A Jewish lesson in political science

Decades ago, before the creation of the State of Israel, David Ben-Gurion in 1937 to The British Peel Commission in Palestine gave a brief lesson in Jewish history: 

“Three hundred years, ago a ship called the Mayflower set sail to the New World. This was a great event in the history of England. Yet I wonder if there is one Englishman who knows at what time the ship set sail? Do the English know how many people embarked on the voyage? What quality of bread did they eat? 

“Yet more than 3,300 years ago, before the Mayflower set sail, the Jews left Egypt. Every Jew in the world, even in America or Soviet Russia, knows what kind of bread the Jews ate — matzoh. Even today, the Jews worldwide eat matzoh on the 15th of Nisan. They retell the story of the Exodus and all of the troubles Jews have endured since being exiled, saying: This year, slaves; next year, free! This year here — next year in Jerusalem, in Zion, in Eretz Yisrael. That is the nature of the Jews.”

Later, on May 14, 1948, Ben-Gurion stood before the provisional government in Tel Aviv and pronounced these historic words: “We hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael, to be known as the State of Israel.”

Many take Israel’s existence for granted, forgetting the political condition of the Jews before Ben-Gurion’s declaration. Lest we forget, this week — Shabbat ha-Gadol, the Sabbath immediately preceding Passover — presents a good time to start thinking about the Passover story and its powerful lesson in political science.

In its transition from Joseph’s death to a new era, the book of Exodus records: A new king arose over Egypt, who did know Joseph (Exodus 1:8). This “new king” proceeded to enslave the Jews.

Who was this “new king”? The Talmud (Sotah 11:a) records a debate between Rav and Shmuel on the meaning of the words “new king.” According to Rav, the “new king” was actually a new pharaoh. Never having met Joseph, this new king ignored his predecessor’s policy of friendship with the Jews. 

Shmuel argued that the “new king” was actually the same pharaoh under whom Joseph served. The word “new” does not imply a “new person,” rather “new policies.” This means that the exact same pharaoh who was friendly to the Jews ultimately turned on them. 

Through their sharp political interpretations of the Passover story, Rav and Shmuel described the political condition of the Jewish people long after the Exodus from Egypt. Rav teaches that cordial relations with one leader in no way guarantee that the next administration will behave the same way. Things are as good as they are today, but in no way can today’s policies indicate what tomorrow will bring. Leaders change, and each administration will act in its own political self-interest. 

Shmuel’s lesson is a bit harsher. When it served the pharaoh’s political interests with Joseph, he was friendly toward the Jews. But now that he perceived them as problematic, he changed his policy from friendship to enslavement. Shmuel reminds us that even while in power, the same leader who acted as our friend yesterday can change his policies at the drop of a dime.

Rav and Shmuel never lived in Egypt under the pharaoh. They offered their interpretations thousands of years later, through the lenses of their own political reality in third-century C.E. Babylonia. They were Diaspora Jews whose people had by now been exiled from their homeland twice. Jewish self-determination was gone for the time being, replaced with prayers for the government that reflected our innermost political fears: “May the supreme King of Kings in His mercy put into the hearts of all officials to deal kindly with us.” We recited these prayers with the hope that “new kings” would not arise — neither Rav’s version nor Shmuel’s version. 

We went on to see many “new kings who did not know of Joseph.” In medieval Spain, we went from the Golden Age to expulsion, and in Germany we were intellectual elites who became concentration camp inmates. 

In light of our experiences in the Diaspora at the mercy of different leaders and governments, it is peculiar that in 1948, after Ben-Gurion’s historic declaration of the State of Israel, the rabbis did not change the opening words of the haggadah to reflect our new political reality: “Last year — slaves, this year — free. Last year in exile, this year in Jerusalem, in Zion, in Eretz Yisrael.”

As you sit down to your Passover seder, contemplate the magnitude of Ben-Gurion’s declaration of Jewish independence. He may not have caused a change to the words of the haggadah, but his historic words certainly changed the political course of the Jewish people. Had this been all Ben-Gurion did for us — Dayenu. 

In the words of David Ben Gurion when he appeared before the British Peel Commission in Palestine in 1937:
“Three hundred years ago a ship called the Mayflower set sail for the New World. This was a great event in the history of England and America. But I would like to know if there is one Englishman, who knows the exact date and hour that this ship set forth; how many Americans know; do they know how many people were on that ship; and what kind of bread did they ate as they left the port?
More than three thousand and three hundred years ago, long before the Mayflower set sail, our people left Egypt, and every Jew in the world, whether in America or in Soviet Russia, knows the exact date that they left: on the fifteenth day of Nisan. And everyone knows what kind of bread they ate: matzos. And to this very day the Jews all over the world eat matzos on the fifteenth of Nisan in America, Russia and other countries and they tell the story of the exodus from Egypt and the troubles that befell them when they went into exile. And they conclude with two sayings: This year we may be slaves but next year we will be free men; This year we are here, but next year we will be in Jerusalem.”

Arab-Israeli peace diplomacy and treaties

• Paris Peace Conference, 1919
• Faisal-Weizmann Agreement (1919)
• 1949 Armistice Agreements
• Camp David Accords (1978)
• Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty (1979)
• Madrid Conference of 1991
• Oslo Accords (1993)
• Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace (1994)
• Camp David 2000 Summit
• Peace process in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• Projects working for peace among Israelis and Arabs
• List of Middle East peace proposals
• International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict

External links

• Text of the agreement and accompanying letters
• Text of the agreement