Choosing Blessing in a World of Curses: Parashat Re’eh and Israel’s Moral Clarity
In On Democracies and Death Cults, Douglas Murray observes:
“Anti-Semitism is always a means rather than an end; it is a measure of the contradictions yet to be resolved. It is a mirror for the failings of individuals, social structures and State systems. Tell me what you accuse the Jews of—I’ll tell you what you’re guilty of.”
That single line reads like a commentary not just on Jewish history, but on this very moment.
This week’s Torah portion, Re’eh, begins with Moshe placing before the Israelites a stark choice: blessing or curse. Blessing comes from living with truth, justice, and fidelity to God’s commands. Curse comes from chasing idols, false promises, and moral confusion. The portion emphasizes that moral clarity is essential for a healthy society. It lays out laws for ethical conduct, including prohibitions against idolatry, guidance on tithing and supporting the poor, dietary rules, and the importance of offering sacrifices only in the place God designates. These instructions are not arbitrary—they create a society in which life, fairness, and communal responsibility flourish.
Today, Israel faces the same false accusations Murray describes. The Jewish state is charged with “apartheid” by regimes that brutally segregate their own minorities. It is accused of “genocide” by movements that glorify death and deliberately sacrifice their own people in pursuit of ideology. It is smeared as “oppressive” by societies where women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and political dissenters have no rights at all.
These are not genuine criticisms—they are projections. Murray’s point is that antisemitism reveals far more about the accuser than the accused. When the world blames the Jews, it is exposing its own failings. Consider China, where dissent is crushed, Uyghur Muslims are imprisoned and forced into labor, and journalists are silenced. Consider Iran, where women are denied basic freedoms and political opposition is met with execution. Consider Venezuela, where state corruption and starvation have devastated millions. Yet these regimes rarely face sustained moral outrage in Western discourse, while Israel—one of the most open, democratic societies in the region—is accused of crimes it actively prevents.
Israel actively works to prevent civilian harm—even in conflict zones. It warns residents in Gaza before military strikes, drops leaflets, and sends text alerts to evacuate danger zones. It provides medical care to Palestinians in need, and hospitals in Gaza and the West Bank receive support and supplies. Israeli forces have repeatedly restrained soldiers from actions that would unnecessarily harm civilians. Through judicial oversight, democratic accountability, and humanitarian efforts, Israel demonstrates a conscious commitment to protecting life—an effort glaringly absent in many of the regimes that loudly criticize it.
By contrast, Israel’s enemies deliberately cultivate hatred and violence in children. In Gaza, under Hamas rule, schools glorify terrorists like the Munich Massacre planner Abu Iyad. Textbooks praise violent uprisings, deny Israel’s existence, and teach martyrdom as the highest goal. Children are exposed to summer camps that train them in militant activities, and television programs such as the infamous “Tomorrow’s Pioneers” glorify violence and antisemitism through characters like Farfour, a Mickey Mouse-like figure, and Assoud the rabbit.
The Palestinian Authority’s textbooks similarly celebrate figures like Dalal al-Mughrabi, responsible for the 1978 Coastal Road massacre, and normalize violence in lessons and even math problems.
ISIS goes even further: children as young as six are trained in camps, exposed to propaganda, and shown videos executing prisoners, creating a generation ready to become suicide bombers or fighters.
These practices are documented by international organizations and independent researchers, showing that the indoctrination of children into violence is deliberate, systematic, and ongoing.
Re’eh teaches that the moral universe is not neutral. Societies that choose life, justice, and responsibility may flourish. Those that sanctify violence, lies, and idolatry collapse under their own corruption. Israel, for all its flaws, strives for blessing—even in war. By contrast, its enemies glorify martyrdom, silence dissent, and feed children a culture of death.
The Torah warns us not to be seduced by idols—whether golden calves of the ancient world or the modern cults of relativism and moral inversion. Too many in the West have bowed to those idols, confusing curses for blessings. They refuse to see the difference between a nation that values life and movements that worship death.
As Jews, we are commanded to see clearly: “See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse.” The choice is not abstract. It is here, now, in the battle for truth about Israel and the Jewish people. The task of our generation is the same as it was in Moshe’s: to choose blessing, to name evil for what it is, and to refuse the lies that mask curses as though they were blessings. For Israel, clarity is not only survival—it is our calling.
