On the blank check God did not give
Chosen to do what?
Palestinians dehumanized, Israelis sold
The world has seen its fair share of people calling themselves “chosen” or in covenant with God(s). That is not something new. Some even developed communities that were isolated from the rest of the world and, as such, ruled themselves and other non-believers in their vicinity, whether legally or not. However, none were as extremist as Zionists in Israel are, both in their ideologies and their conduct.
Granted, Zionists did not invent the idea, but they sure did take it to ridiculous, supremacist extremes. The idea that the ancient Israelites were chosen by God is found most directly in the Book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament, but that can be taken to have a more positive implication for Jews. Some scholars have cited Genesis 12:2 as the part where God clearly vows to turn Abram’s descendants “into a great nation” but also tasks Abram in Genesis 12:3 and Jewish prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 49:6 to be “a blessing unto all nations” and “a light unto others,” respectively. Ignoring such contradictory or explanatory verses and cherry-picking other verses that justify their inhumane desires is a pattern with Zionists.
Being chosen by God, whether you be a prophet or a nation, is not a free, generous gift to anyone who is born to Jewish parents. This is, first and foremost, a task and a heavy responsibility to make the world a better place for “others”. In this sense, Jews are expected by the Lord to take the well-being of others into consideration, naturally more if they are within reach. This much is typical of a merciful Lord if one submits to Him.
Robert Gordis, an American leading conservative Rabbi and biblical scholar, wrote, “Few beliefs have been subject to as much misunderstanding as the ‘Chosen People’ doctrine. The Torah and the Prophets clearly stated that this does not imply any innate Jewish superiority. In the words of Amos (3:2), ‘You alone have I singled out of all the families of the earth — that is why I will call you to account for your iniquities [=sins].’”
We should take a closer look at the verse cited from the Book of Amos, as it deals another heavy blow to the ethnic supremacist reading of God’s covenant with the Israelites. Amos, one of the Twelve Minor Prophets who preached in the northern Kingdom of Israel, reminds Israelites that they have sinned and are no less guilty than gentile (non-Jewish) nations, and that God is free to judge whether to redeem Israel. God clearly reminds his “chosen people” that their status is not eternal and instead rests on the accomplishment of the aforementioned duties and their being god-fearing. If they fail, the verse reads, “I will punish you for all your sins.”
The current state of Israel surely resembles a punishment from God. We like to think that God has stopped punishing whole nations because of living prophets or other reasons, but He promised in Isaiah 2:12, “For the Day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.” We also know from the Qur’an that “Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves. And when Allah intends ill for a people, there is no repelling it.” (Surah Ar-Ra’d 13:11)
The Jews of Israel have squandered the opportunity that was given to them by God, and it’s hard to imagine a way back from the massacre of Gazans that they are passively or actively supporting. As we’ve seen, the fall from grace did not happen overnight. While Israelis were patting themselves on the back for being chosen and taking it for granted, their cabinet committed one atrocity after another, not even worried about admitting their inhuman practices of targeting civilians and driving people away from their homes into humiliating refugee camps.
Israelis, by and large, have bought in to the idea of being chosen, immune to judgment from the Lord or the Gentiles, and free to do whatever they want. This is not an outlandish claim. Many god-fearing or simply observant Jews and Israelis have pointed out the delusion. The current prime minister of Israel doesn’t mind spouting racist, supremacist, and contra-Biblical doctrines if it pulls the wool over the eyes of his constituents and feeds his hunger for power.
Gideon Levy, a senior columnist for the Israeli Daily Haaretz, noted how “the systematic dehumanization of Palestinians enables us Israelis to live in peace with everything.” In his short but impactful address at the National Press Club, which was repeatedly greeted with cheers of approval from the audience, he highlighted the reason why the question of human rights is never brought up in the mind of almost every Israeli. It’s because Palestinians are not considered “human beings like us” Israelis.
That’s shocking to hear, but what other conclusion can an independent-minded journalist like him draw from seeing Israeli soldiers playing games in their tent while a Palestinian bleeds out in an ambulance outside the city of Jenin during the Second Intifada? “I once wrote that we treat Palestinians like animals, and I got so many protest letters from animal rights organizations, rightly so,” he said, to an uproar of bitter, affirmative laughter.
Benjamin Netanyahu anticipated that his heartless plans would cause a repulsion, at best, and a revolt, at worst, from Jews worldwide and the people of Israel. So, he indoctrinated the notion that being God’s chosen people means that they are humans, while others, especially Palestinians, are not. This was, more than anything, a manipulative attempt at providing a mental shield for Israelis.
The worst defense of any kind for committing crimes against humanity is “we have been chosen, so whatever we do is, by definition, the right thing to do”. It was politically wrong when George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan did it, citing the Unitary Executive Theory as the reason why they, as the highest elected officials of the US, can’t be told what to do as whatever they do is law, and it is wrong here, too. However, one was easier to digest than the other. Not to mention that in the case of Israelis, the defense is based on a skewed, cherry-picking reading of the Old Testament.