Bob Schwartz

After the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered a halt to the Israeli offensive in Rafah, Israeli spokesperson Avi Hyman said, “No power on Earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza.”

I have no two-way channel with God. Whether or not the age of prophets and prophecy is past or present, whether there are those who had or have revelations, I am not one. This has not stopped me from wondering what God would say or do when faced with the precise way Israel is going about its protection of citizens and its pursuit of Hamas.

It seems that Netenyahu and his war cabinet, and their supporters, believe that everything they are doing is exactly what God wants them to do. Whether that comes from direct communication or is derived from their interpretation of the tradition they haven’t said.

If they asked me how I interpret the tradition, that is, what I think God wants, I don’t think it is this. Again, I’m not a prophet, and they would never ask me anyway.

I imagine God being pretty harsh with these Israeli leaders. I imagine God would tell them that as strategists they are the worst. The word “idiots” might be used, if that is how God talks. I imagine that Israeli lack of mercy and compassion would come up. God might remind them that in biblical times, Israelites who strayed so far from basic moral principles could expect to be smitten.

Maybe this is what the spokesperson is hinting at. Yes, he might be saying, “No power on earth will stop us. But if God intervenes, that’s a whole different story.”

© 2024 by Bob Schwartz