The Origin Of Polytheism And Monotheism – OpEd

 November 3, 2024

By Rabbi Allen S. Maller

Dogs are pack hunter wolves that became Homo sapiens best friends. The wild dogs in Africa are pack hunters whose packs must out number their enemies by 3 to 1, because their enemies are always bigger then they are, if they are to survive. Homo sapiens needed weapons and bands of larger and larger groups to survive. Over the last hundred thousand years, religion evolved to make small bands into ever larger tribes.    

As Torah tells us: ” God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea; the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”  (Genesis 1:28)

Since the time of Aristotle philosophers have thought that mankind’s ability to use tools was what made humans unique. However, we now know that many different species (including birds) use tools, and Chimps not only use tools but also make at least three different kinds of tools for different functions.

So if tool making, culture, self awareness and language do not distinguish humans from our nearest primate relatives, what makes humans what we are? I offer human religious spirituality as an answer.

For almost all of the last 200,000 years Homo Sapiens were small group, hierarchically organized, social primates. Although biological evolution occurs in individuals, any genes that enable the group (extended family and/or band) to function better as a group, will contribute to individual survival rates and reproductive success within the group.  

If one takes seriously the Torah’s claim that humanity was created in the Divine image, or the Qur’an statement that humans were created to be vice-regents with God, spiritual evolution testifies to the creation of creatures who are social co-creators of purpose driven non-material responses to environmental and social challenges. 

Among the earliest Gods were birth Goddesses. Small stone figures of very pregnant birth Goddesses often referred to as “Venus” figures go back 30-35,000 years. They are the first examples of iconic religion. The worship of spirits within natural phenomena does not need iconic representation. But birth rarely took place in the open or in public. 

The birth Goddess needed to be present in some tangible way in order to ease the anxiety of women in labor. Even today in some African countries the maternal mortality rate is 3% per birth. A woman who gave birth to 8 children had a one in four chance of dying from giving birth. Any band would benefit even if the presence of Goddesses reduced that mortality rate by only 5%. Carvings in wood of birth Goddesses probably preceded stone statues by many millennia and may have originated 50-100,000 years ago. 

The biblical term for food offerings is korban. The verb l’karayv means to draw near or come close. A korban is a way to attach, engage or bind the human realm to the spirit realm. When food and drink are offered to another it is not a sacrifice. Food and liquid offerings are an invitation to a closer relationship. 

Especially during ceremonial occasions food and drink serve to bring people together, including those who have been estranged from one another because of transgressions that have occurred. Thus offerings to the Gods can help people who feel estranged from God return to a closer (karayv) relationship. The food offered to a God is usually eaten wholly or in part by those who contribute it or by the priests who offer it. 

God doesn’t want grain or meat offerings (Psalm 40:7). Humans offer them, especially when they feel estranged from the Divine, in order to draw closer (karayv) to the Divine. Only the sacrifice of human beings should be called sacrifice. While human sacrifice was widespread in the past it was usually relatively rare.

Ritual specialists, who unlike charismatic Shamans are more likely to be administrator types, usually direct these offerings. As time goes on the rites tend to get more complex and the necessary skills require more training. Those people performing the complex rites easily become a hereditary cast of professional priests. 

They sometimes also offer an alternative type of leadership to that of the hunter/warrior types. Priests can become the custodians of the customary law of the tribe. Priests can offer advice to help in making important decisions by consulting the gods to determine their will. 

Fortune telling enables decision-makers to avoid the backlash of wrong decisions while claiming credit for the good ones. Divination also reduces many people’s anxiety about difficult decisions in unclear situations. Even today millions of Americans still consult astrology charts and in Asia people in Buddhist temples still cast their fortunes. 

Small groups that lack an incest taboo will be plagued by the ills of inbreeding; therefore exogamy in mating will be selected for. As ancestor worship strengthens kinship ties over more and more generations, it also expands kinship ties over more nomadic bands creating larger clans and tribes. These clans and tribes must gather periodically at a special place to exchange future mates. 

They also started exchanging i.e. trading for desirable objects not found in their usual locale. Seashells, obsidian, red ocher and other materials have been found in campsites and graves more than 100-200 miles away from their closest source. The stronger the attraction of a special place, the greater the effort that distant clans will make to attend, so gathering spots that are turned into sacred sites of pilgrimage through special seasonal rites will enrich human communities both socially and economically. There are scholars who think that mankind’s advanced trade networks helped them out compete Homo Neanderthals in Europe (recent studies of Neanderthal DNA show that they were a distinct species not ancestral to us). 

The need for all the clans to show up about the same time leads to fixed seasonal holy days and religious calendars. The need to mark time for pilgrimage festivals led people to study the cycle of the moon and the movement of the constellations and thus move some of the spirit powers into the sky.

Recent brain studies have shown how biologically organic trust and sharing are to human minds. Activities that build group loyalty and interpersonal trust enhance individual survival and promote individual spirituality much more than cognitive beliefs and ideologies. But urbanization, writing and mass communications may be changing this. Written revelation introduced a tremendous force expanding the power of religion both in space and time.  

The development of a class of religious scholars who study sacred scriptures and attempt to spread the sacred teachings among the people only happens when a religion has a “book”. The impact of religions with written revelations on historic human culture is comparable to the impact of modern science and invention on 20th century lifestyles. Both together will make the 21st century a turning point in human destiny.

What role does God (the One God of the revealed religions) play in all this? According to Genesis 4:26 humans only began to call upon the name of the One Lord in the days of Adam and Enosh. That means that the generations prior to Adam and Enosh evolved religion naturally. Only with the rise of scriptural revelations did the One God enter into human consciousness. Or it could mean that human consciousness had risen to the level of being able to receive Divine communication from the One God. It took over 3,000 years for monotheism to spread world-wide even with scriptural revelations so it is not surprising that it took over a 100,000 years to get to humans ready to receive Divine revelations.  

Spirituality among Homo Sapiens has been evolving for at least 100-150,000 years. The idea that reason, socialism or modern science would replace spiritual and religious thinking has turned out to be a wish fulfillment fantasy of some people, many of whom bear a grudge against religion and spirituality. Religious rituals and ideas are ubiquitous among humans and continue to evolve as the creative intelligent minds of Homo Sapiens encounter changes in their environment. This will most likely continue as long as we have creative intelligent minds.

But the thousands of years of human created polytheism made it very hard for God’s prophets to establish ongoing imageless monotheistic communities. For thousands of years after Prophet Adam and before Prophet Abraham, Allah sent thousands of prophets to thousands of tribes and nations on the earth, and not one of them were able to establish an ongoing imageless monotheistic community. So Allah decided to do things in a different way.

Allah decided to make a covenant with a small tribe, and send 600 of his prophets to this small tribe; and work continually for many centuries with the people of this tribe until they were able to establish an ongoing community that would always have a large core of righteous and loyal believers. 

Allah selected Abraham the Hebrew (Genesis 14:13) and the descendants of Prophets Ishmael, Issac, and Jacob to become the first, but not the last monotheistic community. “There is for you an excellent example (to follow) in Abraham and those with him.” [Qur’an 60:4] and “Indeed Ibrahim was a nation obedient to Allah, a Hanif, he was not one of the polytheists.” [Qur’an 16:120].

As Prophet Isaiah said: “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he [Abraham] was only one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him. (Isaiah 51:1-2) and as the Qur’an states:”Follow the way of Abraham as people of pure faith.” (3:95)

Finally, if one believes that God inspired prophets are able to describe scenarios of various developments in the distant future then one has to accept that the understanding of these passages should change and improve as we come closer and closer to the times they describe. As an example, Jeremiah describes a radical future in which women surround men, “The Lord will create a new thing on earth-a woman will surround a man” (31:22). 

The great commentator Rashi understands ‘surround’ to mean encircle. The most radical thing Rashi can think of (and in 11th century France it was radical) is that a woman will propose marriage (a wedding ring/circle) to men. In today’s feminist generation we can see women surrounding men in fields once almost exclusively male such as law, medical and rabbinical schools. Indeed women are now outperforming men in education in 70% of countries worldwide. 

Of course, this means that a few generations from now we might have even better understandings of some predictive passages in the prophets so humility should always be within us.

Rabbi Allen S. Maller
Allen Maller retired in 2006 after 39 years as Rabbi of Temple Akiba in Culver City, Calif. He is the author of an introduction to Jewish mysticism. God. Sex and Kabbalah and editor of the Tikun series of High Holy Day prayerbooks.

 

Multi-layered site in Tajikistan's Zeravshan Valley uncovered, offering new insights into human expansion

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

 

image: 

View on Zeravshan river valley from Soii Havzak

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Credit: Yossi Zaidner and Team

Hebrew University and National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan uncover multi-layered site in Tajikistan's Zeravshan Valley, offering new insights into human expansion

[Hebrew University] In an important discovery, archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan have uncovered a multi-layered archaeological site in the Zeravshan Valley, central Tajikistan, shedding rare light on early human settlement in the region. The findings from the site, known as Soii Havzak, provide crucial evidence that Central Asia played a vital role in early human migration and development.

Led by Prof. Yossi Zaidner of the Institute of Archaeology at Hebrew University and Dr. Sharof Kurbanov from the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan, the research, published in Antiquity, revealed a rich array of stone tools, animal bones, and ancient vegetation that date back to various periods between 20,000 and 150,000 years ago.

"It turns out that the Zeravshan Valley, known primarily as a Silk Road route in the Middle Ages, was a key route for human expansion long before that—between 20,000 and 150,000 years ago," explained Prof. Zaidner. "This region may have served as a migration route for  several human species, such as modern Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, or Denisovans, which may have coexisted in this area, and our research aims to uncover who were the humans that inhabited these parts of the Central Asia and the nature of their interactions."

The archaeological team excavated three areas at Soii Havzak, unearthing layers of human activity. The well-preserved remains offer valuable clues to the ancient climate and environment, as well as the potential for discovering human remains that could identify which human species inhabited the region.

"The preservation of organic materials, such as burnt wood remains, as well as bones, is remarkable. This allows us to reconstruct the region's ancient climate and provides hope that further excavations might reveal clues about human biology in the region," said Prof. Zaidner. "This is crucial for understanding the development of human populations and behavior in Central Asia."

The research has broader implications for the study of human evolution and migration, particularly in understanding how ancient human groups may have interacted with each other. The team believes that Soii Havzak location in the mountainous corridor of Central Asia may have served as a significant transition point for human populations, enabling the spread of early humans across vast regions.

"We hope that ongoing research at this site will reveal new insights into how different human groups—like modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans—may have interacted in this region," said Prof. Zaidner. "This discovery is a significant step toward understanding ancient human history in Central Asia and marks an important collaboration between international scientific teams."

The excavation at Soii Havzak will continue over the coming years, with further digs planned to explore deeper layers and conduct more in-depth analyses of the findings. The research is expected to deepen our understanding of human development in Central Asia, potentially transforming the historical narrative of human migration and interaction in this critical region.

Bones and stone artifacts discovered during the excavations at Soii Havzak

Stone artifacts from Soii Havzak

Soii Havzak site during excavations

Soii Havzak site during excavations

Credit

Yossi Zaidner and Team

Journal

Antiquity

DOI

10.15184/aqy.2024.149 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Soii Havzak: a new Palaeolithic sequence in Zeravshan Valley, central Tajikistan

Article Publication Date

4-Nov-2024

 

Why do we love carbs? The origins predate agriculture and maybe even our split from Neanderthals

Study co-led by UB finds the gene for starch-digesting saliva may have first duplicated more than 800,000 years ago, seeding the genetic variation that shapes our modern diet

University at Buffalo

 

image: 

The lab of Omer Gokcumen helped analyze the genomes of 68 ancient humans for answers about our ability to begin breaking down starch in the mouth.

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Credit: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki/University at Buffalo

BUFFALO, N.Y. — If you’ve ever struggled to reduce your carb intake, ancient DNA might be to blame.

 It has long been known that humans carry multiple copies of a gene that allows us to begin breaking down complex carbohydrate starch in the mouth, providing the first step in metabolizing starchy foods like bread and pasta. However, it has been notoriously difficult for researchers to determine how and when the number of these genes expanded.

Now, a new study led by the University at Buffalo and the Jackson Laboratory (JAX), reveals how the duplication of this gene — known as the salivary amylase gene (AMY1) —may not only have helped shape human adaptation to starchy foods, but may have occurred as far back as more than 800,000 years ago, long before the advent of farming.

Reported today in the Oct. 17 advanced online issue of Science, the study ultimately showcases how early duplications of this gene set the stage for the wide genetic variation that still exists today, influencing how effectively humans digest starchy foods.

“The idea is that the more amylase genes you have, the more amylase you can produce and the more starch you can digest effectively,” says the study's corresponding author, Omer Gokcumen, PhD, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, within the UB College of Arts and Sciences. 

Amylase, the researchers explain, is an enzyme that not only breaks down starch into glucose, but also gives bread its taste.

 Gokcumen and his colleagues, including co-senior author, Charles Lee, professor and Robert Alvine Family Endowed Chair at JAX, used optical genome mapping and long-read sequencing, a methodological breakthrough crucial to mapping the AMY1 gene region in extraordinary detail. Traditional short-read sequencing methods struggle to accurately distinguish between gene copies in this region due to their near-identical sequence. However, long-read sequencing allowed Gokcumen and Lee to overcome this challenge in present-day humans, providing a clearer picture of how AMY1 duplications evolved.

Ancient hunter-gatherers and even Neanderthals already had multiple AMY1 copies

Analyzing the genomes of 68 ancient humans, including a 45,000-year-old sample from Siberia, the research team found that pre-agricultural hunter-gatherers already had an average of four to eight AMY1 copies per diploid cell, suggesting that humans were already walking around Eurasia with a wide variety of high AMY1 copy numbers well before they started domesticating plants and eating excess amounts of starch.

The study also found that AMY1 gene duplications occurred in Neanderthals and Denisovans. 

“This suggests that the AMY1 gene may have first duplicated more than 800,000 years ago, well before humans split from Neanderthals and much further back than previously thought,” says Kwondo Kim, one of the lead authors on this study from the Lee Lab at JAX.

“The initial duplications in our genomes laid the groundwork for significant variation in the amylase region, allowing humans to adapt to shifting diets as starch consumption rose dramatically with the advent of new technologies and lifestyles,” Gokcumen adds.

The seeds of genetic variation

The initial duplication of AMY1 was like the first ripple in a pond, creating a genetic opportunity that later shaped our species. As humans spread across different environments, the flexibility in the number of AMY1 copies provided an advantage for adapting to new diets, particularly those rich in starch.

“Following the initial duplication, leading to three AMY1 copies in a cell, the amylase locus became unstable and began creating new variations," says Charikleia Karageorgiou, one of the lead authors of the study at UB. “From three AMY1 copies, you can get all the way up to nine copies, or even go back to one copy per haploid cell.”

The complicated legacy of farming

The research also highlights how agriculture impacted AMY1 variation. While early hunter-gatherers had multiple gene copies, European farmers saw a surge in the average number of AMY1 copies over the past 4,000 years, likely due to their starch-rich diets. Gokcumen’s previous research showed that domesticated animals living alongside humans, such as dogs and pigs, also have higher amylase gene copy numbers compared to animals not reliant on starch-heavy diets.

“Individuals with higher AMY1 copy numbers were likely digesting starch more efficiently and having more offspring,” Gokcumen says. “Their lineages ultimately fared better over a long evolutionary timeframe than those with lower copy numbers, propagating the number of the AMY1 copies.”

The findings track with a University of California, Berkeley-led study published last month in Nature, which found that humans in Europe expanded their average number of AMY1 copies from four to seven over the last 12,000 years.

“Given the key role of AMY1 copy number variation in human evolution, this genetic variation presents an exciting opportunity to explore its impact on metabolic health and uncover the mechanisms involved in starch digestion and glucose metabolism,” says Feyza Yilmaz, an associate computational scientist at JAX and a lead author of the study. “Future research could reveal its precise effects and timing of selection, providing critical insights into genetics, nutrition, and health.”

Other UB authors on the study include PhD students Petar Pajic and Kendra Scheer.

The research was a collaboration with the University of Connecticut Health Center and was supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health.

---

Journal

Science

DOI

10.1126/science.aamTKTK 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Human tissue samples

Article Title

Reconstruction of the human amylase locus reveals ancient duplications seeding modern-day variation

Article Publication Date

17-Oct-2024

Why do we love carbs? The origins predate agriculture and maybe even our split from Neanderthals

Study from The University of Buffalo and The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine finds the gene for starch-digesting saliva may have first duplicated more than 800,000 years ago, seeding the genetic variation that shapes our modern diet

Jackson Laboratory

 

image: 

A graphiical representation of the amylase gene locus and how it evolved to influence how humans digest complex carbohydrates like bread and pasta.

view more 

Credit: The Jackson Laboratory

If you’ve ever struggled to reduce your carb intake, ancient DNA might be to blame.

It has long been known that humans carry multiple copies of a gene that allows us to begin breaking down complex carbohydrate starch in the mouth, providing the first step in metabolizing starchy foods like bread and pasta. However, it has been notoriously difficult for researchers to determine how and when the number of these genes expanded. Now a new study led by The University of Buffalo (UB) and The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) showcases how early duplications of this gene set the stage for the wide genetic variation that still exists today, influencing how effectively humans digest starchy foods.

The study's findings, reported in the Oct. 17 advanced online issue of  Science, reveal that the duplication of this gene—known as the salivary amylase gene (AMY1) —may not only have helped shape human adaptation to starchy foods, but may have occurred as far back as more than 800,000 years ago, long before the advent of farming.

"The idea is that the more amylase genes you have, the more amylase you can produce and the more starch you can digest effectively,” said the study's corresponding author, Omer Gokcumen, PhD, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, within the UB College of Arts and Sciences. Amylase, the researchers explained, is an enzyme that not only breaks down starch into glucose, but also gives bread its taste.

Gokcumen and his colleagues, including co-senior author, Charles Lee, professor and Robert Alvine Family Endowed Chair at JAX, used optical genome mapping and long-read sequencing, a methodological breakthrough crucial to mapping the AMY1 gene region in extraordinary detail. Traditional short-read sequencing methods struggle to accurately distinguish between gene copies in this region due to their near-identical sequence. However, long-read sequencing allowed Gokcumen and Lee to overcome this challenge in present-day humans, providing a clearer picture of how AMY1 duplications evolved.

Ancient hunter-gatherers and even Neanderthals already had multiple AMY1 copies

Analyzing the genomes of 68 ancient humans, including a 45,000-year-old sample from Siberia, the research team found that pre-agricultural hunter-gatherers already had an average of four to eight AMY1 copies per diploid cell, suggesting that humans were already walking around Eurasia with a wide variety of high AMY1 copy numbers well before they started domesticating plants and eating excess amounts of starch.

The study also found that AMY1 gene duplications occurred in Neanderthals and Denisovans. “This suggests that the AMY1 gene may have first duplicated more than 800,000 years ago, well before humans split from Neanderthals and much further back than previously thought,” said Kwondo Kim, one of the lead authors on this study from the Lee Lab at JAX.

“The initial duplications in our genomes laid the groundwork for significant variation in the amylase region, allowing humans to adapt to shifting diets as starch consumption rose dramatically with the advent of new technologies and lifestyles,” said Gokcumen.

The seeds of genetic variation

The initial duplication of AMY1 was like the first ripple in a pond, creating a genetic opportunity that later shaped our species. As humans spread across different environments, the flexibility in the number of AMY1 copies provided an advantage for adapting to new diets, particularly those rich in starch.

"Following the initial duplication, leading to three AMY1 copies in a cell, the amylase locus became unstable and began creating new variations," said Charikleia Karageorgiou, one of the lead authors of the study at UB. “From three AMY1 copies, you can get all the way up to nine copies, or even go back to one copy per haploid cell."

The complicated legacy of farming

The research also highlights how agriculture impacted AMY1 variation. While early hunter-gatherers had multiple gene copies, European farmers saw a surge in the average number of AMY1 copies over the past 4,000 years, likely due to their starch-rich diets. Gokcumen’s previous research showed that domesticated animals living alongside humans, such as dogs and pigs, also have higher AMY1 copy numbers compared to animals not reliant on starch-heavy diets.

"Individuals with higher AMY1 copy numbers were likely digesting starch more efficiently and having more offspring,” Gokcumen said. “Their lineages ultimately fared better over a long evolutionary timeframe than those with lower copy numbers, propagating the number of the AMY1 copies."

The findings track with a University of California, Berkeley-led study published last month in Nature, which found that humans in Europe expanded their average number of AMY1 copies from four to seven over the last 12,000 years.

“Given the key role of AMY1 copy number variation in human evolution, this genetic variation presents an exciting opportunity to explore its impact on metabolic health and uncover the mechanisms involved in starch digestion and glucose metabolism,” said Feyza Yilmaz, an associate computational scientist at JAX and a lead author of the study. “Future research could reveal its precise effects and timing selection, providing critical insights into genetics, nutrition, and health.”

The research was a collaboration with the University of Connecticut Health Center and was supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health – National Human Genome Research Institute.

---

Journal

Science

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Reconstruction of the human amylase locus reveals ancient duplications seeding modern- 2 day variation

Article Publication Date

17-Oct-2024

 

Unraveling the Mystery of the Middle East Crisis

Why is a Genocide Supported?

by Dan Lieberman / October 15th, 2024

There are other issues I would prefer to write about; all are affected by the Middle East crisis.

Economics

Economics is a “dismal science” that has a postulate ─ all money is debt. This postulate leads to the realization that the capitalist economy grows and survives with mounting debt and only the government can carry the debt burden. Debt forces the government to manage the economy and a more managed economy continually develops. U.S. Middle East policy generates constant wars, promotes an arms race, and is partly responsible for the continually increasing debt and managed economy.

Foreign Policy

Establishing hegemony by making the world recognize American exceptionalism, regardless of opponents are killed in the process, defines U.S. foreign policy. This one-sided and arrogant policy aligns with Israel’s modus operandi. It has been historical, counterproductive in several adventures, is doomed to failure in the present crisis, and will continue to harm the American people.

Politics

Extravagant divisions in the electorate and political system demonstrate a lack of comprehension of the political system by government officials and political strategists. Israel’s supporters take advantage of the mayhem in the political system and influence politicians and voters.

Media

Knowledge leading to capable decisions has not accompanied the rapid expansion in communications. Money talks and media squawks. Media is a convenient means of controlling and manipulating minds. Israel supporters are adept in using the media to manipulate the American public.

The Middle East crisis, engineered by Israel and the United States, overrides all other issues. It is unfathomable, an artificial construct that is incomprehensible. The issue can be resolved in one minute of time ─ stop the oppression of the Palestinians and grant them equal rights. Instead, deliberate destructions of the Palestinian community and of those who attempt to aid the Palestinians are the avenues of resolution. A spillover into greater destruction of other peoples, including the perpetrators of the genocide, is predicted. Get rid of everyone and the world’s problems will vanish.

The unending crises are a mystery and unraveling the mystery has become more of a detective story than an academic pursuit. Why is there a genocide, why is it supported, and can it be stopped? Historians, foreign policy experts, journalists, political commentators, and wise old men have not provided adequate answers to the questions. There is more to committing genocide than power politics.

At 10:54 PM, October 6, 2024, the world population was 8,226,477,186. Take a guess and estimate that 1.5 billion have sufficient awareness (not knowledge) of the Middle East crisis to attach themselves to a side in the crisis. Only a portion of inhabitants of the western world and India would favor the Israeli aggressive tactics; maybe 100 million in India and 200 million in the western world, compared to 1.2 billion in the rest of the Arab, African, Latin American, Central and Southeast Asia, and China worlds.

Take a more rigid perspective on what is definitely a genocide ─ no mistake in characterizing the violence against the Palestinians by that term. How does the number of those who know it is a genocide and still favor Israel compare with those who view it as a genocide and want it stopped? My guess is that a small clique of 7 million Zionist Jews (the Christian Zionists may favor Israel but do not influence others) actively influence 100 million people to favor their cause, and a billion of the world’s population react in horror to the genocide. A small clique of 7 million people are moving the world to enormous destruction and one billion remain powerless to prevent it. How can that be?

The mystery deepens with the revelation that this scenario has no reason. The argument that Jews, who are the wealthiest group in almost all western nations and occupy positions of prestige and importance in much greater portion than others, fear attack and need a land for themselves falls flat. In the land called Israel, only a small portion of the Jewish population can gain excessive wealth and dominance, while all live in constant fear of attack and animosity from much of the universe.

A one-state Israel, where all ethnicities live together and have equal rights can function as any democratic state. The Israeli Palestinians and Druze have been good citizens. Palestinians in all parts of the world — Chile, United States, Germany, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon — have pursued activities that benefitted their adopted nations. If the Jews in the one-state followed a similar pattern of dominance that Jews in the western world exhibit, then a greater portion of Israeli Jews will achieve enhanced prosperity in the expanded economy. The one-state might benefit the lesser advantaged Israeli Jews.

Let’s clarify nonsense. Jews can live almost any place throughout the western world and not be oppressed or subjected to violent anti-Jewish attacks. In 2020, Mexico had a population of 126,799,054 and a Jewish population of 58,876 people, 0.05 percent, and an infinitesimal part of the Mexican citizenry. On Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, Claudia Sheinbaum, one of the relatively few Jews in Mexico, was sworn in as president without incident. Worshippers of contrived anti-Semitism statistics, please explain that happening. There are few cases of physical attacks against Jews, and the ADL promotes the U.S. as a hotbed of anti-Semitism. Compare Jewish life in the United States with the centuries of life of African Americans, who live at the economic margin, are subjected to periodic police attacks that take their lives, and do not consider establishing a land of their own. Anti-Semitism is trivial compared to the discrimination that severely disrupts the lives of other Americans. Let’s not confuse anti-Jewish feeling, due to Jewish support of the genocide of the Palestinian people, with arbitrary prejudice against Jews.

Why is there a genocide?

Israeli murderous rampages lack compassion for Palestinian suffering, show no sympathy for the killed and no remorse for even “accidental” killings. Calculated dehumanization of the civilized, educated, endurable, and heroic Palestinian people certifies the inhumanity and criminal bent of the Zionist Jews.

Israel’s genocidal reaction to Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023, a day that will be pressed forever in the American conscience, was unnecessary. The preferred strategy for a responsible military that values life is to reinforce the border, which could easily be made impenetrable. Using Mossad’s network of informers, infiltrators, and military drone and satellite surveillance, the Israeli military has mapped locations and movements of Hamas’ military leaders and fighting wing. Selective targets for drone and commando raids could have disrupted Hamas’ fighting capability. After crippling Hamas, the military could have developed a strategy that totally immobilizes Hamas and minimizes civilian casualties.

Israeli tank battalions could have surrounded schools, apartment buildings, hospital and refugee centers before broadcasting evacuation and surrender orders. After evacuation, which saves civilian lives, the tanks could have probed or shelled buildings they claimed harvested Hamas. No armed brigades surrounded buildings, no evacuation advisories occurred, and no Hamas operatives have been shown to be present in the wreckage. Just the opposite has happened; the Gazans have been told to flee and then have been shot by snipers. Doctors are shocked at the casualties and reports that have an unusual number of children shot in the head. Whole extended families of 30-70 people have been killed without warning. Israel is fighting an army that has no antitank guns, no heavy weapons, and just a few cadres still willing to fight. There is no Hamas army and there is no real war.

The Gaza campaign is not a military campaign; it is an excuse for a deliberate genocide. It has nothing to do with political and military strategies that are developed from able and astute minds. It comes from these minds — depraved, egocentric, inhuman, and criminal bent.

These criminal bent cannot distinguish between right and wrong, are trained to attach themselves to a unique tribe, and emotionally detach themselves from others. The criminal mind drives a great portion of the Israel community. This was shown in an interview by Christine Amanpour with an Israeli woman whose daughter was kidnapped by Hamas. The woman tells Christine Amanpour that “October 7 was a catastrophe for the whole world. Hamas is terrorist and terrorizing its own people. The world thanks us for fighting for them. Hamas is seeking to eliminate us and the free world.”

It is obvious the woman is reciting a script prepared by the Israeli propaganda machine. She does not concentrate on the travails of her daughter and displays a mind trained to attach itself to a unique tribe and emotionally detach itself from others. Only Israelis matter, and the world should recognize that damage to Israelis is damage to the entire word. Israelis are rescuing all of us. Hamas and its slingshots are “seeking to eliminate nuclear armed Israel and the free world.”

Here is the difference between terrorist Hamas that terrorizes its own people and benevolent Israel.

Image Courtesy of CNN Gaza before October 7

Image courtesy of Reuters  Gaza after October 7

Terrorist Hamas has terrorized the population by constructing housing, schools, universities, hospitals, sports arenas, and given Gazans the tools to live, while Israel did all it could to disrupt their lives. Benevolent Israel has no compunction in destroying housing, schools, universities, hospitals, and tools that terrorist Hamas has given its people to survive the continuous onslaught against them.

It’s Gresham’s law ─ bad money drives out good money ─ applied to human existence — bad people drive out good people; in this case, the worst constantly replacing the less worst. There are many Israelis, even settlers, who want to cooperate with the Palestinians, but the plurality that gained government control permits and encourages robbery and murder of Palestinians. The settlers take advantage of the opportunities.

The genocide proceeds from a criminal bent leadership that organizes criminal activities, which is rationalized. Provoke the Palestinians to respond to an attack and then accuse them of attacking ─ a favorite and successful trickster investment by the Zionist Jews, which has given them huge dividends. The Zionists expect those robbed and harmed will seek justice, from within and from without. Way to stop that is to get rid of them. With no them, there is nothing to worry about. There is no resurrection.

Why are nations and groups supporting the genocide?

All those who support the genocide of the Palestinian people are inflicted with the criminal bent plus gene — might makes right and anyone who does not recognize your might has no right to live. Bill Maher, a political comedian who posed as a human rights advocate, revealed how the American conscience reflects the Zionist conscience. In an HBO episode, Maher exclaimed, “The State of Israel is here to stay and the Palestinians will need to get used to it.” At other times, he defended Israel’s war on the Gazans and defended his positions with,

History is brutal, and humans are not good people, and, I would submit that Israel did not steal anybody’s land. This is another thing I’ve heard the last couple of weeks, words like ‘occupiers’ and ‘colonizers’ and ‘apartheid,’ which I don’t think people understand the history there. The Jews have been in that area of the world since about 1200 BC, way before the first Muslim or Arab walked the earth. Other people do not understand the history there.

Bill Maher is considered a political satirist with a large following. He must have been satirizing when stating, “The Jews have been in that area of the world since about 1200 BC, way before the first Muslim or Arab walked the earth.” Any existing Neanderthals to claim the land? Where have the Palestinians prevented Israel’s existence? If they did, how did Israel get so strong? Aren’t the Zionist Jews attempting to prevent Palestinian existence? Aren’t the Palestinians here to stay and shouldn’t the Jews get over it? Maher follows the usual Zionist scheme ─ attribute to the adversary the iniquities and guilt of the Zionists.

The United States, beginning with the landing of the Pilgrims, and Israel, beginning with the landing of the Zionists, follow identical patterns of history. Both obtained assistance from the indigenous people and then obliterated them. Continuous wars, always in defense, never compromising, always killing mercilessly, and each convinced of their exceptionalism categorize the Israelis and Americans ─ partners in crime against humanity, willing accomplices to genocide.

Can the genocide be stopped?

Rays of hope indicate nations will take a firm stand against the genocide and rally support for the Palestinians.

• China has taken an active role in promoting a ceasefire.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the United Nations General Assembly it should recommend use of force if the UN Security Council fails to stop Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.
• Russia has shown sympathy for the Palestinian cause but is unable to act while being tied up in Ukraine.
• France’s President Macron has asked all nations to stop sending arms to Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s response to President Macron’s plea revealed his lack of responsible executive behavior in international relations, his twisted mind, escape from reality, and superior attitude.

As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilized countries should be standing firmly by Israel’s side….Yet President Macron and some other Western leaders are now calling for an arms embargo against Israel. Shame on them.

Let me tell you this, Israel will win with or without their support, but their shame will continue long after the war is won.

• Spain, Norway and Ireland have recognized Palestine statehood. Spain announced it would join South Africa’s genocide case before the International Court of Justice against Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Response from Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz repeated Netanyahu’s’ obsessive behavior, the twisted mind, the escape from reality, and the superior attitude. In an X message, addressed to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Katz wrote,

Hamas thanks you for your service….Khamenei, Sinwar, and deputy PM Yolanda Diaz (Spain’s deputy PM) call for the elimination of Israel and for the establishment of an Islamic Palestinian terror state from the river to the sea….Sanchez, when you don’t fire your deputy and declare recognition of a Palestinian state — you are a partner to incitement to the genocide of Jews and to war crimes.

• Iran has entered the hostilities and defiantly said it will not back down. Does Iran have a power that allows its defiance?

The minds and authorities that gave us genocide of the Native Americans, slavery, and genocide of the Palestinians cannot be changed. There is little hope that revolutions in the United States and Israel will occur and correct the situation. Where are the Obamas? Unfortunately, Israel, together with its supplicating ally, the mighty U.S., feels comfortable. It has destroyed its antagonists. Hamas is impotent, Hezbollah is in disarray, with Netanyahu boasting that “Lebanon could face destruction like Gaza,” a confession that destruction of Gaza and not Hamas guides Israel’s military actions. Iran awaits an attack that Defense Minister Gallant describes as “deadly, precise and, above all, surprising. They will not understand what happened and how it happened. They will see the results.”

The rays of hope that indicate nations will take a firm stand against the genocide and rally support for the Palestinians is blocked by the knowledge that all will burn. The world is trapped. Israel has nuclear weapons and will not hesitate to use them, knowing that by its small size and close location to other nations, opponents realize that radioactive fallout from atomic bombs falling on Tel Aviv will jeopardize surrounding nations. The military option is not plausible.

Israel has always posed the crisis as “it’s us or them,” another departure from reality that is used to justify its criminal behavior. “Us” refers to, “They intend to destroy us”(Israel.)” “Them “refers to, “We destroy them before we are destroyed.” Nobody has shown the power or proclivity to have it “us.” Battle maps show Arab nations with large arrows thrusting huge armies to batter Israel. Where are any of them?

With Israel having atomic weapons and a mentality that will use them, stopping the genocide by military means predicts it will be “us” and “them,” where “us” are the peace loving people of the world and them are all the Israelis — Jews, Muslims and Christians. Israel has the world in a “lose-lose” situation and will never accept a “win-win” situation. This leaves little room to maneuver and ability to save the Palestinians. Social isolation and economic deprivation, including sanctions of the criminal nation, are paths to forcing the issue. They are long and difficult and have not proven effective in past genocides.

The solution to stopping Israel’s massacre of the Palestinians lies with the Israelis and Jews around the world. Israel’s genocidal policies have generated internal detractors, social unrest, political divides, an economic decline, and military disagreements. All combat is neutralized by “us” or “them,” supplied by the constant war against the Palestinians, which demands absolute loyalty to the state that is shielding its Jews from another Holocaust. This steady stream of propaganda is similar to the manner in which the Nazi state convinced a plurality of Germans to support the Nazis until the end. It’s a toss up as to who better fits the image of Nazism ─ Deutschland or Zionistland?

The “us” or “them,” reinforced by a population that has been nurtured on a daily cereal of holocaust and enjoys being a victim, explains the bewildering Israeli Jewish position on blithely, and it is blithely, committing genocide. The real Jews, those in the Western world, who understand Judaism and the struggles of their immigrant ancestors, have been thrust into a battle to rescue Judaism and the Palestinians.

As mentioned before, Jews live well and peacefully everywhere, except in Israel. If their sleep is disturbed, it is because of Israel and its partners in crime. The anti-defamation League (ADL), better named the Defamation League, is a business; it exists to find anti-Jewish expressions and the more it can manufacture, the more successful it is as a business. The Israel Lobby is a conspiratorial lobbying arm of the Israeli government, reaching deeply into media, DC “Think Tanks,” government agencies, religious institutions, cultural institutions, and households, providing an invisible army of millions, many born in Israel and sent by Israel to corrode the political system, influence the electoral system, and delude the central nervous systems. Defeating the anti-Judaism branches of the anti-Jewish Zionist extremists is a challenge that is met by numbers, dollars, resources, energy, demonstrations, public relations, media advertisements and strategic thinking, which translates to being one step ahead of the most conniving, lying, cheating, and deceiving assortment of killers the world now sees. In the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald,

Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us.

It has eluded us now;
Tomorrow, we will run a little faster,
Stretch our arms a little longer.

Boats against the current,
Borne back ceaselessly into the Past.FacebookTwitterRedditEmail

Dan Lieberman publishes commentaries on foreign policy, economics, and politics at substack.com.  He is author of the non-fiction books A Third Party Can Succeed in America, Not until They Were Gone, Think Tanks of DC, The Artistry of a Dog, and a novel: The Victory (under a pen name, David L. McWellan). Read other articles by Dan.