(How do we know that the exodus story was invented at a much later time? Among other indications, because the Egyptian places mentioned in the story did not even exist at the time of the imaginary Moses, but did exist at the time of the Maccabees, many centuries later, when the text was written.)
ANOTHER CHAPTER of the Bible is even more pertinent to the present happenings. It is a text which every Israeli schoolboy learns in his early teens. In the Hebrew original it is of exquisite literary beauty, apart from its overpowering moral power.
It recounts (1 Kings, 21) that:
"Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard...hard by the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.
And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying: "Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it, or, if it seems good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money."
And Naboth said to Ahab: "The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee! And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased...But Jezebel his wife came to him and said unto him: "Why is thy spirit so sad?"
The wife took matters into her own hands, ordered the elders of Samaria to put Naboth on trial on false charges, and had him stoned to death.
God the Almighty did not like this at all. He sent his prophet, Elijah, who accosted Ahab and said unto him:
"Hast thou killed and also taken possession? ... Where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood!"
And so it came to pass. Ahab died a hero's death in battle, felled by an arrow shot at random. The dogs licked his blood from his battle-carriage. They also ate the flesh of Jezebel, his wife.
In Hebrew the story sounds infinitely more beautiful than in translation. Non-religious people can read it with as much aesthetic pleasure as the religious.
IF GOD were around today, he would surely send one of his on-duty prophets to Binyamin Netanyahu (a nice Biblical-sounding name), and tell him about today's blood-licking dogs. (Journalists? TV reporters?)
The proposed "legalization" of the taking of private Arab property, under any conditions, is sheer theft. Any Arab landowner would quote Naboth, "Allah forbid it me..."
Netanyahu does not need to trouble his wife, Sarah'le, who has her own troubles with the law. Instead of Jezebel, he has the Knesset and the Attorney General.
Yet the proposed solution -- moving the settlers a few yards to government-owned properties -- is no better than Ahab's proposal to Naboth. Actually, it is much worse.
King Bibi, like king Ahab, offers money in compensation, but he does not offer other -- and better -- land. Actually, he expects the Arabs to take the money and move to Brazil or Sweden.
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