Rabbi Taragin, however, notes that, with the advent of the
State of Israel in the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, the majority of
the world looked favorably upon the Jewish state:
With the birth of Israel… we could finally live together in our homeland, speaking a common language and sharing a national identity…
Israel gradually gained acceptance abroad. Over 75 years, our military strength, economy, and technological achievements earned international respect. Diplomatic relationships expanded. Countries sought our expertise, welcomed our innovations, and increasingly treated Israel as a valuable partner even when old prejudices lingered. We felt less alone both because we had one another and because the wider world seemed increasingly willing to accept us.
That seemed to contradict the conventional interpretation of
Esav sonei l’Yaakov. But, as Rabbi Taragin then reminds us, all of that
shattered the day after October 7:
The massacre in the south had barely ended, yet by October 8, protesters were already condemning Israel and portraying us as the aggressors. As we fought a just war against those who attacked us, we faced fierce condemnation and spurious accusations of terrible crimes. Israel has been sidelined, marginalized and boycotted. Even our right to exist has been questioned, a challenge rarely directed at other nations. After decades in which we believed that our legitimacy had become an accepted fact, we discovered how quickly old arguments could reappear.
Now we once again stand alone. A people truly apart. As the
blessing God bestowed upon us through the mouth of Bilaam: Am levadad
yishkon—(We are) a nation that dwells alone. (Bamidbar 23:9).
Is that our eternal fate? Perhaps. But I would suggest that
there is a sociological explanation for it as well, one that helps explain why
Israel seemed so beloved before October 7th, only to be hated
afterward.
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First, let me dismiss the notion that we are hated because
of how we conducted ourselves fighting Hamas in Gaza. The claim that Israel
committed genocide there could not possibly explain the protests the very next
day after the massacre, when demonstrators were already calling for Israel’s
destruction and its replacement with a Palestinian state.
It is a function of human nature to view prosperous and
powerful nations ruling over a poor and weak population as inherently evil. The
weak and poor are seen as victims deserving of sympathy and support.
It doesn’t matter to the casual observer why this situation
exists. Whenever a wealthy, prosperous nation exercises control over a poor and
weak population, that nation is likely to be viewed as an oppressor. Sympathy
is reserved for the subjugated. The more progressive one’s worldview, the more
likely one is to interpret the world in these terms.
Although I believe antisemitism is clearly a factor in how
some people view Israel now, that doesn’t explain why Israel was viewed so
favorably before. For many years. I believe it was because we perpetuated our
identity as the original weak and poor survivors of the Holocaust. As long as
we retained that identity, we were viewed sympathetically. That included
recognition of all the above-mentioned positive contributions the rest of the
world received from us.
But after the Six-Day War, that perception changed…
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