2. The Rise of Jewish Power as an Idea
In the long span of Jewish history, the emergence of Jewish power as an
idea and as a reality should be perceived as revolutionary.
It is not that the Jews had no history of military struggle: quite the contrary.
From the time of the Bible onwards, at different stages of early Jewish History,
we are witnesses to a great deal of military conflict - the Jews were often
at war:
- From the battles of the Judges, through the military traditions associated
with many of the early Israelite monarchs;
- And again from the Maccabee and Hasmonean period, through to the great Zealot
rebellions at and just after the time of the destruction of the Second Temple.
Military heroes impressed themselves on the consciousness of the people,
from Joshua and Deborah to Judah Maccabee and Bar Kochba.
The majority of the Jewish People thus carried with them a consciousness
of themselves as a nation prepared to fight back when attacked, one which
most certainly was not prepared to “turn the other cheek”, as
some minority elements believed.
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