Tel-Chai Nation

Dr. Yoram Hazony was interviewed about the terrible state of the western world today, and discusses a number of important issues to ponder:

"The West is suffering from an immense post-biblical void," says Hazony. "They have removed the Bible from the curriculum of the US and Europe, and the outcome is that they are simply falling apart at the seams internally and too weak to deal with their external threats. Whenever I meet with my colleagues from all over the Western world, I claim to them that they have a cultural heritage that was part and parcel of the DNA of their civilization. They are itching to hear what we, the representatives of the Jewish people, have to say about the crises that the West has been undergoing in the last few decades. From numerous points of view, they regard Israel as a role-model state.

"The festival of Passover," continues Hazony, "is the first independence day of any nation in history. The Bible describes how a nation goes out of Egypt, which was a regional empire at the time, 'The House of Bondage', and then establishes an independent state in its own land, and that is without aspiring to establish an empire to rule over other nations. The Exodus is, of course, the crowning story of Jewish history, but the truth is that this story has had an unparalleled impact on the political order of the entire Western world. It gave birth to the idea of national freedom and the concept of a nation-state that gives expression to the unique nature of a defined group of people, and which usually rise up to resist empires threatening to swallow them up."

To validate this statement, Hazony moves on to provide a short historical review: "From the time of King Alfred the Great, who succeeded in uniting the English tribes and establishing the 'United Kingdom' in the tenth century based on the precedent of the unification of the tribes of Israel, until the Czechs in the 14th century, the Dutch in the 16th century, the Poles and the French in the 17th century – everybody has turned to the Bible to establish their own nationhood. The same dynamics occurred in perhaps the most prominent and famous manner in the US: there is a good reason why the founding fathers of America kept going back to the scriptures, and claimed to be 'The New Israel.' Not in the Christian sense, in which the church declared that it had come to replace the people of Israel, but in the sense that they saw in our story an example to be followed, and they sought to imitate our ancestors."

"In the twentieth century, the sense of national freedom that was based on the Hebrew Bible was an idea that reached even the farthest corners of the world. That idea does not stem from the other cultural pillars of the West – neither from ancient Greece, where the Greek city-states constantly fought one another, nor from Rome, which was underpinned by a clear imperialist tendency. Passover might well be our national holiday, but its voice is heard far away."

Indeed, by the turn of the century, much of the reliance on guidance bible-style was marginalized, or abandoned altogether. Which is not saying that those relying on religion as a guidance always made use of the right elements:

Q: Conservative speakers in the West often talk about the "Judeo-Christian tradition". What is your take on that term?

"I never use that term," says Hazony, disapprovingly. "Judaism is one thing and Christianity is something else entirely. These are very different religions and the confusion between them is not good for us or for them. Biblical and rabbinical ethics do not extol weakness; while Christianity, from the New Testament to the important Christian thinkers throughout history, systematically tries to say that being a poor person is a good thing, and that we should 'turn the other cheek' to the enemy. However, it is important to know that today not all Christians agree with that. Currently, it is important for us to nurture the shared interests with the Christian world that seeks this; we share a common belief in one God and in the sanctity of the Bible. Having said that, I never hide the fact that I am a believing Jew. When Christian colleagues ask me whether I think that Judaism has the edge over Christianity, I say to them: you should begin by learning the tradition that you received in your churches, but remember: the most direct path to God is Judaism."

Q: And just how well does this go down with them?

"Well, as you can clearly see, I am not everybody's cup of tea."

Obviously not. But there is a valid point to be made here about the weakness Christianity had for a long time, and ultimately wound up bringing the world to where it is now when it comes to Islam. "Turn the other cheek" clearly did no favors for anybody.

But if we were to take the customs of many ultra-Orthodox clans like Satmar and Neturei Karta as an example, they too have to shoulder blame for corrupting Judaism, Orthodox or otherwise, with petty issues that only served as distractions (and the NK even support Islamofascism). If this continues unopposed by anybody who wants Judaism to be seen as a positive influence, they have only themselves to blame for failing to be vigilant with regards to Orthodox Judaism too. And we cannot hesitate to take part in any battle that ensues overseas any more than over here at home. That's how Germany's National Socialists were able to take over, because of a huge lack of vigilance.

There's more to read in that article, including how India gives some hope for the future. To be sure though, it would be wise to help them in the battle that's to come just as much as people in Europe who need Israel's help. On which note, if Israel should be a "light unto nations", that's exactly why we have to prove we can be altruistic.

Labels: Africa, anti-americanism, anti-semitism, Asia, Christianity, dhimmitude, Europe, islam, Israel, jihad, misogyny, Moonbattery, political corruption, racism, sexual violence, terrorism, United States, war on terror