Revenge is bitter: reflections on Israel’s predicament

Stories of revenge used to enthral me. One story in particular stands out. ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ is a novel by Dumas, with revenge as its central theme. The hero has fallen prey to a conspiracy of his associates, each of whom stands to gain by getting rid of him. He is arrested on a trumped-up charge, sentenced to life imprisonment and presumed by society to have died in prison. Unbeknown to the conspirators, however, he has escaped and returns, having assumed a different identity. The story recounts, with dramatic impact, how he sets about avenging the injustice which has destroyed his happiness. I found the whole plot fascinating, especially the denouement, in which the hero confronts the perpetrators of his misfortune one by one and exacts his revenge on them.

From the realms of fiction to the world of grim reality and from youthful imaginings to the musings of old age. The Holocaust planted the seeds of vengeance in many of the survivors. Some of these seeds sprouted into acts, masterminded either by small groups of avengers or agents of the recently established Jewish State. For many Jews, however, thoughts of revenge remained dormant, embedded in minds ravaged by horrific memories. With the passage of time, these thoughts hardened into a bitter outlook on the world and became focused on the criminals who were responsible and those who, rightly or wrongly, were symbolically associated with them.

There is a strand of Jewish thought which emphasises forgiveness. “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord” is an often quoted saying. For others, the Bible offers ample grounds for the justification of revenge. But enlightened believers in justice draw a line between religious arguments and the criminal justice system. The tug-of-war goes this way and that: towards legally sanctioned punishment on the one hand and retaliation, often brutal and indiscriminate on the other. The law itself is now in disarray, torn between notions of religious and state justice.

Without becoming involved in moral and legalistic disputes, I can only fall back on terrain which is familiar to me – the psychological underpinnings of revenge. Revenge stems from the experience of loss and humiliation inflicted by acts of violence. We could be talking about assault, murder, torture or abuse in a hundred different contexts. The effect is similar – a sense of grief and anger, hardening into a determination to see the culprits suffer, whether by lawful or unlawful means.

In the aftermath of the massive trauma inflicted by Hamas on a nation with a long history of existential fear that the trauma of the Holocaust could repeat itself, there has, predictably, been an exacerbation of these emotions, which no amount of legal overlay has been able to quell. The State itself is torn: right-wing factions, including Ultra-Orthodox elements (the ‘Revenge’ Party, so to speak), strive for ascendancy over those parties which advocate compromise.

But who are the culprits in this case? Clearly, Hamas and its ideological bedfellows are at the top of the list, but beyond that, there is a division of opinion as to where to apportion blame for the enormity of the tragedy. Within Israel, accusations of complacency, negligence, selfishness, ineptitude and disregard for humanitarian considerations are being flung at both the government and the military by an infuriated and helpless populace.

The problem is compounded by the fact there is still a crime in the process of being committed. The hostages taken by Hamas are still being held and serially murdered in cold blood. It is no wonder that primitive emotions are surging to the fore.

Israel can be counted among a minority of countries which adhere to civilised principles of conduct. But if the notion of revenge gets a stronger grip on the people’s collective psyche, there is every possibility that the country could come to resemble, in its mentality, those regimes which are baying for its annihilation.

To return to the plot of my novel: the author manages somehow to cobble together a satisfying ending to the story, in which the hero, his mission having been accomplished, salvages a new life for himself from the ruins of his past. Unfortunately, my mature self tells me that revenge is never satisfying in the long run. It invariably leaves a bitter aftertaste and a continuing legacy of hatred.