Yes, that's what the interfaith interlocutors repeat like a mantra. All of them, Jews, Christians and Muslims lay claim to the heritage of Avraham Avinu. But only Bnei Yisrael are the rightful inheritors of Avraham Avinu's mission, destiny and promises through Yitzchak Avinu and Ya'aqov Avinu.
The children of the Divinely spurned Yishmael and Eisav brazenly come and take a seat at the head of the table, self-assuredly and self-righteously proclaiming that "all mankind" are equal, all are the same. But, secretly, in their heart of hearts, they believe in their own superiority. They have an additional revelation of God's will from their prophet/messiah.
Not only is their "faith" not "Abrahamic," it's also not monotheistic.
You might be familiar with the Christian "Trinity" - the three gods in one - but, did you know that they ascribe god-like power also to the Satan? Did you know that according to Christian belief, the Satan is fighting a war against God and sometimes he wins!??
It would appear to be true that the Muslims believe in only one god, but what good is that when the "one" they worship is the wrong one? Their god is recorded as doing and saying and commanding things that HKB"H never did or ever would.
These people, like their forebears, have abandoned the path Avraham Avinu trod - the path that ends (and begins) at Har Sinai. With such people, the true Bnei Avraham have nothing to talk about.
Shifting gears here, although the passage of the Nation-State law by the Knesset changed nothing in reality currently, and might even have the potential to make things worse for us in the future, it did provide a very interesting test for the non-Jews in Eretz Yisrael.
For all my time here, I've only ever heard from religious Jews that the Druze are gerei toshav. They are gentiles that are allowed to live in Eretz Yisrael because they are monotheistic and loyal to the State and serve in the army.
While I would debate the issue of their religion from the standpoint that they have still created something apart from the Noahide laws, they did exhibit a most unfortunate reaction to the passage of the aforementioned Nation-State law.
...The Nationality Law has one more dubious achievement: it undermines the very important relationship between the Jewish majority and the Druze in Israel. Brig. Gen. (res.) Amal Asad sent a letter to the prime minister four years ago, stressing that the legislation offends all members of the Druze community. There is no one who represents the close bond between the Druze and the Jewish state like Asad. But Netanyahu never bothered answering.
The Druze never disputed the determination that Israel is a Jewish state. But not just Jewish, it's also a state that grants full rights to its non-Jewish citizens. Now, Asad and many other Druze like him feel like Israel is rejecting them. They already announced their intentions to petition the High Court of Justice against the law. (Source)Besides being required to formally accept upon themselves to follow the Noahide laws, a non-Jew allowed to live in Eretz Yisrael must accept tribute and servitude. They can have no rights of citizenship to determine the destiny of the Jewish nation. Yes, they must agree to live as an underclass. So declared the Creator of the World in His Torah.
If they are unwilling to accept these Torah-mandated conditions, they must find another country to live in. These non-Jews who have benefited from being allowed to remain in this Land for generations had a golden opportunity now, to declare openly their willingness to accept that the Jewish State belongs only to the Jews, and that they appreciate being allowed to remain under whatever conditions the Creator has ordained for them as non-Jews. (Remember, there is nothing stopping them from becoming Jews after all.)
Obviously, they firmly believe that they are equal to Jews with equal rights as Jews, maybe even more equal than some (especially those who don't also serve in the army). They have thereby declared themselves ineligible to remain in this Land when the Redeemer comes to enforce God's laws here.
How ironic that it is the head of the party calling itself "Jewish Home" that rushes to their defense!
Bennett: Government must ‘heal wound’ caused to Druze by nation-state law 'These are our blood brothers, who stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us on the battlefield,' education minister saysIn this week's parashah, Va'etchanan, we read the Ten Commandments. There is a joke about the rabbi, mimicking the doctor's oft-repeated instructions, recommending to his students to "take two tablets (luchot) and call me in the morning."
This is a very bitter pill for the non-Jews to swallow.
Devash,
ReplyDeleteExcellent! You certainly have a way of putting into words what many of us feel in our hearts. The same goes for the other lie they spread of the "Judeo/Christian" background.
Yitzchok
Many thanks for your support and encouragement.
DeleteTruth is you cant blame the druze. Who told them that they are required to follow the laws of ger toshav? The medinah? The Rabbinut? Correct me if im wrong but no official govt body ever told the druze to submit to hilchot ger toshav. They are just following the culture of israeliut. What do you want from them?
ReplyDeleteYes, they do bear the blame and HKB"H will hold them responsible, as well as every human being on earth, because the truth is available to any who seek it out. But they have their own religion that apparently tells them they are co-owners here, so they aren't looking to know anything else other than that.
DeleteYitzchok - Thanks - I was about to write almost the same thing, word for word. Great post and a great comment.
ReplyDeleteThe Druze consider Yitro a central prophet. It's therefore not much of a stretch to say that they are the spiritual descendants of the Keini.
ReplyDeleteBemidbar 24:21:
וַיַּרְא, אֶת-הַקֵּינִי, וַיִּשָּׂא מְשָׁלוֹ, וַיֹּאמַר: אֵיתָן, מוֹשָׁבֶךָ, וְשִׂים בַּסֶּלַע, קִנֶּךָ.
The Ramban explains that the Keini have a choice. They can either join Israel and get exiled with them by Assyria and then return along with them later - or they can join Amalek with whom they dwelled and be destroyed forever.
The similarities are striking.
It is interesting, but until somebody comes who knows for sure, all we have to go on is their actions and their statements.
DeleteThe Druze are very quiet about their actual religious beliefs, but they do call it a religion. That "religion" is what separates them from other Arabs. One thing we know is that their religion requires them to be loyal to whatever power they live under and not to challenge it, so the day after we would be pushed into the sea, they would be just as loyal to whomever took over here and serve in that army as well.
If it were to be clarified that they follow the Noahide code, I would personally have no problem with them remaining here, but the Torah requires tribute and servitude, not me.
At this point, they have made it abundantly clear that they are unwilling to accept such terms, so I guess they've made the ultimate decision.
As geriei toshav, they have civil rights, but no rights of citizenship. By the state having given them full rights against the Torah mandate, they have accustomed them to a status they are not entitled to and making it harder in the end for them to relinquish it.
Jewishness is our nationality and only Jews are rightful citizens of the Jewish nation. The only path to citizenship is conversion. Modern people have a problem with religion being tied up with citizenship, but that's how it is by us.
Likely dangerous to think the geulah is about a parcel of land and a people in the middle east exclusively. Although the imminent geulah mirrors the one from Egypt, the difference in scope is explicitly stated in the tanack. No one knows who's who, one can know oneself -even that is subject to errors.
ReplyDeleteLikely dangerous because some might take the leap into helping G_d.
Chaim
Devash, could you please explain me what the Druze are complaining about? Honestly, I don't understand. From the Arabs, Europeans, leftist garbage and all the rest of the enemies I don't expect anything, they'll use any pretext to attack Israel and Netanyahu, so I'm glad they bark. It's a good sign. But why are the Druze so worried? I don't think we should be ungrateful to the children of Yitro. It is a matter of ego? What are they afraid of? This new basic law doesn't contradict the independence declaration in any way. They remain full citizens with equal rights, including same benefits and obligations. The only difference is that the Arabic language was reduced from "official" to "special", but even that has no practical effect and the Arabic writings in roads and institutions will remain exactly the same. Maybe the government could add an amendment to the basic law recognizing the importance to the state of the Druze minority...? Of course, when Mashiach comes and he's in control the rules will change for everybody, Jews and non-Jews alike (I suspect many more wicked Jews will die than Druze), but even according to the rules of democracy I don't understand what's the problem with this new law.
ReplyDeleteLook, everybody knows that this tension between Israel being a state of all its citizens or a Jewish state cannot be maintained forever. Every thoughtful person understands that both cannot be true. As long as a Jewish majority rules, it sort of works, but the push is on to bring more and more gentiles into the country which threatens Jewish hegemony.
DeleteAt some point, the nation has to admit that it will be one or the other. I think this law was meant to make a declaration of intention for Israel to be a Jewish State, even though we know that practically speaking it's still on the fence, straddling two possibilities.
You can see how just SAYING we want to maintain a Jewish majority and give preference to Jewish settlement has set off a firestorm. The world is really unwilling for us to be a Jewish state. Somewhere down the road the non-Jewish residents of Israel will have to relinquish any rights of citizenship and even have some of their civil rights restricted. The Druze have some inkling of this and that's what has them concerned.
Today, they are judges and Knesset members, considered equal in every way. But the truth is Jews and non-Jews are NOT equal. By confirming officially that Israel is intended to be a Jewish state, it denies their right to be equal citizens unless they are also Jews. If I were in their place, I'd feel the same way. But, everybody is going to have to come to terms with the Truth whether they like it or not.
As you say, practically speaking this hasn't actually changed anything on the ground, but remember, we are in a war for hearts and minds and on that battlefield, a very important and strategic blow has been struck.
Just before I read your last comment above, Devash, I was going to write about the 'country of all its citizens' and that's exactly what leadership had in mind from the very start of the rebirth of the nation. They wanted not only to erase
ReplyDelete'Torah' from Israel, but wanted to integrate all others to make a new people (a non-Jewish people) with the culture of the Jewish people as its basis, r'l.
This is why they allowed the Druz, Arabs, and you name it to be part of the government. How can it be a Jewish State, if anyone can lead, even, c'v, become the P.M.? The ones to be blamed for all these problems are the leaders from the start of the State until this day who acted oximoronically by calling it the 'Jewish State' and yet implementing laws that contradicted the Jewishness of the State. In the meantime, PC became the norm, r'l, and the citizenry went along with every new mishagas and now wonders why all these problems. A people that never learns, r'l.
We need to concentrate on our own people who already live here and vote. Their hearts and minds are first!
ReplyDelete