The Final Clash: Isaac vs. Ishmael in Modern Times

For two thousand years, Jews lived in exile but not a day went by without them longing for redemption and a return to the Land of Israel. They maintained a distinct identity from the nations they settled among, standing apart in their solitude and difference. This persisted until the era of emancipation and secularization in Europe. During that time, an increasing number of Jews stopped praying for the Messiah and the return to Israel. Why wait for a Messiah when they could become full-fledged Germans? Life under German oaks seemed preferable to that under the palms along the Jordan. But their hopes were dashed cruelly. European culture was never truly prepared to accept Jews as equals. Anti-Semitism ran too deep in the European psyche, and the calls for equality were more an aspiration to rise like the nobility above them than to elevate the Jews below them. Jews realized they had no future integrating into European culture and that equality among nations would only be possible in their own land. Thus Zionism was born.

The Dreyfus Affair greatly contributed to Jewish frustration. The French government's message to Jews during the affair was that they would never be considered 'true French', no matter their actions. It deeply influenced a journalist and playwright, Theodor Herzl, who concluded that Jews must have their own state where they could live as Jews, naturally, without fear. He founded the Zionist movement, leading to significant Jewish immigration to Israel.

There were always Jews who aspired and indeed moved to the Land of Israel, but not to establish a state; they aimed to hasten the redemption. Zionism was the first idea proposing Jews redeem themselves through their own strength.

Muslims were unable to accept the notion of Jews experiencing a national revival. According to Islam, Jews were meant to pay the jizya in humiliation until they repented and accepted Muhammad's faith. Initially, Muslim resistance was local and unorganized, but by the Great Arab Revolt, the Arab states were deeply involved, supporting Palestinians financially, organizationally, and militarily.

Arab support for the war against the Jews began in earnest with the Great Revolt. One of the most notorious supporters was Haj Amin al-Husseini, the religious leader of the Arabs in the Land of Israel. He incited pogroms and organized the arming of Arab militias with the backing of the governments of Iraq and Saudi Arabia. These governments funded militias and facilitated arms transfers to Arab battalions.

The commander of the Great Revolt was Fawzi al-Qawuqji, a former Turkish officer of Lebanese descent living in Iraq. He recruited many eager fighters from Iraq and Syria. After the revolt's failure, in 1947, the Arab League appointed him as the commander of the 'Army of Salvation', supporting him with funding, recruitment of soldiers, and political aid.

Following the Peel Commission, which proposed a diminutive Jewish state in the Land of Israel, the Arab states from the Arab Higher Committee convened at the Bludan Conference. There, a representative emphasized that in the Land of Israel, Arabs and Islam were battling 'world Jewry', and thus every Arab and Muslim must bear the duty of its defense. At the conference, Muslim countries opposed the establishment of any Jewish state variation, supported the Great Arab Revolt, and discussed methods for sending arms and volunteers to fight the Jews—all this long before the 'Nakba', before the occupation. Even then, Arab states viewed a Jewish state in the Land of Israel as utterly unacceptable.

In 1947, the Arab League dispatched the 'Army of Salvation' under the command of al-Qawuqji, recruited volunteer fighters for it, armed it, and sent it to fight the Jews before the state's establishment.

When the State of Israel was finally established, Arab armies invaded the young state, intending to perpetrate a second Holocaust, God forbid. Miraculously, they have not succeeded in their mission to this day.

This is the final round between Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael sees Isaac arising from the dead, claiming the land of his ancestors to continue his ancestral traditions and call upon God in Abraham's name. In Ishmael's worldview, he sees himself as the sole continuer of Abraham's tradition, and proof of his victory is the humbling of Israel. The new rise of Israel is proof of its eternity and undermines Ishmael's claim to the Abrahamic legacy. Therefore, the Palestinian issue is not just a Palestinian problem or a human rights issue; it's a religious war. The entire Muslim nation worldwide will join it. Ishmael will not allow Isaac to renew his days or push him to the margins, and like at the dawn of Islam, if the Jews do not accept Islam's superiority and give it precedence, Islam will crush them and remove them from history.

As Jews, the pattern of another people wanting to destroy us is not new. And as before, our descendants will call upon Hashem even after Islam. We will not abandon the magnificent inheritance handed down by our great father Abraham, and we will continue to be a light unto the nations—and thus we will prevail.