It has been said many times that Hamas cannot be destroyed, as it is not limited to being a band of terrorists; it’s a concept.
Unfortunately, that is a true statement. Hamas was elected over the PA (Palestinian Authority) with about a 70% majority in Gaza. You will recall that one of their first acts was to throw PA supporters off rooftops. Poll after poll shows that in the West Bank Arab towns, Hamas would easily coast to victory.
Witness the huge crowds of human vermin (sorry, vermin), including men, women, and children (all looking well-fed) coming to celebrate the spectacle of the coffins of the Bibas children. Not one Gazan ever lifted a finger or said a word to help the hostages. They’re all Hamas.
In Jordan last week, tens of thousands poured into the streets to proclaim their allegiance to Hamas. It is interesting, however, that neither Jordan nor any other Arab country is willing to take in their Gazan brethren. Yes, Hamas is a concept.
But we have our own concept. Many of you may recall my father’s conversation with Father Edward H. Flannery, author of The Anguish of the Jews [originally published in 1965], which is a classic work detailing the history of anti-Semitism by Christians against Jews. Flannery asked my father that while it’s true there was awful violence committed against Jews, “How do you justify the Jewish custom of reading the portion of Amalek that requires the annihilation of that entire nation, including men, women, and children?”
My father responded, “Yes, that’s true; but by Christians, if the local priest called for the killing of Jews, their parishioners were happy to do so and went to the streets on a murderous rampage and killed as many Jews as they could find. By us Jews, however, when we finish the services, after reading the portion of Amalek, we go home, make Kiddush, and eat gefilte fish.”
While my father’s quip seems to be just a dodge of a serious question, there was an enormous truth in the statement.
Although the Rambam (Hilchos Melachim 6:4) and most others do rule that Amalek needs to be obliterated, everyone agrees that today it is no longer applicable. We can no longer determine the lineage of people since the cataclysmic days of Sennacherib (Sancheiriv). (See Minchas Chinuch commentary on the Sefer HaChinuch, end of mitzvah 604.)
When Israeli right-winged ministers call upon Israel to treat Hamas like Amalek, they get condemned by all sides in the political arena. Yet it is understandable that they come to such a conclusion.
Yes, we have no contemporary license to destroy the nation of Amalek. However, we certainly can see why the Torah would seek to vanquish the entire people. They are all no good. Women, children, even their animals are brought up on their mother’s milk to kill Jews. Given a chance, they would slit your throat in a minute.
Nonetheless, we merciful Jews have trouble with the idea of mass killing, no matter who they are. We are not alone. In the book of 1 Samuel (15:5), the Prophet Samuel [Shmuel] confronts King Saul [Shaul] for not killing all of Amalek that he had decimated, including sparing King Agag. In pasuk 5, we are told Vayarev ba’nachal – and he, Shaul, battled in the valley. Rashi quotes a remarkable Gemara that states that Shaul’s battle was with the mitzvah of Eglah Arufah, the beheading of a cow in a dry bed valley when an unidentified murdered body is found. Shaul reasoned that if for one anonymous person the Torah demands this complicated ritual, then how much more must we be concerned with killing a multitude of people? This was an internal moral struggle that Shaul had a problem reconciling. Shmuel nevertheless ordered him to proceed without resolving his dilemma.
The events of last week show clearly how depraved our enemy is. We cannot even describe what they did to the poor Bibas babies and their mother Shiri. And their return in coffins was cheered by all present.
Yes, Hamas is a concept. But we have our own concept. May it be the will of Hashem that our concept should be realized quickly as we herald the coming of Mashiach.
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.
