Days ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed that he feels he is on a "historical and spiritual mission," and that he is "very" committed to the vision of Greater Israel, which includes Palestinian territories, "and perhaps also areas of Jordan and Egypt," according to the Times of Israel. This came during an interview he had with journalist Sharon Gal from the Israeli i24 channel, who was briefly a right-wing member of the Knesset. After Netanyahu gifted a necklace bearing the map of "Greater Israel" to his wife, he was asked about his connection to "this vision" of Greater Israel, to which Netanyahu replied, "Certainly." It is worth noting that this "Greater Israel" also emerged publicly after the Six-Day War in June 1967 to refer to Israel and the territories it occupied at that time, which include East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Syrian Golan Heights.
The geographical definition of what is called "Greater Israel" has remained a subject of dispute in the Talmud and Talmudic literature. The academic and chemistry professor, and one of the survivors of the Nazi Holocaust, Israel Shahak (1933 – 2001), a human rights activist known for his sharp criticisms of Israeli governments and Israeli society, especially regarding policies towards Palestinians, highlighted this in his book "Jewish Religion: Its Influence on Non-Jews," which was first translated by Sina Publishing House in Cairo in 1994, as follows: According to maximalist advocates, Greater Israel includes, in addition to Palestine, the Sinai Peninsula, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and vast areas of Turkish land. The occupying army used this in training its officers. As for the minimalists, they are content to draw the northern borders along the line extending at Homs between Syria and Lebanon, which received the support of David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of the State of Israel. In all Talmudic interpretations, the land of Israel also includes the island of Cyprus.
In his aforementioned interview, Netanyahu left the situation ambiguous between the maximalist and minimalistic limits; he is not Ben-Gurion, who modestly settled for the line at Homs in the borders of the Kingdom of David in the north, because in the atmosphere of the brutal war on Gaza and the war of settlement, judaization, and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, he does not wish to enter into disputes over borders with Smotrich, Ben Gvir, Amichai Eliyahu, and Orit Strock, or with a public opinion that is rapidly shifting towards aggressive and expansionist fascism in Israel. What need does he have for that as long as the message has been received and that he is on a historical and spiritual mission that provides him with opportunities to gain more supporters for his party and his sick, wild imagination to remain in power until the completion of a mission he knows better than anyone else is an impossible one.
Reactions to the delusions and dreams of this sick man, haunted by lies about the historical and spiritual mission, were widespread and furious, starting with all components of the Palestinian people, political, partisan, and spiritual, passing through Jordan and Egypt, two countries with which the State of Israel signed "peace agreements," and ending with many leaders of the countries of this world, who were shocked by Netanyahu's statements, which reminded some of them of a not-so-distant past of Adolf Hitler and his sick dreams about the "Third Reich," including Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. How can the Turkish president not be angry when maximalist advocates of the Kingdom of David eye vast areas of Turkish land in the south?
The Kingdom of David, which Netanyahu dreams of, is a state on paper; it is a state of legends, just as the legend of David is. The Kingdom of Benjamin Netanyahu goes far back in history, to over three thousand five hundred years ago as he claims, and the same is true for Bezalel Smotrich and other neo-Nazis in Israel. It is a return of the spirit to that kingdom, which was referred to in the declaration of independence of this state in 1948. It is the kingdom of Saul, David, and Solomon, which Netanyahu wants to resurrect. So what is the story of that kingdom?
David, before he became, according to legends, a king leading a gang of six hundred bandits, was pursued by King Saul and often sought refuge with the Palestinians, who granted him that according to the Books of Kings. When he became king after Saul's tragic fate, David was also a fugitive across Jordan from his son Absalom, who usurped power from his father. The beginning of his reign did not suggest stability that would allow him to build a kingdom capable of waging wars and expanding victories over neighboring kingdoms and establishing an empire. What is mentioned in the narrative of the Book of Samuel and the First Book of Kings regarding that empire,
شارك برأيك
Blowing up myths will not be of any use in resurrecting the "Greater Netanyahu Kingdom."