For Israel to settle Lebanon is to further destroy any hope we can hold for peace. Prospects for peace are now little more than fanciful as we stare down a religious war between Judaism, together with its Christian backers, and Islam. If we do not search, however, we will not find, so it is upon us to exercise an open mind. The path to peace could run through Lebanon, but the view is obstructed by a holy war.
Zionism was established as a political philosophy by Theodor Herzl in the late 19th century. In response to a rise in antisemitism that was but the latest in a seemingly endless cycle of hostility against European Jews, Zionism offered hope. While segments of European Orthodoxy rejected Zionism for theological reasons, many socialist youth embraced it for its promise of safety, security, and common prosperity. Whatever interpretation of the Jewish story one may apply, the simple fact is that an ancient people returned to their historical homeland and formed a modern state where millions now live. There will be no peace if that cannot be accepted.
Israel has both Jewish and Arab citizens who live within its pre-1967 borders, alongside Arabs in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) who are subject to military rule, and Israeli Jews who live there under Israeli civil law. Across Israel, Gaza, Judea, and Samaria, live approximately 14.5 million people, roughly split between Arabs and Jews.
Like Arab and Muslim acceptance of Israel’s right to exist, Zionism must reconcile the open wound that is its expulsion, dispossession, and occupation of Arabs from their homes and lands, which persists to this day. Expulsions underway in South Lebanon foretell a story that Zionism can ill afford to perpetuate.
The war being fought between America and Israel on one side, and Iran and Hezbollah on the other, reflects a deep ideological conflict. Iran’s hostility towards Israel is rooted in a worldview that fused Shia theology with state power under the doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist), developed and institutionalized by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini following the Islamic Revolution, and continued under Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after his rise to power in 1989. Iran is both politically and religiously mandated to resist what it defines as injustice, foreign domination, and illegitimate authority. Israel was deemed by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini immediately following his rise to power in 1979 to be an illegitimate entity occupying Muslim land. Iran supports a network of proxies it describes as an “axis of resistance.” These state and non-state actors project Iran’s Islamist ideology. Iran’s holy war is a zero-sum game in which the aim is to conquer Israel, take Jerusalem, and impose Islamic rule.
Ethnically and religiously diverse, Lebanon is a small country with a population of 5.5 million, one-third of whom are Shia and the remainder consisting of Arab Christians, Sunni Muslims, Druze, and Armenian Christians. Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed proxy that has long prepared for war with Israel, is Shia. Like Hamas, but in bedrock rather than desert, Hezbollah has developed an extensive tunnel network used as weapons caches, living quarters, bomb shelters, and passageways into Israel where attacks on civilians were planned. Although Israel has destroyed a significant portion of its tunnel network and arsenal, Hezbollah continues to possess thousands of rockets, missiles and drones which, in coordination with Iranian fire into Israel’s populated center, cause damage, loss of life, and widespread anxiety. Like the Islamic Republic of Iran, it is a matter of doctrine that Hezbollah fights to destroy Israel.
Israel’s government is made up of an anchor party in the Likud, a populist right-wing party made up of both secular and religious Israelis. Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of Likud, rose to the office of Prime Minister as a security hawk during a wave of suicide bombings in the late 1990s, and has held the office for most of the past two decades. What differentiates this government from all before it is the inclusion of religious Zionists who are driven by their intent to expand Jewish settlement into lands they believe have been promised to them. They are modern-day zealots intent on waging a holy war that leads to redemption. In contrast, ultra-Orthodox Jews believe in the power of prayer over the trappings of political nationalism and the pursuit of conflict.
While Lebanese leadership are signaling a desire to de-escalate and ultimately to normalize relations with Israel, Netanyahu has conditioned discussions on the disarmament of Hezbollah. Knowing that this will never happen, for there is no trust between the parties, Netanyahu has made his intent clear – war over peace. Influential voices within Israel’s government, religious Zionists now openly promote the Jewish settlement of South Lebanon. This would be a devastating outcome that would take us further into the abyss.
Judaism cannot persist indefinitely without Israel, and Israel cannot endure indefinitely without peace. Leaders in both Iran and Israel are waging a zero-sum, winner-take-all holy war, yet a window of opportunity to de-escalate is momentarily open in Lebanon. The Rabbinate, and in particular Polish and Lithuanian Orthodox leadership represented politically by Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah, must step forward in vocal opposition to the settlement of Lebanon. A religious authority greater than a small group of zealots who have taken the nation hostage must defend Judaism from the radicalism that is brewing within.
Judaism offers the promise of an age of eternal peace that has yet to come. Unlike Christianity, it is believed that peace will exist not only in the spiritual realm but also in the physical world. Zealots believe that their actions will usher in that time, yet this belief contains a contradiction that points to misguided interpretation of scripture and rabbinic commentary. Tikkun Olam is a Jewish concept that has evolved from its classical legal and mystical meanings into a modern ethic of repairing and improving the world through acts of justice and moral responsibility. It is in Tikkun Olam that the light is found, and ultra-Orthodox leadership is intimately aware of that fact.
This is the moment of choice, and the decision rests with the Orthodox because they have two powers unique unto them. First, they must defend Judaism from the actions of those who damage the spirit of the faith. Lebanon must not be settled and Jews must cease their assault and expulsion of Arabs from their homes in Judea and Samaria. Second, the Orthodox hold concentrated political power. With an election imminent, the Orthodox, starting with the Ashkenazi party United Torah Judaism (UTJ), must align with parties that are not currently in this government, including Arab parties. UTJ can thereafter work to align with the other ultra-Orthodox bloc, Shas, to shape a new government that can pursue a path to normalization of relations between Arabs and Jews.
When the flames of war rise and ashes fall, hatred, devastation, and ultimately the abyss stand at the doorstep. The signs are everywhere, from corruption in high office to poverty, resentment, crime, and violence. We live in a dangerous time that our children will inherit if we do not walk toward the light that is Tikkun Olam. Now is Jewish Orthodoxy’s moment to shine.
Applying his interests in politics, history, religion, economics, and psychology, Jordan contextualizes obstacles to discover pathways to peace.