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| Esther Denouncing Haman, Ernest Normand |
I’m no rabbi, but the level of depravity exhibited by the Hamas,
the things they did on October 7, the horrors inflicted on hostages—were so
creatively cruel that they can’t, to my mind, be anything but Amalek. In fact,
I wouldn’t be surprised if the “innocent people of Gaza” are also Amalek, along
with those under the Palestinian Authority. The greatest achievement of these people
seems to be taking depravity to new heights. Even now, over two years since
that black day, I’m still learning about fresh atrocities. The way they behave
is inhuman.
The October 7 massacre—1,200 Israelis slaughtered, women
raped, babies burned, genital mutilation, starvation, mental and physical
abuse, families torn apart in an agony for years. Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu invoked Amalek twice in the weeks following the attack, as
did Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. In fact, the *cough cough* International
Court of Justice (ICJ) seized on any and all references to Amalek they could
find, to help South Africa “prove” that Israel harbors genocidal intent in its
war against Hamas. As we find ourselves once again in a ceasefire that isn’t,
it’s time to think about this: If Hamas is Amalek, doesn’t Jewish law demand
its obliteration? And doesn’t that equate to genocide?
I’ll leave these questions to the rabbis and philosophers—because
I’m definitely not leaving it up to the ICJ to decide. Not that it matters,
because despite Netanyahu calling Hamas “Amalek” twice, he has ruled over this
war with restraint in the face of existential threat. We did not wipe out the
people of Gaza. And we did not wipe out Hamas. This was the choice our leaders
made. A choice that says we DON’T see them as Amalek, either that, or we don’t
care about God’s directive to wipe out Amalek. Or maybe we’re too cowardly to
do what needs to be done. Too afraid of what all the other countries will do if
it does what it should.
Primer: What is Amalek?
Hindy Gross wrote a great condensed story
of Amalek for Jewish
Resources. Read the whole thing, but here are a few excerpts:
King Agag was the sole survivor of the battle. Hashem had instructed Shaul to leave no trace of the Amalekite race, however Agag was left alive, spared by Shaul. As a result of this tragic mistake, Haman, the descendant of Agag, was born, and went on to persecute the Jews. Had King Shaul killed Agag as he had been commanded to do, the nation of Amalek would not exist today. . .
. . . Haman, as an Amaleki himself, would stop at nothing to see the Jews fall. He pursued this task with the same sinas chinam (baseless or pointless hatred) that we sadly see in our own communities. There was no point to Haman’s demands, yet Achashverosh went along with it all, even to stamping the Amalekite’s plan with his royal signet. The way of the Amalekim is to unjustly pursue the death of the Jews without purpose, and without logic. So too, our love for God must be pursued without logic, to dispel all doubt. . .
Today as yesterday, we are commanded to blot out the blood of Amalek. Rashi explains this as a missing element in the world. Hashem’s name will not be complete (ושמו אחד) until Amalek’s presence and name is gone. Just as Haman called for the complete eradication of the Jews, so too we must remove the name of Amalek from the world in order to restore this missing element.
“Restore this missing element.” Lyrical, but easy to
misconstrue. Still, Netanyahu said it, Hamas is Amalek, “You must
remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible. And we do remember.”
Smotrich, as previously mentioned, also said the “A” word—Amalek—demanding stronger,
more decisive action against a horrible enemy. The concept of “Hamas is Amalek” even wound its way into Israeli pop culture. The 2023 hip-hop track Harbu Darbu
by Ness Ve Stilla, went viral with over 4.5 million Spotify streams and 16
million YouTube views.
Harbu Darbu is powerful and it names names, such as Dua Lipa and Bella Hadid, along with now-eliminated bad guys, Haniyeh,
Mohammed Deif, and Nasrallah and takes them to task. The lyrics
offer some catharsis to young Israelis in this tragic time. It expresses what
they feel.
The ICJ, of course, seized on the concept of Amalek in bolstering South Africa with its claim against Israel as guilty of genocide. So the ICJ documents it. Every time Netanyahu called Hamas “Amalek,” there it is, documented; the same for Smotrich. They look for it in the media, they scout it out add it to the case against Israel.
Can anyone say definitively that Hamas is Amalek? No. But in the end, we do have the Vehi Sheamda verse that we've read at every Passover seder:
And it is this (the promise) that has stood by our ancestors and for us. For not only one (enemy) has risen up against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise up to destroy us.
But the Holy One, Blessed be He, delivers us from their hands.
The Jews have read those words, wherever they were, for thousands of years. They serve as a guide: When he rises up to destroy you, that's how you know he's a bad guy. Hamas is just one among many evil people who just really, really want to off Jews.
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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024) PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022) |
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