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TORAT MIZRACHI

and religious and moral value system – history, the Philistines’ main spiritual role of Jewish identity and destiny, it is these
anti-religious decrees, forced acculturation was to oppose the Jewish people’s claim to very foundations that are always attacked
or conversion. From the ancient Moabites ownership – and therefore sovereignty – in by Israel’s enemies, at different times and
through the Hellenistic decrees in the time this Land. The first two kings of Israel, Shaul in different eras.
of Chanukah, the Crusades and the Inqui- and David, constantly fought the Philistines
sitions, the aim was always to attack our time and again. The Tribes of Israel were Just as the Jewish people have been blessed
values and way of life. This is opposition to not united and both monarchs attempted to with the miracle of both surviving and
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ל ֵא ָר ְשִי ת ַרֹו ּ ת. create one sovereign entity under a united thriving against all the odds and all types of
kingship out of the disparate and disunited antisemitic attacks for thousands of years,
Edomite antisemitism is committed to our tribes of Israel. 2 so may G-d continue to bless the State of
physical destruction – from Amalek through Israel, the pinnacle of Jewish enterprise in
Haman to the Nazis. This is an attack on Says the Gaon, this was the Philistines’
the very physical existence of the Jewish spiritual mission – to constantly oppose any the modern era. May it continue to succeed
people as a distinct people, independent sovereign Jewish presence in the Land. And and flourish for its own sake and for the
of any beliefs or religious practices. This is as the Jewish collective presence intensifies, great reservoir of blessing it brings to all of
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opposition to ל ֵא ָר ְשִי ם ַע. so does Philistine opposition. humanity.
Philistine antisemitism, the most pertinent And of course, the key to the fulfillment of
for us today, is not opposition to our spiritual Palestinian Denialism and the this prophetic blessing is the rebuilding of
values or our physical existence, but rather the Beit HaMikdash. May we merit the com-
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to our sovereign claim to ל ֵא ָר ְשִי ץ ֶר ֶא. To quote Ghost of the Philistines plete rebuilding of Yerushalayim speedily
the Gaon’s ingenious insight: “The Philis- Incredibly, this is exactly the form that in our days.
tines caused great trouble for the Jewish modern-day Palestinian denialism has
people and didn’t allow them any sovereign taken. It even bears an all-too-similar name
presence and form of governance in the – םי ִא ָני ִט ְס ַל ָפ, Palestinians – to the ancient 1 “Moav is the root of Israel’s spiritual contamination,
Land, as the verse says, ‘No blacksmith was םי ִּ ת ְ ׁש ִל ְּ פ, Philistines. 3 Edom is the root of destruction that damaged Israel the
to be found in all the land of Israel, for the most and the Philistines persistently harassed Israel and
Philistines said lest the Hebrews make a Although there is no ancestral connection did not allow them any government or sovereignty, as it
says ‘Not a blacksmith was to be found [in all the Land
whatsoever, the Palestinians of today carry
sword or a spear’” (Shmuel I, 19). No to a of Israel] (Shmuel I, 13:19)’… And they parallel the three
Jewish government and no to a Jewish army. the spiritual torch of the Philistines. In so principles of holiness which encompass everything”
many ways, the delegitimization campaign (Aderet Eliyahu, Chavakuk 3:14).
Since the culmination of the Holocaust and fueled by Palestinian denialism of Israel’s
the establishment of the State of Israel, the right to exist is a direct spiritual incarnation 2 The Philistines are mentioned 286 times in Tanach,
Philistine genre of antisemitism – anti-Zi- of the Biblical role of the Philistines. with well over half appearing in the Book of Shmuel,
predominantly in the context of 20 separate battles with
onism and systematic delegitimization of Just like the Philistines of yesteryear, so the Israelites during the reigns of Shaul and David. Shaul
Israel’s right to self-determination in its have the Palestinians and their supporters and Yonatan were killed in war against them and of
Land – has become the prevalent mode of created a form of nationalism with one, sin- course David first appeared on the scene by confronting
antisemitism in our era. It had been dor- gle-minded purpose – to deny the Jewish Goliath, a Philistine giant.
mant for thousands of years while we were people any right to self-determination and 3 The emperor Hadrian famously changed the name
a wandering and stateless people. Now that governance in their historic homeland. of the Land of Israel and Judea to “Palaestina” in Latin,
we have returned, so too has this virulent “Palestine” in English, as this is the translation of the
from Hebrew of Philistia – the Land of the Philistines.
strain of antisemitism. The Vilna Gaon explains so profoundly that Remarkably, when wanting to deter any further rebel-
this phenomenon lies beyond the realm of lions of the Jews and to undermine their desire to rein-
conventional politics and history. It is a state sovereignty, he chose the Philistines as the vehicle
Philistine Antisemitism and its deeply spiritual phenomenon rooted in the to do this.
Particular Relevance Today age-old virus of antisemitism, which contin-
ually mutates according to the moral mores
For me, understanding this third category
of antisemitism was an amazing paradigm and trends of the times, always seeking to
discriminate, delegitimize and demonize
shift. The Gaon says that the Philistines pos- either the Jewish people, Judaism or a Rabbi Doron Perez is Executive Chairman
sessed single-minded dedication to deny the Jewish sovereign state. of World Mizrachi.
Jewish people ןֹוט ְל ִ ׁש ְו ה ָל ָ ׁש ְמ ֶמ – any govern-
ment and sovereign presence in the Land Precisely because these three pillars – ם ַע A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau
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of Israel. Indeed, over 1,000 years of Biblical ל ֵא ָר ְשִי ת ַרֹות ְו ל ֵא ָר ְשִי ץ ֶר ֶא ,ל ֵא ָר ְשִי – are at the core mizrachi.org/speakers
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