Curses – ancient and modern

It is amazing how very often the weekly Torah portion that we read in Synagogues on Shabbat contains startling messages so highly relevant to our current situation.

This past Shabbat, Jewish communities around the world read the portion entitled BALAK.

It narrates the frantic efforts of a local warlord and leader to find and convince the leading non-Jewish prophet of his time to issue curses against the Israelites. The tribes were approaching the end of their forty-year trek from Egyptian slavery to the Promised Land. They had already defeated many opponents who had attempted to bar their way.

Balak was no fool.

He realised that conventional military tactics were unlikely to be successful against a battle-hardened group determined to reach their objective. Based on reports he had received, the Israelite tribes seemed, in his words, to be like an ox devouring everything in its path.

A radically different plan of action was therefore needed.

What better way to counter the seemingly supernatural force helping Moses and Joshua than by employing the services of the most famous prophet? If he could be convinced to employ curses against this menacing nation, perhaps they would be stopped in their tracks and prevented from advancing.

The power of cursing an entire People should not be underestimated.

Although reluctant at first, Bilaam was induced with bribes and rewards to publicly curse the Children of Israel and thus frustrate their eventual entry to Canaan.

Things don’t always work out the way intended, and at the end of the day, Bilaam felt compelled to bless the Israelite tribes. This dramatic change did not go down too well, and he was dismissed in disgrace.

Balak refused to give up and devised another strategy. Tempting the weary Israelite men with the prospect of a “fun time” with pagan women turned out to be more successful for a short time until even this ploy was aborted.

The Torah portion ends with the Israelites opposite Jericho, poised to conquer that strategic city and ready to establish sovereignty in the Land promised to the Patriarchs.

As I followed this reading, I couldn’t help but notice the eerie similarities with current developments unfolding before our eyes. Other worshippers also recognised the signs of the times as they continue to develop.

The ancient script, over three thousand years old, is sending us a clear message from the dawn of our history.

Once again, the power of cursing is being employed by individuals, groups and nations in an endeavour to defeat and frustrate the Jewish People.

The same techniques of defaming and besmirching are being utilised to undermine the legality of a Jewish sovereign presence in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. Deliberate lies are spread about having any legal presence in the Land, with “from the river to the sea” becoming the national anthem of the slanderers and liars.

A fake history, creating a fake nation, claiming a fake right to Eretz Israel, has become the accepted narrative of the international community. Like Balak of old, today’s political leaders parrot the same mindless rhetoric. Having failed to prevent the return of the Jewish nation, they now concentrate on delegitimising its presence.

When Balak and his designated spokesperson, Bilaam, were strutting the world stage, the power of cursing others was confined to a relatively small audience. Today’s cursers have access to technology that spreads their vile utterances to millions at the flick of a switch.

Whereas once these purveyors of incitement and hate only represented themselves, the current crop recruits multinational organisations to their malign cause.

The United Nations and its associated bodies are the standard bearers of all those whose main aim in life is to smear Israel and consign it permanently to the “sin bin” of sanctioned outcasts. If one were to look for a modern-day successor to the Biblical Balak, one needs to look no further than Francesca Albanese. Her sole passion and task in life is to curse Israel at every conceivable opportunity.

At a recent meeting of the misnamed UN Human Rights Council, the following poisonous curse spewed forth: “Israel is responsible for one of the cruelest genocides in modern history.”  The assembled delegates erupted in rapturous applause.

Unlike in the Torah narrative, this woman’s curses are endorsed by other political players. It makes no difference whether they repeat the same lies or whether they mumble other inanities. Curses can be cloaked in diplomatic deceit. Kowtowing to ICC arrest warrants against Israelis, rewriting history by claiming non-existent Jewish connections to Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria are all part of modern-day efforts to deny Israel’s legitimacy.

Many try to cloak their enmity or ignorance behind a veneer of supposed friendship. President Macron loves to show his Gallic hypocrisy at every opportunity. He is working overtime to give birth to “Palestine” in the heart of the Jewish State. His claim that this will guarantee peace in the region is delusional, but no doubt will resonate with France’s fast-growing jihadist residents.

At the same time that he condemns Israel for its “crimes”, he lauds the establishment of the state of New Caledonia. Of course, this territory will still be a colonial possession of France, which “acquired” it in the 1800s. This exquisite piece of hypocrisy is naturally ignored by the mobs baying against supposed Israeli “colonial” crimes.

The number of professional associations and groups jumping on the curse Israel bandwagon grows apace.

The latest lemming to do so is the British Medical Association, which has decided to boycott Israeli doctors. Given the dire situation of the NHS, one can only shake one’s head at the idiocy of this decision. Taken to its logical conclusion, presumably, the BMA will now also boycott all Israeli medical devices and technology that help to save lives and treat diseases.

Likewise, America’s largest teachers’ union has voted to sever all relations with the Anti-Defamation League because of its “support” for Israel. This means that teachers will no longer use any resource issued by the ADL, and presumably, this is a boycott of teaching about Jew hate. Ignorance of and support for Jew hate in American schools will increase from its already abysmal level.

In Germany, the Protestant Church Assembly has just taken place. Taking pride of place at this gathering was a large map of the “holy land” with Tel Aviv missing. During its proceedings, massive anti-Israel bias was promoted. This modern-day version of cursing the Jewish connection to the Promised Land was amazingly subsidised by the German authorities to the tune of eleven million Euros.

Just as some Israelites at the time of Joshua strayed and embraced pagan practices, today’s self-flagellators delight in demeaning Israel and its war against terror. The media and haters love nothing more than the spectacle of dissident Jews joining those who dish dirt against their fellow compatriots. Nothing has changed over the millennia.

The burning question is why Bilaam, at the end of the day, balked at cursing the Israelites and instead ended up blessing them? What changed his mind, and could the same scenario happen with the current crop of cursers?

One has to remember that Bilaam was a leading prophet or seer of his generation. As such, even though he was a pagan, he was still able to see that there was something special about the Israelite tribes. He was receptive, albeit at first reluctantly, to seeing the error of his ways. At the end of the day, he switched sides. His blessings ended up ironically becoming part of our prayers as we enter the synagogue.

Nobody can truthfully claim that those who curse Israel and Jews today are on an equal footing with Bilaam. They are neither prophets nor seers, and their closed, bigoted minds preclude any sort of belated revelation. It is therefore futile to expect any sort of contrition or acknowledgment of guilt for propagating mistruths.

Ironically, however, or perhaps by some divine intervention, a shattering confession has surfaced. As reported in the Jerusalem Post, an Iranian official claimed that during the recently concluded 12-day war, Israel had received help from a mysterious source. According to this spokesperson, Israel had been helped by “occult forces and supernatural spirits.”

Who would believe it?

Here is an Iranian official admitting that behind Israel stands a force of supernatural dimensions. This revelation validates the Balak/Bilaam episode and the Jewish People’s direct connection with a “higher authority.”

We are certainly living in wondrous times.

Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.