Let's Pretend: Today's Elections at The Time of the Maccabees

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Democracy, elections such as we take for granted didn't take place in ancient times, but human nature and idealism, etc have always existed and haven't changed. There are just different labels, laws and customs. So, I'm going to tell you what I think our ancient heroes, led by Judah the Maccabee would have done if faced with the sort of Knesset Elections we are being faced with this Jewish Year of 5775, (2015 on the goyish calendar.)

A little background on Judah Maccabee:

Judah Maccabee was a fearless leader, a brilliant battlefield tactician and a man capable of inspiring thousands to take up arms in the battle for the preservation of Judaism. It was Judah Maccabee who conceived of ways for the Jewish forces to out-maneuver the larger, better equipped and seasoned Greek army. When at last the Jews captured Jerusalem, rededicated the Temple and witnessed the miracle of the oil, it was with Judah Maccabee as the leader of the Hasmonean family and at the head of the Jewish army of liberation. (Torah.org Who Was Judah Maccabee Anyway? by Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf)

This was a time in Jewish History when we weren't totally independent or sovereign in our Land. Our Holy Temple was in ruins and the Greeks ruled us, not only administratively, but they also forbade the practice of Judaism.

The festival of Hanukka celebrates the military victory of the Judeans over the Hellenist Syrians in the second century BCE, as recorded in the Al Hanissim thanksgiving prayer added to our Amida prayers and Grace after Meals for the eight days of the holiday; the festival also celebrates the ideological victory of Judaism over Greek Hellenism, as symbolized in the kindling of the Menorah, the Holy Temple candelabrum signifying “the illumination which is Torah.” Hence we were engaged in a two-pronged struggle; a national war of independence against the heirs of the military conqueror Alexander the Great, and a spiritual Kulturkampf against the wisdom of ancient Greece, which that same Alexander wished to dominate the entire civilized world at that time.
Moreover, as is clear from the historical writings of Josephus Flavius and the Apocryphal Books of the Maccabees, the enemies who were vanquished were not only the gentile Syrians but also the Jewish secular assimilationists, especially the ruling priestly aristocracy who had become bitten by the “bug” of Hellenistic culture and who wished to transform Judea into a Greek city-state (See Victor Tcherikover, Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews). (Jerusalem Post, Rabbi Riskin)

Their actual aim was the destruction of us as a people united by our Jewish religion.

Our war, the fight of the Maccabees against the Greeks, had to be a battle on two fronts, and there was no compromise. Taking a "Centrist" view would not give us a victory. I have no doubt that Judah the Maccabee would oppose the Likud of Binyamin Netanyahu and also the NRP aka Jewish Home of Naftali Bennett. Moderation under any name was not in his ideological or political lexicon. Judah the Maccabee would also oppose the Chareidi parties, because they only take on religious battles and in principle ignore national and defense issues.

I have no doubt that today's Judah Maccabee would be an active member and supporter of Otzma Yehudit (formerly Otzma LiYisrael,) led by Michael Ben-Ari.

The lesson of the Chanukah story is that compromise with our enemies is dangerous.When someone wants to destroy you body and soul you have to fight on both of those fronts. There is no negotiations. The only political group that understands this is Ben-Ari's Otzma Yehudit!