Last week was extremely busy, and this week, I’m in Europe for meetings in London related to our property insurance. Given that time is limited but the subject is important, I thought that the most expedient way to convey my points about the Middle East would be to use the words of someone far more prophetic and insightful than myself.
The brutal and barbaric massacre of 1,200 Israelis by Hamas on October 7, 2023, has catalyzed an extraordinary backlash against Israel specifically and Jews more generally, as Israel has unleashed its fury in order to destroy Hamas and its terror infrastructure. The virulent anti-semitism/anti-Israel protests and illogical discourse (I’m being kind since to me it’s pathological and borders on deranged), especially among college students from “elite” universities (in truth cesspools of stupidity centered in their liberal arts departments) and certain immigrants, especially from Arab countries, has conjured up a lot of thoughts and intense feelings for me. What is particularly galling is that many of these protestors in the United States, as well as in the U.K., Germany, and France, have left oppressive regimes and societies only to support barbaric organizations like Hamas in their adopted countries because of the freedoms they have, especially in the United States, for which they would be imprisoned and possibly tortured and killed if they expressed themselves this way in their home countries.
There’s a lot I would like to say, but I won’t. What I do know is that if I were in charge of a hiring decision and there was a candidate whom I found out from their social media or writings that he or she was involved in “Free Palestine” (i.e., Pro-Hamas, Anti-Israel) protests and organizations, I would relish the opportunity to sit down with them to understand their reasoning for supporting such causes. Assuming they did not come to their senses and realize that what they were supporting was horrific, I would gladly tell the person that he or she has no chance of being the one chosen to fill the position and good luck with the rest of his or her life because they will need it. On the other hand, if they realized they had made a very big mistake and told me what triggered such an epiphany, then I would be impressed and open-minded enough to consider them for the position if they met the other requirements. I am well aware that college is a very impressionable time for many, and there is a strong desire to fit in and find people with whom one feels an affinity. Given this, I firmly believe that if one truly sees the error in their ways and makes a concerted effort to course correct, they should not be branded for life as a heretic.
When attempting to analyze a very emotional set of issues, I try to take a step back and look at what others have written about the subject in the past to gain some historical perspective. I often will read old newspaper articles to see what was written at that moment in time. I have been doing that a lot recently to learn more about Palestine prior to Israel’s founding (or re-establishment) in 1948. I hope to write more about some of the fascinating articles I have read from 1900-1947 in future blogs.
In addition to old articles, I also have found great insight from authors, poets, and songwriters. Bob Dylan is one of the seers I have turned to to make sense of the world. One of his works is incredibly relevant for what is happening today in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.
In 1983, Dylan released an amazing album called Infidels, and one of the songs on the album is Neighborhood Bully. The title of the album is quite apropos to today, given everything going on, and Neighborhood Bully is particularly prophetic. Or, maybe it wasn’t prophetic at all and just captured the reality of a situation that has always been and is even more relevant today. Although he never specifically mentions Israel in the song, it’s obvious for anyone with some knowledge of history and world events that Israel is the neighborhood bully.
The Neighborhood Bully
Without further adieu, given the short amount of time I have available and recognizing there is no way I can address what is happening in Israel and the Middle East in any way that matches what Dylan wrote about in Neighborhood Bully, here are his incredible, insightful lyrics.
Well, the neighborhood bully, he’s just one man
His enemies say he’s on their land
They got him outnumbered about a million to one
He got no place to escape to, no place to run
He’s the neighborhood bully.
The neighborhood bully he just lives to survive
He’s criticized and condemned for being alive
He’s not supposed to fight back, he’s supposed to have thick skin
He’s supposed to lay down and die when his door is kicked in
He’s the neighborhood bully.
The neighborhood bully been driven out of every land
He’s wandered the earth an exiled man
Seen his family scattered, his people hounded and torn
He’s always on trial for just being born
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Well, he knocked out a lynch mob, he was criticized
Old women condemned him, said he should apologize
Then he destroyed a bomb factory, nobody was glad
The bombs were meant for him. He was supposed to feel bad
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Well, the chances are against it, and the odds are slim
That he’ll live by the rules that the world makes for him
‘Cause there’s a noose at his neck and a gun at his back
And a license to kill him is given out to every maniac
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Well, he got no allies to really speak of
What he gets he must pay for, he don’t get it out of love
He buys obsolete weapons and he won’t be denied
But no one sends flesh and blood to fight by his side
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Well, he’s surrounded by pacifists who all want peace
They pray for it nightly that the bloodshed must cease
Now, they wouldn’t hurt a fly. To hurt one they would weep
They lay and they wait for this bully to fall asleep
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Every empire that’s enslaved him is gone
Egypt and Rome, even the great Babylon
He’s made a garden of paradise in the desert sand
In bed with nobody, under no one’s command
He’s the neighborhood bully.
Now his holiest books have been trampled upon
No contract that he signed was worth that what it was written on
He took the crumbs of the world and he turned it into wealth
Took sickness and disease and he turned it into health
He’s the neighborhood bully.
What’s anybody indebted to him for?
Nothing, they say. He just likes to cause war
Pride and prejudice and superstition indeed
They wait for this bully like a dog waits for feed
He’s the neighborhood bully.
What has he done to wear so many scars?
Does he change the course of rivers? Does he pollute the moon and stars?
Neighborhood bully, standing on the hill
Running out the clock, time standing still
Neighborhood bully.
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