As the fissures between sectors of Israeli society grow, I am told there could never be a Jewish civil war. “We are a united people!” or “Whenever things get really tough we band together,” they tell me. Statements like these are not convincing arguments. History provides us with several examples of Jewish infighting. Though I pray our differences will not come to arms, here are five cases where “shevet achim gam yachad” (brethren dwelling together in unity) was only an optimistic lyric:
#5- The last two Jews of Afghanistan
Alone amidst hostile Muslim neighbors, the last two Jews of Kabul, Zebulun Simantov and Isaac Levi, reflected the people of Israel in miniature. Considering the difficulty of living under the Taliban in one of the world’s hottest warzones on the one hand, and their shared personal and national history on the other, one would expect that they would put their differences aside and cooperate. But true to the stereotype of “two Jews, three synagogues,” the two were at each others’ throats to the bitter end.
#4- WWI
The First World War featured a number of innovations: the submarine, the airplane, the tank, the machine gun, poison gas, and the mass enlistment of Jews. Captivated by the patriotic fervor that swept Europe, Jews joined the armed forces of their native countries in unprecedented numbers: 36,000 in France, 100,000 in Germany (12,000 of whom died), 500,000 in Russia, and 250,000 in the United States. In total, approximately 1.5 million Jews fought on the eastern and western fronts. Never before or since have Jews fought in such great numbers on both sides of a conflict. The Jewish Agency’s history of World War I recounts how Jewish leaders looked on helplessly as this “tremendous dilemma” of Jewish infighting unfolded.
#3- Altalena
During Israel’s struggle for Independence, Ben Gurion and Begin fought over arms and ammunition smuggled to Israel by the Irgun aboard the Altalena. Ben Gurion feared the creation of a fifth column within the IDF, loyal to Begin rather than the chain of command. Refusal to acquiesce to Ben Gurion’s ultimatum resulted in armed conflict between the two forces, the sinking of the Altalena, and the death of 16 Irgun fighters and three IDF soldiers.
If ever there was a risk of a modern Jewish civil war it was during the Altalena incident, but that doesn’t preclude a recurrence. Already,the specter of Kahane’s Kach party has arisen and is gaining popularity. His followers (including MK Michael Ben-Ari) are emboldened and willing to act. “Price tag” attacks by the radical right have been limited to Arab property, but who’s to say it will remain that way?
#2- The Maccabee Uprising
Every Jewish school child knows the Hannukah story. The Jews were under Seleucid Greek rule in the second century BCE and a group of warriors led by the Hasmonean brothers rose up, defeated their Seleucid overlords, restored the profaned temple in Jerusalem, and reestablished an independent Jewish state.
What Jewish elementary schools typically play up is the miracle of the oil that lasted eight days. What they gloss over is that the Maccabees and their followers were a zealous and ruthless clan of fundamentalists. When not killing Greeks they would “persecute the Judaeans who still inclined to Hellenization,” writes Solomon Zeitlin in The Rise and Fall of the Judean State. Judah Maccabee’s brother and successor, Jonathan, “persecuted all those who were friendly to the Syrian government and disloyal to the Jewish religion.”
#1- Pharisees, Sadducees, Sicarii, and the Jewish Revolt
By far the bloodiest period of infighting among Jews was during the Roman rule of Judea leading up to 70 CE. Dagger-wielding Jewish terrorists—termed Sicarii by the Romans for concealing these weapons beneath their cloaks—kidnapped, murdered, and ransomed Romans and Jewish Romanizers. Their stringent interpretation of Judaism introduced radical punishment for committing a sacrilegious act or anything provoking anti-Jewish feeling. The punishment was a knife in the back. (It is a troubling development that a radical group naming themselves after the Sicarii has sprung up in Jerusalem recently, harassing and assaulting “sinners”, and that its emergence has barely made the news.) In the end, thousands were slaughtered when the Romans came to put down the insurrection.
An Israeli civil is not fait accompli, but it is probable if we do not put aside our philosophical, political, and ethnic differences. The rabbis of the first generations of exile recognized that the violent discord between Jewish sects caused Judaea’s demise (Yoma 9:b). We should take heed of the lessons of history and learn from those who witnessed the last destruction of Israel so we can prevent it from happening again.
Ilan Ben Zion is an active blogger currently living in Jerusalem; he is a graduate of Tel Aviv University with a Masters in Diplomacy and a veteran of the IDF.
