Israel-Gaza War 5784: Devarim – What’s Mine Is Mine and What’s Yours Is Yours

Devarim is the name of both the last book of the Torah and this week’s Torah portion. In it, we read how Moses recapped the peoples’ journey through the wilderness, reminded them of G-d’s commandments given there, and warned them against the temptations they would meet in Canaan. Neither slavery in Egypt nor their nomadic wanderings would have prepared them for life as a free people in their own land. The children of Israel needed guidance and guardrails.

Similarly, in today’s Israel, the Jews had to reinvent themselves from scratch. Life in one’s own country is different from life as a sometimes tolerated, sometimes persecuted, minority that is never fully accepted in somebody else’s home. The modern Israelis had to create a language, a military, a government, and a society. That they did so successfully is every bit as much of a miracle as their reconstitution in a reborn Israel.

The world once approved of Israel’s rebirth, but these days, not so much. Israel is accused of being an imperialist endeavor and committing genocide against the Palestinians. Perhaps this week’s Torah portion can help us determine whether these accusations hold any water.

In Deuteronomy 2:5, Moses quoted Hashem as saying, “…For I will not give you of [the descendants of Esau’s] land so much as a foot can tread on; I have given the hill country of Seir as a possession to Esau.”

Deuteronomy 2:9 similarly says, “…For I will not give you any of [the Moabites’] land as a possession; I have assigned Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot.”

These verses confirm that Hashem gave different land to different peoples. Israel was given a clearly defined territory and unequivocally told that other people’s lands were not to be taken.

Though today, Israelis and Palestinians dispute ownership of the West Bank, Israel’s desire for these lands is based on G-d’s ancient promise and the Jews’ history there, along with strategic considerations. (Strategic considerations, not a desire for Syrian territory, also drove annexing the Golan Heights.)

Israel gave back the Sinai in exchange for peace with Egypt. Israel does not desire land beyond its present boundaries and, perhaps, the disputed territories; many Israelis would happily give up any claims to the West Bank for a real peace with the Palestinians. Successive Israeli governments have attempted peace treaties with them that would define final boundaries numerous times, so far without success.

Israel, unlike Christian and Muslim civilizations, never dreamed of or strove for a world empire. Israel is not imperialist. It respects the rights of other peoples to their lands and wishes only for its own.

Our Torah portion on a first reading, however, might seem to support the claim of Israel as genocidal. In recounting the battles with Sihon and Og (Deuteronomy 2:30-30, 3:3-7), Moses said that the Israelites doomed every town and left no survivors (2:34, 3:6). Such warfare continued as Joshua led the people in taking the land on the western side of the Jordan.

But applying modern terms such as “genocide” to events thousands of years ago makes little sense. Massacring all conquered peoples was the standard in those days. Rabbinic authorities in later times greatly restricted the criteria for permitted war, and the requirement to kill every last enemy was abandoned. Our Sages defined exemptions from war so broadly that they effectively disqualified Jews from fighting wars of aggression (defensive wars were a different matter). It seems that this was a one-time commandment to ensure that ethical monotheism survived without temptations from other inhabitants of the land, who practiced child sacrifice and idolatry.

There have been no more such commands from G-d since that long-ago conquest of the Promised Land. Today Israel, like most nations, follows the Laws of Armed Conflict as set out in the Geneva Conventions and other relevant international law. Hamas, notably, is not one of them.

Yet there are those who claim Israel is committing a genocide, and not only in the current war. These critics claim that Israel has been committing genocide against the Palestinians since 1948, despite the population having increased since then. However, military experts say that Israel does more to protect civilians than any military in history. In the dense urban environment of Gaza, where Hamas embeds itself in civilian spaces, this is a praiseworthy achievement.

Far from genocide or even careless disregard for civilians, Israel has put its own soldiers at risk by warning Gazans of attacks ahead of time and helping them evacuate areas they plan to attack. In so doing, Israel inevitably warns Hamas of their plans.

How can Israel defeat Hamas with such handicaps? Perhaps the answer can be found in our Torah portion. Deuteronomy 3:22 quotes Moses: “Do not fear them, for Hashem, your G-d, He shall fight for you.” May it be so in our day as well.