Balak, Bilam and A Donkey

Last Shabbat’s Torah Parsha (portion) of Balak is a stark reminder of how relevant that episode in Jewish history is for all of us today.

As the Israelites reached the end of their forty-year trek to the Promised Land and a new generation prepared to face the challenges of sovereignty, they faced implacable foes. These enemies had one aim: to thwart and destroy the Israelite tribes by any possible means.

The first option was to use physical force to engage the Israelites in battle and defeat them. The nations opposing them tried to make alliances and present a united front in the expectation that this overwhelming show of force would deter any further march forward.

This plan disintegrated in the face of reports of massive defeats inflicted on the Amalekites and the drowning of the mighty Egyptian army at the sea of Reeds.

Plan number two was a version of psychological warfare whereby a renowned pagan “prophet” would be bribed and induced to utter curses against the Israelites as they gathered together prior to a confrontation. It was assumed that the sight and sound of this seer hurling bloodthirsty threats and condemnations would be sufficiently menacing and result in panic. Following the expected chaos during which the Israelites were expected to flee, the opposing nations could eradicate their foes.

There was a certain logic to this approach because sowing fear among the masses was a relatively easy strategy to employ.

Bilam, chosen for his particular expertise in cursing enemies, had no hesitation in accepting this assignment, especially as the monetary rewards more than compensated him for the trouble. The only problem was that he kept getting conflicting “messages” which warned him not to proceed. Ignoring these divine warnings he pressed forward on his donkey towards the appointed site.

Interestingly, his donkey seemed to know more than he did because it refused to move forward whereupon Bilam hit it with his stick. Given the power of speech this lowly animal admonished Bilam and warned him that on no account should he curse the Israelites.

The end result was that on subsequent occasions, instead of cursing, he blessed the assembled tribes and praised their families. Needless to say, this dramatic turn of events upset those who had hired him, and he was dismissed in disgrace.

Do you discern by any chance an eerie similarity with events currently unfolding?

There are many nations actively conspiring to confront and annihilate Israel and the Jewish People.

At the same time, we can witness latter-day Bilam types who employ curses, delegitimizations and condemnations as their preferred technique for eliminating Israel, its citizens and supporters.

Both physical and psychological methods have been used against the Jewish People in their several millennia history and despite horrendous losses it is we who are still here while our oppressors have vanished.

There is a striking lesson in the account of the Biblical donkey.

Think for a moment about the increasingly malign influence of the far-left progressives who are joining up with other haters in the US Democratic Party in order to attack Israel and Zionists. As a generation arises “that knows not Israel” we can expect decreasing support for the validity of a resurrected Jewish sovereignty in the very place Jewish history started.

The signs are there for all but the deliberate deniers to see.

With Joe Biden having “walked the plank” the stage is set for the next chapter in the gathering storm of Israel hating. As in the Torah portion of Balak there will be a concerted effort by the nations to curse and condemn the Jewish State. This will in turn result in Diaspora Jews facing increased hostility.

Ironically, the official symbol of the US Democratic Party is a donkey.

It is highly unlikely that this particular animal will rear up on its hind legs and admonish party members to desist in their efforts of vilification. It is time that we remind the haters of the Biblical prophecy that those who curse the Jewish People will themselves be cursed.

Meanwhile, insanity and deranged reactions to Israel’s efforts at thwarting terror continue unabated.

Having failed to deter either Iran or the Houthis from continuing piracy, the terror continues. After a drone killed an Israeli civilian in Tel Aviv and injured numerous others, Israel retaliated by undertaking a long-range attack against Yemeni targets. This elicited a not-unexpected expression of “concern” from the UN Secretary-General.   He predictably sprang into life as soon as Israel retaliated despite

having been conspicuously absent while Houthi piracy and rocket attacks continued on a daily basis

The new UK Government, having no other major problems to solve, announced that ”it had a solemn duty to solve the Middle East conflict.” Presumably the continuing occupation of Northern Ireland and the Falkland Islands is perfectly acceptable while the sight of Jews settling their historical Land is a crime against humanity.

For good measure, the UK Government also decided to resume funding UNRWA, claiming that this Hamas-controlled group is now squeaky clean.

The International Court of Justice, headed by a Lebanese jurist who is on record voicing anti-Israel slanders, joined the cursing chorus against Jewish sovereignty.

Proving that willful ignorance and blindness is not confined to the northern hemisphere, the New Zealand Government refused to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. Despite representations made to the Foreign Minister by Iranian exiles it seems that considerations other than cold hard facts were involved.

If anyone had illusions about Abbas being a “moderate” President for life, they should now realize that supporting a “reformed and revitalized” Palestinian Authority is an exercise in cynical futility.

China, which treats human rights and democratic values as works of fiction, has become the fairy godmother of Islamic terror groups. Facilitating what is titled “the Beijing declaration” Fatah, Hamas and other assorted champions of the oppressed declared their undying unity of purpose. In case anyone still doesn’t understand, their aim is the elimination of any Jewish sovereign presence. That includes a “joint” governance of Gaza after an Israeli withdrawal which in turn means rebuilding a terrorist infrastructure for the next round of murders.

China is the perfect midwife for delivering this ill-conceived project because it does not recognize Judaism as a valid faith. Thus any agenda which aims to delegitimize a Jewish presence is obviously agreeable to them.

This month marks fifty years of illegal Turkish occupation of the sovereign country of Cyprus.

In 1974, Turkey invaded the island nation, causing the expulsion of over one hundred thousand Greek Cypriots and the murder and maiming of thousands more. Those expelled from northern Cyprus are refugees in their own country to this very day. For 50 years, Turkey has occupied one-third of Cyprus and shows no intention of relinquishing its illegal occupation.

What international consequences have resulted?

The United Nations and all its associated bodies have basically lost interest in this intolerable situation. No war crimes indictments, no arrest warrants of Turkey’s leaders, no boycotts and certainly no scenes of thousands of university lemmings marching and occupying buildings in protest while burning Turkish flags.

In fact, the opposite has been the case.

Turkey is unbelievably a valued member of NATO, and it would-be latter-day Ottoman sultan is feted and courted by world leaders of all political permutations. He has the chutzpah to hurl crude curses at Israel and its political leaders while enjoying the adulation of a morally decrepit international community.

The contrasts are glaringly obvious and painful.

While Israel is censured for retaliating against daily terror, Turkey is given a green card for its illegal partition and occupation of Cyprus.

It needs more than a donkey to rectify this currently cursed situation.

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.