Israel's loyalty oath: Our brother's "keeper"

QUESTION:  Are we not our brother's keeper?

ANSWER: If your name is Avigdor Lieberman, then you will answer "no" to this question - especially if the "brother" in question is an Arab Israeli citizen.

BACKGROUND (going way back):

The question - "Am I my brother's keeper?" - goes way back to the time of Cain and Abel. Maybe Lieberman would consider answering that question in the affirmative - but only after duly noting that Arabs and Jews are not brothers, but are instead half-brothers. Same father (Abraham) but two different mothers. Hagar (a slave) was the mother of the first-born Ishmael, who became the founding patriarch of the Arab people. Sarah (Abraham's wife) was the mother of the second-born Isaac, who became the founding patriarch of the Jewish people.

By the way, it was Sarah's idea that Abraham (er) beget via Hagar.

Lieberman contemplates enacting sinful legislation

Right-wing Israeli Jews, loyal to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's "Israel is our Home" party, are contemplating a means of humiliating Israel's Arab citizens. The "means" is a proposed loyalty oath for all Israeli citizens to be taken upon reaching age 18. "Those who refuse to take this oath will become ‘residents' of Israel and lose their status as citizens," according to Abraham Foxman, National Director of the (U.S.) Anti-Defamation League.

QUOTE [referring to Lieberman]:

His loyalty oath would require all Israelis to vow allegiance to Israel as a Jewish, democratic state, to accept its symbols, flag and anthem, and to commit to military service or some alternative service. Those who declined to sign such a pledge would be permitted to live here as residents but not as voting citizens...

:UNQUOTE [The New York Times' article by Ethan Bronner, published 2/8/09: "A Hard-Liner Gains Ground in Israel"].

Why a Jew might not want to take such an oath

Lieberman is attempting to force the will of a majority on a minority. That should send shudders down the spines of Jews who remember what it was like to be in the minority while living in other countries. American Jews (and other Americans) who lived in the US during the McCarthy Era know full well that loyalty oaths are meant to be repressive.

At one extreme, mandating the swearing of such an oath is simply a matter of one group (the majority who passes such knee-jerk laws) telling another group (a minority) what it must swear or affirm. Basically, nobody likes to be told what to do or say, nor should they be as long as they aren't breaking any laws.

At the other extreme, we have badly-conceived loyalty oaths, which contain language like this:

"I am not now nor have I ever been a member of an organization which advocates the violent overthrow of the US government."

Although, on the surface, this seems reasonable, there is a powerful retort:

"But sir, my organization does advocate the violent overthrow of the US government in the event that government violently and unconstitutionally attempts to suppress the basic human rights of the American people. The Founding Fathers themselves could not honor the loyalty oath you're proposing."

Another consideration: Suppose I am an Israeli Jew who converts to Buddhism. Am I supposed to swear an oath which, at its core, insists that Israel forever remain a Jewish state? As a Jew, I wouldn't dare try to force such an oath on a fellow Jew. Actually, this ties in to one of my earlier themes: Peace will not be realized in the Middle East until its peoples - Muslims and Jews alike - convert to Buddhism. For it's painfully obvious that people of the Abrahamic faiths - even though they be brothers (alright, half-brothers, if you prefer) - can't get along and will always hate each other, especially if they happen to be neighbors.

What about the Constitution: Any Israeli citizen should be concerned about enacting any law that would strip any Israeli of his citizenship. Not sure such a law would even be constitutional.

Why an Arab Israeli citizen would not want to take such an oath

Let's look at the Israeli national anthem, which this oath would make incumbent on all Israeli citizens:

QUOTE [English translation of The Hope]:

As long as in the heart, within,

A Jewish soul still yearns,

And onward, towards the ends of the east,

An eye still gazes toward Zion;

Our hope is not yet lost,

The hope of two thousand years,

To be a free people in our land,

The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

:UNQUOTE.

This "national" anthem presupposes that Arab Israeli citizens have Jewish souls? No, not really: More likely, it's a crude attempt to rub their half-brother's noses in it. And of course there's that last line: "the land of Zion and [here it comes] Jerusalem." Last time I checked, Muslims didn't seem too keen on ceding all of Jerusalem to Israel.

Become a Light Unto all Nations

I've lived my entire life in the United States, hearing these claims oft repeated:

The Jews are a Chosen People, and Israel is supposed to be a light unto all nations.

Quotes and my Responses

QUOTE [see Footnote 1]:

The Torah teaches us that the opposite is true:

"Learn and observe [the Torah] for it is your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations, who will hear of all these laws and proclaim that this is truly a great, wise and understanding nation." (Deut. 4:6)

It is clear that the Torah attaches importance to the respect given us by the nations of the world.

RESPONSE:

The "eyes of the nations" of the world do not see Israel as having "wisdom and understanding." Many of the "nations of the world" (or at least their governments) respect Israel - at least begrudgingly. Most of the peoples of the world, however, do not respect Israeli "wisdom and understanding." A casual observer might reflect: "Just as a son abused by his father can grow up to be a father abusive of his own son, so it is that people who are oppressed can become oppressors."

My question is: When do the formerly abused rise above their memories of the past?

QUOTE [see Footnote 1 - again]:

We, the Nation of Priests, represent God to the world by our exemplary lifestyle, and imbue the world with knowledge of His existence:

"We are a light unto the nations." (Isaiah 42:6)

RESPONSE:

Where is your "exemplary lifestyle?" You have so much, yet your fellow citizen (not to mention your other half-brothers who are Palestinian) have so little. And you want even more? You are not a Nation of Priests but of fearful, greedy little men who (really) worship your nuclear weapons. God does not dwell among you - He could not stand the lack of brotherly love.

In all fairness, though, there are Muslims who have been and continue to be abusive to Jews. I won't quantify and compare here, though, since I think it's unbecoming for anyone to say: "My neighbor's bad conduct toward me justifies my bad conduct toward him." Personally, I try my damnedest to avoid allowing anything my neighbor does to poison my view of the world or to make me lash out. Doing so would simply give any such malevolent way too much power.

QUOTE [see footnote 2]:

In a novel interpretation of the name [Ishmael] - which literally means ‘God will [in the future] hear' - he explains that "God will hear the cries of the people arising from the oppression which the children of [Ishmael] will bring about in the land [of Israel] in the end of days."

RESPONSE:

Could my eyes be deceiving me? Is this quote asserting that Muslims will be oppressing Jews in Israel just before the end of the world? Will this be yet another case of an oppressed group becoming oppressors? I certainly hope this vicious cycle will end - way before the End of Days (which, by the way, I don't happen to believe in).

Far more interesting to me, though, is the name Ishmael and its meaning: "God will [in the future] hear." Pray tell, just what is it that God will be hearing?

Final Thought on Abraham Himself

I hate to say it, but somebody must, simply because it's too obvious:

Abraham seems to have been a real dick who didn't love his first born and didn't have balls enough to stand up to his wife and say: "I won't banish my son Ishmael and his mother, Hagar. You're going to have to simply learn to get along." [Personal feeling? I think that's what God was hoping Abraham would say.]

But because he didn't say that, we're all paying a heavy price to this very day - for a continuing failure to get along.

Steven Searle was a candidate for U.S. President in 2008:

"It's a good thing Avigdor Lieberman isn't the Defense Minister. Then he might have to deal with certain Arab Israeli citizens who would be more than willing to take his oath for the sole purpose of insisting that they be allowed to "serve" in Israel's army. Avigdor, have you thought this thing out very carefully?" - Steve.

Founder of The Best Party Available

Footnote 1: http://www.aish.com/torahportion/outlooksandinsights/Light_Unto_the_Nations.asp ]

Footnote 2: God Regrets Four Things by Mois Navon, pg. 183

Contact me: bpa_cinc@yahoo.com

Open Invitation: I hereby waive all copyright protection for any material I've posted on Zaadz/Gaia with these exceptions: I reserve the right to disseminate this material, claim authorship credit for it and any compensation I can negotiate. However, if anyone wishes to use these essays, they are free to do so. I do not require that advance permission be obtained, that I be paid any royalties, or that I receive author's credit or even be notified of intent to use. I truly want anyone "out there" to feel free to use these essays, in original or modified form, for whatever purposes they deem worthy.