# Terrorism? \[Gaza campaign is war against Amalek, says Chief Rabbi of Safed\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 17, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-gaza-campaign-is-war-against-amalek-says-chief-rabbi-of-safed/481785 "2009-01-17T21:33:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EverLearner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EverLearner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EverLearner)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-gaza-campaign-is-war-against-amalek-says-chief-rabbi-of-safed/481785/1 "2009-01-17T21:33:59Z")
[Gaza campaign is war against Amalek, says Chief Rabbi of Safed](http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1056132.html) Does this have anything to do with terrorism? Or was this term especially coined for Arabs and Muslims? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-gaza-campaign-is-war-against-amalek-says-chief-rabbi-of-safed/481785/2 "2009-01-17T21:49:37Z")
I think this is better addressed in GD than GQ. Edited title to indicate specific subject. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![UnwrittenNocturne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/6de8d8/32.png) [@UnwrittenNocturne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwrittenNocturne)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-gaza-campaign-is-war-against-amalek-says-chief-rabbi-of-safed/481785/3 "2009-01-17T21:54:35Z")
This rabbi is a nutter of the first order of course. He once proposed hanging the children of a terrorist. He often calls for nothing short of the total annihilation of Palestinians. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-gaza-campaign-is-war-against-amalek-says-chief-rabbi-of-safed/481785/4 "2009-01-17T21:55:09Z")
No. “Amalek” was not coined for Arabs or Muslims. It’s an ancient term. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-gaza-campaign-is-war-against-amalek-says-chief-rabbi-of-safed/481785/5 "2009-01-18T03:53:47Z")
Amalek is a nation in the bible. They were consistantly enemies of Israel, and were exterminated a few times in the bible. In Jewish thought, Amalek got associated with pure evil and a total, irrational hatred of Judaism. ---
**Author:** ![EverLearner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EverLearner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EverLearner)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-gaza-campaign-is-war-against-amalek-says-chief-rabbi-of-safed/481785/6 "2009-01-18T09:50:50Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > No. “Amalek” was not coined for Arabs or Muslims. > It’s an ancient term. The term I’m talking about is “terrorism”. It’s used so much when an angry Muslim speaks or acts against repression. But when a whole country acts upon what an extremist Rabbi legitimizes, it’s OK by the media and the UN. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-gaza-campaign-is-war-against-amalek-says-chief-rabbi-of-safed/481785/7 "2009-01-18T10:03:18Z")
> [@EverLearner](#): > > The term I’m talking about is “terrorism”. No, that’d best be defined as deliberately targeting and attacking civilian targets in order to effect political/economic/social change via fear and the threat of random violence. > [@EverLearner](#): > > It’s used so much when an angry Muslim speaks or acts against repression. No, it’s used when anybody, regardless of their religion is deliberately targeting and… well, you get the picture. That you’d say the word is used for simple acts of speech is… strange. To say the least. > [@EverLearner](#): > > But when a whole country acts upon what an extremist Rabbi legitimizes, it’s OK by the media and the UN. :dubious: Provide a cite for anybody “acting upon” the biblical parallels and the implicit demand for the total destruction of every single last member of Hamas in specific or genocidal enemies of the Jews in general. Got anything better than the fallacy of Cum Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc? And yes, even if an extended campaign against Hamas was carried out, it was made quite clear in that quote that he was talking about a war against _Hamas_, not all the Palestinian people. I’m not sure why you want the media and the UN to pretend that attacking legitimate military targets is somehow beyond the pale. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-gaza-campaign-is-war-against-amalek-says-chief-rabbi-of-safed/481785/8 "2009-01-18T10:04:50Z")
Excuse me, but how is " whole country acting upon what an extremist Rabbi legitimizes"? I’ve never even heard of this idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-gaza-campaign-is-war-against-amalek-says-chief-rabbi-of-safed/481785/9 "2009-01-18T14:45:06Z")
> [@EverLearner](#): > > But when a whole country acts upon what an extremist Rabbi legitimizes, it’s OK by the media and the UN. The thing you need to understand is that Shmeul Eliyahu is an idiot who’s not taken seriously by people, and who’s been investigated by the police for making racist statements against Arabs. So it’s really not the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-gaza-campaign-is-war-against-amalek-says-chief-rabbi-of-safed/481785/10 "2009-01-19T02:37:48Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > No, it’s used when anybody, regardless of their religion is deliberately targeting and… well, you get the picture. Well, that and anyone who was insufficiently supportive of Bush’s foreign policy. > [@](#): > > I’m not sure why you want the media and the UN to pretend that attacking legitimate military targets is somehow beyond the pale. Look, I’m all in favor of exterminating the Palestinians like the good rabbi says, but the Israelis have drawn a mighty thin line between military and civilian targets.