Why Hamas Won the Palestinian Election

By Rabbi Alan Yuter
Posted Monday, March 13, 2006 • Modified Friday, April 28, 2006

Dictators appeal to social democracy in order to win the loyalty of people whom they enslave. The Bible reports that Joseph gave food to the population of Egypt, in return for their land and, ultimately, their freedom. When Jacob died, Joseph was no longer needed by Pharaoh, and he had to beg Pharaoh for permission to bury his father Jacob in the ancestral Palestinian plot. And when Joseph died, his brothers no longer had the power or right to leave Egypt to bury him. The bondage of the house of bondage had become. In a subsequent scene, at the beginning Exodus, Pharaoh tells "his people" that the Hebrews are becoming too numerous. Pharaoh, now with total economic power, speaks like a democrat to convince "his people" to commit genocide, to through the Hebrews into the Nile.

Joseph, the manager of men, provided a safety net for food, taking land, money, and eventually, the bodies of the Egyptian population, to be the property of the throne. He localized power in the person of the king, not himself. When power coalesces in the person of the king, tyranny is inevitable.

The Arafat Palestinian Authority, as well as the successor leadership, succeeded in lining personal pockets, but could not win the hearts, minds, and loyalty of the Arab street. This regime taxed, but did not serve. While King Solomon was a heavy taxer, he provided social services, and as long as his monarchy was responsive to the needs of his kingdom, Solomon was a successful monarch. Arafat was not a poor man. His wife lived in luxury in Paris, not in a Gazan refugee camp.

Hamas won the Palestinian election for the same reason Ayatollah Khomeini. The Shah lived in luxury, while his people did not. Arafat and his allies used the Palestinian cause as a business, taking money, living high, and exploiting the population whom they ruled. Hamas and Khomeini are seen as people of principle. And they provide food and services. They are good ward leaders, feeding the poor and purchasing their loyalty. People prefer full bellies to free ballots. The price paid for such leadership is great. In a Hamas state and in Iran, religion is a source of control. There is no discussion of right and wrong. Challenge to the people of power is a challenge to the God whose providence placed these people in power. Like the Biblical Pharaoh, who defined Israel as the enemy, the fifth column, the insidious outsider, Hamas and Iran view Israel and the United States as great Satans. These "satanic" states sin by not respecting Islam, by allowing a culture where citizens are invested with rights, choices, control of their lives, and the ability to have a vested interest in their societies. A totalitarian state dares not permit its duped population to see a better way of life.

In Islam, once a country comes under the domain of Islam, or dar al-Islam, it may not be returned to the domain of the unbelievers, il-kafirun, which is where the sword, the dar al harb, or suicide bombers, do their evil work. This society which has created a culture of terror demands that it be treated with respect. Never mind that Israel, Jews, and Judaism are subject to disrespect and caricature. It is permissible to portray Jews demonically, but it is improper to portray Muhammed as a terrorist with a bomb for a turban. Respect in totalitarian culture is not reciprocal. Respect means deference, and Islam means "submission, " imposed peace, and deference which is enforced by intimidation. The Danish cartoon may have been offensive, but cultures that give offensive would do well to thicken the skin because offense will be returned. In western culture, there is freedom of speech, press, and religion. In Saudi Arabia, on Islam is licit, there are words that dare not be uttered, and the press is an instrument of state, not the servant of the people, truth, or ethics. It is Islamic behavior that brought western journalists to see Muhammed as a terrorists. People cry out Allahu Akbar, God is the greatest, before they terrorize. The Quran describes how Muhammed would be ruthless when dealing with those who would not submit to him. The West has outgrown this kind of terrorism. Simply put, nations that portray its enemies in subhuman images and which kill, maim, and terrorize in God's name will find people who will use humor to challenge them.

The Jewish community would do well to learn from the case of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism. In Jewish life, we demonize each other. Liberal Judaisms portray Orthodoxy as sexist, and therefore immoral and religiously illegitimate. Hardly the stuff out of which pluralism is made. And some within Orthodoxy argue that dialogue with the evil doers is forbidden by Jewish law. We forget that the Talmud and its subsequent compendia do not explicitly forbid speaking with Jewish who think differently. We remember that Moses the believer wanted to engage the unbelieving Korah in dialogue. Korah did not want to be subject to review, because he had his unbelief to hide. People who only fight with weapons and not with words realize that their truths cannot be demonstrated, they can be imposed, coerced, and enforced.

The Jewish and American Traditions share several commonalities. Both cultures are grounded in legal systems that command, forbid, and when silent, authorize or permit. We have enough laws to structure social order, but not so much law as to stifle freedom, choice, and autonomy. The authentically religious Jew submits to God and law, not to social convention, communal pressure, or pious parochialism. As Rabbi Jacob Neusner reminds us, we are sanctified by God's commandments, not political muscle, silencing of creativity, or arbitrary vested interests. We have citizens, not subjects. The Biblical king is a shepherd, not, as Ezekiel reminds us, a slaughterer and exploiter. Both Torah and American remind us to be aware of cultures that concentrate too much power in an uncontrolled elite. We do good for others not to enslave them, like Pharaoh, Khomeini, and Hamas, but to empower every person to grow in the image of good.

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