1.
This is a historic period not only because of the daily events we endure, but also because of the sharp dialogue between the present and its precedents in the past. In the 1930s, European governments sacrificed Czechoslovakia, and before that Austria, in an effort to appease the Nazi monster. No one spoke of the Jews; they were merely the appetizer. The monster was not satisfied and devoured the other nations as well, France foremost among them. Today, those same powers seek to sacrifice the Jewish state in the hope of quelling the Islamist violence in their own streets.
This time, the Jews will not be the appetizer, because they are fighting the monster while it feasts on the bleeding corpse of the Old Continent, blinded by its leaders' cowardice. They are afraid of direct confrontation with Islam and fall back on the old antisemitic method: blame the Jews. Western civilization owes the Jewish people an enormous debt: we gave the world the Ten Commandments, Torah and morality; Christianity and Islam drew many of their core ideas from us; the concept of nationhood was first learned from the biblical books of Samuel and Kings. Now we are teaching the world how to purge leaven before Passover, in other words. How to eliminate evil from the world.
2.
And in Spain? The embers of the Inquisition still glow. A century before the expulsion, in 1391, mobs in Seville rioted, shouting "The cross or death." Today, the Spanish government has replaced that cry with a call to boycott the Jewish state and to support the creation of an Islamist terrorist caliphate in the heart of Israel.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for Israel to be expelled from the institutions of the European Union, just as Russia was expelled after its invasion of Ukraine. What is the difference, he asked, between that invasion and Israel's actions in Gaza? He also spoke of Spain's commitment to human rights and of Israel's supposed barbarity. The Spanish audience applauded. If you want to know where the "ordinary" Spanish public stood in the face of the expulsion decree, and especially during its implementation, look at today's Spanish government and at the hypocrites who clapped for their prime minister's ignorant distortion of human rights. Antisemitism has neither place nor time.
3.
And to your question, Mr. Sánchez: while Russia invaded Ukraine, it was Gaza that invaded Israel with the explicit aim of committing genocide against the Jewish people. They succeeded for one day; had they been able, they would have slaughtered millions of Jews in the Land of Israel. What has been happening in Gaza since then is not an "invasion" but the destruction of an enemy whose banner proclaims our annihilation.
It is difficult for Spaniards to grasp this. During World War II, Spain did not fight alongside the Allies against Nazi Germany. Jews then were helpless before Hitler's Germany and Ferdinand and Isabella's Spain. Today we can defend ourselves and strike back. The spiritual heirs of Tomás de Torquemada, head of the Inquisition, live in Spain. The descendants of Don Isaac Abravanel, leader of the exiled Jews of Spain, live in a sovereign Jewish state. Thank God.
4.
The US secretary of state inaugurated the ancient Pilgrims' Road in the City of David. Two thousand years ago, millions of pilgrims walked this path on their way to the Temple on the Temple Mount. This official visit was a resounding statement from the American superpower about the wholeness of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and a thorn in the blind eyes of the Europeans, most of whom boycott the Old City and label it "occupied territory." What a disgrace. They cannot even protect Christianity's own interests. A civilization bent on suicide.
I was reminded of the Italian foreign minister's visit during my tenure as ambassador. After the official meetings, he wanted to visit the Old City. Wait for him at the Western Wall plaza, my superior at the Foreign Ministry told me. I arrived and waited patiently. When the minister appeared from the Christian Quarter, I hurried forward happily to shake his hand. Before I could, his aide, who would later become director general of the Italian Foreign Ministry, ran at me in anger. He barked at me: "You are not allowed to be here. I will report you to the Foreign Ministry."
Why? Because this is not Israeli territory and an official representative is forbidden to escort the Italian foreign minister. I was relatively new to my post and was stunned. I argued, I do not understand, this is the Western Wall. If this is not Israeli territory, what is? He refused to answer. His eyes blazed as if he were the owner of the place and I an intruder. His words cut deeply. From that incident on, he boycotted me throughout my term and would not speak to me. My contacts were directly with the foreign minister himself, who was friendly, and with other Italian officials, some of whom even sympathized with Israel. In hindsight, I realized that man was an antisemite. This week, when I heard Marco Rubio in the City of David, it felt to me like a kind of correction.
5.
Speaking of our ancient roots, last Shabbat I studied with my daughter Daria the command Moses gave the Israelites to build an altar on Mount Ebal:
"And it shall be, when you cross the Jordan, that you shall set up… on Mount Ebal… an altar of stones… you shall build the altar of the Lord your God with unhewn stones… and you shall offer burnt offerings on it, and you shall sacrifice peace offerings, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 27: 4-7).
Its fulfillment is described in Joshua chapter 8, where the third covenant in the series of national covenants was enacted: "Be silent and hear, O Israel: This day you have become a people" (Deuteronomy 27:9).
I told Daria about the long, fruitless searches for the altar. Until 1980, when the late Prof. Adam Zertal, then an archaeology student, discovered a suspicious pile of stones. Subsequent excavations revealed that Zertal had uncovered the holy grail of biblical archaeology: an Israelite altar from Iron Age I (late 13th century BCE), the beginning of Israelite settlement in the land. I wrote at length about this discovery in this very supplement years ago.
In his book "A People Was Born - The Altar on Mount Ebal and the Emergence of Israel," Zertal vividly described the process of discovery and the many finds that left no doubt for any honest scholar: this was an ancient Israelite altar. Its resemblance to the altar of burnt offerings in the Second Temple, as described in the Mishnah in Tractate Middot, is remarkable. In some respects, this altar is no less important than the Temple Mount itself. My visit to the site touched me on a deep nerve in a way no other experience ever had. The story and photos I showed Daria were enough to leave a lasting impression on us.
6
And now, in recent months, an impressive exhibition titled "The Eternity of Israel" has been on display in the departure hall of Ben-Gurion Airport. Sponsored by the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Heritage Ministry, and others, it presents archaeological finds tracing the history of Israel in the land, beginning with the Merneptah Stele (1208–1209 BCE), the first known mention of "Israel," through the history of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah and beyond.
I passed by the exhibition several times and read everything carefully. To my astonishment, the most important find was missing: the Israelite altar on Mount Ebal. Even during Zertal's lifetime, some archaeologists were envious and ignored his monumental discovery, and even more so after his death. The last thing they want is an archaeological find confirming the Bible, located at the very historical heart of the land, "beyond the mountains of darkness." It is not too late to correct this omission. Shana Tova.
