Is anything new?

I know that this post is likely to annoy some people but I think it is important from, at least, a historical point of view.

 

We cannot win all the battles of Life. Life (however defined) will always win in the end. But it helps to remember that we are each an individual and not required or obliged to be totally “conformist”. Certainly one should always help one’s fellow being and do the “right” thing for the greater good and just be kind but this must be an individual determination.

 

As described in a book by Dan Jones, “The Templars”, about the 12th century (and very mercenary) religious army, conformism may lead to unintended consequences. The “chivalry” later associated with Knights was not yet apparent, in fact these early Knights were often considered no better that hired thugs.

 

The “dangers” of extreme conformism, however, may lead to the following:- 

 

One of the Templar “rules” banned the company of women. They were scorned as, “A dangerous thing, for by it the old devil has led a man from the straight path to paradise…. the flower of chastity is always (to be) maintained among you… For this reason none of you may presume to kiss a woman, be it widow, young girl, mother, sister, aunt or any other… The Knighthood of Christ should avoid at all costs the embraces of woman, by which men have perished many times.”

 

One assumes that each of the Templar’s must have had a mother and a father? 

 

The hypocrisy is extraordinary. Blaming, scapegoating, women is easy - “It’s not my fault - see what she made me do!” It’s their fault you see. Leading us pure men astray!

 

The Catholic and other religious clergy today still (try) to believe this. I wonder if anything has really changed in over 1000 years? 

 

And the Templars, followers of the Prince of Peace, fought, pillaged, killed and (sometimes) raped their way across Europe and the Middle East. 

 

Believe it or not the Templars managed to distinguish between “homicide”, the sin of killing a man and “malicide” - the act of killing “evil” itself, which God, apparently, would consider a “noble” deed! 

 

Evil, in their view, resided in Jews (they killed Jesus, you understand) and Muslims, because they weren’t Christian. 

 

An “ingenious” theological distinction!!

 

I know that the Templars were a very disciplined force and were influential in ridding the Iberian Peninsular of the Moors in what is known as the “Reconquista”, the Christian re-conquest of Portugal and Spain – which, of course, for the local inhabitants was an admirable outcome. But then they, the Templars, were told, by the Pope, that fighting the “unbelievers” would remove the need for any penance for sins committed. 

 

Surely an open invitation for the Templars to do whatever they wanted.

 

More hypocrisy!

 

So is anything new?

 

 

 

 

Mimesis - imitation.

Amended April 6, 2019.

Violence! Something that impacts us all in some manner. Sometimes. But why? Why do some people, groups or societies so dislike other people, groups or societies that they are prepared, indeed plan, to inflict extreme violence on those they dislike. Why?

There is of course no easy answer but there are some very plausible theories that attempt to explain why.

One theory which makes a great deal of sense to me is the “mimetic” theory. This word is derived from the Greek root of the word “mimesis” that has given the English language the word “imitate”.

Some, often those who are deeply religious, from both the “far right” and the “far left”, in fact all extremists, whatever their beliefs, seem to copy or imitate the actions of others. Should one person or group start with “all Muslims” or “all Jews” or all “non-Muslims” or all “coloured” people or those in the LGBT community, in fact any and all who are considered "heretics", “unbelievers” or “different”, are in some distorted way now deemed “unworthy” or “unclean” – and so the spawning season commences. Others pick up on the themes and each tries to out do the others in their view of why the difference matters and what to about it. 

This is mimesis – this is rampant and mindless imitation. More importantly it is the imitation of someone else's desires, particularly whenever what is desired cannot be shared that gives rise to conflict. It is a case of, "I want it so you can't have it!" 

As we have witnessed all to often in the world, violence is always the outcome. More often than not unlimited violence, leading to death, mutilation, extreme physical punishment, isolation or imprisonment. 

All this because some people will not, or cannot, accept the fact that everyone just wants to live peaceably, worship God according to their tradition, have enough shelter, food and adequate clothing together with sufficient means to raise and educate their children.

For goodness sake what’s wrong with that?

Warsaw Ghetto 1940 – Gaza Ghetto 2018.

Amended May 15, 2018
I wonder if anyone ponders  the irony of the current situation between Israel and the Palestinians (in Gaza) and compares it with the terrible events in Warsaw in the early years of the Second World War?

In 1940 the Germans (Nazis) walled off a small area of the city of Warsaw and instructed all Polish Jews to either move there or be forcibly transported there. From this Ghetto many Jews were transported to the infamous “Extermination Camps” that the Nazis had set up, under the ruse that they were to be “resettled”.

Once those in the Ghetto realized what was happening they set up a resistance movement to fight for their survival – after all they had nothing to lose. The final battle started on the eve of Passover on April 19, 1943, when a Nazi force consisting of several thousand troops entered the ghetto. After initial setbacks, the Germans under the field command of Jurgen Stroop systematically burned and blew up the ghetto buildings, block by block, rounding up or murdering anybody they could capture. Significant resistance ended on April 28, and the Nazi operation officially ended in mid-May, symbolically culminating with the demolition of the Great Synagogue of Warsaw on May 16. According to the official report, at least 56,065 people were killed on the spot or deported to German Nazi concentration and death camps - (I acknowledge  reference to Wikipedia for some of this information).

Now, today, in the Gaza Ghetto with the Palestinians who were either moved there or were forcibly resettled because the Israelis took control of Palestine, we are seeing an eyrie replay of those appalling events of 1943 under different circumstances, certainly, but with the same intent:-

To DESTROY THE RESISTANCE AT ALL COSTS!

There is a blockade in place – imposed by Israel under the guise of stopping the rocket attacks on Israel. OK – this, just possibly, I can understand. But what I can’t understand is the Israeli refusal to recognize the Palestinians justification for their use of these weapons.  Remember there are 1.8 million Palestinians packed into a small enclave. Gaza is the most densely populated area on earth – they have nowhere else to go. The Palestinians are frustrated, demeaned as a people, treated as second class citizens, racially vilified, starved of opportunity and quite frankly treated in a manner that those Jews who survived the Holocaust would recognize as similar to what they were subjected to.

So now, the Palestinians are fighting just as the Jews did many years before.

To so twist words as to accuse the Palestinians (Hamas) of “causing the problems and the deaths of  Palestinian’s” is an obscene abuse of language. Hamas (read Palestinians) are fighting for their survival as a people; fighting for their community, their religion and their way of life. Isn’t this what the Israelis have always done in the past? Isn’t this what the Jews trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto did? Would anyone in their right mind claim that the Jews who died in the Warsaw Ghetto caused their own deaths?

I am sure the United Nations would, today, classify the Zionist militia group, Irgun (1931-1948) – under the leadership of Menachem Begin ( later, in 1977, Prime Minister of Israel), as a terrorist organisation. In fact Begin himself was, at the time, in the 1940s, declared a terrorist by the British who had a “mandate” over Palestine. Various Zionist leaders held different ideas about how to achieve their goal of an Israeli nation but revisionist Zionists, like Begin, were extremist nationalists who believed violence was justified to create a state and considered guerrilla and terrorist tactics a legitimate route toward this end.

Sound familiar?

The injustice of the carve up of Palestine after the Second World War when Israel was established (in 1948) without any Palestinian consultation or the payment of any reparation for the Palestinian properties taken over when the new State of Israel was formed, is the root cause of the present problem.

That injustice, seventy years old now, still burns in the Palestinian psyche. What are the Palestinians supposed to do? They formed Hamas to fight for their rights just as the Zionists formed Irgun to fight for theirs.

The Israelis have now systematically destroyed the infrastructure of Gaza – hospitals, water plants, electricity generators, sewage systems, schools, roads, in fact anything of value to the inhabitants – with  the intention, I am sure, of forcing the Palestinians to leave, thus solving Israel’s “problem” (which the Israelis themselves created).

This is exactly what the Nazis did in Warsaw.

Violence begets more violence and creates a vortex, which, like a black hole, sucks in everyone and everything - there is no way out. Killing people never solved a problem – the Israelis know this; the Americans know this; the world knows this. Violence, as I have proclaimed in these posts many times before, is the last resort or the morally bankrupt.

Remember, what goes around comes around.

Read what you will into these words.

Injustice – 298 dead in Ukraine, over 700 dead in Gaza.

My one loyal reader – remember Archie? – knows the one human failing that always gets up my nose is injustice; injustice of any kind. There is no such thing as partial injustice; there is either injustice or there is no justice. All injustice, even perceived injustice, burns like a hot ember in the psyche of those affected – it rankles for generations and is never forgotten.

The terrible tragedy of Malaysian Airlines flight MH 17 with the loss of 298 lives (many  were children, even infants) – shot down by Ukrainian separatist rebels has a parallel lost in the confusion of current events - Gaza. The continuing violence in Gaza has left over 700 dead, most of whom are women and children – innocent women and children. There are obviously some, reputed, militants among the dead as well but it is the deaths of women and children and the over three thousand injuries that have been reported that really upset me.

One received worldwide condemnation, the other is barely mentioned. Why?

The 298 dead in MH 17 were killed when the aircraft was shot down by a surface to air missile fired from Russian separatist controlled Eastern Ukraine; the majority of the over 700 dead and the thousands injured, in Gaza, died or were injured  by missiles fired from the air – air to ground missiles - what's the difference?

The Russians blame the Ukrainians for the loss of life in MH 17; the Israelis blame Hamas for the loss of life in Gaza.

Both are wrong. Both are the result – the tragic result – of injustice.

The injustice, in Gaza, and Palestine, has its roots in the aftermath of the First World War. The Palestinians believed that the British, who they had helped to defeat the Turks, would grant them the right to live in Palestine (a British “mandated” territory, where they had been living for centuries anyway).

Meanwhile the Jews believed that now the First World War was won and the Turks defeated,  the British would grant them their God given right to the land of Israel (according to their interpretation of the Biblical Old Testament).

Unfortunately neither of these beliefs was ever realised. Accordingly the very disillusioned Palestinians blamed the British and the Jews for the fact that their beliefs turned out so wrong.

Similarly the Jews were greatly disillusioned that their “God given right” to the land of Israel was to be so frustrated – they accordingly blamed the British and the Palestinians.

The British, in effect, threw up their hands and walked away from the problem, thus setting the scene for the fact that there has been no real peace in Middle East since 1946.   

This, current, senseless violence and appalling loss of life will inevitably end in a truce or ceasefire in Gaza so it may be useful to reflect on why the conflict was ever started in the first place!

If Israel continues to refer to the horrific past visited upon the Jews of Europe in the 1930s and during the Second World War as a justification for their “right” to have a homeland which “right” they also claim is supported by the Bible’s Old Testament, why can’t the Palestinians also refer to their “horrific” past in the hands of the Jews and the war time allies (USA, England and France)?

It is recorded that the great teacher, Hillel (who died in 10 C.E.) summarized the essence of Judaism by saying: “That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow humans; this is the whole Torah, all the rest is commentary. Now go and learn.” Another central premise of the Torah (the moral code of Judaism) is the command to “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

Remember the Palestinians were summarily removed from what had been their “homeland” for centuries, to make way for the state of Israel, and many were made stateless and homeless. Some still lay claim to the land and buildings now occupied by the Israelis.

Also remember that far more Palestinians have been killed by the Israelis than there have been Israelis killed by Palestinians. And remember that the Palestinians in Gaza have no where to go. They live in one of the most densely populated areas on earth. Giving 10 minutes warning of a bombardment, as the Israelis claim they give, is no answer. Another point to remember is that the Israelis have had a "siege" in place for years - nothing may enter or leave Gaza without the Israelis say so.

This is the injustice that the Palestinians seek to have redressed (and are prepared to fight for this to be redressed); this is the injustice that the Israelis cannot, or will not, accept. For a people (the Jews) who have suffered so much injustice, racial vilification and horrific pogroms in their long history, one would hope that they would have developed sufficient insight, understanding, humility and empathy to accommodate the Palestinians in the land that “belongs” to all (all land was present before humans existed and all land will still exist long after humans have vanished from the face of the earth). 

But no – the Israeli response has always been “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

As for the current Russian/Ukraine problem this, again, stems from injustice and a perceived “right” to land. The Russians believe they have a “right” to Ukraine because of historical links – and they are offended by the Ukrainian’s desire to be affiliated with Europe rather than Russia. Many Ukrainians object to this Russian view - they will recall the terrible loss of life under the rule of Stalin (when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union) – enforced starvation killed over 5 million Ukrainians; many Ukrainians will recall the Russian imposed limitations on teaching (and speaking) the Ukrainian language; many Ukrainians will know that their forebears fought for Ukrainian independence from Russia at the end of the Second World War, which was brutally suppressed. This is the injustice that many Ukrainians resent. 

Hopefully a yet to be seen Russian directed pull back by the Ukrainian separatists in Eastern Ukraine may at least bring about a semblance of a truce.

Violence is never, repeat never, a solution to any problem – violence begets more violence. As has been stated before in these Posts, violence is the usual outcome of moral bankruptcy.

(Amended 24/07/2014)

Man and God.

Oh boy!! This is an intensely personal and a highly emotive issue but it needs to be talked about – openly. So here goes!!

First up let me state, clearly, that I am not a follower of any particular religion or faith. Nominally an Anglican or Church of England – I was baptised as one – there are beliefs held by Buddhism and Sufism that I find satisfying and meaningful, just as I enjoy some of the hymns associated with the English Church and I find the the ideas and language of the King James Bible quite wonderful. Likewise certain aspects of the Kabbalah (an ancient Jewish spiritual tradition) and the Hindu beliefs about life and spirituality I also find comforting. So I suppose I could be called an “all sorts” – and possibly be despised as such, even condemned by some for blasphemy and as an apostate.

No matter! What I have found is that all these different forms of belief have one goal – to direct a follower to God, no matter what God is called; God, Allah, Krishna, Brahma, Yahweh, the Absolute – there is only One God. So I really don’t believe it matters much HOW you believe as long as you DO believe. And how you believe is your personal choice, once you have reached an age when you can reflect, reason and choose accordingly.

What got me onto all this are three things: firstly, the recent resignation or abdication of the (now former) Pope – Benedict XVI. Secondly, the long running scandal – affecting ALL religions – relating to the physical and sexual abuse, by those entrusted with their welfare, of children and women. Thirdly, the apparent secularisation of the Western countries (by this I mean the more developed countries of the world) and the corollary of falling church attendances.  

Now, I am not claiming that these three are directly linked in any way, it is just that the three go together. I’ll explain why:-

Trust is one of the most fragile of human feelings. And trust is a feeling – not an emotion – it is a gut feeling. Trust usually takes a long time to develop but can be lost in a split second. In the current environment how can trust be engendered when government officials, lawyers, accountants and clergy have been known to abuse their positions for personal gain? How can trust be engendered or maintained particularly when the clergy, imams, rabbis, priests – call them what you will – of any religious order abuse the very people they have been entrusted to protect, to educate and to lead on a spiritual journey to God?

Of a certainty only a minority of clergy are abusers – there are many very fine men and women helping many people. But I wonder if it is the system, the environment, that is the baleful influence and not as the saying goes, “that one bad apple can spoil the barrel” but the “barrel” itself that is bad?

When people, particularly young people place themselves in the hands of someone they view as “superior”; someone who is supposed to be a spiritual and life  “guide”; someone who directs them on a weekly basis; someone who influences that least understood and most delicate of human attributes – spirituality, then almost unlimited “power” is given to that guide. Unconsciously this transference of “power” to influence and control a person’s thoughts and actions may damage both.

 When a priest, imam or rabbi (as an example) is given this influence over a young person (for example), there is now scope for, shall we say, “ungodly” activities. When young men are influenced to blow themselves up and kill as many “unbelievers” (Christian westerners) as they can; when strict adherence to the letter of the Bible, Koran or Torah is demanded as a requirement to “belong” in a particular society or group; when “believers” are controlled to the extent that they are discouraged from socialising with those not of their “faith” then something is out of kilter. When Christians and Muslims kill Jews; when Jews isolate Muslims from their land and Holy places; when Muslims burn Christian churches; when Christians burn Mosques; when Hindus burn the places of worship of both Muslims and Christians; when Christians categorize all Muslims as potential terrorists; when Muslims consider all non-Muslims as unacceptable to God and legitimate targets for punishment (a jihad or “holy” war); when women are considered secondary citizens and denied basic human rights (by ALL religions); when people are harmed in any way and when there is injustice in any form, a crime is committed and trust is broken.

Why then should anyone believe in the “sanctity” of any particular faith or religious cause again?

Certainly with the Christian Churches, and the Catholic Church is the biggest one, I believe that the “system” is corrupt and broken. It is the current, broken, system that encourages priestly influence and authority over parishioners for money and “power” – the Catholic Church is an immensely powerful and wealthy organization.

The religious people involved in these crimes are showing themselves as diminished beings unworthy of trust. Knowledge of any abuse spreads like effluent through a community and many people, naturally, turn away from any such toxic influences lest they become poisoned. Church attendances therefore fall.

There is little sign of  humility and adherence to the commandments that Jesus gave to his followers (King James Bible - Matthew 22.37 and 39):

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and,

“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”.

There are not many clearer directions that this, are there? So why don’t Christians churches follow them?

Remember Jesus also said (King James Bible, Matthew 6.21):

"For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also".

In Praise of Tolerance.

There is a disturbing article by Sally Neighbour in the Enquirer section of the Weekend Australian newspaper, July 3-4, 2010 headlined, “Extremists with caliphate on their minds, not bombs in their belts”. It is about the Islamist organisation – Hizb ut-Tahrir.

While I have heard of it I will admit that I know nothing about this organisation other than what has been written at various times in the press. Their expressed desire is to return, apparently, to the (presumably) golden years of Islam when the Islamic Empire – if that is the correct term – stretched from the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula (what is now Portugal and Spain), across the whole of North Africa, the Middle East and as far as India. The armies of Islam invaded and subjugated the original inhabitants of those countries by force of arms and driven by a religious belief (remember this when they condemn Israel for the same thing).

Underlying the expansion of Islam was a spiritual core and a deep learning which gave the world Algebra and a great deal of medical knowledge. It is from the ancient Arab and Muslim scholars that today we have our numerical system including the figure Zero and the decimal system (knowledge they gained from their contacts with India). They understood the principles of gravity and the relationship between weight, speed and distance severa1 centuries before Newton; they measured the speed of light and computed the circumference of the earth to a surprising degree of accuracy. They invented astronomical instruments, navigated the high seas and laid down the foundations of modern chemistry. This was all during the European “dark age”. We all owe the ‘classical’ Arabs a great deal.

But what have we learned since those times from the Arab (Islamic) world? I am prepared to listen and learn but, me-thinks, it is not very much!

The followers of Hizb ut-Tahrir aim to re-establish a caliphate which would include what they naively determine as all Muslim majority countries “including lands previously under Muslim rule, such as Spain and the Philippines”. This is all to be achieved by “grass roots support and military might.” It is also stated that “Christians and Jews will be welcome as long as they submit to Islamic law.” This from a faith that allowed an army lead by Mohammed himself, in 627AD to raid the Jewish tribe of Qurayza and behead 800 men and sell all the women and children into slavery! While this took place some 14 centuries ago if this is what living under sharia law in a caliphate means then they have some convincing to do! And what in God’s (or Allah’s) name is such a caliphate supposed to accomplish? Would mankind be better off – would there be less conflict? The various sects of Islam cannot even agree between themselves - note the continuing conflict between Shia and Sunni.

This very organisation, Hizb ut-Tahrir, according to the article, is banned in the following Muslim/Arabic countries – Egypt, Jordan, much of the Middle East and Central Asia and also in China. This in itself tells a story about the organisation. It does not sound very spiritual to me. It may be religious but it is not spiritual and there is a world of difference between the two – a “religious” priest is not spiritual when he sexually molests children and a religious Islamic leader is not very spiritual when he tells his followers to kill “unbelievers.”

My understanding of Islam – and it is one of the great religions of the world - is that it tolerates all people because all people and all things are from Allah. Nothing can exist without Allah. Now in my English language version of the Koran (Penguin Classic, 1968, translated by N.A Dawood) there is a chapter (No. 35) entitled “The Creator” the last paragraph of which states:

“If it was Allah’s wish to punish men for their misdeeds, not one creature would be left alive on earth’s surface. He respites them till an appointed time. And when their hour comes, they shall know that Allah has been watching over all His servants.”

He “respites them”. This sounds remarkably like tolerance and compassion, references to which can be found in any number of verses in the Bible, in the Bhagavad-Gita and in the Dhamapada (the sayings of Budda). This is Love, unconditional Love for the, so far uncounted, examples of the manifestation of Life that He has seen fit to create on this infinitesimally small planet in an unimaginably large universe. So who or what gives a group of people the right or the power to dictate how anyone should (or should not) worship at the feet of the Almighty if they desire to do so?

The Koran is a book – so is the Bible – so is the Bhagavad-Gita and all books are actually written by human beings (no matter how inspired) with all their faults and hang-ups. Remember that neither Jesus nor Muhammad ever wrote anything themselves.

The whole point of a book – a scripture – is to guide the reader to a higher level of consciousness; to reach their own fulfilment as a Human Being. I am not you – and you are not me. My beliefs come from my heart because I have resolved the issues in my life my way and I have derived a great deal of comfort and inner strength from my readings of the various scriptures – including the Koran. I do not need someone, however noble, however inspired that person may be to tell me how to live my life. That person does not know the troubles I have seen – they may offer advice – but they cannot direct me to live and love in a certain way. That is my problem and I have to live my life my way, not theirs. I am me, not them!

He “respites them”. This is tolerance. This is living and letting live. This is inclusion. This follows the “Golden Rule” to always treat others the way you would like to be treated. Remember He “respites” us all and we are all children of Abraham. We do not need another organisation preaching divisiveness, intolerance and a “them or us” attitude.

The poets often get it right. John Donne, the 16th Century poet and sermonist, penned the famous lines:

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

Tolerance is the only way - Hizb ut-Tahrir want, indeed demand, that we tolerate them but they do not tolerate us. The followers of Hizb ut-Tahrir need to closely attend the words – “any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

Israel's staggering presumption

So now Israel has agreed to a cease fire, of sorts and we are told that it has ‘exceeded its objectives’ in Gaza. Big deal. Over 1200 dead and many thousands injured. What for? If the Israelis think that bombs, rockets and assassinations will destroy a dream, will destroy the emotional fervour of the Palestinians (however disunited their various factions are) then they have learned nothing from their own history. Have the many and various anti-Jewish activities that have happened over the centuries ever sapped the Jewish dreams; ever broken their morale? Of course not! So what makes them think that doing what they have done, during the last 22 days of their offensive will bring ‘peace’ any closer.

The Israeli have destroyed the infrastructure of Gaza (for sure they will not pay for the repairs!); they killed, injured and maimed thousands of people after 22 days of brutal activity to arrive back at the point they started from! As I say what was all the death and destruction for?

They may kill thousands and destroy houses and buildings but they will never kill the Human Spirit. They should know that. So what makes them think that they are so special that what never had any affect on them will affect Palestinians any differently? We are all human beings on this world together. For whatever reason we are all here, now, with our differences in skin colour, beliefs and creeds, daily practises of living, our loves, our dreams, our hopes and aspirations – we are all in this together. So for one group of people (the Israelis) to try to subjugate another group (the Palestinians); to attempt to control how they should think and act towards the first (dominant? group) shows breathtaking arrogance, unbelievable hubris and staggering presumption.

The presumption is that Israel knows best. Do they? Have they addressed the root of the problem – a landless, disenfranchised population? That they are an occupying nation that was ‘given’ Palestine in 1946 because the world wanted to give the traumatised survivors of the Nazi death camps some place for them to recover and call home? What about the Palestinians? Without so much as a by your leave they were made landless and moved.

As the English poet and sermonist John Dunne wrote in the 1600s, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

The Israelis have been diminished by their actions – therefore they have lost. They may have ‘exceeded their objectives’ in Gaza but as I said, in the long run they have lost.

This is a defining moment in Israel’s short history. As a people the Jews in Israel are morally bankrupt. Their only recourse is to arms, to fight. That is not the way civilised people act. Whatever the shortcomings of Hamas and other hard line Palestinians, and there are many, by lowering themselves to ‘Hamas levels’ of activity the Israeli have diminished themselves – and they know it.

Why can’t the Israelis show moral leadership and lift the whole region to a new level of consciousness? Isn’t this what Jewishness; the Kabbalah and their spiritual practices are supposed to bring about? They should not just talk about it. They should walk the walk, not just talk the talk!!