Can You Call It "Civil War" If Only One Side Is Fighting?

23 Adar Bet 5784

Some think my labeling of the skirmish that took place in Meah Shearim on Yom Rishon as an act of civil war is hyperbole.  Some think that if it is just getting started, it would necessarily require time to resolve.  So, it got me thinking.  Hasn't a civil war actually been going on in this land since before the State was founded?  And can you even call it "civil war" if only one side is fighting?  

Every once in a great while, the other side decides to defend itself and that's when it comes out into the open.  Otherwise, most people don't even know it exists.  It's the age-old battle over Jewish identity:  are we a "free people in our own land" or a covenant nation bound in servitude to the Master of the Universe?  

Remember the Altalena?  the Yemenite babies?  Yamit?  Oslo?  Gush Katif?  The "scamdemic"?

That's what comes to mind off the top of my head.  

We entered into covenant with God through receiving His Torah at Har Sinai and ever since that day, we've had to contend with "insiders" who have fought us all the way.  So, I don't think it's "hype" to call it a civil war.  The good news, however, is that this is no beginning.  We're just finally coming to the end.