist, anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish activity wherever it may be. The Hasmoneans and the Maccabbees of old must be resurrected within us to inspire us to defend our people and ourselves with all the power and vigor we can muster. The lessons of Chanukah are clear. Unless we defend ourselves and our legitimate rights, no one will do it for us.